I move: That the Sixth Report of the Committee of Selection be laid before the Seanad.

I am sharing time with Senator Conway. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today to discuss aviation. To state the obvious, Ireland, as an island nation, is heavily reliant on quality connections internationally. The connectivity pre-Covid was second to none, but it took years to build and establish it. While we kept our borders open to maintain critical supply chains over the last 12 months, we have also allowed for essential travel. That is the right thing to do but, if we are not careful and do…

On Monday, 1 March, at 10.30 a.m. in the Dáil Chamber.

I thank my colleagues. Senator McGahon spoke about something that should be on the minds of every single regulatory authority in every single country in the world. We have long talked about both the ills and the benefits in life of social media and the interaction and exchanges we have. There are many positives to social media but there are also absolute negatives. In fairness, we do not have anybody to blame as regulators except ourselves, but one such negative is that self-regulation does not work. We are seeing …

I am just finishing now-----

Not at all, I will wrap up now. We are all looking for a little bit of hope and I really hope that the living with Covid plan that will be announced tomorrow will give us that. Finally, Senator Gallagher started the day by calling for extra places for those in agriculture to get green certificates, which is very worthwhile. I will bring that to the attention of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and revert to the Senator on it later today.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Monday, 22 February 2021, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, motion on the Planning and Development (Exempted Development) Regulations 2021, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of No. 1; No. 3, motion on the Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of No. 2; No. 4, statements on the report o…

I join in the good wishes. Hopefully, Séamus will have a very long, healthy and happy retirement. He has served countless generations of Members of both Houses exceptionally well. I want to take the issue of Ulster Bank in the round because a number of Senators have raised it and I will not reply to them individually. Arising from the announcement this morning on Ulster Bank and, indeed, the devastating impact it is going to have on our banking sector, not least the impact on its customers and employees, I made a r…

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business: (1) On its rising today, the Seanad shall adjourn until 10.30 a.m. on Monday, 22nd February, 2021, in the Seanad Chamber and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) Commencement matters shall be taken in accordance with Standing Order 29; (b) Standing Order 30 shall stand suspended; (c) There shall be no Order of Business; (d) Matters on the Business of the Seanad shall be taken in accordance with Standing Order 16 (3) at…

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development (Exempted Development) Regulations 2021, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 15th February, 2021.”

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 15th February, 2021.

I thank the Minister of State for his attendance to discuss this matter. It is the second time I have brought it up in the Seanad. It concerns the need for the expansion of the supports for homeowners whose dwellings are affected by pyrite. The Minister of State is well aware that the pyrite remediation scheme eligibility conditions, specifically the construction date, limits the remediations to dwellings built after 1997 and before 2014. I have been corresponding recently with the Pyrite Resolution Board over a pa…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I have much hope from the fact that the necessary amendments will be considered. The defective concrete blocks grant scheme must be extended, beyond the two counties for which it was established, to Dublin Fingal and indeed probably other areas. The reason I am so invested in this issue is because the couple in question are retired. They are pensioners. They have absolutely no other way, without the intervention of State aid, to fix the home that they have raised thei…

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding appointment of a member of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, motion regarding the appointment of Shalom Binchy to the Policing Authority, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 1, without debate; No. 3, motion regarding the appointment of Elaine Byrne to the Policing Authority, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 2, without debate; No. 4, motion regarding the appointment of Donal de …

In response to Senator Carrigy, negative interest rates are an issue that was highlighted in the House last week, I think, and the week before. To that end, I wrote to the Minister for Finance last week asking for his response to it and what plans he might have. Otherwise we need to have a debate in the House to outline the impact on those who might not even realise yet that just holding money on deposit is going to start costing money now. I know that we do not get an awful lot of payback for people who save in th…

I move: That Seanad Éireann, noting that the Government agreed on 12th January, 2021, to propose, for the approval of Seanad Éireann, the appointment of Deirdre Malone to be a member of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, and pursuant to sections 9 and 10 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, approves the appointment of Deirdre Malone, with effect from 1st October, 2020, by the Government to be a member of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority in accordance with that Act, such appointment being for a pe…

I move the following motions: That Seanad Éireann recommends, pursuant to section 62C(7) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, that Shalom Binchy be appointed by the Government to be a member of the Policing Authority." That Seanad Éireann recommends, pursuant to section 62C(7) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, that Elaine Byrne be appointed by the Government to be a member of the Policing Authority.” That Seanad Éireann recommends, pursuant to section 62C(7) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, that Donal de Buitleír be appoin…

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on mental health and Covid-19, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to conclude at 4.30 p.m., with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed seven minutes, those of all other Senators not to exceed four minutes, and the Minister to be given not less than five minutes to reply to the debate. Business will be interrupted at 3 p.m. for 15 minutes for sanitisation of the Chamber.

I thank my colleagues. I am slightly in shock to hear Senator Daly say that we have 800,000 dogs and that only 217,000 of them are licensed. That should be something that is relatively simple to enforce yet we are not doing it. Deputy Casey raised the wonderful initiative of Ruby. It is particularly topical in conversation for the past 12 months when all of us have been walking around our villages because there has been nothing else to do. The amount of dog faeces in this country is phenomenal, and we all know the …

The Order of Business is No. 1, Dumping at Sea Act 1996 (Section 5(12)) (Commencement) Order 2021, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Bill 2020 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to conclude after 90 minutes, if not previously concluded, by the Chair putting one question which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government; No. 3, statements on …