Children do not need books; they have Google and they find out many things there. As long as people are safe and respectful and anything that is done is consensual and between people of legal age, we have to let people live their own lives.

Obviously, parents have a right to know what is going on, and I am sure they do.

They can engage if they feel there is something inappropriate. I compliment Senator Carrigy, who is a strong advocate for autism. I attended the launch of the interim report on the summer programme for next year. The Senator commented on the use of technologies for non-verbal children, which is a wonderful suggestion and should be taken up. I am sure he will find support in these Houses for that. Senator Conway highlighted the reductions in the costs of diesel and petrol, for which we are thankful, and spoke about …

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business: The Seanad on its rising on Wednesday, 14th December, 2022, shall adjourn until 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 15th December, 2022, and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) Standing Orders 29 and 30 shall stand suspended; (b) The business to be taken up to the Order of Business shall be confined to the items set out in the Schedule to this paragraph and, accordingly, no other business shall be taken unless the Seanad shall oth…

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Partnership Council es…

I move: That, in accordance with the recommendation of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight pursuant to Standing Order 98(2)(b), the Orders of Reference of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee, as agreed by Order of the Seanad of 7th December, 2021, be amended in paragraph (2), by the deletion of ‘nine’ and the substitution therefor of ‘eleven’.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Cuirim fáilte freisin roimh an ainmniú seo de cheathrar chuig An Coimisiún Toghcháin. Is coimisiún fíorthábhachtach é seo ó thaobh toghchán don todhchaí sa tír seo, agus tá sé neamhspleách freisin. I welcome the Minister of State. I welcome the progress in the establishment of the Electoral Commission and congratulate the four nominees, subject to the signature of the President. I know they initially expressed an interest, and it is important that people have an interest in servin…

Now.

Now.

I thank and compliment Senator Boylan for initiating this Bill. I compliment the members of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine for their work on the publication of the report, which contains numerous recommendations and observations that should be progressed over the coming period. I know the Minister is reviewing the guidelines at the moment. In a previous life I served as Minister of State at the Department of Community and Rural Development. We enacted the revised guidelines on dog breeding …

I compliment the Cathaoirleach and the team on the wonderful events held yesterday to mark the centenary of the Seanad's first sitting. It was a tremendous success. There was a good representation of former Members and they certainly enjoyed the occasion. I compliment the Cathaoirleach on the initiative, all those involved in the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Seanad team here. I note that Deputy Clarke asked the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in the Dáil on 2 June whether he was satisfied with staff appointments i…

I again rise to discuss a number of matters relating to Inland Fisheries Ireland. I am reminded of the famous question asked of Thomas Becket by an English king, who asked, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" What is one to do if one needs to get rid of the chair of a State board? What would be a good way of doing that? One way would be to target his or her family. That would be a good way of doing it because people are loyal to their family, and if a member or members of person's family have been target…

I know the family very well. Multiple anonymous letters have been received from former employees of Inland Fisheries Ireland, and one of the employees was suspended after 37 years of service. When that was done, they then targeted the then chair’s nephew, who is also an employee of Inland Fisheries Ireland. Clearly, people within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Inland Fisheries Ireland were not happy with the way the board was acting, because it was trying to save the western lakes and to tak…

Absolutely. The Minister was happy to investigate the board but he does not seem to be willing, or is not being advised, to investigate Inland Fisheries Ireland itself, its senior management and the issues that have been brought to the management’s attention and that of the Department by me, Senator Burke and others over recent months.

I welcome Terry’s family to the Chamber. I welcome his widow, Aileen, and his children, David and Tanya, as well as Bobby, who is looking on. I also welcome Deputy Joe Carey and former Deputy Brian Walsh as well, both very close friends of Terry, as well as the Members who served with him in this House. I did not serve with Terry in this House, but I served with him in the parliamentary party from 2011 to 2016. Any conversations I had with him were always very friendly and were on plenty of topics, such as family, …

I welcome the Minister. We all agree that the help-to-buy scheme is a tremendous programme, supported by the Minister and the Government and pushed through in recent years with the support of the Houses. It has been a great initiative to help people to set up in their first home. In Galway, some 1,784 people have benefited from the scheme. Up to November of this year, approximately 37,330 have benefited from it nationally. Has the Minister examined the success of the initiative in terms of how it has worked and wha…

I thank the Minister for the response. We will not push the recommendation. It is regrettable that Sinn Féin does not want to help people to buy a home and would deny assistance to those who have benefited from the scheme. More than 1,784 people in Galway and some 37,000 nationally have to date been assisted to get their feet on the property ladder via the tax rebate under the help-to-buy scheme. It is important to acknowledge that.

I agree with Senator Maria Byrne. The changes that were made to the small business exemption scheme, from a limit of €500 to one of €1,000, are very welcome. I understand that a company will be able to give two vouchers to employees under the scheme. Does the Minister have any plans to broaden the scheme? Obviously, people are facing additional costs from transport and energy, among other issues, and such a change would be well received.

I concur with Senator Byrne. In government, Fine Gael has shown that we want to allow people to keep more of their money and to put more money back in their pockets. The Minister and the Government have increased the threshold at which people will start paying the higher rate of tax. We have kept pace with the increases in the minimum wage with adjustments to the USC as well. Those measures are important. With regard to recommendations Nos. 3, 4 and 5, a number of suggestions have been made, including the introduct…

I concur with the recommendation. All initiatives to improve energy efficiency should be improved and made more easily available, whether for the rental sector or for individual homeowners who, for example, want to replace the front and back doors of their house. If people are not in receipt of the fuel allowance and the household benefits package, they are not able to draw down a grant for that type of work. People who are working are unable to draw down any grants to improve the heating efficiency and heat retent…