Like Senator Gallagher, and I am sure like public representatives elsewhere in the State, I am seeking clarity on licensing. Over the past days I received a number of representations about the possibility of fines being handed out by An Garda Síochána to those who are enjoying or about to enjoy our outdoor summer. The Garda have said that pubs and restaurants are not legally permitted to serve alcohol in temporary, outdoor seating areas. Licensed premises across the State have been given permission to set up outdoo…

I also welcome the Minister of State. The aviation industry was already on its knees when we learned, with shock, of the scale of job losses at Stobart Air last week. There can be no doubt that this announcement has sent shock waves through every other aviation operator in this State at a time when they are all desperately seeking oxygen. The announcement has effectively opened the departure gates for the industry in this country, although warnings had been signalled by many, including in this House, in recent mont…

I join colleagues yesterday and, I am sure, today, in raising the need for defibrillators throughout the country, following the shock we all felt during the Denmark-Finland game when a young fit player, Christian Ericksen, dropped to the ground after suffering a cardiac arrest. The medical team on site jumped into action and with the aid of an automated external defibrillator, AED, the player was stabilised and a life was saved. The availability of trained people and an AED was key. The Irish Red Cross estimate the…

I raise two items with the Leader. First, I request a debate on the urgent need for the Government to provide further supports to our sports clubs and to support the reopening of our youth clubs that are struggling to reopen their doors. I am sure we were all excited to see our sports clubs reopening and by the prospect of attending live games again. However, behind the reopening and the associated excitement, a great deal of financial expense and headache is involved for many clubs in trying to conform to public h…

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss the purpose of this Bill, as he has outlined. That purpose is to update and set out in one stand-alone enactment the law relating to the State's maritime jurisdiction, including by giving further effect to relevant provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to repeal sections 2 and 3 of the Continental Shelf Act 1968 and Part 3 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, and to provide for related matters. As the…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to the House today. As other Members have said, it is very important that we start by thanking the men and women of the current SAR contract for their bravery and professionalism and what they do for us all on a daily basis. I also thank both Senators for bringing forward this Private Members' motion. It is very important that it is discussed. I thank Senator Craughwell in particular for his work on this issue to date. As a number of speakers have said, Ireland's SA…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss a very important matter for many people in the county in which I live, Kildare. There is no doubt there is a problem there. It is acknowledged by the Minister for Education in replies to my Labour Party colleagues over the last year or so, and the direct conversations I have had with the Minister and her office. In acknowledging the problem in her replies, the Minister stated it could be caused by different factors, including duplication of applications where …

I thank the Acting Chair and I also thank the Minister of State for the reply. Unfortunately, we are not hearing anything new in the reply the Minister of State has given us today. These are the same replies that all public representatives who have been pursuing this issue have been receiving because it is a very significant one for us all in south Kildare. It is the same reply as the one we received one year ago which referred to the Department looking at, and talking to patrons about, additional places. Yet the p…

I, too, want to thank Senator O’Donovan for bringing up epilepsy this week. I have a very close family member who had a late life experience, just as Senator O’Donovan had, and I can assure the House that it is a very scary experience to see a loved one going off in the back of an ambulance without knowing what has happened. I raise two issues with the Deputy Leader today. The first one is the general data protection regulation, GDPR, and the problem that some local authority members are having in going about their…

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank all my colleagues for this very important debate on housing and its supply, which I welcome. There is no doubt in my mind that we are in the middle of the biggest housing crisis ever to hit this State. Like many in this House, I am sure, my phone is full of messages, phone calls and emails from those who are struggling to get the basic human right of a roof over their heads. It is full of communications from young people setting out on their life's journey but who canno…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak on this important Bill that I am proud to co-sign with my Labour colleagues. I thank Senator Ivana Bacik for her work on the Bill. Once again, she is promoting women's health in this country and identifying the many failures we have with regard to the health of women. Once again, she is introducing a Bill to assist women at one of the most difficult times in their lives, a time when they should not feel alone and when couples should be able to support each othe…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I want to be associated with the Leas-Chathaoirleach's words regarding the momentous occasion we have all seen today in our towns and villages with so many retail outlets opening. I had the great pleasure of driving through my hometown of Athy this morning and seeing the pride businesses were taking again because they could actually open their doors. As the three previous speakers said, the huge statement we can make today is sending all…

I agree with and support Senator Chambers's call for clarification on maternity services. I have also received calls in recent days about partners still being obliged to sit in cars, making those phone calls and text messages to loved ones. The Leader has also supported those calls. The HSE has been out but we need clarity and, more importantly, those sitting in cars, sending texts and looking in windows need clarity. Over recent months I have raised the growing problem of youth unemployment in the House. Recent CS…

I too welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, to the House. It is good to see him again. I thank Senator Seery Kearney and her Fine Gael colleagues for bringing this very important motion to the House today. However, it is beyond time for action to replace words. Government action is urgently needed on the motion before the House today. Last Wednesday, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands, of which I am a member, received a presentation from Fam…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank Senators Blaney and McGreehan for tabling the motion along with the other Fianna Fáil Senators. Those of us in the Labour Party agree with the opening statement of the motion. As political parties we must all reaffirm our commitment to the Good Friday Agreement. We will always support the full implementation of all aspects of this international agreement. The Good Friday Agreement must continue to be used as the reference document for all discussions on the curr…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is important that we discuss this matter and the potential it offers us as an island nation. There is undoubtedly a palpable degree of optimism and hope in the country at the moment, and we must do everything we can to protect it. The vaccination roll-out has created a sea of optimism that is capturing more people every day. The discussion around the prospect of booking foreign holidays is happening in more homes as each day passes. The prospect of our tourism indust…

I too, welcome the Tánaiste to the House, as well as the hope that many of the Government announcements brought to people around the country. One only had to listen to "Morning Ireland" this morning to hear what this meant to grandparents, in particular. It gives hope to so many people. However, there are a number of areas I would like to bring up with the Tánaiste that have been flagged with me by various business owners in recent weeks and days. The Government has been able to get to this day due to the enormous …

I too offer my condolences to Senator Mullen on the passing of his father. I raise with the Leader the importance of community first responders, CFR, and the magnificent voluntary work they do in many communities. I am sure the Leader is well aware of it and I know locally in County Kildare there are many groups operating. The issue with community first responders is the need to vaccinate these volunteers who have saved lives and are, in many cases, back operating within our communities. The issue was raised with m…

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House today. I thank the Fianna Fáil Senators for introducing this important matter to the Seanad today. There is no doubt the post office network is vital to the future prosperity and social cohesion of this country. The numerous calls by different parties and interested groups to support the post office network must be seriously considered but, more important, we must see immediate action. The recent announcement of the closure of several bank branches has once again b…

I thank Senator McDowell for facilitating a change in speaking times. I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this very important discussion. According to some of the latest figures on gambling spending, Ireland is spending €9.8 billion a year, marking us out, as my colleague said, as the world's seventh biggest spenders on gambling per head, at almost €380 for every man, woman and child. That is the starting point of an industry that needs urgent regulation due to the large increases in those reporting ga…