I think the Leas-Chathaoirleach meant to say there will be no homework for the rest of the week. I seek a debate on maternity services. The decision made by An Coimisiún Pleanála in the past week has baffled the country and defies logic. It has actually seen a situation where all parties are coming together in criticism. Dublin City Council granted planning permission and the inspector recommended that the planning permission be upheld but two of three members of the commission decided against it. There is somethin…

I propose we have a debate on the issue of public procurement and how difficult, regimented and how tight it is and how very much cost-based it is. We all know from getting work done in our own homes that sometimes the cheapest is not always the best. What concerns me is that there is only a small percentage in any contract set aside for quality of work - workmanship, track record and so on - whereas the bulk of it is on price. Price is absolutely important but the one thing I have found in recent years, and I am s…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, to the House. The Minister, Deputy Browne, was also welcome to the House. I know Storm Chandra has had a significant effect in the Minister's constituency. I raise an issue on which I called for a debate ahead of the most recent flooding. I have been looking for a debate on this issue for a long time because I believe the protocols need to be re-examined and I am glad that is happening. I do not believe the necessary joined-up thinking exists between Met Éireann, …

I ask the Leader for a debate on the future of retail in Ireland. We saw overnight and yesterday the sad news that another retail outlet, EuroGiant, has gone into liquidation. I offer my sympathy and solidarity to the 600-plus workers in the business and the founder, who obviously did not want to be in this position. I understand he put €2.5 million into the company in recent times to try to keep it afloat, but, sadly, that did not work. The whole retail space in Ireland has changed. As somebody who worked in retai…

I welcome the Minister of State. It is good to see her again. I commend Senator Joe Conway on moving the motion on this very important topic. I speak as someone who has campaigned over the past number of years with regard to vaccines in general. I was front and centre during the Covid pandemic in encouraging people to avail of vaccines. I have always supported and spoken out very strongly on the need for people to take the flu vaccine, especially those who are vulnerable but also people in general. Vaccines work an…

I welcome yesterday's Cabinet announcement about increased flexibility and funding for those people whose homes, businesses, organisations and voluntary groups have been destroyed by flooding. It is appropriate as these people have suffered in terms of not being able to get insurance, etc., because of historical experiences. The Leader is in the process of trying to organise a debate on the whole issue of flooding here and examine protocols. The national conversation on flooding is happening and I think we will hav…

This day last week when the Leas-Chathaoirleach was in the Chair, and prior to Christmas, I called for a debate on extreme weather and our response to it. I am disappointed and sad to say that I am making the same call again, not because the debate has not been organised, but because we have had extreme weather since this day last week, which I do not think any of us expected. We need to review the protocols that exist between the national emergency co-ordination group, local authorities, Met Éireann, the various v…

It is great to see the Minister. She is very welcome to the House. I support what my colleagues are proposing. As a country that is so advanced in so many areas, this is one area we could probably be more advanced. It is something we should do. It makes economic sense, but more than anything else, it is a support and a service to our citizens who need it. The eyesight condition I have is hereditary. About ten years, I looked at getting a study done because my father has it, but his brother and sister do not. His fa…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and thank him for coming in to take this commencement matter, which is specifically related to his Department. It is great to actually have the lead minister here. Over 30 years ago when I was in UCD, one of my student colleagues at the time was a lady called Margaret Fitzpatrick and her brother was Mick Fitzpatrick. Mick sadly passed away a long time ago now and we remember him. I was recently reacquainted with Margaret when her school came on a trip to Leinster Ho…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. The ask is fairly clear. Of the 168 extra classes that were announced, I imagine a lot of them are in schools that have the physical capacity and, potentially, have classrooms that can be changed and adapted. There are some. Clearly, the Stapolin Educate Together school is one where it is neither practical nor possible to incorporate a class without a new build. There are situations and this is one of them. In order for this project to proceed, funding must be made available to …

The Minister of State comes to Clare, to my home town, on his holidays every year and he and I have great social engagements. The school in Ennistymon took ten years to plan and another ten years to build, but it is a fantastic facility, one of the best in the country.

I too would like to be associated with the expressions of sympathy to former Senator Gerard Lynch from Listowel, County Kerry. I did not know him but his reputation certainly preceded him as a councillor, Deputy and Senator. May he rest in peace, and sympathies to his family. We have had inclement weather in the last couple of days with a lot of rain, which reminds me of something that I raised in the Seanad before Christmas, that is, the need for a debate on weather preparation. We have seen in recent years that w…

I would also like to welcome the school and second the Leas-Chathaoirleach's proposal of no homework. I am sure Deputy O'Shea would agree - for the week. I join Senators Mullen and Boyhan and others in paying a heartfelt tribute to the late former Senator Mary White. I had the privilege of serving with her in my first term in the Oireachtas. Not alone was she an outstanding Senator and a great contributor on issues to do with enterprise, she was also a trailblazer in business, having set up Lir Chocolates and run i…

I wished everyone well for Christmas yesterday and reiterate that today. The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, announced today that he was not going to split the Road Safety Authority as had been recommended by a consultant retained by the previous Minister. I agree with the decision of the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. We do not need two quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations, quangos, with two CEOs, two boards, two chairs and so on to deal with road safety. We need to implement the common-sense appro…

I too wish the Cathaoirleach, the new Clerk, the Clerk Assistant and the Leader and his team all the very best for Christmas. I know the Clerk, in particular, has had a baptism of fire in his new role. He is doing a great job and I wish everyone a very pleasant break. Like others here, I absolutely welcome the announcement from the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, yesterday. On becoming Minister, she committed to dealing with the HIQA report once it was published. The report was published and she dealt with it. S…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I welcome Councillor Anna Grainger and Tom to the Visitors Gallery. They are great councillors. I commend Senator Black and her colleagues for putting down this Bill. Any improvement in the terms and conditions of councillors is something that we unanimously support across the floor of the House. There are a couple of key points I would like to see. I would like to see resources available for councillors when they require advice for public relations, when they req…

We are in the throes of what is a major, almost red, weather warning in County Clare and along the west and north-west coasts over the next few hours. I pay tribute to all the council workers, emergency services and gardaí who are doing their best under these trying conditions. I also raise the issue of safety on the N67, which is the main Ennis to Kilrush road. It is, to a large extent, the main link between west Clare and the rest of the country. Pockets of that road are quite dangerous. One of them is at Darragh…

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I am here to support Senator Rabbitte on this interesting and important legislation. It is bizarre that this has not been addressed since 1934. It just shows how outdated it is, that it has not been a priority of any Government and that it suits the ESB that it remains this way. However, it certainly does not suit the residents whose lives, financial security, homes and businesses have been affected. I therefore pay tribute to Senator Rabbitte for introducing this Bill…

I might have been in some other capacity. Perhaps the Minister of State was. However, I was certainly there when then Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, came, as were the Leas-Chathaoirleach and others, when the big review of the estuary was launched. We had the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and several Ministers at the time. As a side-script to something I will perhaps raise next week, perhaps we should hold statements on the review and the implementation of that report because a lot of money was spent on it and it was certainly …

That is a reasonable period for the Government to formulate its position on this. When it is doing so - the Minister of State will agree with me about this - it needs to think about the people who have been affected, including the businesses, farmers, homeowners, elderly people who are frightened and the people who are up at night wondering whether they will be flooded. At the end of the day, they are the citizens of this country and the ESB is a big, powerful organisation. These people, as far as I am concerned, h…