On prevailing side: this member voted with the winning side in 30 of 498 decisive votes (0 abstentions excluded). Read it as a government-or-opposition indicator rather than a measure of influence — the figure is near 100% for members supporting the government of the day and near 0% for those opposing it.
This is the point of the site: contributions keep the party held on the day, not the one held now.
| Party | Recorded as | Contributions | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| IND | Independent | 2,230 | 2020-01-21 – 2026-10-01 |
| CC | Ceann Comhairle / Chair | 566 | 2020-10-01 – 2026-06-17 |
Membership spells on record: IND 2016-04-25–2020-03-29 · IND 2020-03-30–2025-01-29 · IND 2025-01-29–present
I want to bring the focus back to the section. We are dealing with the marine planning policy statement. I take on board what Senator Cummins said. I know he is committed to the maritime area. He lives on the wonderful Waterford coast. I live in Dún Laoghaire, one of the finest harbours in Europe, if not in the world.
It is truly an amazing place, as anyone living in the area will say. As a former councillor, Senator Cummins knows about public participation. He advocates it strongly when we discuss county development plans, local government, regional government and national government. I have no doubt everyone here understand the importance of public participation. We would not be successful politicians if we did not engage and advocate strongly with our electorate regarding public participation in decision making. For this reas…
Yes.
There are two aspects. I am not going to talk on one of those. Anyone has a right to judicially review or legally challenge-----
I am just saying anyone has a right to do so-----
This is about the amendment. This is a reference to how my colleague suggested that it was going to be considered. Everything is going to be considered. Indeed, I might even consider it myself. Let us not deal with someone outside the room. Let us take it inside the room. I may myself decide to do so, if necessary, as is the right of a citizen. Let us not shake our heads because that is the right of a citizen. For clarification, I do not take an item of legislation and break it up. That is why I had subsections (b)…
It is being pressed.
I find myself in the extraordinary situation that Senator Malcolm Byrne and, I take it, Senator Fitzpatrick, who are both Government Senators, and I have, without any collaboration, proposed exactly the same amendment. That makes for a very interesting dynamic in the House. We look forward to the outcome of our proceedings. I absolutely agree with Senator Malcolm Byrne. Rather than the bigger question of city and county councillors and other boards, I wish to stick with this particular issue. We are dealing with th…
I thank the Leader for circulating the Order of Business, which I am happy to support. The first issue I wish to raise concerns scoliosis. The Leader has engaged on this issue. There was an Oireachtas joint committee meeting on health recently. It is a very sad situation. We have made very little progress despite requests for the Minister to come to the House. The Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, came to the House twice. I do not know whether the second performance was worse than the first. It is not personal. He…
I thank the Minister for concluding the debate.
I am sorry. Unfortunately, the Minister has concluded the debate. If the Minister is available outside the Chamber that is grand but he has concluded and we must go along with the process here. We have agreed an Order of Business for how we order our day and this is the process.
I thank the Minister for his engagement yesterday, which was very informative. I have spoken to a number of secretarial assistants today, to whom his written response was circulated and which they are considering. It is always important to get feedback from the people concerned. Following the Minister's contribution yesterday, I do not think anyone will doubt his commitment to finding a solution that is right and fair. It is important that we send a strong message that we stand in solidarity with the people who wor…
I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for coming to the House from the Department of Finance to discuss what I think is a really important issue. I refer to the need for the Minister to make a statement on NAMA-controlled lands estimated at 426 ha with planning permission for housing and zoned residential use sufficient to build at least 20,000 new homes. I wish to put on the record of the House that these figures were provided by the Min…
I thank the Minister of State for what was a comprehensive statement that has shone a light on many of the issues I have raised. I find it helpful. Clearly we have a housing crisis. Clearly we are not operating in a silo. We need to work together. There are challenges with land and for the 31 local authorities. There is potential for the Land Development Agency to look at some of this or to work and collaborate with people involved in this land. We must always remember what NAMA was set up for. I understand it is l…
I thank the Minister for that. I will call the group spokespersons, leading off with Senator Wilson.
I welcome the Minister. As I always acknowledge, it is important and it makes a difference when the front-line Minister comes to the Seanad. Last week, the Minister got traction when he spoke in the Dáil with regard to secretarial allowances. People felt that he was positively disposed to resolving that issue. I welcome his comments and the fact that he raised that issue before we even raised it with him. Conscious that this meeting was going to happen and we were going to discuss this Bill, however, Senators table…
Sure.
No; other parties, I can understand.
Yes.
Hear, hear.