I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome the three draft regulations. They are very much warranted, will put the public mind at ease and will help in many situations where there are investigations. These are very technical regulations, and very difficult to understand if one is an ordinary layperson. The main thing is that the regulations are in the public interest. I really like the idea that any of the restrictions that are going to be considered will be done on a case-by-case basis. That is the ma…

There was a meeting last Saturday in Tuam on balanced regional development. Unfortunately I was not able to make it but I agree wholeheartedly with many of the decisions and the sentiments expressed at the meeting. I fully support the West on Track campaign for the extension of the rail line from Athenry to Claremorris. It is needed. I come from Castlebar which is 45 miles from Galway city. Galway is our city. It takes two hours to go 45 miles. If one needs to go to the Galway clinic, the regional hospital or any o…

In view of the decision by the Cabinet today regarding new licensing hours, which must be legislated for, I ask for an urgent debate on taxis. In my home town, we will eventually have no taxi service if things keep going as they are currently. When a person has a taxi, the plate dies with that person if he or she retires or passes away. The plate cannot be handed over to a son, daughter or other family member and it cannot be sold on or given to anybody. We must remember that those taxi people have built up a busin…

I support Senator Craughwell on the issue of local authority members who, in many cases, have to use their leave to attend local authority meetings. In this day and age, it is not good enough. People who are working in the public service or Civil Service, in particular, should get time off to attend meetings, especially when they are elected by the public. I also support the calls today for a debate on forestry. Forestry is a very important issue in County Mayo and in many other counties. We have seen huge improvem…

I welcome the Minister. I want to speak about the 9% VAT rate. The tourism and hospitality sector is labour-intensive. It is a seven-day-per-week industry that runs from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. The proprietors of those premises and the people who run those businesses have several shifts a week to cover for, and it is not easy. In lots of sizable towns, you will see that other than in a filling station you will not get a sandwich after 4 p.m. because a lot of those small restaurants have one shift and they will close fo…

I thank the Civil Engagement Group for tabling this important motion. The Government is taking it very seriously as well because there is no amendment to it. Everybody agrees that we have to do everything we can to take everybody out of poverty. Anybody who is in poverty should be taken out of it if at all possible. When one listens to the speakers on poverty, what can cause it and what brings people into it, one can see this country has made great strides. Over the past 20 years or so, there has never been better …

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

I also welcome the Spanish ambassador to the Chamber. I join the Senators who yesterday paid tribute to the families, friends and neighbours of the people of Creeslough following the tragic loss of ten human lives. I extend the sympathies and condolences of the House to them on their tragic loss. What happened was unbelievable. I raise an issue in regard to some organisations that are anti-drink. They express reservations about Drinkaware, arguing that the organisation should have no influence on the promotion of e…

I ask that the acting Leader invite into the House the European Commissioner with responsibility for regulation of the medtech area. Most Members of the House had a meeting yesterday with the Irish Medtech Association and IBEC regarding the approval of medical devices in Europe. There is a huge backlog in respect of the approval of all these medical devices. It will have a major effect on the European population because EU regulation systems put patient access to medtech at risk. These devices are not being approve…

Will the Leader arrange a debate on the cost of energy in the country and how we might be able to educate the public on how to change from one energy supplier to another? Significant advantage is being taken of some customers. One would have to wonder if deregulation has done anything for the market and whether we would have been much better off if we had stayed with the one supplier, the ESB, as it was known. I do not think deregulation has done anything to bring down the price of electricity. It is very complicat…

I support Senator Kyne's comments on the Department's report carried out into the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland. I ask that the report be published as a matter of urgency and that the Minister lays it before the Houses of the Oireachtas. We could and should discuss the report in this House, and everything that is happening now regarding Inland Fisheries Ireland, where the Department is carrying out a report into one of its own boards. The report was carried out, finalised in July and it will be almost 1 October…

During Covid.

I welcome the cost-of-living measures in the budget. They are very welcome at this difficult time for hard-pressed consumers and families. I also welcome the reduction in VAT for the media. This issue has been raised on several occasions in this House by various Members over recent years. The measure is very welcome, particularly for local media, which provide a great service throughout the country. I ask that the Leader arrange a debate at some stage with the Minister responsible for housing on funding for local a…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome budget 2023. I have been a Member of the Seanad for quite a few budgets and this is the best budget I have ever witnessed in these Houses. Great credit is due to Governments over recent years that we are in such a great financial situation in which the current Government can give out such an amount at this time. It is greatly needed by the people. A lot of money has been given to health, education, local authorities and many agencies. It is time that we s…

I will briefly raise the issue of school transport. I ask the Deputy Leader to get the Minister for Education to come before the House as a matter of urgency. The Minister was before the education committee earlier. People understand the flexibility that was adopted by the Department of Health during the health crisis caused by the pandemic. People cannot understand why we cannot have that same flexibility within the Department of Education in the context of school transport, which has been in crisis. There are pla…

I would like also to acknowledge the presence of the British ambassador in the Chamber. I express my condolences as well to the royal family on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. I congratulate King Charles III and wish him well. I would also like to be associated with the other expressions of sympathy to the families that have been tragically lost over the past week. We had one in County Mayo as well. It was a very sad week for this country. I would like to ask for debate on inland fisheries. We should invite the Mi…

Hear, hear.

Most definitely.

I thank Senator Chambers for sharing her time. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Senator Chambers has outlined in detail the case and what took place at the very large meeting in Castlebar last Monday. There is no need to go over the case that Senator Chambers made. The Minister of State is only too well aware of the work carried out by the schemes on football, hurling and soccer fields and graveyards. Even at funerals we can see that participants in the schemes regulate traffic. It is great when we go …

These jobs are vital to communities and the Minister of State will be aware of the benefits that accrue to the community due to the work people do. We again ask him to seriously consider what we are looking for. They are not big demands in the great scheme of events. The money that is involved is in the region of €2.5 million, which is very little in the overall budget of the Department of Social Protection. I again thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to hear our views. We hope he will take them on …