Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery our friend and colleague from the Republic of Italy as we mark its national day, the ambassador, H.E. Nicola Faganello, a name that sounds kind of like Fagan, and the special envoy from the ministry of foreign affairs, Andrea Silvestri, and the deputy head of mission and first secretary, Dr. Edoardo Berionni Berna. My pronunciation was close, or maybe a valiant attempt. I welcome them here to mark Italy's upcoming national day. We in the Seanad are very grateful for t…

I have received notice from the following Senators that they propose to raise the following matters: Senator Teresa Costello - the need for the Minister for Health to carry out a full review of processing times for new medicines to be approved by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics to ensure waiting times are reduced. Senator Nicole Ryan - the need for the Minister for Health to make a statement on the eligibility criteria and protocols in place for accessing IVF through the public health system in cases wher…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to the House.

As there is a vote in the Dáil, the Minister has to go. The Minister of State who is due in for the next Commencement matter has to go to vote as well. We will suspend the House for the duration of the vote.

Before I call the Leader to outline the Order of Business, I welcome His Excellency the ambassador from Denmark, Lars Thuesen, to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. The ambassador is most welcome to Seanad Éireann today as we mark the national day of one of our European Union colleagues. The Seanad takes a distinct interest in legislation coming from the European Union. We thank our fellow member states for their support during the Brexit period, when their support was invaluable in ensuring the ongoing success of…

Before I call the next speaker, I welcome Paul and Theresa Clerkin from Waterford, along with John Clerkin from Dublin and their cousin Vinny; Kathleen, Anthony and Ava; Cindy and Randy Flander; and Terance and Sue Franz from Chicago. I welcome the people from the city of Chicago, and from Iowa. My grand-uncle served as a parish priest in Iowa for 27 years, so I especially welcome everyone from Iowa. They are all guests of Senator Maria Byrne. I thank them for coming to Seanad Éireann today.

I welcome from Galway, Councillor Jim Cuddy, who I believe retired after many years of service. He is most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I thank him for all the cups of tea during the Seanad campaign down through the years.

I welcome the Minister of State, who is a former Senator, back to Seanad Éireann. This is an important debate, as we all know. In the previous Seanad, we had a debate on the future of local democracy, and one of the many recommendations out of that was that there would be a task force established under the next programme for Government to look at all the issues facing local democracy. This related to service delivery, the work of the democratically elected local authority members, the powers that have been slowly b…

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

The Minister of State is most welcome to the House.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome, from County Meath, Enfield national school, led by Michelle. You are all most welcome to Seanad Éireann. Michelle, just so you know, the rule in the Seanad is that there is no homework for the rest of the week for all students who attend. The ones who have not shown up have to do the homework, but if you are on the school trip to Leinster House and to the Seanad, there is no homework for the rest of the week.

I thank the Minister for her opening remarks. Before I call the first Senator, I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery our Minister of State from Donegal, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, with his guests from the Irish Coast Guard. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. He is very involved in the campaign to keep open the marine rescue co-ordination centres in Malin and Valentia. We have some skin in the game in Kerry as well. Due to the combined efforts of Donegal and Kerry, they are both still operating, tha…

I have received notice from the following Senators that they propose to raise the following matters: Senator Maria McCormack - The need for the Minister for Justice to make a statement on initiatives to prevent antisocial behaviour in urban communities, in particular initiatives to deal with ongoing teen crime in County Laois. Senator Robbie Gallagher - The need for the Minister for Justice to make a statement on the current policy on electronic tagging of people on probation, bail or temporary early release. Senat…

I welcome the Minister for Justice, Deputy O'Callaghan back to the House. We could give him the title of honorary Senator he has been here so many times this week. The first Commencement matter is from Senator Maria McCormack.

Before I call the Leader to outline the Order of Business being proposed, I welcome St. James’s Primary School from Basin Lane in Dublin 8. The pupils are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. Thanks for the wave. As is protocol, there is no homework for the class for the rest of the week for coming to Seanad Éireann. What did they get in the Dáil Chamber? Did they give you anything like that? No. I see. I thank our guests from for coming.