Last week, the Seanad debated the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, which I think is the most important legislation that has come before us so far. Because of the Government's desire to guillotine it, we did not really have the opportunity to interrogate it fully. Rushed legislation is bad legislation. Yesterday on my local radio station, Ocean FM, Shona Sheridan, a young woman from Manorhamilton who is an HR master's student, was interviewed. She spoke about the plight of new graduates an…

I thank everyone again for letting me take this slot. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit as well. It is no exaggeration to say that our society was built upon the work of volunteers. Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine as they say after all. In the 2022 census, the CSO found that over 700,000 people in the State were regularly giving their time and expertise for a voluntary cause. That is incredible. We can see that in every town and village. We know they keep our services alive. It has been said too that the vo…

What the Minister is saying is so insulting. There is more to the Opposition than Sinn Féin. As a party, we have tabled 69 amendments to the Bill. The Minister is saying that we are not providing any constructive criticism. The Labour Party has been in government. We have a very good track record of building houses in this country. I cannot say the same, unfortunately, about Fianna Fáil, particularly if the Minister wants to go down the route of talking about the building of social housing being halted. The Ministe…

They certainly do, but local authorities need to employ more staff and funding that comes within the gift of the Minister.

Yes.

Absolutely not. Who caused the housing crash? Who crashed the economy?

Who caused the housing crash? Who gave the brown envelopes to Bertie Ahern? Who did that?

Who handed over the brown envelopes to developers?

I move amendment No. 7: “Notices of termination: temporary ban 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any other enactment or rule of law, the period of 3 years commencing on the passing of this Act is deemed to be an emergency period within the meaning and for the purposes of section 5 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 and that section, with the exception of subsection (6)(b), applies accordingly.”. I welcome the Minister back to the House. It looks like I have the …

There is no doubt we all want to solve this crisis. Labour has a strong track record on housing. We had the housing Department while in government. We put forward proposals that were not always supported, but we also put forward proposals that were supported. We definitely do not want to disagree with this. We see there is, of course, room for a rental market, but we have put in 69 amendments and I cannot understand why none of them were taken up. We have a track record and a history. We have been calling for a Sta…

I second.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. It is great to have her here and I thank her for her proactive approach to the Bill. It is great that she will allow it to pass Second Stage. I know how hard Senator Harmon has worked on this legislation and it is an absolute privilege for me to have met Sophie and Shane to hear their story. Sophie is a true inspiration. I am fully in support of calling it Sophie's Law when it is enacted. I welcome and thank all of the SNAs from Fórsa and the teachers from the INTO. Without their suppor…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. A couple of weeks ago on the Order of Business, I raised the 100th anniversary of an event that so far has gone largely unmarked in the commemorations surrounding the decade of centenaries. Since then, I have had the pleasure of meeting a group of the surviving relatives of the Peterhead Ten and have come to realise not only the extent of the sacrifice these brave men made, but also the unique significance of their contributions. I will give a bit of background to this issue. I kn…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. He confirmed I am right that they are still eligible for this even though the period falls outside the decade of centenaries. As there have been a number of different local authorities involved, would it be possible to go between Longford County Council and Leitrim County Council and for both to work together?

From here, I need to rally the troops, even in the Seanad, to make sure we are supportive of this. Am I correct that the €750,000 is available until the end of this year? Did the Minister of State say that at the end of his contribution?

Does he know if there will be a new round of money next year?

Is the €750,000 for every local authority?

It is small enough then, but it is good to know they are eligible to apply because, for the War of Independence, it does not have to fall within those dates. That is great.

I second the amendment.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I am going to talk briefly about the hierarchy of vulnerable road users. I welcome the debate today. It is great to have it. I welcome the Minister of State here. I am also a member of the transport committee. We have been discussing road safety over the last couple of weeks. We are getting an insight into more vulnerable road users in particular. That is what I am going to talk about. Vulnerable road users are simultaneously the least likely to cause other road users harm and the…