All of us in this House are aware of the importance of organ donation. We know also that organ donation saves lives. When someone makes a decision to have his or her organs donated, he or she gives the most important gift, that is, the gift of life. The donation greatly enhances and, in many ways, saves the life of the person receiving the donation. It can also give a sense of healing, meaning and consolation to a family of a bereaved person in that they will know that despite their great loss, their loved one has …

If the Leas-Chathaoirleach keeps talking and does not allow me in, he will be in more trouble afterwards. I am only messing, as I know the Leas-Chathaoirleach will give me my ten minutes. I have no doubt about that. On a more serious note, I was heartened by one of the Minister of State's sentences, when he said he had no issue with peat extraction being taken from the planning process, which I welcome. I could feel the frustration in his voice during his presentation on this issue. If the Minister of State feels f…

At the outset, I extend a very warm welcome to the Minister, who is my constituency colleague, into the Chamber this afternoon for this very important piece of legislation. I commend my colleague, Senator Boyhan, and his colleagues, on bringing forward this proposed piece of legislation. I often think about my former colleague, and I am glad to say, current friend, Terry Leyden, who did Trojan work on this particular issue in the previous term and succeeded in ensuring that the Bill passed through all Stages of the…

As others have said, October is a time when breast cancer awareness is at its height. It is an opportune time to support the call from Tallaght-based councillor, Teresa Costello, who wants to see free mammograms provided for all women over the age of 40. Members will know BreastCheck is currently rolling out a programme whereby women between the ages of 50 and 69 will be invited for a free mammogram every two years. That is a very welcome development, which no doubt has saved many lives. However, Councillor Costell…

We are all aware of the pressures our health system operates under. Those pressures were added to considerably with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic. For many years, GPs have been telling us about the critical lack of new GPs coming into the system and the pressure that puts on them. I am sure that, like me, the Leader is aware of many citizens coming to our towns who find it impossible to get access to a GP, which is a serious problem. I was heartened by an initiative adopted by the Irish Pharmacy Union. That …

I welcome the Minister back to the House. From a Fianna Fáil perspective, as outlined by my colleague, Senator McGreehan, we are happy to support the required changes needed to be made to defence laws. Like many others, I take this opportunity to pay tribute to members of the Defence Forces for the work they do on behalf of the State. They do what they always do. They step up to the plate whenever it is required, and Covid-19 was just another example of them doing just that. We are extremely proud of them. When man…

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach seo inniu. Ba mhaith liom fosta buíochas a ghabháil leis as a bheith anseo mar tá a fhios agam go bhfuil sé faoi bhrú agus go bhfuil a lán oibre á déanamh aige. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House this morning. He knows that Monaghan's local economy is deeply dependent on the success of the agrifood sector. There are data to support this. Monaghan has the highest agricultural export value per hectare outside of Dublin, made up mainly of…

I welcome the comments of the Minister of State regarding peat. I know he is well aware of the urgency of the issue. We need a common-sense solution to this issue today. That is how urgent it is. I am not over-emphasising the seriousness of the situation. I welcome the fact that he is allocating additional staff to deal with the backlog for permits. I look forward to the backlog being cleared sooner rather than later.

I wish to raise the issue of rights of way, the deadline of which was due to expire at the end of November. I am delighted the Cabinet made a decision today to defer that deadline. I brought this issue to the House last November, where I raised the concerns not only of landowners but of the entire legal profession that this was a cliff edge that needed to be avoided. I am delighted the Cabinet, through the recommendations of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has decided to defer that. It allows for a very stressful s…

The Minister of State is welcome to the Chamber. Fianna Fáil very much supports the motion, which allows for the continuation of the supply of Prüm data to the UK. Serious crime does not recognise any borders and we need the co-operation of all member states and indeed those outside the EU, such as the UK in this instance, to fight crime in all its forms across all borders. For that reason, I fully support the motion and am confident that other Members will do likewise. It is just another example of the fallout fro…

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

I second that.

It is also important Members have an opportunity to acknowledge when they make mistakes and show remorse for them.

I want to voice my total disgust at the British Government decision yesterday to stop all pre-1998 prosecutions arising from the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This decision of the British Government has given an amnesty to the British Army and security forces in the North and to all paramilitaries. For the families of those killed in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, in which 34 people lost their lives, Bloody Sunday, Derry and many others this means they are being told to go away and to stop annoying the British Gover…

I second the motion.

Ar dtús, cuirim fáilte mhór roimh an Aire ar ais go dtí an Teach. The Minister is very welcome to the House on this very important legislation. At the outset, I compliment him on the vigour and determination in the way he has undertaken his role as Minister. I know there is a determination within him to deliver as many sets of keys to as many people as he possibly can during his term. One thing we all or perhaps should have in common in this House is that we should do all in our power to deliver as many houses to a…

I compliment Senators Carrigy and Kyne on sharing their personal experiences this afternoon. The Minister of State is always very welcome to the House, but she is particularly welcome this evening with this legislation. I compliment her on introducing this very significant Bill. She and I spoke about the matter when she was first appointed. It is very important to many people. She deserves great credit for ensuring the Bill has been brought to the House in an expeditious manner. I compliment her on that. I also ack…

I thank the Minister for taking time out to be here this evening to listen to this debate and for the sincerity he is affording to this sad affair. It is disappointing that this is the third attempt at trying to address this issue. Unfortunately, for many, I am saddened to say, it falls sadly short of their expectations. These 156 people fought side by side. There was no distinction between any of them. They all had a job to do and they did it to the best of their ability. The manner of the events subsequent to the…

The leaving certificate for this year is now complete. Many of our young students and, indeed, their families and the colleges they hope to attend, will be hoping that the traditional third level college experience of so many students down through the years will return. Hopefully, our young leaving certificate students who wish to go to college this year will experience that. With that in mind, I welcome the news that the Government is introducing a pilot rapid testing project across four colleges, Trinity College …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach inniu. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. I wish to discuss Irish Water and the service level agreement with local authority staff. I am not, and never was, a fan of Irish Water in the first instance. I fail to see the purpose of setting up another layer of bureaucracy - some would refer to it as a quango - which currently has 800 staff on its books. Local authorities continue to provide an…