I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, for being here this morning to take this Commencement matter. I am here to speak about the croí cónaithe property refurbishment grant and the criteria for the drawdown of payment after work has been completed. As things stand, there is a requirement that the applicant submits receipts for every individual piece of material and labour used in the refurbishment of the property in order to draw down the reimbursement payment. In turn, it is a requirement of a member of t…

I fully agree with the Minister of State that inspection of the property post completion of work by a properly qualified engineer or other professional is absolutely essential. However, there are major savings to be made in terms of the clerical administration of the scheme, as I outlined. I thank the Minister of State for his commitment to assess this. I also thank my colleague, Senator Duffy, for the work he has done on this to date. I look forward to working with the Minister of State on it.

I will speak about something that I spoke about on 16 December last. The Acting Leader will be familiar with this as it is an issue arising in our own area. On 16 December, I spoke about a situation that approximately 80 families in south east Galway are in. These families have historically harvested turf on three bogs in south-east Galway, namely, Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Cloonmoylan bogs. In 2011, these 80 families entered into a deal with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, whereby they would desis…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad and thank him joining us here for the debate on this motion. As Fine Gael spokesperson for biodiversity and as somebody who has been involved in the rehabilitation and release of injured birds and animals since I was a child, I fully understand the great satisfaction involved in taking in an injured animal; caring for it for days, weeks and sometimes months; and seeing that animal released back into the wild in a healthy state. Unfortunately, I also understand the disap…

I thank the Minister for joining us here in the Seanad to discuss this motion. I will be brief. This is a very positive motion. What we are discussing here is our willingness to facilitate an additional 41 homeowners affected by defective blocks in getting the financial assistance package from the State to remedy the problems with their homes. Two of the properties are in County Wexford, in Bunclody and Ferns. In Fingal, there is one in Ballyboughal, two in Lusk, 30 in Rush and six in Skerries. This is a very posit…

I wish to share my time with Senator Cathal Byrne.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I begin by acknowledging the concerns raised by the Senators regarding the population growth and the implications for the size of Dáil Éireann. These are legitimate issues and the timeline for addressing them is approaching quickly. To the best of my knowledge, the Government is not opposing the motion today. However, before any commitment can be made on any constitutional amendment, I believe we need greater clarity on what is being proposed in terms of numbers of TDs,…

Tomorrow morning at 9.30 a.m.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach and I thank the Minister for coming in for this. I am very grateful for the opportunity to address the House on the principles of this Bill, which I introduced in this House last month. Its purpose is to amend the Criminal Justice Act to make specific provision for sentencing for certain offences related to the theft of tools and supplies used in the course of one's business. This Bill would introduce a mandatory minimum…

I thank the Minister for his constructive and positive reply. I very much welcome the fact that the Government will not be opposing the Bill. I understand completely what the Minister said about the requirement for potential amendments and I agree with him wholeheartedly that this must be watertight before we progress any further with it. I thank my colleagues for their support and contributions. I look forward to working with the Minister to tease out any difficulties there may be in the Bill as we polish it up, t…

Next Tuesday.

Tomorrow at 9.30 a.m.

I second the motion. I wish to share my time with Senator Kennelly.

As Fine Gael spokesperson on housing here in the Seanad, I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this motion on infrastructure. I have no doubt that housing is the single biggest crisis facing our State at the moment. However, the housing crisis is largely caused by an infrastructure crisis. In this State we were quite successful and timely in the way that we rolled out our broadband infrastructure right across the State. However, as my colleague mentioned, in some parts of the country we are still large…

No.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business: "That No. 12 be taken before No. 1."

I am bringing forward a Bill on tool theft to amend the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 to introduce a mandatory minimum custodial sentence for serious theft-related offences involving work equipment where the theft directly prevents someone from earning a living. Under its provisions, where an adult is convicted of theft, burglary, aggravated burglary, robbery or handling stolen work equipment, a court would be required to impose a minimum sentence of three years imprisonment. The Bill would f…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 to make specific provision for sentencing for certain offences in relation to theft of tools and supplies used in course of one’s business; and to provide for related matters.

Next Tuesday.

I thank the Minister for his detailed explanation of the Bill. What the Government is doing in this Bill is striking a balance between improving security of tenure for tenants and encouraging more private investment into the rental market. I will look at some of the facts about this Bill. I know there is a lot of concern out there, particularly among smaller landlords and accidental landlords right across Ireland, about the effects this might have on the control they have over their rental property and on their pro…