I want to raise an issue that is very local and very personal not only to myself but to the people of Longford. St. Joseph’s Daycare Centre has just received its HIQA report. It is a damning report of how the service has been run into the ground. Our local councillor Peggy Nolan and other councillors in the area have highlighted this matter at local level. We lost our cathedral some years ago when it burned to the ground. It was rebuilt from the ashes. People call it the phoenix. This is our daycare centre, where t…

Happy birthday to the Minster of State, Deputy Moran, or Boxer as he is known in Westmeath. I said when he was elected first that I was delighted to see the Boxer back. I really am delighted to see him back because the people of Athlone will always remember him as the man who put himself in a boat and took families out of flooded areas and houses. Unfortunately, when they went to vote the following year, they forgot about him. They did not forget about him this time. I am glad to see that because the Minister of St…

I raise an alarming issue. We had another case of foot and mouth disease, FMD, in Hungary on 6 April. As everybody knows, the sector in Ireland has exported 100,000 cattle this year. The industry has grown and grown and beef is now at €8.40 per kilogram. We have tourists visiting Hungary, Slovenia and places like that. Have we the right measures in place to protect our industry when they come back? Have they been in contact with livestock? Have we disinfection areas at our ports and airports? Have we departmental o…

I wish to raise a number of issues affecting my local village of Drumlish and Ballinamuck. The credit union in Ballinamuck closed a little less than six months ago and it is now being raised that our local credit union in Drumlish is due to close in the coming months. We have also received notification that our local post office is in danger of closing and is under review. Our two local gardaí, Donal Madden and Justin Browne - I have permission to name them - who have given significant service to the community, hav…

I raise an issue of great concern for a sport I am heavily involved in, that is, the horse racing industry, the Irish draught horse and horse sport in general. Passports are an identification. Every equine animal must have a chip, a passport and some sort of identification for export for the racing industry or people in general to know exactly where that animal was brought and reared. There is a huge delay in the issuing of passports to the Irish draught horse foals association. We have horses and foals that last y…

I raise the matter of our forestry that has been damaged in the recent storm, which amounts to 5,000 ha on the ground. It seems we have not learned from our mistakes. In this situation, local enough to where I live in County Longford and at the border with Coole, County Westmeath, more forests are being planted to the very edge of a road. These are currently mounded in a peaty soil right to the edge of the road. Will the Minister of State in charge, Deputy Healy-Rae, come to the Chamber to address the current probl…

I welcome the Minister of State. I wish to address the N4 from Mullingar-----

The N4 runs from Mullingar to Longford. It goes from a dual carriageway to a single lane, which has created huge concerns and caused accidents over the past number of years. I welcome the funding for the bypass of Mullingar. I hope that will continue and be progressed in the future.

The Minister, Deputy Heydon, is very welcome to the Seanad Chamber. I compliment him on his Ministry thus far as since taking over, he has dealt with some issues in a very quick and astute manner-----

I am sharing two minutes with Senator Duffy. Ireland’s CAP strategic plan, CSP, for 2023 to 2027, underpins the sustainable development of Ireland's farming and food sector. Food production is a must to feed a growing population. Ireland has the best ecological system to produce a green, grass-fed beef, lamb, dairy and vegetable sector. It goes without saying that our product is sought all over globally. Regarding the CAP itself, I am glad the Minister mentioned simplification. I will go through it for those who do…

I wish to address an issue that has come to my attention regarding the Stena Line route being suspended from Rosslare to Cherbourg. As everybody knows, cattle prices in Ireland are now at a level they should have been at for the past ten years and we have seen live exports rise about 70%. We are now in the middle of calving season, where we depend on our exports to cater for the weanling trade as well as the calf trade into Spain and France. Irish Ferries now only travels on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The St…

I thank the Minister of State for being here today. As some of my colleagues said, he has delivered in some of his past roles. I thank him for all his work in the past and for engaging with elected representatives across Ireland. We welcome the increase for meals on wheels in the programme for Government. After the last storm and what we have seen, it is incumbent on us to make sure meals on wheels services have heater boxes and facilities where they can deliver hot meals to our elderly. That must be throughout Ire…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I would like to discuss the issue of fly-tipping in local bogs and amenity areas. It has become a huge issue, not only in the county of Longford, but throughout Ireland. People are making huge amounts of money by lifting household and building site rubbish and fly-tipping it. This comes at a great cost to our local authorities. I call for a discussion on this issue and for greater powers to be given to local authorities with regard to cameras at black spots and other areas that are known …

I wish to raise the issue of TB testing and TB sector in Ireland. At this moment in time, 6.2% of the national herd is closed due to TB. If we define this 6.2%, it is late testing in animals and cows brought in that had not been tested in a 60-day period. They are part of the 6.2%. Skin testing is usual way of testing animals. However, when an animal goes down following a skin test, the Department carries out a blood test on this animal. Does that give us a clear indication that the skin test is accurate? Many of t…

I compliment all the small shopkeepers, community centres and local businesses that gave credit to people who wished to purchase food when this crisis happened and the card machines went down. People are so dependent on card machines. Our local shopkeepers and businesses took out a little book and wrote in credit notes for people whereby they could purchase food. That has to be recognised. Not only did they give water, but they also gave food and credit to people, unlike some of our bigger stores which would not gi…

I raise an issue that has affected my local community. Sadly, a young gentleman was out for a run with his wife and had a cardiac arrest. In every area we have defibrillators which are there to give a sense of security to the people who know that they are there. Unfortunately, on this occasion, there was a defibrillator that was out of date when it was called for. The pads were out of date. These defibrillators are installed all over Ireland. I urge people in their localities to have a look at the dates and the pad…

I congratulate our colleague, Senator Kyne. I speak today on the great damage done to forestry throughout Ireland by the storm. We have now come to a crisis situation where many of these forests will have to be removed and harvested. Unfortunately, every forest needs a licence. In the years gone by, we have seen that it takes up to two and half years to get a licence to remove a forest. I hope and ask that this House would seek that the Minister with responsibility would fast-track these licences and that the fores…

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his election. It is not my first time to speak in this Chamber as I was invited here by the Cathaoirleach when I was with the AILG to represent the council and the local elected members. I thank my family, my friends and my supporters for the last 11 years. I thank Longford County Council and all the staff within that council for making it possible for me to be here today. I thank all of the elected members - the councillors - for an easy campaign and for their courtesy when I vi…