I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him, his Department officials and the members of the Oireachtas joint committee on their work on this comprehensive and complex legislation, which I warmly welcome. Coming from a coastal community and having seen the potential for offshore wind energy, I appreciate the enactment of this legislation will be extremely important. The Minister mentioned the Foreshore Act 1933. Is it being replaced in its entirety or only sections of it? That Act would have dealt with…

Next Tuesday.

I will share time with Senators Dolan and McGahon.

I welcome the Tánaiste. I acknowledge the level of spending that is estimated by the Department of Finance that will be spent by the end of 2022, which is €48 billion. This is an astounding amount but absolutely necessary to support these businesses. We must remember of course that it is businesses, workers, entrepreneurs, corporations and everybody who has contributed to them. We are able to borrow this from the European institutions on the basis of our good name and reputation and the work we have done to balance…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and the arrival of the Finance Bill 2021 before us. It has to be enacted before Christmas to implement all the very positive changes contained in the budget announced a couple of months ago. I particularly welcome the changes ensuring that the increases in the minimum wage will not be gobbled up by the universal social charge, USC. This is the eighth such increase made by a Fine Gael-led or Fine Gael coalition government. The latest increase of 30 cent brings the minim…

I so propose.

I welcome the Minister of State. I will take up some of the comments regarding masks in schools, with the exception of those with special health requirements. I heard a commentator compare masks in school to a form of child abuse. This is absolutely ridiculous and scandalous. It is an insult to anybody who has, unfortunately, suffered a form of child abuse. Masks are an inconvenience. They are a bit of a pain. That is it. That is as much as they are unless people have a medical condition. Most children will have no…

I wish all Finnish people a happy national day next week. We all know businesses that have had Christmas parties and bookings for smaller gatherings and groups coming up to Christmas cancelled because of the increase in Covid cases and the current necessary health restrictions. The hospitality sector, above any sector, has faced tremendous challenges since the start of this pandemic. I served in government when this pandemic started. We introduced the temporary wage subsidy scheme, which was replaced by the employm…

The Deputy Leader is welcome. I call for a debate in the coming weeks on the winter plan that was agreed by the Cabinet and published in recent weeks. Thanks to you, a Chathaoirligh, I raised it in a Commencement debate and at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health. I refer to the situation in the Saolta University Health Care Group and the fact that no acute beds are being provided this winter under the winter plan, despite 205 beds being provided nationally and the fact that one in eight patients on trolleys in…

I welcome the Minister and join others in condemning the protest outside his family home and, indeed, protests outside the family homes of any politicians of any persuasion. That is to be condemned. There is a time and a place for protest and free speech, and we have a proud record in this country of allowing protest to take place on our streets. We have seen examples of that during the Covid pandemic. It is right and proper that free speech be allowed but not in the form of protests at the private properties of po…

I will take six minutes, if that is okay. I would like to acknowledge the work by Senators Doherty and Gallagher on this important legislation. The purpose of any Second Stage debate is to do just that - to debate and to put forward facts, to put forward alternative facts, if one can use that phrase, to dispute items and to put forward concerns people have regarding the legislation. It is important to put that on the record. On where we are, I will make a few points and the Minister of State might be able to confir…

I will be sharing time with Senators Dolan and Cummins. I welcome the Minister and thank him for his work on the national development plan. It is important that we have a vision for Ireland in the years ahead and, more importantly, a commitment to capital infrastructure thereafter. I will be parochial and say that the people of Galway wait with bated breath at the possibility that Intel will come to an area of State-owned lands near Oranmore in Galway, which is the result of the foresight and vision of Galway Count…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth. I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing my Commencement matter. I am disappointed and it is not good enough that neither the Minister for Health nor one of his three Ministers of State at the Department of Health are here to debate this issue. However, I understand that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is before an Oireachtas committee because she phoned me yesterday. My Commencement matter concerns the provision of winter beds and permanent beds for Gal…

I thank the Minister of State for his response on behalf of the Department. He stated: "While additional beds are an important part of the solution to emergency department overcrowding and waiting lists at GUH, it is also important to acknowledge that our response must not be solely based on the provision of extra beds". They should be part of the solution, but they are not in Galway, given that none will be provided despite the fact that it is top of the list in terms of the number of people on trolleys over the p…

The Order of Business today is No. 1, motion re early signature of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform (Amendment) Bill 2021, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, motion re extension of the period of operation of sections 1 to 7, inclusive, and 9 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021, to be taken at 1 p.m. and to conclude at 2 p.m., with the time allocated for the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed five minutes, all Senators not to exceed four minu…

I thank all Senators for their contributions. There was a number of common themes and I will touch on the two main ones. Senators Byrne, Dolan, Murphy, McGreehan, Seery Kearney, Ruane, Sherlock, Fitzpatrick and Ó Donnghaile raised a very important issue in regard to this being international week or two weeks or 16 days of campaigning on the elimination of violence against women. I wish to acknowledge the important work being done in this area both in Government supported initiatives and by the voluntary sector, whi…

Yes, I remember that. I was there some years ago in my capacity as Minister of State with responsibility for natural resources. It is a wonderful and important place in terms of being an employer and, as the Senator stated, the largest zinc mine in Europe, with 700 employees. Of course, there is the Tara Deep project, which is the next scene that will provide a sustainable mine and employment in the area into the future. I note the concern of the Senator, predominantly for the health and safety of workers, but also…

I move: That pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2021 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an leasú atá fógartha ag an Aire Stáit. Chuir mé leasú cosúil leis an leasú sin chun cinn de bharr molta ó Chonradh na Gaeilge. Mar sin, cuirim fáilte roimh an leasú ón Aire Stáit.

Maidir leis na heagraíochtaí príobháideacha, iarraim ar an Aire Stáit an bhfuil nó an mbeidh liosta fógartha leis an mBille maidir leis na coistí poiblí a bheidh i gceist anseo agus a bhaineann leis an mBille seo. Tá a fhios agam go mbeidh na comhairleoirí contae agus cathrach, Uisce Éireann agus grúpaí mar sin i gceist. Tá a fhios agam go raibh plé ann agus go raibh an Roinn chun obair a dhéanamh chun níos mó comhlachtaí nó eagraíochtaí a chur ar an liosta sin. An bhfuil an obair sin déanta nó an mbeidh sé leagtha…