I echo the comments about the work being done by the Minister of State, who has mentioned the efforts of her colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. I am sure, however, that we all know people who have been impacted in this way. I dealt with one very tragic case in County Wexford involving a young woman with a range of needs. Her family's circumstances were such that they were not going to be able to support her and as a result she was going to be placed in a nursing home. The Minister of State, Deputy R…

Many of the matters Senator Higgins raises are very important in the context of the debate. There are serious issues around succession on farms, the role of women in agriculture, young people and so on. I would respectfully suggest, however, that they are not central to what this Bill is about. As the Minister of State has outlined, this Bill is about righting an anomaly. It is complex legislation but what it is doing at its core is righting a very specific anomaly whereby farm families and small businesses were di…

Now.

Now.

The Minister of State has thanked and congratulated everybody for their role in bringing forward the Bill and they all deserve our thanks, but it is the Minister of State who has championed the Bill. I recall speaking with her soon after she was appointed, when she said she was going to get this done. She had a meeting with Alice Doyle from Wexford and told her that the Government was going to get this completed. This will be transformative. We often talk in the House about the impact that legislation has, but for …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for coming to the House. I join other speakers in welcoming the progress of this legislation. There has been campaigning for these provisions for a number of years. The Minister of State ran with the issue and has delivered on it inside a year. That is what a good politician does. I have a number of questions on the provisions contained in the Bill. Assuming the legislation is passed in the Seanad by tomorrow and goes on to receive the presidential signature, on what da…

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I join colleagues in thanking him for the sincere apology he has delivered on the part of the State. However, I too am disappointed, like others, that the motivation of those of us who have raised this issue has been somehow questioned. Particular language is used. The report states: "Unfortunately, recent events have shown that evidence-based historical accuracy has become a casualty in the evolving narrative for the memory and ownership of the Battle of Jadotville." T…

I agree with colleagues and welcome the extension to August 2022. As Senator Martin said, it allows us sufficient time. If we do not see the necessary recovery happening by August 2022, consideration can be given to extending that. Everyone has talked about why it is important to get the tourism and hospitality sector back up and running. It must be remembered that significant numbers of people employed within that sector are young people. If we are to address some of the high rates of unemployment among young peop…

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House to address this issue concerning vaccines which have not been approved by the European Medicines Agency, EMA. I acknowledge the enormous success of the vaccination programme to date. We are jabbing more arms in Ireland now for the size of our population than anywhere else in the world. Everybody involved in that operation deserves our thanks and congratulations on that achievement. The Minister of State will be aware that the European Medicines Agency has appr…

I thank the Minister of State. There is an urgency to addressing this matter. We are speaking about potentially thousands of Irish citizens who, in good faith, took the vaccine their company or the country where they were working offered them. They received it and they want to be fully vaccinated. They want to follow the rules but they also want to be able to come home. It would be very unfair to force them into mandatory hotel quarantining. They may have received a WHO approved vaccine that has not yet been approv…

I join with the Cathaoirleach in wishing all French citizens in Ireland, and indeed, the ambassador and staff at the Embassy, a happy Bastille Day. Of course, French was the second language used in the First Dáil after Irish when the Declaration of Independence was read out in French by George Gavan Duffy. Bonne fête nationale ce mercredi à tous . I also echo colleagues in their congratulations to Deputy Bacik, who is a committed parliamentarian and legislator. Everyone was very happy to see her election and wish h…

Hear, hear.

I agree with my colleague Senator Casey. The importance of the legislation relates to the flexibility. I know of specific similar cases in Wexford where in order to get the development up and running, we will need to attract in a private developer, and that will mean allowing for a mix of types of housing on the land. We could say about some of these sites that we will be very ideological and that there will be only social and affordable housing on the sites, but that may mean those homes will never be built. It is…

I agree with comments from my colleagues. I know Senator Moynihan is genuine in her belief about the provision of public housing but I was disappointed with the Labour Party's approach to this. It stated that following the establishment of the Land Development Agency, it would have compulsory purchase powers and would be able to take over large tracts of land in areas such as the Phoenix Park to turn into public housing. As Senator Casey outlined, there are clear safeguards and protections in place in legislation t…

One would not be let.

I agree with colleagues and with what Senator Fitzpatrick said. It is important that there be accountability and transparency but there is also a need for education among the wider public so that people can understand what the agency is doing, its purposes and its objectives. The mapping will be interesting. As citizens, we should be able to access maps and know what purposes are assigned to land. It is all very well to publish this information on as many sites and in as many newspapers as possible and to publish i…

-----but it is directly relevant to the point, which relates to communication-----

-----because the strategic policy committees have a crucial role in informing councils and local communities.

I would like a bit of clarity on what current international carbon-recording practices are, because they can be quite vague and generalised. The OECD has done some work on this, but it varies as to what exactly the definition involves. I favour us exploring an emissions trading scheme. I say this because it is important, in the context of this legislation, that we bring people with us. I accept the Minister's point that it is not just farmers who are custodians of the land, but it is farmers who will be our front-l…

Like Senator Moynihan, I welcome the Minister of State. Senator Moynihan said she is almost tired of seeing the Minister of State and the senior Minister in the House. That is reflective of the Government's commitment to addressing issues around housing. Senator Garvey pointed out well the broad range of issues. We are talking about legislation that will unlock unused public lands for housing, an affordable rental scheme and a council-led affordable purchase scheme. All of this is combined with the highest social h…