A number of speakers have referred to World Press Freedom Day, which is today. Press freedom is something we take very seriously in Ireland and it is honoured and cherished. To this day I am still a proud member of the National Union of Journalists, NUJ. To say in here that we do not have press freedom in the State is wrong. Journalists in this State operate in a free society. Not only is their work conducted without fear, often the work of the media is financially supported by the State. At a hearing of the Oireac…

Before I call the Minister of State, I welcome the sixth class students from Ballyduff National School in Waterford, who are accompanied today by their teachers, Mr. Pauric Stapleton, Ms Fiona Whelan and Mr. Cian Power. They are very welcome to Leinster House and we hope they have an enjoyable day vising the national Parliament. The Minister of State has ten minutes.

I thank the Minister of State very much. Before we move to our speakers, I welcome the students and teachers of Greystones Community National School to the Chamber. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House and that they see the work of their Parliament today. I hope they enjoy their visit. I also welcome Deputy Feighan who has Members of the House of Lords and friends with him today. I welcome the Members and hope they enjoy their visit to our Parliament today. I call Senator Wilson on behalf of Fianna Fáil.

Before I call Senator Keogan, I welcome the members of the active retirement group from Castleconnell, Limerick. They are most welcome to Leinster House. We hope they enjoy their visit to the national Parliament. It is interesting that some members of the group got special status and are seated in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. They must be very special members of the group.

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to sit again?

I join with the Cathaoirleach in paying tribute to the former president of Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Dr. Mick Loftus, who was laid to rest yesterday. I send my condolences to his family also. The uachtarán is most welcome. We welcome him and his family - his wife, Barbara; his sons, Conor and Shane and all of his sisters. We thank him for addressing Seanad Éireann and informing us of his historical connection to these buildings as well. I was proud to propose, along with my friend and colleague, Senator Buttimer, tha…

That concludes the contributions from Members. I thank them for their contributions. I welcome the representatives of the farming organisations who are attending today in the Public Gallery. I ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to respond. I thank the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, for his work, not only domestically but also in the critical foreign markets in ensuring that Irish produce, including meat products are spread globally. We thank him for his work in that respect.

A couple of weeks ago, a match in the North Eastern Football League between Bay FC and a team from Ballyjamesduff was abandoned when, wait for this now, the referee was kung fu kicked by one of the Ballyjamesduff players. The shocking incident was captured on camera and shared widely on social media. It became a talking point for a number of days on sports broadcasts and received extensive press coverage. The fallout from this is that on Sunday night, the Louth branch of the Irish Soccer Referees Society withdrew i…

We are both looking for the report to be debated.

I welcome yesterday's decision by Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the UK Gambling Commission. William Hill was hit with a record fine of £19.2 million or €22 million for breaches in the operation of its business, its failure to protect consumers and its weak anti-money laundering controls. That will soften William Hill's cough, for all of the big TV advertising in recent weeks that has tried to promote its products as consumer friendly. That goes to the heart of why the Bill that is before these Houses needs to b…

Senator Higgins has made a number of very valid points. I agree with what Senator Cummins has said in respect of work being very painstaking. The proposed amendment may be blunt but sometimes, bluntness works. Coming from County Meath, which is full of historic monuments and landscapes, I have seen painstaking work give me pain because of the length of time that the OPW is in situ. There is a wall on the Hill of Tara and the Great Wall of China was built quicker than what the OPW is at above in that graveyard. Ther…

Last night the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications published the report of the expert independent review on the North-South interconnector project. It is simply unbelievable that a Green Party Minister could stand over this report, whereby 300 megastructures - pylons - will be put across the landscape of Meath, Cavan, and Monaghan, and that he can think this is environmentally good. The last time I checked, I thought the Green Party was for the environment, but somehow steel megastructures goi…

I will finish on this point. It was put forward by Department officials that EirGrid officials would now consult landowners. They have had 15 years of botched efforts where they have not listened to the concerns of ordinary people.

I doubt they are now going to take it upon themselves to have genuine concern for ordinary people. We will continue to make their case.

You will be hearing a lot more of it in here as well, a Chathaoirligh.

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and I welcome the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to the Chamber. I thank him for the report he has given on what is a very significant plan and fund of nearly €200 billion which has shaped that vision and strategy for this country across so many spheres of our life and society. This will have a substantial impact on how life is conducted in the country. One of the areas which the Minister touched upon in his speech was on improved delivery capacity. Indeed on 10 February, only a coupl…

The Hill of Tara, a 5,000-year-old national monument in the heart of Meath, was attacked by vandals on Monday night, the third time in ten years this has happened. Some amadán took it upon himself or herself to print graffiti on the Lia Fáil, the Stone of Destiny where high kings were crowned for thousands of years. The amadán daubed the word "fake" on all four sides. The only thing that is fake is the halfwit who did this. This comes at a time when the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has launc…

I wish to raise with the Cathaoirleach, the Leader and Members and to commend the campaign launched yesterday by Rachel J. Cooper at Croke Park for people to learn the words of the national anthem, "Amhrán na bhFiann". There is a startling statistic that many people in this country apparently do not know the words to "Amhrán na bhFiann". A campaign is being aimed at third-class to sixth-class students, who are invited to send videos of themselves singing the national anthem. I remember when I went to primary school…