The Senator has had a long time. I ask him to conclude.

I call Senator Gallagher followed by Senator Garvey.

Is that not a nice bit of collegiality?

Now.

Now.

Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 are related. Amendment No. 2 is consequential on amendment No. 1 and they may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I wish to raise YouTube's announcement that it will remove all videos that make false claims about vaccines and spread misinformation about Covid. I wish to ask YouTube, "Where on earth have you been for the last 18 months?" My God, thanks for waking up to this problem YouTube. YouTube should have taken this position in March 2020 when we saw misinformation about Covid spread like wildfire around the planet last summer. Now all of a sudden, YouTube has woken up to it. At least, it has woken up to it a bit quicker t…

I raise the issue of an article that appeared in The Irish Times last week about the proposed increase of vehicle registration tax, VRT, on electric vehicles. My issue around this is twofold. We have ambitious plans about electric vehicles in this country. We want to have 1 million electric vehicles on our roads by 2030. At the same time, there are reports from the Department of Finance that new car prices intend to jump by €1,300 for normal cars and, for electric vehicles, up to €4,100 under budget proposals. That…

I would like to make a couple of legitimate points on housing based on my experience of what is happening in Dundalk, County Louth. On one hand we have all these ambitions plans to hit all these targets of housing that we need to build every year, which is great, while on the other hand we have a Planning Regulator who is giving advice to local authorities and council executives saying they should dezone land. This is dezoning residential land where any developer can put a planning application in tomorrow. It is de…

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to sit again?

I have raised my topic of discussion previously in the House. I refer to the concept of introducing flexible three-day TaxSaver tickets for commuters. I first raised this matter in June of last year. More than 12 months have passed. We have returned to full capacity on public transport and workers across the country have returned to their offices yet we still do not have this type of ticket. People must still pay for monthly and annual tickets when they may only be making four trips each week instead of the usual t…

I wish to touch on a couple of points in my brief contribution. The main point on which I wish to focus most of my remarks is the concept of the national peer support framework that is overseen by a new safety regulator for aviation workers. It is vitally important for three specific reasons. The first is that peer support will enhance flight safety when people have an opportunity to speak to each other about their experiences. The second is national oversight of peer support in Irish airlines. When that occurs, it…

I raise the concept of county development plans and how I feel the Planning Regulator and the views he passes down to council executives and councils are divergent from the Government's ambitious housing targets and the number of houses we want to build each year. They are not going hand in hand or helping each other. I will give two examples, one relating to urban centres and the other to rural areas. Not to be parochial about it, but I can only speak of what I know well, which is my home town of Dundalk. We have …

I will be brief as I will also wrap up the debate. My question has two parts. What is the biggest issue or threat facing the European Union today? What is the biggest issue facing constituents in the midlands and north west?

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. It is a privilege for me to be able to respond on behalf of the House to Mr. Colm Markey and Ms Maria Walsh. This is the Seanad at its best. This is exactly what the Seanad should be used for, and this is what we should try to do more often in the future, especially to counter the challenge that this House is not fit for purpose. This is exactly what Seanad Éireann is intended to do and I would welcome our doing this more in the future. What is incredible about Mr. Markey and Ms Wal…

I thank the Minister of State for attending the House. One of the reasons I bring up the concept of high-speed rail is that I have been a rail user for the past seven or eight years, commuting from Dundalk to Dublin. We have various issues with the rail infrastructure in this country. It is good to see a renewed focus from the Government in the programme for Government and in recent statements from the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and indeed the Minister for transport in Northern Ireland, Nichola Mall…