I do not think it affects councillors at this stage. I understand that the councillors’ class has changed and that-----

I would dispute the ruling that was made in relation to the two previous amendments. This funding is paid by individuals into the pot. It is not Exchequer funding. I dispute the ruling that is made here. Those amendments have been rightly tabled to be discussed on the floor of the House. Senators Craughwell and Boyhan had to find a way around amendment No. 19 so that the Minister would come back with a report. I would ask that the ruling be looked at. Amendment No. 21, in the name of Senator Craughwell, mainly affe…

I thank the Minister for giving a genuine reply to the matters raised in this amendment. We will undertake to bring this to the committee. I thank the Minister for saying she or her staff will be available to come before the committee and that the material she has will be furnished to it.

It is a great honour to say a few words on the 100th anniversary of Seanad Éireann. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach and the staff of the Houses for organising this great event. I welcome the Taoiseach and members of the Government as well as former Members of Seanad Éireann. I wonder what the Members of this House thought 100 years ago on this day. It was after the First World War and the War of Independence and in the middle of the Civil War. We owe those people, including the Members of this House who have serve…

I compliment the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, on finding a solution for the crib at Saint Stephen's Green. I have no doubt at all that thousands of people will visit the crib in the Phoenix Park, which is an ideal location for it. It will be much more accessible to the public and people who will visit Dublin to shop. It is a real sign of Christmas when the crib is on display. I congratulate the Minister of State and everybody involved in finding a solution to that problem.

It is very hard to follow some of the great contributions. We all knew Terry Brennan as a friend. He had no enemies and that can be seen from all the contributions made here today. Terry Brennan had no enemies at all; he had all friends. There were three things Terry tended to speak about in the House. One was that he must have scored ten or 15 points in every match he played for Cooley. The second was how he played at centre court in Wimbledon and third was his great love of going to Augusta. He used to grig us al…

I welcome the Minister. How does the Government know whether the scheme is going to be a success? Does the Department compile figures weekly, monthly or every six months? The recommendation would provide for a six-monthly report to be laid before the Houses, so I am sure the Department will want to know how successful the scheme will be. Moreover, for future planning, that type of information will be needed. Does the Department have some sort of a scheme that collates all this information? If so, it would not be di…

Will the Minister clarify something in regard to the cargo bicycle provision in section 8? Some bicycles used by post office workers have a cargo space at the front of the bike or in between the two wheels, while many other cyclists pull an additional frame, which may be used for their kids and so on. Will that qualify? These frames are not an integral part of the bike but they can be fully attached. Will the part being pulled to transport somebody, whether a child or whatever the case may be, be eligible for the p…

I welcome this initiative and the Minister's commitment. I am a long-time advocate of this measure as well. There is nothing better than to see people living in the centre of towns and cities, and villages for that matter. When people start to move out, everybody moves out. Nobody wants to live in the centre of a town on their own. I can well see when people move in now, more and more people will move in. These initiatives will bring much life to the centre of towns and cities, particularly now when we are trying t…

I wish to ask the Minister about a problem with solar panel farms or solar photovoltaic farms. As a country, we want to get people into all forms of electricity or energy generation, whether offshore or onshore, wind or photovoltaic. However, where farmers give over their farms, whether or not they rent them long-term to companies, for solar farms - not turbine farms but solar photovoltaic farms - they lose their basic payments. That is a disincentive to farmers going down that route. I ask that the Minister, befor…

I thank the Minister for clarifying part of that. I did not see anywhere else in the Bill to raise the matter. I wish to bring it to the attention of the Government because it will be a Government issue, I presume.

I refer to the vacant homes tax, VHT. It was supposed to be introduced on 7 November 2022, a date which has come and gone, with a filing date of the end of January 2023, I presume. Will this tax now not come into being until 7 November 2023 or are we legislating retrospectively? The penalty a person has to pay is three times the local property tax, LPT. Someone may have a vacant house in Dublin with an LPT of €1,500 or €2,000 per year, which would mean €6,000 in VHT per year. In another part of the country, or even…

On the dates, from what the Minister said, I understand the first payment for people who fall under these criteria year will be January 2024. Is that correct?

The residential zoned land tax will have some difficulties, I presume, in its implementation, particularly in rural villages and rural towns. As I understand from what the Minister of State proposes, the landowner can apply not to have his land zoned. Would that be the case? If it is not zoned, he does not fall under the criteria even though the land may have all the services. Would it be fair to say that would be the case? We know in some cases where land is zoned by local authorities that the landowner may not kn…

Will the Minister of State clarify what the services are? I refer to all of the services needed, whether they be water, sewerage, public lighting and footpaths. When will they be laid down in law? I presume they will be. What is entailed? The Minister of State said it has to be zoned and serviced land. What does serviced land mean in the law that would require payment of the serviced land tax?

I thank the House for agreeing to my sharing of time with Senator Currie. I welcome the Minister to the House and I would like to start where finished. She stated: This Bill is a fair and balanced one. It responds to the needs of members of our community whose income needs are greatest. That is quite correct. Over the past 12 months, she has been listening to all the proposals that were made in these Houses and at parliamentary party meetings. The Government and the Minister have dealt in a very fair way with the n…

Next Tuesday.

Yesterday, on RTÉ Radio 1, the case was made that there was a very significant shortage of teachers in the country. I ask that we have a debate on this issue with the Minister for Education. It seems the situation is desperate. One person came on the programme and said they were trying to find replacement teachers by text or through WhatsApp groups. That is inadequate in this time and age. A Department circular letter from a few years ago stated: Boards of Management are obliged to recruit and employ fully qualifie…

I support Senator Kyne in asking the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to come to the House to have a debate on the islands and on LEADER funding for the islands. I have been on a number of the islands this year and they are doing great work there with limited funding. They have different problems from the mainland and, on one of the islands in Cork, they are creating jobs. It was usually the other way around and people would leave the islands to look for employment on the mainland, but on one of the islands off Cork, th…

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Regulations 2022, Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) Regulations 2022, Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority) Regulations 2022, copies of which have been laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 18th October, 2022.