I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I welcome the progress in regard to Scoil Mhuire, the meeting that is scheduled for 14 October and that following that meeting the Department will advise the school's board of management and its design team of further progression of the project. It is important there is progress in regard to the development of this much sought project. The concern of the community regarding the condition of the prefabs is growing all of the time, so it is important the issue is addressed…

I concur with the Cathaoirleach's comments on, and tribute to, Mr. Tom Burke. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Yesterday was European Carers Day. It was intended, "to coordinate and foster national efforts to raise awareness of carers’ issues under a pan-European structure". We have had debates on the value and importance of carers and the key role they play. They are the unsung heroes around the country. Every family is different. Some families can rally around if they have the numbers to look after loved ones, …

I also welcome the national development plan. Amidst all the debate about roads and rail projects, I understand the Leader has invited the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to attend the House to discuss the national development plan as it relates to transport. I certainly welcome that. One of the projects mentioned in the plan is the bypass for Moycullen. I am pleased to report a contract of a value in the mid €30 millions has been awarded to Wills Brothers for the development of the Moycullen bypass in m…

The Minister is welcome back to the House. I will start, as I did this morning at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Health, by acknowledging the success of the vaccination programme. I commend the Minister, his team within the HSE and the Department of Health and, most important, the Irish people, as well as, in some instances, the mothers and fathers who persuaded younger persons in particular of the importance of taking up the vaccine to protect themselves and others. The success of the vaccination programme …

I commend the authors of this Bill. As others have said, it has gone around the Houses for some years. It is an important issue. When people make a will, they like to think that it will be read and dealt with when they pass. As others, as well as the last speaker, have said, we all know of cases where we have gone astray, and difficulties have arisen. Dare I say, there are some unscrupulous people out there as well. I could name cases - but of course I will not - of which I would be aware, involving solicitors, ban…

On behalf of Fine Gael, I wish to be associated with the comments from Senator Norris regarding the late Mervyn Taylor. He was a ground-breaking politician and we remember him here this morning. It was with some disbelief that farmers read the headline "Brazil to add 24m cattle as Ireland plans to cut herd" in the Irish Farmers' Journal over the summer. I do not believe that the Government plans to cut the national herd. Indeed the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been clear in saying that we need …

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. I compliment him and his colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for all their work on this Housing for All policy. Before I go any further, I will comment on Senator Fitzpatrick’s contribution. I think she talked about a "lost decade". I entered the other House in 2011. When we were talking about housing then, it was in the context of developers having gone bust, ghost estates, negative equity and, of course, t…

No more than the Leader herself, I am proud to have been a part of Governments that established the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, that put a new referendum on the rights of the child to the Irish people that was successfully passed, that provided the second free preschool year and included children with disability under the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme through the access inclusion model and that enabled the introduction of the national child care scheme, which this year will be funde…

The Minister, Deputy Foley, is welcome. I am disappointed the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, is not present but I appreciate the Minister being here to answer my question on flood defences in Galway city. I am sure that in every county there are incidents of flooding in towns or rural areas and I am sure the Minister has visited scenes of helplessness either in the aftermath of or during a flood. It is very difficult for residents or businesses that are dealing with a surge of water and wondering when the day…

I thank the Minister for the response. I will take this up again with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan. I appreciate the timeline, the work that Galway City Council is doing and the information provided on the Coirib go Cósta website, but it is frustrating. It is quite clear that this project will take the guts of a decade to complete, which is hard to believe and fathom given that it is so important. The city council is on standby to install buffers to prevent flooding, with temporary inflatable devices to …

Gabhaim buíochas, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I welcome Ms Walsh and Mr. Markey to the Chamber. As someone involved in representational politics as we all are, and as a former Deputy and county councillor, I do not know how anyone copes with the geographical size of our guests’ constituencies and the challenge of such diverse areas and how to represent them; I know that they are doing exceptional jobs in that regard. I will pick up on some of the points and I also agree that the perception of the European Union, going ba…

As Members know, Ireland has set a target to achieve 70% energy generation from renewables by 2030. With that in mind, there was some recent news regarding the Macquarie Green Investment Group, GIG, having acquired Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta, the developer of a project off the west coast, namely, a proposal for a 400 MW offshore wind farm capable of generating enough energy to power the equivalent of up to 295,000 homes. This development was recently designated as one of seven developments with relevant project sta…

On behalf of Fine Gael, I thank the Cathaoirleach. I also thank Mr. Martin Groves, Ms Bridget Doody, Mr. Eden McLaughlin and the rest of the team in the Seanad Office for their diligent work over recent months in what has been a particularly difficult session, which has involved us alternating between Leinster House and the convention centre. I am referring to all the back-and-forth and late nights. We should thank and pay tribute to the staff for their work. As Government Whip, I thank my colleagues in Fine Gael a…

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. It was acknowledged during the financial crisis that the broadening of the tax base was important. At the time, it was one of the recommendations of the International Money Fund, IMF. The household charge and the LPT brought in a system of guaranteed income from households across the country. There were anomalies that became evident as time went on, including the fact that newer properties were not brought into the net post 2013. It was unfair on those that were paying…

Now.

I welcome the Minister of State. I congratulate her on her role, her advocacy for this Bill and getting it to this Stage. It is certainly going to be part of her legacy. I acknowledge, as others have, the work of her predecessor, Mr. Jim Daly, with whom I had much contact in my previous role as Government Chief Whip regarding the progression of this legislation as a priority. As with other Bills, it has had a rather tortuous journey. Its general scheme was approved by the Cabinet in June 2019. The changes are outli…

I will raise the issue of the south Kerry greenway, which I am sure is an issue close to the Cathaoirleach's heart. The reason I raise it is to welcome yesterday's High Court decision decreeing that the planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanála to Kerry County Council is valid and upholding the council's decision. It is important because this was viewed as a test case for greenways throughout the country. Some magnificent sections of greenway have been built in Connemara as part of the Connemara greenway. Sec…

I welcome the Minister of State. The EWSS and its predecessor have been hugely important as the link between employer and employee. It was one of the core supports introduced by the previous Government and continued since then. It is a key component of the Government's Covid response for business. The priority has been maintaining jobs and businesses once the pandemic ends. We all accept it has lasted longer than any of us expected or hoped. At the start of this month, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, conf…

The Senator should speak to the section.

Fine Gael is fully supportive of section 6. We initiated reduced VAT rate in 2011 in response to the unemployment crisis. We needed to look at sectors that were capable of providing employment and could provide a quick response to a stimulus to direct support. At that time, it was one of the key components of the Action Plan for Jobs introduced by the then Minister, Deputy Bruton. It worked by targeting hospitality and tourism. It provided jobs in rural and urban areas. It was highly successful and kick-started the…