I thank the Cathaoirleach.

I raise the issue of the chronic shortage of taxis available in many towns and villages throughout the country. I welcome the fact that a new coalition of groups has come together to try to address and highlight this issue. A number of taxi organisations, the hospitality sector, the vintners' association and industry in general have come together to try to shine a light on this chronic problem. I understand this group recently wrote to An Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, on this issue as well. The lack of t…

I concur with much of what Senator Chambers said. This is wide-ranging legislation that makes a great deal of change. The Senator’s specific point on the security aspect of appointments at the highest level of An Garda Síochána is well made and deserves attention. We are very fortunate that we have people of the highest calibre and of great intelligence serving within the ranks of An Garda Síochána. I am sure they have collectively the ability and capability to undertake any tasks, as history has shown us and no do…

I concur with the sentiments of the previous speakers regarding the merits of the Garda Reserve. I noted from comments at a previous debate in this Chamber last week that the Minister indicated that moves were afoot perhaps in the first quarter of 2024, and she might correct me if I am wrong, regarding a recruitment campaign to get people to sign up for the Garda Reserve. That would be very much welcome. There is no doubt but it can be a very valuable resource. It is worth mentioning at this point is that, yes, the…

If the Minister would like me to repeat any of it, I am happy to do so.

To follow on from the Minister's comments, it is important that those thinking of applying today be given a timeframe for the process and steps along the way. This would be beneficial. I realise the Minister is trying to do work in this area. Where a person is working or trying to plan a future job, it is important to have clarity so that if he or she begins the process of becoming a member of An Garda Síochána today, he or she will be guaranteed to go through it within a set period, subject to all the relevant ste…

Living locally would allow the members of the Garda the flexibility to be able to take part in this way.

I appreciate that, yes, but this has all to do with the-----

With respect, I would probably have had my contribution completed if I had not been interrupted. Anyway, the other thing would be, if I could say this without interruption-----

My colleague, Senator Joe O'Reilly, and I are conscious that in the area we share, new Garda members are not coming to Cavan town or to Monaghan town. It has been a while since the stations in those towns have had new recruits. This is an issue that people are conscious of and it would be nice to know that some of the people passing out now would be heading to the country, so to speak, as opposed to all of them heading to the capital city. Go raibh maith agat. I thank the Cathaoirleach for his latitude.

Absolutely.

The visitors are very welcome. I welcome them to the Visitors' Gallery, and our friends on our right as well. The Order of Business is No. 1, Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2023 – All Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall in relation to amendments include only those set down or accepted by the Government, with the opening contribution by the Minister o…

I note the Cathaoirleach's comments and those of other Members-----

-----who have welcomed the announcement of sports funding this morning.

I will pass on their appreciation to the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, at the earliest opportunity.

I thank all the Senators that contributed this morning. We kicked off with Senator Fitzpatrick, who extended fantastic news to us on the improvement and recovery of the young girl and the carer that were so viciously attacked a couple of weeks ago in the city. We very much welcome that. Hopefully, as Senator Fitzpatrick outlined, the young girl and the carer in question will be home for Christmas to spend time with their families. That is good news. Senator Fitzpatrick also talked about the Land Development Agency …

I know the Senator attended the last meeting of the justice committee with the Garda Commissioner and contributed to it. Perhaps there might be an opportunity for her to address that particular issue at the meeting tomorrow. Senator Lombard talked about knackeries and the fact that they are closed at the moment, which is a very serious issue for the farming community. There is a dispute ongoing there at the moment. The Senator asked us to write to Minister to see if he can bang a few heads together and try to get a…

I so propose.

I welcome the Minister of State and Councillor Dermot Lacey. I thank the Minister of State for facilitating a meeting at my request on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group and Fine Gael group on issues that arose from a meeting with LAMA a few weeks ago. I was heartened by that meeting because I got the feeling the Minister of State understands what we talked about. He is a former local councillor as I am. It means a lot that he was engaged and I said so to him on the day. I was heartened by that. We discussed a number …

The Minister of State is very welcome. The issue of the underfunding of local and regional roads has been raised consistently by councillors in Cavan and Monaghan and in many other parts of the country. In County Monaghan we are quite unique in that we do not have any multinationals, but, fortunately, we have many people who have created their own employment through indigenous enterprises across sectors like agriculture, agrifood and engineering. It is a unique situation in that many of these small businesses are l…