The Order of Business is No.1, statements on community safety, to be taken at 5.15 p.m., with time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not exceeding ten minutes, group spokespersons not exceeding ten minutes and all Senators not exceeding five minutes. Time may be shared and the Minister is to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

I thank all Senators for their contributions today. Senators O'Loughlin and McCarthy spoke about the Ukraine war. We will have a minute's silence tomorrow after the Order of Business to mark the third anniversary of the war. I urge Members to be in attendance. I will bring forward the larger point on a debate with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence on what is an important issue. The €6 million in funding for the just transition was mentioned. I believe Kildare did quite well out of that f…

The Order of Business is No. 1 and No. 2, motions regarding the election of Leas-Chathaoirleach, to be taken at the conclusion of the Order of Business and to be discussed together; No. 3, motion regarding arrangements for the taking of Commencement matters, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of No. 2; No. 4, motion regarding the restoration of Bills to the Order Paper, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of No. 3; No. 5, a motion regarding proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of a Council decisio…

I thank all Senators for their contributions. We started with Senator O'Loughlin, who spoke about the highs and, unfortunately, lows of sporting life. We acknowledge the great success of Sam Prendergast and Michael Noonan, but we also remember the tragic loss of Michael O'Sullivan and John Cooney. Galway endured a double tragedy this week in light of the loss of Michael Coleman, a former all-Ireland hurling star. We certainly remember them here today. She also spoke about the excellent work being done by LAMA and t…

I move: "That Senator Maria Byrne be elected Leas-Cathaoirleach." It gives me great privilege to propose the name of my good friend and colleague Senator Maria Byrne for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach. I would like to acknowledge Senator Byrne's mum, Helen, who is watching online, and give a special mention to her aunt and uncle, Teresa and Paul, who are also watching in. Maria has long political experience. She is a former member of Limerick City Council, to which she was first elected in 1999. She served as …

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, up to six Commencement matters may be selected by the Cathaoirleach for discussion on each day the Seanad sits up to and including 6th March, 2025.”

I move: That, in pursuance of Standing Order No. 180 of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Bills which lapsed by reason of the Seanad General Election, January, 2025, and are set out in the Schedule to this motion, shall be restored to the Order Paper at the stage specified in the Schedule below:

Nest Tuesday at 2.30 p.m.

The Order of Business is No. 1, Ministers and Secretaries and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Bill - all Stages, to be taken at 12.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister in the debate on Second Stage not to exceed ten minutes and those of group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and time may be shared, those of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate, and Commit…

I thank all Senators for their contributions on the Order of Business, particularly the first-time speakers who made their maiden contributions and thanked the electorate and their families and friends for the honour of being elected here. Senator O’Loughlin discussed the issues of displacement and the Eyre Powell centre in Newbridge. I hope that alternatives are found, or at least that there can be remediation of that facility, because it sounds like it is a valuable part of the community. When children are in Sta…

I welcome the Minister and congratulate him on his appointment as Minister for public expenditure and reform. I support this legislation. Reference has been made to the fact that government is becoming more complex and that responsibilities are ever increasing. It was interesting during the preparation of our party's manifesto to note the number of sectoral groups that came in with very reasonable pitches but many of which sought a stand-alone Minister of State or even a stand-alone Minister at Cabinet to deal with…

I was lucky enough to serve in the other House for two terms and, as a Minister of State and Chief Whip, I attended Cabinet. The responsibilities given to Ministers of State are delegated responsibilities, namely, legal responsibilities, and the requests that the Ministers make of them. Sometimes, that involves heading over to Brussels or some other location in Europe to attend sectoral meetings relevant to their Departments. The amount of time spent on these things can be quite high. The former Taoiseach, Leo Vara…

Now.

Wednesday at 2.30 p.m.

I congratulate you on your appointment, a Chathaoirligh, and wish you every success in the coming years. I acknowledge your family and the presence of your father. All the members of your family have assisted you so much. I recognise the Cathaoirleach as somebody who has a great love of this institution. He is an institutionalist in respecting the constitutional role of this institution. He had a number of innovations in his previous term as Cathaoirleach and I am sure there are more to come in that regard. He has …

We propose next Wednesday, 19 February 2025.

The Order of Business is No. 5, motion regarding the arrangements for the sittings of the Seanad until 25 February 2025 to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate.

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the sittings of the Seanad until Tuesday, 25th February, 2025: (a) Standing Orders 31 and 32 shall stand suspended; (b) The Order of Business shall be proposed at the commencement of business on each day the Seanad sits up to that date; (c) The ordinary routine of business shall resume on 25th February, 2025.

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

I propose Senator Garret Ahearn.