I welcome the Finance Bill and congratulate the Minister. It is one of the first times that Deputy Chambers has addressed the House as Minister. I compliment him on bringing forward the Bill. In general, I welcome the Bill but there are one or two things the Minister might address. Hopefully, he will be back as Minister for Finance whenever the next Government is formed. I welcome the tax relief for film and writing, which is wonderful. In Limerick, where I am from, the old Dell site was formerly Troy Studios. Ther…

I rise today to welcome the fact the Dublin task force report was launched during the week. I have written to the Taoiseach to request a task force for Limerick to tackle things such as dereliction and to bring small niche shops back into the city centre. We need to rejuvenate our city centre. Limerick is the third largest city yet we have one of the largest amounts of dereliction and number of vacant units. It has had a knock-on effect on other businesses in Limerick city. I believe a task force could be set up lo…

I rise today to also call for a debate on aviation policy. I was in Shannon Airport recently. Senator Cummins referred to Waterford Airport but I will refer to Shannon. I was in the airport on Monday at the launch of the sunflower campaign for people with hidden disabilities. In relation to the debate on lifting the cap at Dublin Airport, it is really important that regional airports do not get left behind. Shannon Airport is on my doorstep. At Dublin Airport there is a 32 million passenger cap. It will be breached…

I am not against it.

I understand Senator Craughwell will share time with Senator McDowell.

Before I call the next speaker, I welcome to the Gallery one of our long-serving ushers, Fintan O'Curry, along with his daughter, Laura, and her friend, Emma Shine, who are back from Australia. Enjoy your evening in Leinster House. I call Senator Fitzpatrick.

Thank you, Senator.

Thank you, Senator.

Before I move on to Senator Craughwell-----

I welcome Niamh and Brenda Murray, guests of Senator Ahearn. They are accompanied by Emma Walsh who works in the Senator's office. They are all welcome and I hope they enjoy their stay in the Seanad.

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Is that agreed?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the Minister of State to debate my question relating to the public service. Many of us have been out meeting people and it is an issue I have been coming across on the doorsteps. While €12 was very welcome for pensioners in the budget, retired public servants have €12 deducted from their public service pension so that they do not get a €12 increase. I have come across many people who are affected by this and I understand up to 30,000 people are being affected by this change. There is an old system and a n…

I understand the Minister of State is here to represent the Minister for public expenditure. I understand what the answer is saying but it does not answer how or why these people are affected. I am asking if any changes can be made so that these people will benefit from any increases. It sounds good but people who worked in the HSE, councils, hospitals or in local authorities and many different public service areas are all affected. Can anything be done to address this? They should be entitled to the increase. I un…

I thank the Minister of State.

I would like to be associated with the vote of sympathy on the death of Councillor John Naughten. I express my deepest sympathies to his family. I was there last week. I am certainly thinking of them all at this very sad time. It is 16 October, which is significant for two reasons. One is the Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy Awareness Day. It is thought that more 130 deaths have happened as a result of epilepsy. I wish Epilepsy Ireland well in its national campaign calling for the development of a national strat…

Today is World Mental Health Day, the theme of which is wellness in the workplace. I pay tribute to the Limerick Mental Health Association, which is running Limerick Mental Health Week with the theme of community connection and compassion. Over 54 projects are being run throughout the week, including community-based projects, concerts and sit-and-chat cafés. Many events are being held. I pay tribute to Ian Hackett and the team at the Limerick Mental Health Association, which is in the process of opening a mental he…