Please have some respect for the Minister of State's reply.

We are out of time.

We are out of time.

We are out of time.

I compliment what my colleagues, Senators O'Loughlin and Cummins, said on septic tanks. Senator Cummins is right in what he said about the registration of septic tanks. In 2013 there was a fear among households about registering their septic tanks. They feared it would lead to a levy down the road and the unknown. I do not think we have communicated the message properly. There needs to be another take at registering. If people are not registered they cannot get a grant. I have not looked at the percentages but I kn…

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House. Many of my colleagues have raised very pertinent issues about the governance of the various local authorities and the influence that councillors have. As time goes on, this influence is becoming lessened at local level. At the end of the day, the issue is not so much about the councillors but the people they represent. They are people that we represent as well. This is about the system of democracy. The more we strip away powers at local government level, the less…

I commend the motion being put forward by my colleagues Senators Seery Kearney and Dolan. It is important because parents right across this country are terrified at night when their kids go on a night out. Girls, in particular, are pretty good at sticking together. Young lads, or not so young lads, being young lads get up to all kinds of things. It is a terrifying situation now, particularly for families that have kids going out for the first time. There are so many worries. I would say the spiking of drinks is bec…

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a fhearadh agus buíochas a ghabháil leis an iar-Thaoiseach, Bertie Ahern. It is very fitting that he is here today of all days, the anniversary of the holding of the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement. I am delighted to get the opportunity to thank him for all that he has done, not just in those crucial weeks but in all of the negotiations that took place before then. One issue that he has not touched on today, which we could spend another day discussing, is selling the agreement. There w…

I fully support my Donegal colleague, Senator Flynn. The way she was treated last night was atrocious. I congratulate her for using her power this morning to highlight it. She is absolutely an equal Member of this House. I want to talk about the A5 route. With the N2, this is part of the Dublin-Derry route. There is an ongoing saga regarding the A5. It is the last route in Ireland of its stature that does not have motorway status. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern announced plans and funding for it …

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House this morning. To reiterate what my colleague, Senator Robbie Gallagher, has just said about this fund, this is probably one of the funds from which we get great value for money. This is not just from the point of view of sport, but also for the well-being of the people of our nation across the board. It is not just sporting people; families in general get a kick from taking part in sport and from seeing their kids and the young ones taking part in it. The real g…

I recognise the work the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, have had to do on the sports capital programme. I hope there is an urgency in that work and that the Minister will act with urgency in getting the funds through and giving the Minister of State the go-ahead. I hope there are no more hold-ups on either side.

I welcome the students from St. Lawrence College from Loughlinstown to the Gallery.

Absolutely, Minister of State. We can all agree with that.

Senators Gallagher and Conway are sharing time. I call Senator Gallagher to commence.

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: recognising that: - there were nineteen people who ‘disappeared’ as a result of paramilitary organisations during the Troubles/Conflict; - of these nineteen, to date fourteen of the victims have been recovered, with five still missing; - Lisa Dorrian who disappeared in 2005 and Gareth O’Connor who disappeared in 2003 are included in this nineteen; - their cases were not included in the remit and legislation for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) whi…

I was not expecting to conclude so quickly. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to the conclusion of the debate. We had a good discussion with the Minister and he has acceded to the request to reopen and review the case by meeting the families concerned. We are delighted with that news. To refer to the speech made by Senator Currie, there is something rotten that has happened over the years in the Border areas. She referred to Paul Quinn. That is at the core of this. As Senator Wilson said, th…

Tomorrow at 9.30 a.m.

I thank the Minister of State for joining us this evening for Sinn Féin's Private Members' motion. I will start by saying that Fianna Fáil welcomes this debate. We agree with all four aspects of the motion as stated. We compliment Senator Ó Donnghaile and his party for the considered approach that has been taken in the motion to its context and, moreover, the approach the Sinn Féin party has taken to the agreement. Those kinds of approaches will take us a long way into the future in moving the debate in Northern Ir…

I welcome the Minister here to have this discussion on the rail network and, moreover, the all-island rail review. Following the formation of Government and the announcement of an all-island rail review, as party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, I went to Derry and met with the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, SDLP, Colum Eastwood. We discussed this on the back of that. The Minister then had negotiations with Minister Nichola Mallon. This became a two-way proposal on the all-island rail review. At…

I raise the situation we now face on this island in relation to the protocol and the situation we were sprung into at the weekend by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he put himself into the equation. It is important that Members of the Upper House and the Lower House stand strongly together on this issue because we need to find a mechanism on this island to move on with the EU. What has taken place is disturbing, as is the agenda that Boris Johnson and the European Research Group, ERG, in the Tory Party are…