It is with profound sadness that I rise this morning and share the passing of a dear friend and colleague of mine, and of this House, Brendan Daly. A former Minister, Deputy, and Senator, he was at all times a great representative of the people of Clare and, indeed, of Ireland. He had a distinguished career in the Seanad and in the Dáil and as a Government Minister. He was somebody who remained connected to his community and to rural life, all the while carrying out his duties, not only on behalf of his constituent…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I welcome this Bill. It is necessary when one considers what the energy sector has experienced since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, as well as the impact that has had on world fossil fuel prices. It is appropriate that those companies that have had significant gains and no increases in their costs would be made accountable and made to contribute to the State. The State, on behalf of its citizens, has done a really good job in attempting to ensure that energy rema…

Next Tuesday at 3.15 p.m.

There are very few things that get me riled up but one certainly is the notion that the GAA, as an entity, seems to think it owns the content that is produced by volunteers from the very start. The players are volunteers, the people training them are volunteers, the children who are supported by their families are volunteers, and they pay through the nose every step of the way. It is great and we have a wonderful organisation. However, there has been a commercialisation going on in Croke Park for some time now and …

I will raise two related points. On 8 April, a young man in his 40s dived into the River Liffey to save another. That was a fella called Jimmy Nicholl. He was a homeless man who had suffered drug addiction. He was a wonderful character. I knew him well. I met him nearly every week and we chatted on the streets. You had to understand what he had come through in the past couple of years to know what kind of person he was. The second point I want to make is to recognise the wonderful public sector broadcasting Joe Duf…

I want to follow on from the comments of my colleague, Senator Tom Clonan. In doing so, I suggest that at the earliest possible opportunity we arrange a debate on immigration and migration. If one follows social media, one will see there is little doubt that there is a very sinister campaign being waged by some clever individuals to create the impression in the minds of a sometimes unsuspecting public that all immigration is bad - people seek refuge for different reasons, in some cases financial - and that those wh…

I ask the Leader to organise a debate, at the earliest possible opportunity, to discuss the issue of water infrastructure throughout the country. Many parts of rural Ireland are serviced by old iron or metal water pipes, which are well past their sell-by date and, in many cases, have started to leak and crack. There is also old asbestos piping throughout that pipe network. Ever since the State transferred the responsibility for water infrastructure to Irish Water, unfortunately, the same level of scrutiny at a loca…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to the House. It is an indication of his commitment to this issue, that he has taken time out to be with us. As the Minister is well aware, there is considerable concern in the dairy farming sector at the looming crisis that will be caused if the nitrates derogation cannot be maintained at its current level. On Monday, I had the opportunity, at the invitation of the Irish Farmers Association to visit Adrian Brooks. He is a young farmer who is known to me for many years an…

I assure the Minister the farmers I know best want to work with him. They want to work in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way. They too want to ensure our water courses are protected. It is in their interest. What they do not want to happen is to see themselves penalised for the activity of sectors outside of the agri-sector. We will have to find a better way to manage and monitor what happens on-farm rather than trying to do it on a regional or a national basis. Other industries have a negative impact o…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his ongoing briefing. From my perspective and that of my party, we have absolutely no problem with the provisions of the Bill. We would find ourselves in a potentially difficult situation without putting in place this temporary generating capacity. There was a lot of concern that we might be caught this winter. Thankfully, that did not happen. It is prudent to put in place the appropriate level of capacity to address those cold winter days when the wind…

I join with others in recognising International Women's Day and the tremendous changes that are now proposed through the introduction of a referendum to remove those comments that have no place in a modern Constitution. I hope that brings some sense of recognition that we as a society have changed significantly. While it is important that this happens, and I am sure it will pass without any issue, we still owe a debt to many women in society. Let us not forget that the marriage bar only ended in the 1970s. We talk …

I had an opportunity to attend a meeting last night, which was organised by a group of people who were concerned about proposals for legislation that is being drafted to look at the registration by Fáilte Ireland of small Airbnb facilities that are dotted throughout the country. There is, somehow, a belief that this action will put 1,200 properties back into long-term rental. Nothing could be further from the truth. The county I come from, County Clare, has very many small units, such as granny flats attached to ho…

With the Cathaoirleach and others, I want to-----

Together with the Cathaoirleach and others, I welcome the Estonian ambassador. I ask that she convey our thanks to the Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, who is from a small country and has shown tremendous leadership in standing up to the aggression of Russia and in rallying European troops to assist the Ukrainian people in their efforts to fight off this outrageous, illegal war. It is worth noting this as we mark the first anniversary of the illegal invasion. On a more domestic matter, I would like a debate wi…

Like others, I welcome the Minister and thank him for his commitment to public transport in general and rail in particular. I join Senator Garvey in giving due recognition to what he has achieved. However, I want to include in my comments decisions taken by Mary O’Rourke when she was Minister back in the late 1990s when she succeeded at a difficult time to effectively turn the train around because there had been a constant lack of investment which was just grinding down the service to a point where it was not even …

The Leader will be aware of a news report that issued on Friday evening through RTÉ’s “Prime Time”. I will be cautious with my remarks here. It was considered by many to be surprising that AIB had settled a debt of €9.5 million with a retired sports celebrity. That surprise turned to shock and anger over the course of the weekend, when many people sought to recall incidents of small mortgage holders having been pursued aggressively by AIB and other financial institutions to a point where, in many cases, they were f…

I am sharing time with Senator Horkan. I welcome the opportunity to contribute and thank the Minister of State for setting out the position in the Bill. Since I am short of time, I will ask a couple of questions. We have seen the electronic communications sector develop so rapidly in the past ten years. There is obviously such a need to change the existing framework. We have been notified to the European Court of Justice for not transposing the legislation, as have other member states. Have we learned any lessons f…

Like others, I want to recognise and pay tribute to Professor Michael O'Keeffe. As Senator Conway said, he was without doubt one of the most recognised and renowned eye surgeons in the country. He is someone who also did a lot for premature babies in his time. I have heard from people who worked in neonatal units that he was often there at 6.30 a.m. or 7 a.m. dealing with babies before doing his other work. I would also like to pass on my condolences to the O'Keeffe family. On Shannon Heritage, along with Senator C…

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to discuss this important issue. I know he understands the complexities involved and that he has been engaged with it for some time. Specifically, I wish to talk about the mid-west and the hospital there. In the past two days 87 medics signed an open letter. They gave credit to the Minister and the Taoiseach for their open engagement with them. They have, though, asked for a couple of things. They have highlighted that the new accident and emergency unit, opened in 2017,…

Like others, I take the opportunity to wish the Cathaoirleach well and congratulate him on his election. I look forward to working with him, as he has shown a great capacity to work right across the House in every role he has had. I, too, want to join with others in congratulating my good friend, Senator Chambers, on her recent engagement. I wish her well in her life ahead. It is difficult to juggle the roles of wife, mother and national politician, which she is, but knowing her capacity, I have no doubt she will d…