I echo what others have said and wish everybody a Lá Fhéile Bríde sona. It is very welcome that we are now going to celebrate St. Brigid who was a powerful feminist who challenged the status quo , respected the environment and wildlife, established leading community movements and, I believe, inspired Grace O'Malley, Maud Gonne, Brigitte Bardot and suffrages all over the world. It is welcome that we recognise her today with a bank holiday. I also raise something most Senators would not have failed to notice, which i…

I move amendment No. 59: In page 57, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following:“(12A) The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act,commission and publish a report on the regulatory and legislative changes required in order to establish an online portal for the uploading of dash cam and helmet camera footage to aid in the investigation and prosecution of road traffic offences.”. I propose to withdraw this amendment and amendment No. 60 with the right to reintroduce them on Report Stage.

I move amendment No. 60: In page 57, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following:“(12A) The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act,commission and publish a report on the regulatory and legislative changes required in order to establish a mechanism for the use of dash cam footage obtained from public transport buses to aid in the investigation and prosecution of road traffic offences related to bus and cycle lanes.”.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Seanadóir Hackett. I raise this issue on the back of reports we heard in the media of several raptors having been found poisoned in the midlands, particularly the white-tailed eagle found dead between Lough Ramar in County Cavan and Loch Sheelin in County Westmeath in November 2022. I have raised the matter of toxicology tests before in this House and the need for these data to be collected to allow us to know what poisons are killing our raptors and how we can prevent it happe…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I share her concerns. I reiterate the message to people that poisoning is illegal but also that we are in a biodiversity crisis. It was declared a number of years ago and we have to protect as much of our wildlife as possible. There should be zero tolerance for anybody who is engaging in such activities. The figures for the pilot project which ran from 2013 to 2017 show how successful it was, with almost 1,000 tonnes of hazardous material being collected and 9,000 far…

I am having the morning from hell.

I definitely was not down to speak first. On the Order of Business this morning, I will raise a story that some Senators might have seen when it was first published in the Irish Independent in October. It is about how households have been subsidising large energy users, including data centres and pharmaceutical companies, for the last 12 years. We do not yet know the full figures because the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, was apparently not tracking how much this was costing. It says that there is an …

Some of us are capable of multitasking.

On a point of order-----

On a point of order-----

Seriously, we are trying to carry out our business here. Some of us need to multitask whether Senator Garvey likes it or not.

The Senator is calling me out for using my phone when I am answering a very important message-----

-----of a personal nature.

I am not missing the point. I am just saying she should just grow up and have a mature debate.

Then the Senator should try practising it.

Every time the Senator comes in here, she causes a row.

It is absolutely true. We get petty rows every time Senator Garvey comes in.

It really is.

I will not take the full eight minutes.

I know many people want to get in on this. It is one of those debates where we are all in agreement on the need for greater ambition in our wind energy and renewables. We all see, particularly with the Ukraine war, how important renewable energy is, in addition to the idea of energy independence. Ireland has significant potential to realise full energy independence. It is welcome that everybody who has contributed to the debate has not used it as an excuse, which we have seen in the past, to lobby for LNG terminals…