I am very anxious. I am nervous.

Deputy Cronin highlighted the significant cost of energy and the impact it is having on households. We have certainly seen that. The Government has taken action, as the Deputy will be aware, by increasing the fuel allowance from the beginning of the year. We reduced the VAT, which is a help in addressing the burden, but we have to get to the core cost. I answered a question earlier about the efforts that have to be made in terms of the wholesale energy markets and the price of gas. The Commission for Regulation of …

I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this important issue. I know of his interest in the road infrastructure in the counties that he knows best, Cavan and Monaghan. He is a regular contributor, both here in the House and within the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party, on this issue. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is unavailable today. He has asked me to convey his apologies to Senator Gallagher and to assure him that he will continue to engage with him on this. The Senator's question relates to the funding provided to …

I listened intently to the contribution of the Senator and will certainly report his views back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. He has rightly identified that there is strong demand from the people he represents, as well as from the county councillors in the area. It is always a good sign when the local authorities work with councillors to identify the priorities. I do not want to state the obvious but there is always a pie which must be split in so many different ways. Where there is an element of unanimity in te…

I thank Senator Andrews for raising this important issue and his wishes in relation to our late-night meetings. It was always good fun when I used to sit either behind or beside him. We often had good fun in those days but we have it here too. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the Seanad today and I thank Senator Andrews for raising this matter, which I know is of significant importance to him. He and his late dad were great champions of so many international issues and I am pleased to see that he co…

The information available to me is, as I mentioned in the opening contribution, that the Minister, Deputy Burke, spoke at an event hosted by Hanover Communications, where he outlined the overview of the omnibus proposal. I understand Enterprise Mobility was there. I have no information in relation to ExxonMobil but I would be happy that the Department will come back to the Senator directly to answer that specific question. I wish to make a broader point on lobbying. Of course it can be misconstrued, but I think it …

-----to be cautious. If we make a decision, it should not be that we are necessarily influenced by the large corporations. Sometimes we vote the other way too, where we have reflected on it and it is in the best interest of the wider community. I thank the Senator for his interest.

I thank Senator Lynch for raising this important issue. Most of us know of the Senator's reputation in terms of the work she does with communities and the approach she has to trying to get support from various State agencies to work alongside local fundraising. I know from personal experience just how difficult it can be then to have to provide from a group's own resources for something that should, potentially, be waived. The Minister, Deputy James Browne, cannot be here, unfortunately, and he has asked me to conv…

I thank the Senator again for her very insightful comments on the response provided by the Department. Of course, I will feed her thoughts and comments back. The Government does recognise the importance of community groups and not-for-profits and acknowledges the social good these organisations deliver every day in our towns, cities and rural areas. The Exchequer continues to provide funding to Uisce Éireann for domestic customers, and non-domestic customers are required to contribute towards the cost of providing …

I appreciate the opportunity to address the House on what is an important matter. I thank the Deputies for seeking the opportunity for statements on fishing opportunities in 2026. I welcome the timely opportunity to discuss the concerns affecting the fisheries and seafood sector. I welcome the contributions of so many at the Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs and look forward to continued engagement today. I wish to reassure the Dáil that as Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries an…

I appreciate the Deputy's understanding of the situation in relation to the Minister of State, Deputy Troy. My understanding is that the Commission is aware that the Government intends to move ahead with the dissolution of NAMA in 2026 and that there has been a discussion in that regard. I will ask the officials to prepare a more comprehensive response that addresses Deputy Doherty's question. I thank him for facilitating the early passage of this legislation. He and I are well aware through our work in our constit…

I thank the proposers, Senators Manus Boyle and Noel O'Donovan, the Fine Gael Senators who put together this comprehensive motion, and the other Senators who have contributed in a very collegiate and supportive way. I have spent a considerable amount of time in this House and I am constantly reminded that it does business in a very different way from how business may be done elsewhere. It is good to be part of that again.

I am glad to be back in this position. When I look around and see all of these competitive faces, I think I might struggle to survive an electoral contest with many of them. I am very appreciative of the time and the opportunity afforded to me to speak to Senators today. I welcome this motion, which is timely in light of the work the Department, the Government and I are doing in trying to get through a very difficult time. I will commence by speaking a little bit on fisheries negotiations from an Irish perspective …

-----for giving me a little latitude and flexibility. I think it was important because of the real engagement that we all had this evening and the fact that it is being done in a collegiate way. The normal battle lines seem to have been put aside for the moment, although I am sure they will be back on another occasion when they will be slightly different. I do not know whether it is permissible, but maybe we could recognise a former colleague of mine, the former Senator Coffey, who was with us in the Seanad, went o…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. He has been in touch with me on a number of occasions to discuss the matter as it relates to operators in his constituency and further afield. I had an opportunity during the summer to visit Quinlan's Kerry Fish with the Deputy and see at first hand the implications of the issue. As somebody new to the Department, I recognised from the first that there is a significant problem with licensing. I have undertaken a job of work to try to address this. It will take ti…

I thank the Deputy. He has raised a really important issue, which is that fishing is really about protecting and preserving our coastal communities through gainful employment by way of the natural resources available to those communities. The reality is that the scientific advice clearly indicates that wild stocks are being depleted for a multiplicity of reasons. These include overfishing by third countries, particularly Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, of important pelagic stocks. Climate change is undoubted…

I thank Senator Collins for raising what is an important issue. It is an issue that is regularly vented in both Houses. I come across it regularly in my constituency, as does the Senator. It is important that we try to put in context why we as a State are encouraging renewable energy, and the importance of it. It is important that people in communities engage collectively and also with the developer in the first instance. Some of the developers do not make enough effort to engage with the local community and that i…

I take the Senator's point about getting the right location. Any sites have to have the appropriate amount of wind. They have to be elevated or at least in a wind tunnel. Local authorities over the past ten to 15 years, through the development of county development plans, have identified areas - certainly in the county that I know best - suitable for wind energy development. In some instances, it was passed with the acquiescence of the councillors at the time and then the councillors took a different view when an e…

I, too, extend a warm welcome to the students form St. Joseph's and thank them for showing an interest in what we do here on behalf of the citizens of Ireland. I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this issue. He has been in touch with me already about this and I know it is something he has a real concern about. I express my sympathy, and that of the Government, with the flock owners impacted at this really difficult time in counties Monaghan, Meath and Carlow. I acknowledge the impact this outbreak is having on th…

I fully recognise the difficult and negative impact this is having on the lives and livelihoods of flock owners, particularly at this time of year. It is effectively their harvest period. They are heading into what would have been the time to make good on their year's work, recoup costs and make the little bit of profit that would allow them to exist into next year. That is really challenging. That is recognised. From a Department perspective, what we have to do right now is limit to the greatest extent possible th…