It is out of order.
On prevailing side: this member voted with the winning side in 535 of 539 decisive votes (0 abstentions excluded). Read it as a government-or-opposition indicator rather than a measure of influence — the figure is near 100% for members supporting the government of the day and near 0% for those opposing it.
This is the point of the site: contributions keep the party held on the day, not the one held now.
| Party | Recorded as | Contributions | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| CC | Ceann Comhairle / Chair | 219 | 2023-01-25 – 2024-10-01 |
| FF | Fianna Fáil | 204 | 2020-06-29 – 2026-09-23 |
Membership spells on record: FF 2016-04-25–2020-03-29 · FF 2020-03-30–2025-01-29 · FF 2025-01-29–present
It is out of order.
Amendments Nos. 37 to 40, inclusive, have been ruled out of order as they do not arise out of Committee proceedings.
When is it proposed to take Fifth Stage?
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I welcome members of Newbridge Probus who are here in the Gallery. As a strong Westmeath GAA man I pay a special welcome to its president, a former player with our arch-rivals across the border in Offaly, Mr. Pat Fitzgerald. They are most welcome.
I so propose.
We open our debate with a contribution from the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ossian Smyth. The Minister of State has eight minutes.
I thank the Minister of State for his very comprehensive contribution.
The Senator was well briefed in a short space of time.
We are not having statements.
When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I thank the Minister. As he said, this is a comprehensive Bill. He will have ten minutes to sum up at the end and we will get to go through each section in more detail on Committee Stage. I am duty-bound to stick to the schedule here. I am aware that ten minutes is a short time for the Minister in this regard.
The next speaker, representing the Independent Group, is Senator Boyhan.
As there are no other Senators offering, I will return to the Minister. As the debate is scheduled to conclude at 4.45 p.m., I am offering him 1 hour and 10 minutes. One has to be careful what one wishes for around here.
When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Before I came to the House today, I met with members of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association and the Irish Beef and Lamb Association outside Leinster House. They are looking for intervention in their sector, which is in grave plight at the moment. I ask that we bring the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the House for a debate on this issue. I am conscious that most of our recent agriculture-based debates have been on the forestry sector, so it is time we had a debate on the full agricultur…
I welcome the Minister to the House. Before he commences, I welcome the visitors from Coláiste Mhuire in Cabra to the Public Gallery. They are most welcome and I hope they enjoy the part of the debate they are here to witness.
Before I proceed to Senator Keoghan, who is first to speak, I welcome Deputy Michael Moynihan and his good wife, Bríd, and some family members to the Public Gallery. They are more than welcome. I hope they enjoy the part of the debate they witness.