He is retiring today after a lengthy, distinguished career as support person to us. He is finishing as Captain of the Guard and Chief Superintendent of the House. He is a gentleman. I met Noel for the first time in 2011 when I was first elected to Seanad Éireann and I have got to know him extremely well in the past 12 years. What makes Noel exceptional is that his father is originally from County Clare, and not only County Clare, but Ennistymon. I have always had a special and close relationship with him because of…

All I want to do is echo my two colleagues. This is a key component of the commitment in the programme for Government that the Minister has delivered. It is a phenomenal step forward in universal healthcare and implementing Sláintecare. It is going to make a genuine difference to people's lives. As Senator Murphy said, people are not going to debate whether to stay in hospital or discharge themselves because of money. Money is not going to be the issue and it should never be the issue. I agree with all of what Sena…

On Tuesday, 18 April at 12.30 p.m.

Ennis 2040 is a great concept. It is about planning professionally for the future we want to see for Ennis, which is the capital town of Clare and sits between Limerick and Galway. It is a great initiative and I am very supportive of it. However, I am concerned by a proposal from the Ennis 2040 team to upgrade Abbey Street car park, in the process of which it is seeking to purchase properties on Francis Street and demolish them to make way for a supposedly temporary car park. Why on earth would one knock down house…

I congratulate the Minister. This is a Bill on which he and his officials worked in collaboration with other Members of the Houses, including in the Opposition, as well as with advocates. It is a fully inclusive Bill. It is reflective of the Minister's commitment to openness and to listen and engage to ensure the end result is something that everybody is happy with. I know that patient advocates are very happy with this. I have been engaging with John Wall and others. All I can do is commend the Minister on the man…

I thank Senator Clonan. Before the Minister of State replies, I welcome the students from Kilcoole Primary School, County Wicklow, who are in the Gallery. I hope they have an interesting and educational day in Leinster House.

I thank the Minister of State. I commend Senator Davitt on proposing a common-sense solution that would be one of the solutions that would help with the housing crisis we find ourselves in now. It certainly would give relief to families in a difficult period. I thank the Minister of State for taking the four Commencement matters.

I welcome all of our guests in the Gallery, in particular Councillor Adam Teskey. I commend and thank him for the phenomenal work he does for the people of his constituency in west Limerick. The first issue I raise is the campaign by the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, regarding the various derogations from the nitrates directive. The simple point in this regard is that the goalposts keep changing. Farmers have gone above and beyond to be as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. In many ways, they are…

I thank the Minister of State and commend Senator Ward on tabling this very important Commencement matter. As somebody who was in the retail business for many years, I was quite shocked to see what we saw on "Prime Time" the other night. I think it is something that was very relevant to raise here in the Chamber. I commend the Minister of State on his on-the-ball reply and hopefully, we will see action.

The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is very welcome.

That is great. I thank the Minister of State. That is much appreciated.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to the House.

I thank the Minister of State very much. I thank Senator Ahearn for raising this very important issue.

The Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, is very welcome to the House.

It is good to see the Cathaoirleach back. I am pleased that €50 million has today been allocated to the primary schoolbooks programme. This scheme, which was started by the former Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Joe McHugh, several years ago has evolved since then. The current Minister, Deputy Foley, deserves full commendation for bringing it to the level it is at now. Access to information, the written word and the syllabus is extremely important, appropriate and should happen. Unfortunately, one group o…

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is very welcome to the House. This is a straightforward, simple Commencement matter. I am looking to learn when the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, will appoint a chief pharmaceutical officer in the Department of Health. This is commonplace throughout the world and in practically every other European country. Yet, in this country we do not have one. We have a Chief Medical Officer and we saw the great work her predecessor did during the pandemic, and indeed the great w…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It is very disappointing that the Department has no plans to appoint a chief pharmaceutical officer. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, is wrong not to do so. Having such an officer in place would help to pull all the various strands together. It would facilitate the drawing up of comprehensive strategies for the short, medium and long term for the delivery of pharmacy services. Pharmacists want this to be done and they have empirical evidence to suggest it will work…

I thank the Minister of State.

Unfortunately, Senator McGahon, who is our spokesperson in this area, had to leave. I will provide cover. Like many other countries, we did not scale up renewables when we should have. We have golden opportunities, especially as an island nation, in offshore energy and so on. My understanding is that this is technical legislation to protect us in case there is an energy supply issue next winter. That is critical because we need to forward plan. Essentially, we do not want to have a convoluted, difficult, complicate…

I do not know about that.