Amendments Nos. 58 and 59 are physical alternatives to amendment No. 57. Amendments Nos. 57 to 60, inclusive, may be discussed together.

We are on amendments Nos. 57 to 60, inclusive.

As it is 7 p.m. I ask the Senator to report progress.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Before Senator Malcolm Byrne responds I welcome Scoil Ghráinne from Clonee, Dublin 15. They are welcome and I hope they enjoy their tour.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. On my behalf, and as his colleague in Limerick, I congratulate him on his new appointment. I wish him the best in his new role.

I welcome Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, to the House.

I welcome the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

Before I call the Minister, I would like to welcome Deputy Brendan Griffin from Kerry, along with his brother Mike, sister-in-law Kelly, nephew Conor and niece June. They are very welcome. Enjoy your visit here today.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke. I congratulate him and wish him the very best in his new role. He is certainly no stranger to this Chamber and we look forward to working with him.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss this important issue. I am a member of the Oireachtas all-party committee to do with diabetes. It is an area I have a special interest in because I know many people who are patients under the diabetic services, and I hear from them regularly. While I note there were isolated cases in Mullingar hospital recently, there is a fear within the services and within the different CHO areas that there will be a knock-on effect. Insulin pumps have been a life-c…

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I welcome that funding was provided for the start of the national diabetic register because it certainly is something for which I have asked here in the past. It is needed because it shows the roadmap as to where the issues are and how people are being dealt with. It is important that we move to a model whereby everybody, where possible, should have a diabetic pump, especially those who have type 1 diabetes. We must move towards that as quickly as possible …

I rise to raise a number of issues. First, on school transport places, I remind people that the closing date is 26 April. I bring to the attention of those going to primary or secondary school in Limerick city or county that new applicants or those who have changed address since their last application must apply online. That is a really important message to send out. I thank the McManus family for the donation of the International Rugby Experience centre to Limerick City and County Council yesterday. This is a 30,0…

I thank Senator Carrigy for sharing time. The Minister is so welcome here. I congratulate him on his appointment and look forward to working with him from here on in on the plight of small and medium businesses. Some 43% of employees are in businesses of under 50 employees. The Small Firms Association is looking for a PRSI rebate. That was discussed before and brought forward by the Minister’s Department in the past. In addition to high energy costs, initiatives like auto-enrolment, the move towards a living wage a…

I know the Minister is under time pressure and has to leave, so I will let her respond now and then we will go to the other speakers.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to discuss this important issue. I thank my colleagues, Senators O'Loughlin and Malcolm Byrne, for bringing this motion forward. It is an opportune time with September coming up as many people will be looking for school places. The experience from Limerick has been referred to here by many people. It works most of the time, but not always. That is clear. It took a long time to get it almost right and it is still not perfect. For many years, we were in the news for the wrong …

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to discuss this all-important issue. We have all been in contact with farmers in our own localities with regard to the issues facing them over quite a while. Even on my way up to Dublin today, the rain was sporadic and was coming and going. It is certainly not helping the mental health of farmers and people working on their farms. I want to raise a number of issues. The fact of potato shortages affects retailers, a point referred to by Senator O'Reilly. I was in a small …

I welcome Senator O'Hara to the Chamber and look forward to working with him. I am sure he will get great experience over the coming months. I congratulate my two colleagues from Limerick, which did very well in the ministerial reshuffle, with Deputy Patrick O'Donovan being appointed to the higher education portfolio and Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, a former Member of this House, being moved to the OPW. I am delighted for both Ministers of State and also for some former colleagues in this House, specifically Deputy Col…

It would be remiss of me if I did not wish the Taoiseach all the best. We were all taken aback, or even shocked, when he made his announcement at 12 o'clock. To me personally, to the Fine Gael Party and to the people of Ireland, he has been an exemplary Taoiseach and I wish him all the best. It was a decision not taken lightly and, judging by his words, it was both a personal and political decision, which I respect. Certainly, these have been very turbulent times, with the Government successfully overseeing Ireland…

I raise the situation at University Hospital Limerick, UHL, which I raise regularly. For two days in a row, all procedures at the hospital had to be cancelled. On "Morning Ireland" today, Mr. Bernard Gloster said that what was going on at the hospital was not acceptable. He questioned how financial resources were spent. This was a very strong message to hear. I pay tribute to the staff and people who use the hospital. It is a safe place to go and people are very well looked after when they go there but there is an …