Senator McGahon, without interruption.

I welcome the motion from Sinn Féin and the opportunity for debate it provides. I welcome the Minister of State. As I have said previously in the House, I recollect that in 2011, when I was in the other House, we had a debate on housing in which we talked about developers and banks that had gone bust, ghost estates, people in negative equity and the IMF being in charge of the country. Those were the challenges in 2011 and for a number of years thereafter before we reformed the economy, balanced the books and built …

I welcome the Minister of State, but I join Senator Horkan in expressing disappointment that neither the Minister nor one of the Ministers of State at the Department of Health are here to take these matters. The Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, is on duty in both Houses. Unfortunately, it seems to be the new trend that Ministers come in to speak on behalf of all Departments on a certain day. Bernard Gloster, the CEO of the HSE, is on record as saying that Galway is far behind the capital curve in comparison with o…

I thank the Minister of State for the response from the Department of Health. He is right that there are a lot of acronyms in his response but there are not any timelines - any dates for delivery, for when planning permission might be lodged, for when the design might be complete or for when the oversight board might report. There is not any date for meaningful progress that could help constituents in the medium term, because there is no short term here. As I said on numerous occasions, when the former Minister, De…

I welcome the publication yesterday of the school transport 2030 review of the school transport scheme - phase 3 report by the Minster, Deputy Foley. I call for a debate on this matter. There are some positive issues, some I still query and others which have not been dealt with at all in this report. First, there is talk that eligibility will no longer be judged by the nearest school criteria. That is certainly a welcome change. The need for an annual ticket charge was proven when the fees were scrapped the year be…

I thank my colleague, Senator Byrne, for sharing her time. I thank my colleagues in the Labour Party for putting down this very important motion. The speech from the Minister, Deputy McEntee, clearly laid out the priorities, investment and legislative programme the Government has pursued in respect of the justice portfolio and gardaí. A lot of impressive statistics have been provided. I welcome in particular the recent changes regarding the maximum age for entry into An Garda Síochána. It will make a difference, an…

I join others in welcoming the Canadian delegation to the Houses. I also acknowledge the sad passing of Michael O'Regan, who was a good friend to people in Leinster House and a very pleasant individual who certainly did not forget his Kerry roots. He was a proud Kerry man who was involved in the Kerry Association here in Dublin. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Like the previous speaker, I raise issues relating to rail transport. I know this is an issue that is close to the Leader's heart. With the resumption of …

Now.

Now.

For the information of Members, please note that the House by agreeing to the motion to recommit allows a Committee Stage-style discussion on amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, and amendment No. 32, and those amendments only. That is, Members may speak more than once on each of those amendments. In respect of other amendments, I remind Senators that a Senator may speak only once on Report Stage except the proposer of an amendment who may reply to the discussion on the amendment. Also on Report Stage each non-Govern…

Amendments Nos. 5 and 6 are related and may be discussed together, by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendments Nos. 9 and 10 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendments Nos. 11 and 20 to 25, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome to the Chamber Mr. Etienne Rapacki, who is the guest of Senator Horkan. I hope he enjoys proceedings.

Amendments Nos. 26 to 30, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendments Nos. 33 and 34 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Pursuant to Standing Order 154, it is reported especially to the Seanad that the Committee has amended the Title of the Bill. Is it agreed that the Bill, as amended, be received for final consideration? Agreed.

When is it proposed to take the next Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank the Minister of State or his response. I am somewhat aware of the intricacies of this issue in east County Galway. The construction of this site started before I entered politics, and I will be in it 20 years in June this year. It has been going on a while. The thrust of the Bill introduced by Senators McDowell and Boyhan makes sense in terms of there being an issue, which is a site capable of producing energy and what can be done to allow it to be maintained and produce that energy. The Minister of State h…