I thank the Senator.

While I accept that this is a passionate debate and I am keen not to interrupt people when they are in full flow, it is utterly wrong to name individuals outside this House who cannot defend themselves, as the Senator did, and then to try to suggest some sort of financial impropriety.

Senator Mullen has been in this House much longer than I have been.

He is a much more experienced Senator than I am.

He knows the rules much better than other people here. I ask him to consider the remarks he is making when he brings other names into the conversation.

That is all I am asking. I have made my point.

I will not hear any more. Senator Mullen-----

I will not have Senator Mullen speaking over the Chair. I have made my point and I hope he will accept it.

He has indeed and I hope he will bear in mind what I said for future debates.

We have already had the debate.

Is amendment No. 2 being moved?

Is the Senator happy to withdraw the amendment?

That is fair enough. The amendment is not being moved.

This is not a Second Stage debate. The amendment is not being moved.

I pay tribute to the Minister on the work he is doing while having to put up with the behaviour of what I can only describe as Neanderthals. I am referring to how they have targeted him personally and politicians' private homes. I commend the Minister on the work he is able to do while having to deal with this. It is very much appreciated by Members of the Oireachtas of all political parties and none. At times over the past 18 months it has been very easy to lose perspective. In this regard, consider where we are t…

I want to focus on the M1 corridor between Dublin and Belfast. Some 3.3 million people live in that part of the island of Ireland. It is expected to be 4 million people by 2030. It is paramount that high-speed rail becomes a key priority for that corridor. That is what I will put in my submission on the strategic rail review, when I take part in a consultation process. It should be a key priority because it is not just about creating jobs in Dublin and expecting everyone to commute there, but about having a two-way…

I will raise the Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2020, which was withdrawn by Sinn Féin in the Dáil this week. It is important to recognise the huge contribution wind energy makes to this country. Some 5,000 are employed in it and if we hit our targets by 2030, another 2,000 people will be employed in it. It contributes €410 million to the economy every year. The problem with the legislation was the fact it would have increased the distance of wind turbines from homes to ten times the height of the turbine. At present…

I was hoping Senator Higgins could keep going. I was watching her from our parliamentary party meeting room and then tried to race down here to get to the debate. Apologies for the delay.

I was not sure but I understand I am sharing time with Senator Micheál Carrigy.

I thank my colleague, Senator Seán Kyne, for bringing this very important motion before the Seanad. When we look at the concept of public transport, a couple of issues arise. The Ireland of 100 years ago was connected across our entire island with railways. Then, for whatever reason, through whatever the consensus was at the time, we ripped up a lot of those railways and we are now replacing them with greenways. My long-term vision for this country is that we will be so interconnected with greenways that we will be…