I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Acting Leader. I want to talk about Tara Mines. I had two of my councillors in Navan, Councillor Alan Lawes and Councillor Francis Deane - we all had a text this morning from Councillor Paddy Meade - expressing concern over the loss of the 650 jobs. Tara Mines is a massive employer to County Meath. I am aware that when the incident happened in November 2021, a specialist crew was brought in from the UK to plug that hole, as such, where water was gushing out. I wonder if that issue …

I move: "That Second Stage be taken today."

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am sharing time with Senator Craughwell. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and thank her for being here for this debate. The Gradam an Uachtaráin Bill 2023 will be a significant step towards recognising the exceptional contributions made by women and men all over this country and around the world to the continued prosperity and culture of Ireland and the civic health and well-being of its people. While we, as a country, certainly celebrate such pe…

I know. What a pity. This is Ireland.

I thank the Minister of State for not opposing the Bill. I do not believe the Bill we have put down is anything near what it should be but nevertheless, as a tribute to Feargal Quinn it was worth resurrecting it. Ireland has evolved so much over the last 20 to 30 years and we are ready for that conversation now. These are not awards that can be given at the Volunteer Ireland Awards or any of the other events mentioned. These are exceptional and extraordinary contributions that are made to our society, and they coul…

He knows because I tried to lock it. That is the wonderful thing about being an Independent. We can sit down and be mature about it and hopefully even he might contribute to making this Bill better and more fair going forward.

He might. I thank the Minister of State for coming in and I thank Senators for their support and contributions, which I appreciate.

Next Tuesday.

I also want to be associated with the expressions of sympathy for former Senator Paul Coghlan. I only met him once, when he called to my office in 2016. My office at the time was a hut which the parish priest had given me after the fire at my business premises. When he came in, there was nowhere to sit because there were people already there so we had to sit in my car. I found him to be a very warm human being. If that is the impression you leave with people after you have gone, that says something. I extend my sym…

I will probably not get very far on this because I will start off on the wrong note or say something wrong and I will be cancelled before I even begin.

The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is very welcome. It is great to see her back. I congratulate her on the newborn. I was very taken aback by what can only be described as an attack on the Opposition by Senator Ward. To tell the God's honest truth, I felt it to be very intimidatory. His raised voice was not warranted. It was unnecessary to speak in the tone in which he spoke to open the debate. I will just get that off my chest now before I start. There is no great secret about my opposition to this Bill, but much more …

I do not mind.

On Tuesday, Senators Gallagher and O’Donovan spoke on the issue of the pay of whole-time retained firefighters, pointing out that negotiations with the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, have broken down and that strike action has been served on the relevant parties. We heard about how a whole-time retained firefighter earns approximately €700 per month which equates to 99 cent per hour. They must be on call 24-7, 360 days a year. They must stay within 3 km of the station at all times, attend the station wit…

To be quite honest, that is a copy and paste from what we heard the other day. The only line that is new in the reply is, "To this end, senior fire service management is meeting with local SIPTU representative committees in each local authority to establish agreed local contingency measures." They are the measures I asked about. I want to know what those measures are. Communities and businesses want to know what those contingency measures are. I refer to what happened in Blanchardstown at the weekend. What will hap…

The Minister of State is once again relying on the goodwill of our fire service.

I also wish to be associated with the comments to the ambassador, H.E. Mr. Corrias, on Republic Day. I call for a debate with the Ministers for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputies O'Gorman and Darragh O’Brien, about the results of the Red C poll published in the Business Post last Sunday. It is Thursday and not one Member in this House has discussed this issue this week. We need to do a better job at housing refugees and asylum …

It is lovely to have the children here with us this afternoon. It is not often I get up to thank the Government on anything.

I have to thank the Government this morning. The Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, announced a pilot project for counselling for our children in primary schools. It is absolutely fantastic. The children will get eight one-to-one sessions for every little worry they have. It is only a pilot project. It is running in Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan, Mayo and Tipperary. They get free one-to-one sessions with a counsellor. Obviously there is a surplus of counsellors within those counties that they are able to pro…

Hear, hear.

I welcome the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, to the House for statements on the Garda Reserve.