At this evening's meeting of the committee on agriculture, various farm bodies will attend to discuss farm safety, mental health and farmers' mental health and well-being. In previous years in the Seanad there were statements on farm safety during Farm Safety Week. I do not know what has moved but last year and again this year Farm Safety Week has fallen during our summer recess. It is a missed opportunity so with that in mind I ask the Leader to include Seanad statements on farm safety in the autumn that, albeit t…

At the outset, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Councillor Aoife Davitt on becoming the first female cathaoirleach of the county council of my native Westmeath. As we all know, Aoife is a sister of our colleague Senator Davitt. It is annual general meeting time for the councils, so I congratulate and wish all incoming cathaoirligh the very best of good luck and compliment the outgoing. However, I give a special mention to Councillor Davitt on becoming the first female cathaoirleach of Westmeath…

I was at a meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight and I left because I did not want to miss the opportunity to attend the Minister of State's first visit back to the Seanad. As a former Member, colleague and good friend in the previous Seanad, I want to welcome him and wish him the best of luck in his new role. I know the portfolio is in capable hands but it is a major role. It is a big job of work he has to do. I am fearful of repetition as I did not hear most of the debate. I complimen…

I also welcome our friends from Slovenia to the House. I want to raise the issue of the recent coverage of the RSA and its consideration of introducing tractor driving tests and training for those aged 16 and over. As of now, a 16-year-old can just apply for a provisional licence and, without any training, step up on one of the monstrosities of tractors that we see on our back roads now. What I really cannot believe, since this announcement was made, is that there has been some opposition to it. In fact, there has …

I refute the remarks of my colleague, Senator Mullen, with regard to Fianna Fáil's attitude towards drugs. Nothing could be further from the truth. I presume he was referring to the part of our manifesto that mentioned decriminalising certain drugs for personal use. That is a health-led response to drug addiction and a far more compassionate way of dealing with a problem than the criminal route for those unfortunate people who find themselves addicted through no fault of their own. I refute the Senator's remarks. I…

I second that proposal.

I welcome the Minister of State on his first visit to the Seanad in his new role. As a good friend, I compliment and congratulate him on his appointment. I know that the agrifood sector is in safe hands and that the Minister of State will not be found wanting. This sector is and has been a good news story. The proof of this was no more evident than in the most recent downturn. When the economy was on its knees, it was this sector and the exports from this sector across the world that got this country back up and ru…

A good promotion.

I would like to lend my support to Senator Murphy's request regarding the stadium in Belfast. I am a very passionate Gael from Westmeath and we hover at around the same level as Antrim in football and hurling. I used to be a frequent visitor to Casement Park. It grieves me now every time I see the footage on the news or another programme of how derelict and overgrown the stadium has become. It is vitally important that Belfast have a strong GAA centre and stadium. We are approaching the five-month anniversary of St…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, to the Chamber. He is a former colleague here, and I think it might be the first time we have interacted since his elevation, so I congratulate him on both his election to the Lower House and his elevation to the position of Minister of State. Given the fact that we are former colleagues, I hope he will look on my request favourably. The Commencement matter refers to the need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to review the Uisce Éireann wate…

I accept the Minister of State's response. Regarding his final point, the people I represent here do not have redundant meters; they are needed. There is an accumulation of costs because the meters are fragmented. Before 2014 and the establishment of Irish Water, the local authorities decided this. They had one customer charge irrespective of the number of meters. I take on board what the Minister of State said about how neither he nor I could influence Uisce Éireann's charging regime, but it is hard to accept that…

I reiterate the remarks of my colleague, Senator Rabbitte, when it comes to water safety on the eve of the bank holiday weekend. In that vein, it is a similar issue I wish to raise, which is farm safety. In that same sphere of coming into the June bank holiday weekend with the ever-increasing workload on farms, including silage making, hay making and, in my area, going to the bog, it is a busy period. With that extra workload and that children are now coming home on school holidays, and we all know farm families li…

I welcome that last week the Minister for agriculture included blackgrass on the list of noxious weeds under the noxious weeds legislation. It joins a group of other weeds, including broad-leaved dock, common ragwort, creeping thistle, spring wild oat and winter wild oat. They are all invasive species and are very destructive on agricultural land. The onus is on all landowners to remove these species, and that includes local authorities and roads authorities. However, on reading the small print, the farmer is oblig…

I wish to be associated with the remarks of the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and those of my colleague, Senator Fitzpatrick, in sending my deepest sympathies and condolences to my good friend and colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, on the death of his sister, Anne. Go ndéanfaidh Dia trócaire ar a hanam uasal. When I stand up in the House, people wait to see what aspect of farming I will talk about, but I am going to give everyone a break on this occasion and not mention farming. I acknowledge…

I thank Senator Casey for allowing me to share time, as time is limited and I was not going to get an opportunity. I thank the Minister of State for being here today. While I will not disclose his age - I do not know it down to a fine art but I have a fair idea - I know he has never lived in an Ireland that was not in the EEC or EU. I, on the other hand, was eight when Jack Lynch led us into the EEC. I am the eldest of seven who were reared and educated and never wanted for anything on a very small farm with a lot …

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber today. I am really enthusiastic about his enthusiasm, and I can vouch for it. I am a veteran of the previous two agriculture committees. I am the only one who sat on the previous agriculture committee with the licensing issues, in particular, that were ongoing. If there were a league table for topics discussed by the agriculture committee, forestry would have topped that league hands down. Although he was not on the committee, the Minister of State used to frequent mos…

I will ask the Leader to initiate a debate. As seems to often be the case with me, I do not know which Minister I am looking for. This is an agricultural issue but it may fall under the remit of the Minister for the environment. An article in last week's edition of the Irish Farmers' Journal , ran under the headline, "Farm emissions estimates cut by 7%." This is massive news in the context of the climate and the targets that have been set for the agriculture sector. The article states that a refinement of the green…

I welcome the Minister of State and wish to be associated with all the congratulations he has received since he came in here. Like Senator Davitt, I soldiered with him in the chamber of Westmeath County Council so he will forgive me if by lapse of memory I call him a councillor or Boxer, but I know he will answer to both. Since I came in, I also have found out that a happy birthday is in order, so we send him good wishes in that regard as well. I am in a lucky position in that I will not have to bring up any local …

I am sharing time with Senator Dee Ryan. It would be remiss of me not to be associated with the remarks of Senator Andrews and to acknowledge the passing of the legend that was Mick O'Dwyer. From a Westmeath point of view, we will always remember the early 2000s and 2004 in particular, when we won our one and only Leinster Senior Football Championship, with the great Páidí Ó Sé in the Westmeath dugout and Mick O'Dwyer in the Laois dugout on both the day of the drawn game and the replay. Unfortunately, they have bot…

I wish to speak on a matter about which I am becoming more worried by the day. In the past couple of days, a fifth case of foot and mouth disease was confirmed in Slovakia. In fact, the Slovakian Government has now declared an official state of emergency in the country. This originated with one case in Germany on 6 January, followed by identified cases in Hungary and now Slovakia. In Slovakia, it is happening in a wider territory of the country. There have been cases confirmed on the Hungarian and Austrian borders.…