I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach but he should not mention the war. It is a sore topic. I welcome the students from St. Gerald's College, Castlebar, and their teachers, Tracey Flynn and Regina Duffy, to the Gallery. My particular thanks to Harry Gaughan, who helped to arrange the visit. The lads are very welcome. We will get a chance to chat later today. I hope they enjoy watching the Order of Business and what we do here in the Seanad. They will also get the opportunity to go to the Dáil and see the surrounds of Le…

I have no doubt the students will be able to advocate strongly for that. The Order of Business is No. 2, motion regarding Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulation 2023, back from committee, to be taken at 1.15 p.m. and to conclude at 2.15 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed six minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed seven minutes and time may be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No.…

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Senator Dooley was the first contributor this morning. The Senator spoke about the issue of migration and the challenges there and stated that the issue, in his view, has been hijacked, particularly by those with far-right ideologies. The Senator stated that the level of disinformation coming from many different quarters is truly worrying and I certainly agree with that. The Senator stated that there was a duty on all of us, particularly those of us who …

That is it. There should be no divisions on this issue. That does not mean we cannot acknowledge the horrific attack on 7 October on the people of Israel, and it does not mean we cannot also say that what is happening in Gaza is wrong and that we want it to stop, and that those war crimes should be and will be investigated. It is a little rich to hear somebody from Sinn Féin talk about being on the wrong side of history. We only have to look to our own history in this country and see Sinn Féin's position on many of…

The Cathaoirleach commented eloquently on the sad passing of Tras Honan. I will move a motion for an expression of sympathy at the conclusion of the Order of Business.

The Order of Business is No. 2, Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023 – Second Stage, to be taken at 3.15 p.m. and to conclude at 5.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and time may be shared, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes and time may be shared, and the Minister to be given no fewer than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3, Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine I…

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Many Members spoke about Tras Honan, her fantastic legacy and her contribution to this House. Our thoughts, prayers and sympathies are with her family. As I said at the outset, I will propose a motion on that at the end of the Order of Business. I thank Members for the lovely words and stories they recounted about her service. I interacted with her and her sister on a personal and work basis. I am sure we will have an opportunity at a later stage to have…

Does it? I have no control over that element of it but I appreciate what the Senator is saying. That will be an important engagement for us as well. The public is looking on for us to lead on this, and to not go down a path that brings more division and hatred into the country. We are at a crossroads now on that front, so we have a lot of work to do in that regard. I will touch upon some of the other issues that were raised by Senators. Senator Clonan raised the issue of the Green Paper on disability reform. He has…

We can certainly request a debate on disability in general because there are other issues that have come up over the course of the Order of Business going weeks back, which Senators want to raise regarding that sector. We will get a debate that will allow Senators to raise those issues, so we will ask her for that and try to get it booked in for the new term.

Senator Joe O'Reilly spoke very passionately about Tras Honan. I think he served with her, as did many other Senators. Senator Gavan asked for a debate on the triple lock, and he might raise that tomorrow. My views are different from his, and there are no surprises there. The triple lock is an outdated policy. My own view is that because it requires a UN resolution and the five permanent members of the Security Council can veto a UN resolution - they are the UK, the US, France, Russia and China - I do not think the…

I thank her for checking all of us on that because it is important to be reminded that is not just her issue, but an issue for all of us. The statistics and numbers speak for themselves. I again extend our sympathies to the family of Patrick, the young boy who lost his life at 12 years of age. I can only imagine how traumatic it is for his family to be dealing with that. That age is far too young for someone to lose his life, and so many others as well. We will request a debate with the Minister but, again it will …

I move: That Seanad Éireann – - expresses its deep sadness on the death of Ms Tras Honan; - conveys its sincere condolences to her family; and - expresses its gratitude for her notable contribution, as a Member and Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, to Irish public life and for her dedicated service to the people of Ireland.

Next Tuesday.

I agree with the motion that has been tabled before the House. I thank and commend Senator McDowell on bringing the issue to our attention. I think it might have passed us by had it not been highlighted by our colleague. The message that I think will be clear from probably every speaker is that there was no consultation. We were not consulted on this. It is a facility for the Oireachtas for both Houses. I think it says a lot about the Oireachtas if there is not going to be a library facility and a reading room in w…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I wish Mary every good success in the next chapter of her journey. She has been a lovely, friendly face from Mayo in the canteen for many years. The Order of Business is No. 1, Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 1.15 p.m. and to adjourn at 2.15 p.m., if not previously concluded; No. 2, Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022 - Second Stage, to be taken at 2.15…

I thank all Members who contributed on the Order of Business. Senator Conway raised the important issue that the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, which has been doing work with the Department of communications for more than 20 years, lost out on a tender process. That was not the Senator's issue. His point was that six visually impaired staff members who have been doing that work for a long time will not be taken on by the new company that has the contract to do the work. The Senator believes it is illega…

In one fell swoop with the signing of one Bill, we lost a huge number of public representatives at a local level. That has increased the workload for county councillors. Now people are retiring early and we are finding it hard to get candidates. It has created a host of problems. We can improve on the current situation. We will take a positive view. As Senators, for many of us our electorate are our county councillors and there is a responsibility on us to try to improve the situation at local government and to imp…

I take the Senator's point on the flow of information in the public domain, what is censored and what is not, who makes that decision on behalf of all of us, whether they have the authority or the right to do that and what kind of rules or safeguards are there to make sure that censorship is in the public interest. Certainly, I thought Ryan Casey was entitled to make his comments. I do not know why that was censored. I have an idea or I could make an educated guess. However, he is entitled to make his views known a…

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on sports funding, to be taken at 3.45 p.m. and to conclude at 5.15 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and time may be shared, all the Senators not to exceed five minutes and time may be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 2, Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 – Report Sta…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and welcome those in the Gallery. I thank all those who contributed to the Order of Business today. Senator Cummins wanted to draw attention to the lump sum payments as part of budget 2024 which are coming into people's accounts this week and to acknowledge the significant work done by both finance Ministers in putting together a cost-of-living package to assist those most in need. Senator O'Loughlin spoke about Naas General Hospital and her visit there with the Minister of State, Deputy A…