I welcome this very important motion. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. We are speaking today about how we can deal with the biodiversity challenge. It is a worldwide challenge. A motion was passed in the last Oireachtas and I believe it is an issue we all support. Society definitely supports it too. The biggest issue in trying to progress this is how to get everybody on board. This will be a major challenge. Other speakers have referred to the farming community. Statistically we are under pressure when…

Many Senators have mentioned the GAA and the national league. We really need to discuss the matter. I do not see a need for national leagues at the moment because there is no logic in players travelling, for example, from Kerry to Monaghan and Cavan to Kildare. We need to look at what we are trying to do. As much as the GAA can control what happens on the pitch, it cannot control what happens off the pitch. We saw that in my county in the last few weeks after a county final. I worry about such scenarios and so appe…

Senator Norris has only a minute or so.

In accordance with the order of the Seanad of Wednesday, 7 October, the division is postponed until Friday, 16 October 2020, and the Seanad is suspended until 1 p.m.

Thank you, Senator. Minister, do you need to respond at this point?

That has nothing to do with the amendments.

On a point of order, the Senator is referring back to the issue of not getting sight of submissions. That has nothing to do with the proposal before the House. I ask that the House deal with the proposal before it, rather than Senator Boyhan going back and digging up stuff that has nothing to do with the amendments. I am sure he will find adequate time in the next three, four or five hours to deal with that issue.

I will speak against the amendments. The basic principle of what the Minister of State is trying to propose here is very positive with regard to streamlining the actual appeals process itself. Moving from 28 days to eight and a half weeks does not make logical sense. When we are looking at legislation that is trying to make sure we can get licences through the system, extending this period would have a knock-on effect on the entire industry. With regard to the comment on serial objectors, it is important to note th…

I apologise, not Senator Boylan.

It is all about the 28 days. In other jurisdictions this is the time in which to appeal planning permission. If someone was to appeal a planning permission to An Bord Pleanála tomorrow it would be a 28-day period. It has worked very well in this matter for a long time. We need to stick with a steady timeline that can help everyone. It can help the people who want to make an objection and have their feelings heard and, on the other side, ensure the process is timely. The knock-on effect is that decisions, whether fo…

I am totally opposed to this amendment, purely on the grounds of what I have been hearing from the industry. We have close to 1,000,000 cu. m of forestry tied up in the appeals process at the moment. This legislation is about trying to get a large volume of that timber out very quickly. The applications, which are more than 500 in number, involve everything from roadways to smallholdings to large holdings. The industry and the people I have been talking to, particularly in west Cork, need to have actual product. Th…

To clarify, I did not say industry asked for that.

I thank the Minister of State for giving me a few minutes to make a point on the allocation made by the Department for the mental health of students. Students at various levels are struggling during the Covid crisis. The allocation of €5 million is very worthy and I very much welcome it. I want to mention UCC and CIT in particular and the number of students going through those institutions. UCC has more than 20,000 students at present. It has an amazing complex. The lack of a counselling service there is a major is…

I welcome the Minister. It is great to have her here. I wish to refer to two issues. One is school transport, which has been raised by many Members. The upper age limit of 70 years for drivers must be examined because there is a major shortage of drivers. They are still doing private work and their not working on school work is a big issue. The Department also needs to do some work with regard to Bus Éireann, which is the principal operator of school transport services. Bus Éireann works with private operators as w…

I do not quite need ten minutes.

I thank Senator Norris for his help. I welcome the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, to the House. It is a great day for the society, the Oireachtas and this House to have a Minister of State from this House coming with legislation and addressing this House. I am delighted that the Minister of State is here. It is an important day for democracy. I welcome this important Bill. It is badly needed and has been required for a long time. The chaos we have seen in the forestry sector in the last two years has been chao…

I raise the issue of meat plants and where we are going with the sector. It is one of the big issues. Yesterday in the Dáil, a Member claimed there was a certain number of cases in Cork and the southern half of the country. We need clarity on the entire structure, including how things are happening and how the reporting is happening. If there was a case of Covid-19 in a school, the information would be published and we would be aware of it. Strict restrictions have been introduced for the bar and restaurant sector,…

I join colleagues in thanking the Seanad staff for their courtesy and kindness since the election. I wish everyone a very happy break for the few weeks we are in recess. In recent months we have gone through a pandemic and had major issues to deal with. Carers are one of the sectors of society whose members have come to me to say how upset and annoyed they are at how they were dealt with during the pandemic. While other people received the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, of €350 per week, carers were entitled t…

I support the call for the creation of a select committee on Brexit because I think that is an important issue. My colleague spoke about the education issues which we need to look at. From the perspective of agriculture, we need some idea about how Brexit, especially in its later stages, could have a major impact on the agriculture industry. I spoke yesterday about local government and the need for reform. I was amazed by the response. I got many calls specifically regarding what is happening with our recycling and…

I wish to discuss our plans for the reform of local government. During the pandemic we have seen the really practical response of local government in some areas. I refer in particular to the town activation committees set up to get towns moving. When we eroded local government by abolishing town councils under the Local Government Reform Act 2014, the resulting lack of local governance had a major impact on society. We are only seeing that now. In recent weeks, I have visited many towns in west Cork that used to ha…