It is a very sad day, as most speakers have mentioned. Private Seán Rooney has lost his life in the line of duty. We salute what he has achieved and we mourn with his family as a nation. We also wish Private Shane Kearney well on his road to recovery. Please God, his recovery will happen and will be swift. Like others, I commend the Cathaoirleach. As I have told him privately on a number of occasions, he has been innovative and pushed the boundaries. Seanad 100 could not have been any better. I do not think anythin…

Like other colleagues, I commend our colleague, Senator Mary Seery Kearney, on a remarkable achievement in 24 months. We all know how slow Government can be in getting things over the line. This was done relatively quickly when one considers the challenges and difficulties and the fact that a committee was set up. It is great that it has happened. Well done to Senator Seery Kearney. I encourage people who are in business to take advantage of the business energy support scheme. It is designed to help businesses with…

Like other Members, I pay tribute to the Cathaoirleach and his team for an outstanding event yesterday. It was certainly a dignified event that captured what is different and diverse about Seanad Éireann. Well done to everybody involved. I find myself speaking again today on Shannon Heritage. Last Friday, Clare County Council announced it was withdrawing from the process of acquiring Shannon Heritage sites in County Clare because of inactivity at Government level and the failure by the Government to make available …

Yesterday, there was a briefing across the road from Leinster House with the education and training boards, ETBs, and it was attended by many colleagues. It was interesting to engage not just with Limerick and Clare ETB but other ETBs such as those in Galway and Cavan and to hear about the various challenges they face. Clearly, the cost of living is having an effect on their day-to-day services. We need to see an increase in funding for ETBs to take account of the various challenges they face, whether that relates …

So it was Terry's fault.

I welcome Terry’s family, his wife, Aileen, and his children to the Gallery. My first engagement and time meeting Terry was the day I was elected into Leinster House. We were given offices and I was very privileged that my office was across the corridor from Terry’s. It was next door to Pat O’Neill and Anna. It is where our Leas-Chathaoirleach’s office is now. In that particular floor, one became very friendly with the people on the floor. Terry was always in early in the morning, as Pat was as well. You get to kno…

Before I get into my Commencement matter, I wish to let the Minister of State know that checktheregister.ie , which is under his stewardship, is not digitally accessible to the blind and visually impaired community in Ireland, so more than 150,000 people in Ireland cannot register to vote using the website. I urge the Minister of State to look at that as a matter of urgency. It came to my attention last week when a young person who was trying to register to vote was not able to do so. I do not expect the Minister o…

I appreciate that.

Absolutely.

I appreciate that.

I am not looking for a specific date but I would like to think it will be in quarter 1 of 2023. It is right to put an evaluation panel in place. That is good governance, and I welcome that. I spoke about Broadford, but Cooraclare is a key scheme as well. I would also name Carrigaholt and Doolin. No development of any significance can happen in Doolin - this has been the case for the past 15 to 20 years - simply because of the wastewater systems in the area. Some small development has taken place, but people have ha…

Every time we see the flag flying over Leinster House, it creates a great sense of pride in the freedom of the country and the fact that we live in a democracy. That was recognised by the world 100 years ago today. It is fitting and appropriate for us to recognise that it was a difficult and traumatic time for our country. However, it was at that time we were first recognised by the world as a free state, the Irish Free State. The people who led to the creation of the Free State more than 100 years ago deserve full…

I am surprised Senator Craughwell did not say "No homework until Monday." I propose as a motion in the House that there be no homework until Christmas. Our guests in the Gallery are very welcome. Saturday is the European Day of Persons with Disabilities. It is a day when Europe reflects on the value and contributions people with disabilities make to European society, as well as the challenges and difficulties that are there. This week in Brussels, there was a high-level conference on the issue of employment of peop…

I support Senator Garvey's contribution on public transport, particularly in the north Clare area. As somebody who uses public transport most of the time, because a car is not an option in my case, her points were well made. There are two major issues which I have been highlighting for a long time. First, there is a variance in fares between rural and urban in the first instance, and also between providers. There is a situation where you can get a bus from Ennistymon to Ennis with Bus Éireann and it costs about thr…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to the House on this important issue. We all know that families the length and breadth of the country have been impacted by the drugs crisis. This crisis is impacting on counties, cities, towns, parishes, villages, streets and street corners and young, middle-aged and even older people. It is an epidemic, which Governments throughout the world are struggling to come to terms with. It is important to acknowledge the work of Europol in recent days and the astronomical…

I thank the Minister of State for giving a specific timeline. I take it the citizens' assembly on drugs will be up and running by the end of quarter 1 2023, which is welcome. I sought an update from the HSE on 14 October and 11 November but failed to get a response on what is happening with this closed health centre in Camolin. The HSE said it was going to approach various agencies and, if that did not work, it would put the building on the market. I am not aware of any other local State agencies that have been app…

I agree with what my colleagues, Senators Davitt and Malcolm Byrne, said about these dogs. I would love to know how many people have been convicted for breaching the legislation in terms of not muzzling their dogs and I think that it would be an interesting statistic. I hope that we will now have a national debate on this issue. More of these animals should be added to the list of prohibited breeds. Of course, our sympathies go to the family of the young man in Wexford who was attacked and our thoughts are with him…

I acknowledge the role that the Cathaoirleach played in this regard before he became Cathaoirleach. The legislation is the result of the work done by members of all parties and none, and particularly the NGO sector which put legislators under pressure. The Bill is good legislation.

I am constantly baffled by the following. Why did it take so long to introduce the legislation?

The legislation was discussed between seven and ten years ago. It went before the health committee between 2011 and 2016, and a report was prepared.