I strongly second the amendment.

There is not a little irony in Senator O'Sullivan declaring that the university seats are a rotten borough. Let us just remind ourselves that this is an undemocratic Chamber. Let us remind ourselves that most people watching today - who knows, there could be dozens watching at home today - have no vote whatsoever in terms of how people are elected to this Chamber. That is the rotten borough. That is the rotten borough that successive Governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have failed to tackle. I agree that t…

I wish to speak in support of amendment No. 64 and in support of my colleague, Senator Boylan, who articulated so clearly why this amendment should be accepted. I am shocked that 130,000 electrical items can be brought straight to dumps in one week. It is absolutely shocking. I have to be direct with the Minister of State, though I will be respectful. I cannot for the life of me understand why he would not support an amendment like this, something that will make a fundamental difference in a really significant way,…

Well said.

Well said.

Well said.

Well said.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I want to raise the issue of bus transport with specific reference to Limerick, but there is a wider debate to be had. Last week, with only a week's notice, a private company, Dublin Coach, announced it would suspend its 307-308 bus service, which goes from Limerick city centre to the University of Limerick and on to Annacotty. To explain, Castletroy, which this bus service serves, is one of the fastest growing areas, not only in Munster but in the country. This is shocking news because students and families depend…

I extend a warm welcome to Ms Cara Hunter MLA and Dr. James Wilson. It is great to see them here today. There is a strike happening today on behalf of the Irish Wheelchair Association in 50 centres throughout the State. The workers are personal assistants who carry out very important work in terms of personal care, hygiene and the social outlets they create for their clients. As one client says in a video on the SIPTU website, if it was not for this person they would not get out of their house. That is too often th…

Well said.

No.

Well said.

I will begin by highlighting that as we end the month of June, a month of summertime, we have a new record number of patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick. The new record is 1,829. If we are creating new records of patients on trolleys in June, God help us when it comes to September, October and the onset of winter. I do not doubt that the Leader has requested a debate on the university hospital for me on a number of occasions. I would ask the Leader to do so again. It is not acceptable for the Minis…

Well said.

Hear, hear.

This is my first contribution. I welcome the Minister the State and I hope he had his Weetabix this morning. I want to talk about people at work because this summer, in particular, let us be frank, large parts of our tourism industry are being propped up by 16- and 17-year-olds working across hotels, restaurants and fast food establishments. They go to work, work 40 hours - my son is one of them – and pay tax. They have absolutely no say whatsoever in the world they are working in. What was the old phrase about “no…

At the start of every Seanad, everyone comes in and says they will reform the Seanad. The Government parties then make sure that absolutely nothing happens for the next five years. That is the reality of it. We will make a slight exception in fairness to the Cathaoirleach.