As it is now 6.15 p.m. I am required to put the following question in accordance with the order of the Seanad of this day: "That amendment No. 38 is hereby negatived in Committee; section 3, as amended, is hereby agreed to in Committee; the Government amendments undisposed of are hereby made to the Bill; in respect of each of the sections undisposed of, the section or, as appropriate, the section, as amended, is hereby agreed to in Committee; the Preamble and Title are hereby agreed to in Committee and the Bill, as…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the Minister of State. Contrary to what we tell ourselves, we have sun in this country but we do not have enough solar panels to use that sun. Think of all the roofs and buildings that could convert the natural energy of the sun into electricity, yet only a handful do. Of all the roofs throughout the country, surely those on schools should be at the top of the agenda. It is almost impossible for schools and for other public buildings to install solar pane…

I thank the Minister of State very much. It is quite an historic day. When I rang around all of the different groups, including the Civil Engagement Group which cannot be here today, they were all supportive of the Bill. This can be contrasted with some of the behaviour in the Dáil, which is not quite the same when it comes to climate change. It is really important that we put that on the record. Senator Mullen is correct; it is our job to point out what may be deficiencies in Bills and to bring forward amendments …

Next Monday.

Tomorrow at 9 a.m. in the convention centre.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, issued a report on its projections for Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions. The report is stark and says that, if we follow the Climate Action Plan 2019, we will only achieve a 2% reduction per annum, far short of the programme for Government's commitment of 7%. This shows the importance of passing the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill, which is before the Seanad this week. Only by putting in place new plans and carbon budgets will we achieve …

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to ask that No. 20 be taken before No. 1. My colleague, Senator Martin, will second the amendment. No. 20 is a Private Members' Bill relating to solar panels on public buildings and schools, which would remove some of the restrictions applying to domestic properties. Since we will be discussing the climate action Bill this and next week, it is appropriate that we consider what we do in a practical sense to ensure that everyone takes part in the climate transition. I h…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend SI. No. 600/2001 of the Planning and Development Regulations, 2001, to provide for the removal of planning restrictions relating to installations of solar panels on public buildings including schools, homes, industrial buildings, light industrial buildings and agricultural holdings, and to provide for related matters.

Next Friday.

I welcome the Minister and I also welcome the Bill to the Seanad, finally. Once this Bill passes all Stages the work truly begins to transform Ireland into a leader on climate action. For the first time in the history of the State targets will be put into law. It is a momentous time for us not just in the Green Party but across government and society. I could list all of the things that I have done as an activist over many decades but the fundamental point comes down to this because it is a point that unites us all…

I will speak on amendment No. 4 proposed by Sinn Féin. We need to be careful that we are not saying there is anything inherently wrong with more of one gender than another being in part-time employment. Throughout the State we can look and survey and have CSO figures to state there are more women than men in part-time employment and then take this into account in how we put forward policy proposals to ensure women are supported in these roles. I do not believe there is anything wrong with a company having more part…

It would be great if we saw it in all companies, in one sense, but there might be an issue around anonymity, depending on how small the company is. Even with 20 employees there is a big issue around anonymity. However, the issue is not really about how ready those larger companies are but how ready the smaller companies are. As such, while I accept the arguments that we have been waiting for this since 2017, smaller businesses have not, and they have not been putting in that preparation. Covid has had a major impac…

I welcome the Minister of State. On Committee Stage I raised the issue of tenancies in perpetuity and the importance to the Green Party of ensuring that if somebody takes up a tenancy at 20 years of age, he or she is not out on his or her ear at potentially 50 years of age, as was the position at the time. With the acceptance by the Minister of extending the period to 40 years, we also do not want to see a difficulty when somebody is 60 years of age. Certainly, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, indicated that i…

I look forward to travelling around Dublin Bay South over the next few weeks and experiencing the outdoors.

I thank Senator Bacik. I might bump into her along the way. Obviously, I will be canvassing for Councillor Claire Byrne and I am looking forward to the next few weeks.

Apologies. Obviously, we have been in recess for the past week. During that time a number of things have happened and a number of those things are concerning maternal health. We bring this up week in, week out. I thank Senator Bacik for also raising the matter. I would welcome a debate on it. In particular, I would like to raise the issue of breastfeeding rates in Ireland and also the recent appointment to Safefood of an executive from an infant formula manufacturing company. This is concerning because we have unpr…

Every year in Ireland, there comes a day when women's earnings stop and when men's earnings keep going to the end of the year, effectively at least, because women earn 14% less than men in this country. Last year that date was 9 November. This is often explained away as it is not necessarily that a man and woman doing the same job are earning less than each other, but that women and men may be engaged in different kinds of work so it is often the conditions of their working lives on which a light is being shone. Wo…

Next Monday.

The Minister of State may continue until 5.30 p.m.

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?