I join other speakers in acknowledging St. Brigid's Day and its significance in marking springtime. Outside, it is a fantastic spring day. I acknowledge that spring is starting. There are two events I want to acknowledge. The release of Mr. O'Halloran, particularly the work done by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and his Department, needs to be acknowledged. It has been a long battle. Diplomacy was the key. I am not referring to microphone diplomacy but to making sure we got the man home. That was a really positiv…

With 130 or 140 weeks to go until local elections, a debate is needed on local government and how it will be prioritised in the next two years. There have been huge changes in local government, particularly since 2014. In my area, the abolition of the town councils was a controversial and, in many ways, wrong move. We had six town councils in west Cork, including in Kinsale, Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Bantry, all of which played an important role representing the public and serving people at a local level. …

I welcome the Minister of State and the officials to the Chamber. We have boots on the ground. That is a positive story about the national broadband plan. I spent five years in the last Seanad sitting on a committee and saw officials working hard to get this contract up and running. I went on public media to promote it when many parties were doing their best to talk it down, to say it was a waste of money, that it was inappropriate and that it was too expensive. These people are now saying it is not being rolled ou…

I welcome the Minister of State. I also would like to acknowledge the office of the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, which made contact with my own office this morning about this Commencement matter. I tabled this Commencement matter to ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to make a statement on how the public spending code ensures that taxpayers get greater value for money from publicly funded projects. It is a real issue to make sure that we get bang for our buck when it comes to publicly-funded pr…

I thank the Minister of State for the response. The key issue is not if, following completion of the processes with regard to cost, analysis and so on, a project will be affordable, but whether it will be open to the public. That is the fall down in terms of the public spending code. There is no follow-up. We do not know exactly how much activity has been created because of a project and how much availability is going to be there. There is also a huge issue with who is accountable when it comes to local government.…

I would like to comment on an issue that has been raised by several Senators, namely, the proposed Russian exercises in the waters off the coast of County Cork in the coming weeks. I spoke to several fishermen this morning. I also spoke with Patrick Murphy, the chief executive officer of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation Limited. They are deeply concerned about this proposal. It is nonsensical in so many ways. From an environmental point of view, to have this so-called testing of arms happening o…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will take this opportunity not to speak on horses but perhaps to speak on climate and agriculture if possible. In many ways, the agricultural community has been a leading player when it comes to the change of agricultural practices, in particular in the last few years. It feels that in many ways this has not been acknowledged. We all realise that climate change is a core part of our society and life, and that changes in practice in transportation, energy production and farming…

RTÉ made headlines yesterday when it spoke about the need for more people to get involved with the actual licensing system. The licensing system and the lack of funding going in is a huge issue for RTÉ. It is definitely worth a debate at some level. One of the key issues I had with RTÉ over the last eight or nine months was the lack of a correspondent to cover agriculture and that entity. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in our society. It is one of the leading drivers. I welcome the announcement at 11 a.m. today t…

I support this Commencement matter, which I have brought with Senator Ahearn. The agricultural industry has never been under so much pressure. There is a Climate Action Plan, a nitrates action programme, CAP reform and inputs of products have gone through the roof. The farming community have never felt so berated. We are trying to generate a cohort of young people to get involved in farming but a Green Party MEP has lambasted them when speaking about investment. It is a major issue for the industry and this Governm…

I concur with my colleague. The farming community is facing a financial crisis. Fertiliser prices have gone up by 300% in the past three months. We are going to have a major issue from now until spring. Farmers have been told to pay up front for fertiliser. A senior politician stepped out and said that no money should be given to farmers. We need the Government to stand up and say enough is enough. We need to support the farming community. It is under enough pressure as it is. The media is fundamentally against the…

It is important that we discuss the current state of the pandemic. It is a crisis that has affected this country for the last 21 months. If Senators listened to the media outlets this morning they will have heard that new regulations are due to come forward, through the Cabinet, in the next few hours. This House should discuss the new regulations. We must discuss whether the regulations will stipulate how many people can socialise together, for example. We must come to grips with the impact these regulations will h…

I was going to raise the issue of Cork also getting no all-stars, but I think I will leave that for another day. We need to talk about the important issue of our national broadcaster and the role it plays in society. I reference this in the context of the appointment of Brian O'Donovan as work and technology correspondent, which I welcome. He has done fantastic work in the UK and the US and he is now coming home. To have a vacancy in the national broadcasting service for an agriculture correspondent is appalling. A…

I wish to raise the issue of the storm that hit west Cork and southern Ireland in particular yesterday. I think it is moving northwards now. It did significant damage in many ways to roads and other infrastructure. The town of Bantry got flooded again. It is the fourth time it has been flooded in the past 18 months. It was a significant flood. Damage to local property was limited because of the good work of Cork County Council. Having the flood relief scheme in Bantry brought forward is a massive issue for the town…

The Acting Chair was hard on Senator Daly so I will be polite. I second the motion Senator Daly proposed. It is an important motion. We need to talk about what this fund is worth to rural Ireland. It is significant because, whether in the dog industry or the horse racing industry, all parishes in rural Ireland have somebody involved in it at some stage. The general feeling in rural communities is that this is one of our core industries and it has been involved in many things throughout society. All of us know peopl…

I welcome the Minister. I listened to her contribution, which was very comprehensive, in my office due to the current Covid-19 restrictions in the Chamber. We are 20 months down the line since the start of this pandemic and we will probably be dealing with it for another period, no doubt. I compliment, in particular, the teachers and the staff of the primary and secondary schools and the third level institutions around Ireland on how they have dealt with one of the most horrendous periods of their lives in the past…

I am happy to second the Leader's proposal with regard to this important legislation. We have brought forward legislation that we believe will play an important part in trying to fix a problem that needs to be addressed. Within the horticulture industry, 17,000 people are affected by this issue. We need to have movement and to make sure that these people have a viable income and that their families can survive. Last night, I spoke at an Irish Farmers Association, IFA, meeting close to my home town, which was attend…

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to discuss this very important issue regarding the national development plan. Transportation and agricultural issues have been discussed but health is also a major issue. If we take infrastructure in the so-called regions, the last time a public hospital was opened in the second largest city in the Republic was 1976, the year I was born. That shows the significant deficit we have when it comes to beds and providing for our growing population. The Cork hub has seen sig…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I tabled this matter looking for the Minister of State with responsibility for disability to make a statement on the lack of access and supports for personalised transportation for disability drivers. This scheme was effectively abandoned in 2013, but it is a very worthwhile scheme that gave great access to people with disabilities. It is a big issue that we need to revisit. The discontinuation of the scheme has been highlighted by many people. I received a phone call…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I do not think that the people in Bandon who are watching this debate will get much joy from the statement. There is a need for urgency regarding this issue. The Ombudsman's report was published in the last few weeks and criticised the Government on the lack of action. It has been nine years since we have looked at this review and we have talked about it but nothing has happened. The people whom I represent are prisoners in their own homes at present. I totally unders…

I acknowledge the commitment the Minister of State has made to the House. Coming in to take four Commencement debates is no mean feat and his commitment to us is duly noted.