Amendments Nos. 14 to 19, inclusive, and amendments Nos. 45 to 50, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendments Nos. 20 and 51 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendment No. 22 has been ruled out of order due to a potential charge on the Revenue.

Amendments Nos. 22 and 54 were both ruled out of order. The amendments propose substituting the word "shall" in place of "may" in texts providing that Coimisiún na Meán and the Competition and Consumer Protection commission, respectively, may apply for a High Court order requiring action from a relevant provider in specified circumstances. Substituting the word "shall" for "may" removes any discretion in these circumstances and may result in increased legal proceedings in front of the High Court. Such proceedings c…

Amendments Nos. 23 to 26, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together, by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendments Nos. 27 to 34, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together, by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I will ask the Minister of State to respond first and let Senator Keogan contribute afterwards.

Senator Keogan without interruption.

With respect, Senator, this is not a point of order.

If the Senator wants to speak to the amendment-----

If the Senator does not want to speak to the amendment, we will hear from the Minister of State.

The Minister of State to respond.

Senator Ruane raised these matters. I gave a comprehensive response.

I acknowledge a group from University College Dublin who are here today as guests of Deputy Matthews. They are welcome. I hope they enjoy the evening.

I join everyone in paying sincere tribute to the statesman, former Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael, John Bruton. There has been a lot of commentary here today and I know John was a devout Catholic and a man of faith. I hope and believe that he is up there now, looking down, and is probably quite chuffed. It is often said that people are better regarded in death than in life but when people are living we do not always get the occasion or the opportunity for tributes like this. Maybe we should pay tribute while peo…

I first want to thank the Cathaoirleach’s office for choosing this Commencement matter this morning. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, to the Chamber. As he is aware, this is the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021-2030, where the focus is on the second half of life. The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing is a global collaboration, bringing together governments, civil society, international agencies, professional academia, the media and the private sector for ten years of concerted and collaborative action…

I thank the Minister for the comprehensive response on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler. I welcome the establishment of the commission on care of the older person and the appointment of Professor Alan Barrett. This is a welcome initiative that, hopefully, can lead to a new positive ageing strategy. As I said, this is a very important cohort. Growing older is not what it once was. Like any age group, the senior population has a diverse mix of people, with some married and some single, some with ch…

I welcome today's announcement from the Minister, Deputy Harris, on what is the deadline day for the CAO process, of a major expansion in courses outside the CAO process. We all know the stresses. I am sure the Deputy Leader knows as a parent, as do others who have gone through the process, that the CAO points system places stresses on pupils, parents and their wider families. Today the Minister, Deputy Harris, has announced a major expansion in degree courses outside of the CAO process. Last year he launched the f…

I would like to acknowledge and welcome the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, this week of the double payments for January on behalf of the Government to pensioners, carers, lone parents and people with disabilities. Some 66,287 people, approximately, in Galway will benefit from these double payments this week. The January cost-of-living double payment will benefit 1.3 million people nationally to the tune of €342 million in additional expenditure. This will help to ease the cost-of-living pressures t…

The Minister of State is welcome and I join others in acknowledging her advocacy and work in the area of disability services. She is a strong advocate and a personal support to all of those families and communities. I first acknowledge, as I did on the Order of Business this morning, the double payments for carers this week and for persons with a disability. That is an acknowledgement of the work and support of Government, and an acknowledgement of the difficulties with the cost of living many people face in this c…