I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate him. I have not had the opportunity before this to wish him well with his portfolio. I agree with Senator Norris that the Bill is a bit like the curate's egg: good in parts and not so good in other parts. I thank Senator McDowell for bringing it forward. It has been a good debate but, at the end of the day, I hope in the 12-month timeframe up to the end of next year that the Minister of State uses the time to consider how we go forward with reform of the…

Maybe they are practical problems-----

I did not get a definitive answer when I asked at a committee meeting what the cost would be of extending the franchise under the constraints that exist with postage and everything, but in my view it would cost twice as much to elect 60 Members to Seanad Éireann as it would to elect 160 Members to Dáil Éireann. It costs somewhere north of €20 million for a Dáil election, so one would be talking about more than €40 million to elect Seanad Éireann under the new Bill. It has all the sorts of problems I have mentioned,…

We did work hard.

And we succeeded. All in all, I agree with the Minister of State's proposal to adjourn this matter until next year. I do not think I was the man who proposed going to New Zealand, as Senator McDowell said. He should withdraw that remark or he should clarify who said it. It certainly was not me who said it.

The Minister of State has a lot of food for thought regarding how we should go forward and many issues to consider. I wish him well over the next 12 months and I look forward to him coming back to the House before Christmas next year.

That will not be a problem. I will be brief. I thank Senator Currie for sharing time with me and I welcome the Minister of State. I also thank Senator Flynn for tabling the motion. This is an issue that we should keep on the agenda because it warrants further discussion. I served on Mayo County Council's Traveller accommodation committee many moons ago. At the time, I proposed that two out of every eight local authority houses built should be for Travellers. That proposal was subsequently adopted by the council. Mu…

I join with other Members of the House in congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and I support the decision of the Cathaoirleach and Ceann Comhairle to invite President-elect Biden to come to Ireland and address the Houses of the Oireachtas. I would also like to wish the former Captain of the Guard, John Flaherty, and the former Head Usher, Colm O'Rourke, well. They have given outstanding service to this House over many years. They were always courteous, obliging and helpfu…

I support the points made by Senators Chambers and Murphy during the discussion on the previous Commencement matter. It is vital that the funding is provided to Knock Airport. I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, to the House and wish him well in his portfolio. I have not had an opportunity to do this previously. I will be sharing some time with Senator Buttimer. The recycling of plastics is a very significant matter. We may not be able to do justice to it in the short time available to us today. There are m…

The Minister of State outlined some of the difficulties but did not address many others. The industry needs support and we should have a proper structure in place whereby we do not export our problems. We should be able to use this waste plastic to manufacture products that can be used throughout the country. The Minister of State did not address the issue of private contractors either, many of whom, along with other contractors, have a build-up of plastic. Where will it go and what will be done with it? Something …

I presume that by now most Members of the House have received a copy of a letter sent to the Director-General of the World Health Organization because of the exclusion of Taiwan from the World Health Assembly meeting that will take place between 9 and 14 November. I ask that the Leader of the House request the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Society to write to the World Health Organization for the inclusion of Taiwan in these talks. Taiwan seems to be the most successful country in tackling Covid-19 and ha…

I am seeking a debate in the House on water and waste water charges. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, was to commence the streamlining and standardisation of the over 500 different tariffs for non-domestic water charges and waste water charges but this process has been postponed until 1 May 2021. That is to be welcomed. At the same time, we need details on where the charges will be applied, what charges will be applied and how they will be implemented, particularly at this time, when businesses are …

I thank Senator Kyne for sharing his time. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate and wish her well. I thank the Green Party for tabling this important motion. I will shorten my speech considerably because of the time. Between 35% and 40% of the food produced worldwide is wasted. Europe should play an important role in food packaging. New types of food packaging will allow food to be transported further and further afield. Fresh flowers can be packaged and sent by sea rather than by air. All …

I raised everything I had intended to raise, albeit briefly. Food packaging is a multibillion euro area and new food packaging systems can be put in place now that allow food to be transported further and further throughout the world. The modified air system means the air in the carton or box is modified and kept at a certain temperature. Trials have shown that blueberries can last for 42 additional days after the box is opened. They are packaged, held in cold storage and then placed on the shelf. This is a big bre…

I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his portfolio. I have no doubt he has a huge interest in the railway network. Rail safety is a hugely important issue. I come from a county where we have had our fair share of tragedies at level crossings over many years. Some of those level crossings have been upgraded to automated level crossings. There is one in my area, Kilnageer crossing, between Belcarra and Castlebar, where a tragedy nearly happened a number of months ago. The community are up in arms …

I congratulate the Minister and wish him well in his portfolio. I, too, believe that we cannot fix the housing crisis in this House or with this Bill. In terms of landlords, we cannot have landlords without tenants or tenants without landlords. Landlords have played a very important role for many years and I hope that they play a role going forward. Quite a lot of landlords have left the market over the past five or six years. Why have more landlords left than entered the industry? We should debate the issue. In te…

We had many hours of debate in this House on the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. We noted quite recently that many members of the public are of the view that off-licences should be closed. I do not agree but I cannot understand why the Government has not at this stage implemented minimum unit pricing, which is included in the legislation. There was a big debate on this at the time regarding the prices in the North and South. At this time, people cannot travel from either jurisdiction given the travel restrictions. I …

This section proposes a new section 27A(5) of the 1994 Act to provide that "A general partner of an investment limited partnership shall provide any member of the Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners, a competent authority or the Criminal Assets Bureau with timely access". Does that mean that any member of the Garda who may be nosey or whatever might decide to see who is on the register?

I thank the Minister of State for his clarification. The Bill should stipulate the area of the Garda concerned because it currently refers to "any member of the Garda Síochána".

I rise to raise the issue of those who need to renew their driving licence. The situation is now at a critical stage as some people are driving without a licence. If one drives without a licence, one is not insured. Some people need their licence to be able to drive to work, but some others need an up-to-date licence as part of their work. I note the Minister ensured people over the age of 70 can register online for a licence, but there will still be a backlog in that area. I ask that the Minister immediately look …