I thank the Minister of State for his acknowledgement in the debate. The amount of work being done locally to secure the site has been amazing. This is an issue that has been going on for decades and the acquisition of this site is a major step forward. I am delighted that the Department will prioritise this and make sure it will work with the board of management and the people on the ground to make sure we can deliver the site and school for Summercove National School. It is a community project and that is what I …

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

I will leave my statement on the budget until later on. We had a huge rally in Cork last Friday evening at which nearly 5,500 families turned up to talk about climate action, the CAP reform and the nitrates action plan, and how it will affect agriculture. The acknowledgement this Chamber got for its good work when it came to the climate action Bill was out there at every one of these rallies. As a Chamber, we made a real difference that day. I acknowledge everyone who supported those amendments. There is a huge bod…

I welcome the allocation of nearly €90 billion in this budget, which is a very significant sum. It will do an awful lot across the three major areas we need to look at, namely, health, housing and climate action. These are the three principal issues on which the Government has worked hard towards getting solutions. For the agricultural community, the real budget they are looking for is probably in regard to what the carbon budget is going to be in the next few months. We should take into consideration that over 5,0…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I acknowledge his presence here and his meeting with representatives of the horticulture industry. It was very important that such an engagement happened. Politics has been damaged over the past 18 months because of this issue. Where we are going with our climate action plan is also damaged by these debates. We are talking about probably less than 1% of our bogs and how we include that percentage in our horticulture industry and the 17,000 jobs that depend on it. That…

I call for a debate with the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media on media rights for sporting events. I am particularly concerned about the GAA because last year the majority of that organisation's matches were only available on pay-per-view platforms, which was quite distressing for many. In 2020, all three Cork senior hurling intercounty matches were only available on a pay-per-view platform. This year we had to get to the All-Ireland final before we could watch the team on our nationa…

I spent most of this debate in my office listening to the contributions. I want to compliment the Senators. It was a great debate with great knowledge and I am very proud of the House tonight. I want to speak about the Dyslexia Association of Ireland. It does amazing work. It is a fantastic organisation that deals with parents in particular, as well as teachers. It has done fantastic work over the last 50 years and that needs to be acknowledged. I do a little bit of work with it and I want to acknowledge its great …

I would like to raise the issue of what supports are required in the budget for the film industry. In many ways the film industry could be supported in community and society and I have seen the benefits of that in the past six or eight weeks in west Cork particularly where Irish acting royalty came to the area to do the Graham Norton book Holding . It has been a wonderful series made by ITV in west Cork. You could walk down the street in Skibbereen and see Oscar-winning actresses walking up to you or you would have…

I thank the Acting Chairman and I will continue on the same point raised by Senator Buttimer. I compliment Senator Buttimer. He has been an advocate on this issue for many years. It is about proper and sustainable regional development and how we can appropriately have that happen in the regions. Senator Buttimer speaks sense. He is very involved in the aviation industry, he sits on the transport committee and he has a great knowledge of this issue. The regional dynamic must be looked at when it comes to the DAA. If…

We are in the middle of a decade of commemorations that started in 2016. We have handled it quite competently and capably in the context of issues such as 1916 and the first sitting of the First Dáil. I think next year will be a very important year when it comes to commemorations. We have the 100-year commemoration of the first sitting of the Seanad to look forward to next year. However, I think the Civil War issues will be the key focus for the next 12 to 14 months, and a very sensible and pragmatic debate on thos…

I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber to discuss the important issue of the Brexit report that has been published. I compliment the Chairperson who has done a fantastic job in combining all these key issues regarding Brexit. It is a good work in progress. The Brexit report is a good starting base to have a detailed discussion about core areas affected by Brexit. I will stick to the agricultural industry and how it is going to be significantly affected. There are 59 dairy milk processing plants on this isla…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming. I do not think I have had the pleasure of seeing him in the Seanad previously. It is great to have him here. The Commencement matter I tabled seeks an update from the Minister for Transport on the timelines and funding costs for the proposed phase 2 works on the Bandon southern relief road. Phase 1 of the roadworks was completed nearly 30 years ago, so we have been waiting a long time for the completion of the road. At this stage, it has been talked about for nearly …

When we are doing the review of the national development plan, we must ensure that projects such phase 2 of the southern relief road in Bandon are included. These are key infrastructure projects for towns throughout Ireland. Phase 2 of the bypass would have the benefit of changing the look of Bandon. The same applies to projects throughout the country. It is important that the Government focuses on ensuring we have a road programme that sorts out these issues. When it comes to the Bandon southern relief road, time …

It is great to be back in the Chamber. I acknowledge the good news we heard from Senators Moynihan and Ward and offer my congratulations. I wish to raise the current guidelines relating to Covid. We have had an amazing vaccination programme. So much good work has been done in the past six months in particular but we need to get our institutions back on an even keel when it comes to delivering services to the general public. The issue I am raising is with regard to the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and driver licences…

I thank Senator Buttimer for sharing time and compliment him on his speech. It is important legislation and we just need to progress with it. It is not perfect legislation but it gives the opportunity for our society to open up in a safe and practical way. That is the most important thing: safe and practical. In my part of the world, in west Cork, we will have thousands of visitors coming to us in the next few weeks. We need to have a safe model that will protect our communities and societies. This model is not per…

There is nothing like pressure. It is great to have the Minister in the Chamber. I join colleagues in recognising the amount of work he has done over the past 40 years and the work he has done to ensure he got this Bill back to the House before the summer. It is a testament to his political skill and that of his party that the Bill is to get through. We have had our differences over this Bill. I acknowledge the input of the Minister and his officials. It is about working together. That will be key during the next p…

May I finish?

A digester has also been opened. That is the future. There is also a project with regard to carbon capture. If the Minister wants to see how things are done on the ground and how we can be part of the solution, he should come to west Cork over the summer.

I join colleagues in complimenting the Minister of State on getting this very important legislation through. I also acknowledge my former colleague from Cork South-West, former Deputy Jim Daly, who did so much to make sure the legislation came to where it is today. It is very important legislation which will give peace of mind to so many families. I compliment the Minister of State and her staff on bringing forward the legislation. It is the fair deal again. It is the deal we want. It is the deal for Ireland, for r…