I want to pass on the deepest sympathies of the Labour Party to our Fine Gael colleagues, John's wife Finola, his sons, his daughter, his grandchildren and his brother, Richard, and his sister, Mary. It is difficult to speak about a man I did not know but knew of because he dominated my early political life, especially following the very personal perspectives of Senators Doherty, O'Reilly and McDowell on our former Taoiseach. I will not take up too much time as I understand our Fine Gael colleagues will want to tak…

Yesterday, there was a presentation in Leinster House by Sporting Liberties on the issue of sports infrastructure in the south-west inner city. There is not a single playing pitch for the more than 8,000 children in the area. Back in 2014, I started a campaign with Sporting Liberties to rezone land and deliver pitches on the former Boys' Brigade pitches in St. Teresa's Gardens. That project is in train but it will not be delivered until 2026. It is unacceptable that there are no adequate sports facilities for the c…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter, which is impacting worried parents all over the country. In the past decade and particularly since the Covid pandemic, the price of infant formula has shot up. The price for an 800 g can in some of the main supermarkets varies between €15 and €25. A baby may need up to ten cans of formula a month, which ends up costing the equivalent of 18% to 20% of the monthly State maternity benefit or 143% of the monthly child benefit. We have a responsibility to protect new…

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate him outlining it from a consumer protection point of view. I saw a reply from his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, when Deputy O'Reilly asked this question last May because it has been an existing issue. She essentially received an outline on the promotion of breastfeeding, which read to me as saying the Government was not going to do anything because people should be breastfeeding, which certainly does not help any parents. I find those answers really f…

I would kill him too.

I will not speak for long on Second Stage. I will indicate some of the issues that we may raise on Committee and Report Stages. First, concerns have been raised about the date of the election, which is happening at the same time as the local and European elections. That might mean that the Limerick mayor debate is not given the necessary attention that it should get. One consideration could be putting it back, even to September, so they can properly consider the candidates for mayor. The introduction of directly el…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. It is a privilege to be here at what is the end of an era with the retirement of Senator Norris. He has not just been a strong voice in this Chamber but has been a strong voice nationally and internationally for human rights and gay liberation. He leaves a mark on an Ireland that is much different from the country he was born into. He has set the agenda for the country that we now live in. Thanks to Senator Norris, there are thousands of young gay men, women, trans, non-binary and queers …

I will not be taking the ten minutes either. I want to raise something that was in one of the amendments. I am disappointed that they will not be accepted. I ask the Government to take another look at it and speak to the Electoral Commission. This relates to candidates’ addresses being published and the anonymity that some candidates should have. I questioned the Electoral Commission on this when it was at the housing committee last week. It seemed unwilling to move from the situation where candidates are required …

I thank the Independent Group for tabling this motion. We have very many large challenges in the next 30 to 50 years, including decarbonisation of our country. There are large challenges in the areas of climate; moving away from car allocation and towards more active transport; housing, including catching up on housing that has not been built over the past decade; large-scale developments and infrastructure such as wind farms; and planning. These are all areas where local democracy should have a key role. Our syste…

I move amendment No. 5: To insert the following after “That Seanad Éireann”: “notes that: - while it is acknowledged that the horse and greyhound racing sectors do not qualify for sports capital funding, they are unique in Irish sport in that they are supported by the State through their own ring-fenced statutory fund; - that payments into the Fund have increased from €54 million in 2014 up to the €95 million proposed for 2024, an increase of 76% in a decade, with the proposed payment for 2024 an increase of a furt…

The Labour Party has tabled amendments to the motion. I urge Members to consider whether they can support those amendments. We need to look at how the system of funding of greyhound and horse racing is regulated. The horse and greyhound industries are supported by the State through ring-fenced statutory funding, and are among the only sports where this happens. The horse racing industry receives financial support from the State through the horse and racing fund. The payments into the fund have increased from €54 mi…

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after “October, 2023”: “; - that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine shall, within 3 months following the passing of this motion, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the manner in which the obligation for rehoming under section 29 of the Greyhound Racing Act 2019 is being complied with”.

I move amendment No. 2: To insert the following after “October, 2023”: “; - that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine shall, within 3 months following the passing of this motion, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the potential for future regulations to split the Horse and Greyhound Fund into two separate funds”.

I move amendment No. 3: To insert the following after “October, 2023”: “; - that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine shall, within 6 months following the passing of this motion, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the manner in which the operation and dispersal of the Horse and Greyhound Fund has reflected the obligations under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014”.

I move amendment No. 4: To insert the following after “October, 2023”: “; - that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine shall, within 6 months following the passing of this motion, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the potential for a dedicated portion of the Fund to be allocated towards community projects which involve the care and protection of animals”.

We welcome this Bill and we will be supporting it. This legislation has been delayed several times and I understand it is a highly technical Bill that required time, but it is great the Minister has now brought it here, and the sooner we pass it, the sooner lives can be saved. This Bill enacts the recommendations that were made in the Madden report in 2005 concerning post mortem practices and procedures. This is very a positive step in ensuring our bodily autonomy and integrity in death and in providing families wi…

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that: - 57,206 properties are vacant according to local property tax returns, census estimates are much higher at 166,752, not including 66,135 seasonal holiday homes; - the compulsory purchase order (CPO) process is cumbersome, expensive and takes too long to have a significant effect on the vacancy and dereliction we see in our towns and villages; - there are 12,827 people living in emergency accommodation according to the latest figures from the Department of Housing, L…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. As I did during the debate on Housing for All last week, I acknowledge the good work being done by Government in this area, particularly relating to individual grants. However, much more can be done by the State particularly by local authorities relating to the compulsory purchase order, CPO, process. Vacancy and dereliction is a housing issue but it is also an urban renewal issue. In every city, town and village in Ireland there are vacant spaces that blight our communi…

It is good to see general agreement around the issue of dereliction and vacancy. The motion does not detract from the good schemes that are in place, but focuses on ways in which the system can be improved. When we go around our towns and cities, we can see the urban renewal that is needed. While the Minister of State says the CPO process is working, the Law Reform Commission says it is not. It has proposed ways to streamline the CPO process and make it easier. Those recommendations should be taken on board and ado…

We are reaching a turning point in the bombardment of Gaza. This week we learned that two of the main hospitals have ceased operations because there is no fuel and because they are damaged beyond repair. In Al-Shifa hospital, there are newborns who are relying on life support and incubators that have been turned off. Three have died and babies are being left on the floor without oxygen and are just simply being kept warm. According to reports in the past six hours, trapped Palestinian people are digging mass graves…