I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply and for providing the number of prosecutions and dog wardens. I have just done the maths using the figures for the number of dog licences issued in 2021, that being 192,348 with a further 75,832 issued online. We know not everybody is compliant in getting a dog licence, but each of the 71 dog wardens, including those working part time, would be responsible for almost 4,000 dogs. I do not think anybody, whether he or she works full time or part time, could be…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, and Senator Kyne.

The Leader of the House probably will know what I will raise under the Order of Business, and that is the fact that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, wants to introduce the planning and development and foreshore Bill in the Seanad next week. The general scheme is still undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny in the Oireachtas housing committee, which is only due to complete it next week. I do not think we have ever come across a case such as this before, where we have a Mi…

His letter misled the House.

Some Senators may have seen video coverage in the media of a large fire in a terraced building next door to a pub in Tallaght village last weekend. Thankfully, five fire engines quickly arrived on the scene and were able to prevent the fire spreading in what could have been a catastrophic fire for the village. In the past few days, Dublin Fire Brigade has shown variety in its work. Apart from the fire in Tallaght, it rescued a horse from a water-filled ditch with a teleporter in north Dublin and firefighters used a…

I move amendment No. 2: To insert the following after “October, 2022”: “; that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine shall: - conduct a full review of the Exchequer funding to the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund with a view to examining the social and economic impact of the Fund, including the efficacy of the Fund in supporting the development of both sectors, the broadest cohort of those involved in both sectors and rural communities; also examine whether the use of the Fund to subsidise prize funds re…

On animal welfare there is no difference of opinion. Welfare is welfare. If we want the industry to succeed and for people to go to the races we have to look after animal welfare.

I do not like it.

Fix the welfare issues.

There is a singular view on artificial insemination so we can have a vote on that and see where Fianna Fáil stands on it.

Yes.

I move amendment No. 3: To insert the following after “October, 2022”: “; that Seanad Éireann: - notes recommendation No. 4 in the Report of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine entitled ‘Issues impacting Dog Welfare in Ireland’ which stated, ‘given Surgical Artificial Insemination carries risks even when performed in a controlled, sterile and surgical environment, the Committee recommends a complete ban on Surgical Artificial Insemination’; - notes subsection (10) of section 12 of the Horse and …

Ba mhaith liom, i dtús báire, fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. Tá áthas orm go bhfhuil an deis agam labhairt sa díospóireacht seo. I welcome this Green Party motion on timber use in construction. The State must drive demand in the timber sector. There has been much talk about this issue, the technology is there and other countries are already leading on this. We need the Government to lead the way and create a pipeline for the technology by putting it to use in public building projects such as sch…

Others have mentioned that today is International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and I want to say a few words on this. There will be a vigil outside the GPO at 7 p.m. with the Palestinian ambassador. It would be great to see a large turnout at that because it is important to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. We rarely hear the figures of those who have died in the occupied territories. Since 1 January 2008, nearly 15 years ago, some 6,129 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied terr…

I have raised this issue a number of times in the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, we are all familiar with the post-Christmas puppy regret and with the large numbers of surrenders that are seen in January. However, it appears that Christmas has come early this year, with four shelters in the past 24 hours announcing they are at capacity and 17 in the past three weeks having announced they are full. Unfortunately, it is a combination of the now unwanted post-Covid-19 lockdown dogs and the housing crisis forcing…

I thank the Minister of State for outlining the valuable work the shelters do, because we know the pounds rely on them to move the dogs on that are not reclaimed in the pounds so that they are not euthanised. It is welcome that the figures for euthanasia have gone down year on year. That said, we have a particular issue this year because of the rush to buy dogs during Covid-19 and, post-Covid-19, those dogs now being surrendered. There is a need for a short-term emergency measure to engage with those shelters that …

I, too, welcome the Ukrainian ambassador to the House and offer my solidarity to the Ukrainian people. This Friday is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Earlier this week, the annual report of the Director of Public Prosecutions highlighted an increase of more than one third in domestic violence case files, with high conviction rates in serious crime cases, including murder and rape. The growth in the number of files being referred to her office is unprecedented, with a 23% rise in the…

You will find Fianna Fáil rejecting them.

First, I will ask the Leader later for an update on when the legislation on e-scooters will come back to this House, but this morning I want to focus on neutrality because I will not get an opportunity to speak on tonight's Private Member's motion. I doubt that I am the only person who has found the constant questioning of our neutrality over recent years very worrying. It has escalated dramatically since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The invasion seems to be being used, mainly by Fine Gael Ministers, as leverag…

I ask that speakers keep to the two and a half minutes of allotted time. The next speaker is Senator Crowe. He is sharing time with Senator Murphy.