At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing this Commencement matter this morning. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, to the Chamber. The Connemara Bog Complex is a very large site of approximately 50,000 ha. It covers the majority of the south Connemara lowlands in County Galway. The site is bounded to the north by the Galway-Clifden road, the N59, and to the south, it stretches as far as the Moycullen-Spiddal road. This is a huge area of land that is protected within the Connemara region. It is pr…

No problem. I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply on behalf of the Department. It deals quite clearly with the process to date on where we are. It states that the appeals process is now concluded and the site has moved to the final stages of the process, which requires the publication of the statutory instrument formally designating the site. There is a certainty and I know all areas got protection once the site got candidate status. However, from reading this, there will be no future opportunit…

I welcome the Deputy Leader. This morning, I want to speak on community facilities. I welcome the Government fund that has been launched by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys. There are three categories, the first being for small-scale projects and improvements to facilities worth between €10,000 and €25,000. The second category is for large-scale projects worth between €25,000 and €100,000 and the third category is for major projects worth between €100,000 and €300,000. These catego…

I welcome the Minister. I am speaking on behalf of my colleague Senator Maria Byrne. I acknowledge the range of supports the Government has provided since the outset of the Covid pandemic. I thought we were coming to the end of Covid, but, for obvious reasons, it is still in the Title of the Bill. Hopefully, it will be the last time that it will be. That is a recognition of not only the amount of money that has been spent but also the impact that Covid has had on our society. I was a member of Cabinet during that c…

Next Tuesday.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for reading out the names of those who lost their lives in the tragedy in Cork 100 years ago. I acknowledge the comments by my colleague, Senator Lombard, on this issue last week on attending the commemoration. I got a call this morning from a local primary school that is taking in 17 Ukrainian children. All was going well and the children are settling in as best they can under the circumstances and the school and teachers are dealing with the situation as best they can as well. They are t…

I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing this Commencement matter for debate. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to the Chamber. I have raised this topic on a number of occasions with the Minister of State’s colleagues, the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, who has been in the House a number of times, and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins. Unfortunately, the senior Minister has not been to the Chamber as I would like to raise directly with him the ongoing and long-running saga of the …

I thank the Minister of State for the response. The only concrete date there is is for the opening of the interim emergency department at the end of June 2022. Other than that, there are a lot of words I have heard before. Some are new, such as the phrases "strategic assessment report" and "external assurance process". They do not fill me with hope about the delivery of the project. I am afraid, as I said last time, that the project is going backwards. The costs were originally less because the project was on a sma…

I wish to raise an issue relating to NCT centres. Obviously, Covid has had an impact over a long period of time with regard to the NCT certificate, how long it is valid for and extensions. Considering that in some parts of the country, it will be months before a person will get a date for an NCT, how does that affect the validity of a person's certificate if he or she has an accident? It is an issue because in certain parts of Dublin city, a person will not get a test before the autumn. If his or her NCT is up, wha…

I welcome the ambassador to the Chamber and commend Poland on its neighbourly and humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine. I ask for a debate on the smoky coal ban and its implications for turf cutting. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, has quite rightly looked at the ban on smoky coal which is part of the programme for Government and has been supported by previous Ministers. I support that ban. The concern that has been expressed over the past number of weeks relates to the knock-on impact on the cutting, burning …

It goes without saying we are living in times of unprecedented challenge and upheaval across the world but especially here in Europe. I refer to the tragic loss of life and the impact of the illegal war in Ukraine as well as the suffering and plight of people and the number of them who have had to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. This is of course having an impact on Ireland and all our citizens. The main drivers of inflation are commodity and energy prices. Oil is up 40% on average since January and ga…

I welcome the Minister and congratulate Senators Malcolm Byrne, O'Loughlin, Casey and colleagues on bringing forward this important Bill. If I were to use one word to describe what it is about, it would be "respect", that is, respect for the institutions of the State. Since independence and the seminal moment of the handover of Dublin Castle to our Army and the raising of the Tricolour, we have had one armed force in this State. It is right and proper that the correct title would be applied to the Defence Forces an…

I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing this Commencement matter. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, to the House and thank him for visiting County Galway last Thursday to engage proactively with the director of housing services, Mr. Liam Hanrahan, and the housing team to discuss a number of projects in the county and to visit a number of those in Moycullen, Roundstone and Clifden. I have always been of the view that all types of houses are needed in all communities in Galway city and County Gal…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Certainly, the delivery of the housing delivery action plans by the summer is very important. The Minister of State spoke about the engagement he, his officials and, I am sure, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, have had with officials in Galway city and county councils. I know from my engagement with them that there are plans, whether it be regarding the council-owned lands in Claregalway, where there is a mixture of affordable and social, or in respect of private…

I believe the Deputy Leader attended the event earlier in Buswells Hotel for the cancer centre plans for the west and the north west for Saolta Hospital Group. Unfortunately, the health outcomes for cancer in the west are below par and below average when compared with the rest of the country. One in two of us will get cancer at some stage in our lives. Cancer treatment and proper treatment is hugely important across the State, especially in the west to bring us up to the average at least, or above average, in relat…

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re Technological Universities Act 2018 (Section 36) (Appointed Day) (No. 2) Order 2022 - back from committee, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 – Committee Stage, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to adjourn at 5.30 p.m., if not previously concluded; No. 3, statements regarding impacts on the farming sector arising from the situation in Ukraine, be taken at 5.30 p.m. and to conclude at 7 p.m. w…

I thank all Senators for their contributions this afternoon on a wide array of subjects. Senator Malcolm Byrne, supported by Senators Maria Byrne, Dolan and Buttimer, talked about leaving certificate reform and the welcome introduction of two new subjects, namely, climate action and sustainable development and drama, film and theatre, from 2024. The Minister, Deputy Foley, has set out a vision and a work programme that encompasses a range of areas including a new curriculum, new subjects, changing the final assessm…

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Technological Universities Act 2018 (Section 36) (Appointed Day) (No. 2) Order 2022, copies of which have been laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 23rd February, 2022.

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber to discuss this important area. Hindsight is wonderful and this time last year no one predicted a war in Ukraine and the situation we are in. It has happened, despite the best intentions of the vast majority of decent people across the world. As a result there has been an impact on lives and livelihoods and mass migration from Ukraine. The impact this has had on families across the region is foremost in our minds. We are also mindful of the impact of this on individual countrie…