I would also like to be associated with the remarks expressing our sympathies to the people in Creeslough and the wider Donegal community. We thank those from north and south of the Border who rushed to try to help on Friday. I raise the matter of Garda numbers. I very much welcome that up to 1,000 extra Garda recruits have been sanctioned by the Government. However, we should look at making greater use of retired members of the force and possibly encourage them to take part in the Garda Reserve by doing a number o…

I start by thanking the Minister. We have had many debates on defence, which has been on the political agenda for a long time, but it is fair to say that the Minister has taken it seriously as an issue and he has taken his responsibilities seriously. Part of that has been seen in the significant increase in Defence Forces funding in the budget and, as colleagues have said, in addressing the investment in radar and responding to a number of the recommendations within the commission's report. It is important that we …

I wish to say to the Minister that the budget had some very welcome moves in higher education regarding student fees and improving the SUSI grant. I am somewhat concerned about addressing core funding for higher education. I am sure that the Minister is aware, from reading the Funding our Future policy document, that the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, sought to quantify the scale of the investment needed just to address the funding crisis in higher educat…

I have no doubt that there is commitment to the principles but I ask the Minister to show us the money. While an additional €40 million is welcome, no timeframe has been indicated as to when the critical issue of long-term underfunding is going to be addressed. He accepted that the level of underfunding is now of the order of €307 million but as yet no timeframe has been indicated for that to be resolved. Precisely as the Minister responded, we know this sector is going to be critical to the country's long-term dev…

I also welcome the students who have come here today. I commend the Cathaoirleach, the Seanad staff and the Leader on the launch of Northern Voices. It was an excellent presentation and exhibition. The contribution of all the speakers, including the Leader, was insightful. It brings us to the question raised by colleagues, namely, Seanad reform. I brought a Bill before this House in November 2020 that aimed to enact the seventh amendment to the Constitution, which was to extend voting rights to other higher educati…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. The budget contained a lot of good news for film and television production, such as the extension of section 481, which provides certainty to the sector. It is welcome that an additional €7.3 million is being allocated to TG4. Slightly separate but equally important is the establishment of the new media fund, which is welcome. As the Minister of State will be aware, the film, television, animation and content creation sector continues to boom. The Government has…

I am glad to hear of that strong commitment. Obviously, I tabled this Commencement matter in advance of yesterday’s budget. The section 481 extension and the certainty that provides are very welcome. We need a little clarity with regard to the role of the new coimisiún na meán or media commission, particularly with regard to its management of some of the new audiovisual funds such as the new media fund being funded from the content levy, as well as its relationship with Screen Ireland. The role of promoting Ireland…

I agree with Senator Warfield's points on late-night licensing. I raise the question of the HSE decision-making process. We have all felt frustration with it. This matter concerns children's disability services in Gorey, where there is a very good network team. The speech and language therapist has gone on maternity leave, and I wish her the best with that. Obviously, this maternity leave was indicated early on to the HSE. It is only now that the HSE has decided to seek a replacement. We know how much of a shortage…

My party does not want to have anything to do with extremism.

The pro-Russian position-----

I appreciate that, but the pro-Russian position of Sinn Féin on the hard left is not acceptable either.

I thank Senator Clonan and the Independent Members for introducing this motion on the situation of young people in Ireland. During the Covid pandemic young people have suffered more than any other sector of society. This is something we have discussed at length in this House. I hope to address many of the issues in the motion and discuss how we might find solutions. One of the most transformational aspects of Ireland over the past 40 years has been in the levels of educational attainment. During the 1970s, fewer th…

Yes. The Minister of State knows I have enormous respect for her work but I am rather worried that she is the one who is in here answering a question on transport. We fear and already suspect that the answer may contain the same level of obfuscation to which our colleague referred. We are talking about the east coast railway that runs from Dublin to Rosslare and which runs through the Minister for Transport's constituency. As part of the east coast railway infrastructure protection project scheme review that was ca…

We are going to share the response time. It is a little more hopeful, given that there is work being done and at least a plan has been put in place but, before anything else, we must ensure there is funding for the plan. It is about being able to guarantee commuters that we will have a rail line in place because the report this summer said the rail line may not be in existence by the end of the decade if remedial work does not happen, and so it must happen. As Senator Casey has said, it is about more than simply im…

As the Leas-Chathaoirleach will be aware, the budget is coming up. One issue that is of critical importance to this country's long-term social and economic development is investment in further and higher education. We know that the higher education sector has faced a funding crisis for a long period and earlier this year the Minister, Deputy Harris, quantified the scale of the need for investment at €307 million. We anticipate that the budget will contain measures to help students. We have pushed for significant im…

It has been lengthy. I compliment the Minister not just for coming to the Seanad to deal with the Bill. This has been a long-running process to implement these reforms - some would argue going back to the Hunt report. I thank everybody who has given input into it. I thank the Minister and his officials for their engagement. This represents a very solid framework for reform of the Higher Education Authority, a body with which I have some familiarity-----

-----and also for higher education governance into the 21st century. We debated the composition of the governing authority. It is crucial that we now encourage good people to fill those positions. I thank the Minister for his leadership on this matter.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to discuss this. She has been discussing it from dawn to dusk, given that early this morning she was addressing this issue before the education committee. This is something that comes up as an issue at the end of every August. Some of the criticism of the Minister was rather unfair. It was interesting that at the education committee some members were saying the fact changes were made to the plan means this was not properly planned or thought out and the Minister was not …

The Leader will be aware that the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has published another report raising concerns about poor air quality in Ireland. We have known for quite some time that the poor air quality in many of our communities potentially contributes to up to 1,300 premature deaths in Ireland. In addition to poor air quality resulting in premature deaths, there are certain times that those who have respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, and asthma are trapped inside …

Although amendment No. 54a is mine, I will not press it. It concerns the nature of the membership of an t-údarás. The key point is that an t-údarás is not a representative body in the sense of people being drawn from different sections, but it is important that those who sit around the table have a specific knowledge of a range of fields relating to education. In that regard, it is essential, as has been normal custom and practice, that at least one member of an t-údarás, if not a number of members, would have inte…