I welcome the Minister of State. He will be aware of the detail of the matter I am raising. I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting it for inclusion on this morning's agenda. This matter relates to the difficult and serious issue of pyrite and mica, although I will concentrate on pyrite. I acknowledge the enormous amount of work Councillor Mark Duffy from Ballina, County Mayo, has done on this issue. It was he who first contacted me about the matter and he has persistently contacted me since on behalf of the people…

I recognise that the pyrite remediation scheme is a scheme of last resort and that the Minister for Finance cannot interfere with the banks in the context of either their commercial viability or independence. However, that is very hard to swallow when one's house is in bits and falling down. It is very difficult to accept that citizens paid the price to support these banks - it made sense to do so - and the State has a major role in the banks and it made sense to do so, but the Minister and the Government say they …

We have a slight change of plan. I have spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, who can be back in the House in three or four minutes. In the meantime, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, has agreed to take the final Commencement matter now if that is agreeable to the House? Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank the Minister of State for his co-operation with the changed slot.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House.

I thank the Minister of State for facilitating the changeover of time slots at the end of the Commencement matter debates.

I thank the acting Leader for setting out the Order of Business. I want to welcome back Senator Maria Byrne and Senator Horkan. A week is a long time in politics. We had a very interesting election but democracy won out. That is the great thing about the elections we all compete in. Senators Byrne and Horkan are both very experienced and our group of Independent Senators on this side of the House looks forward to working with them. I suppose they have a another unique claim today in that they are sitting in Dáil Éi…

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his time. I also thank the proposers for the motion. What is interesting about the motion is that it is a carbon copy of what is in the programme for Government. I keep the programme for Government on my desk, look at it every day and tick off its contents to see how they are being achieved. It is early days yet, not even a year since the Government was formed, so we have to be fair and reasonable in opposition. We have to allow time for the new system, personnel an…

I thank all of the Senators who have raised the issue of the rural resettlement programme and the plan for the future of rural areas, which is all very important. Many of us represent rural communities and many Senators live in rural communities, which is even more important. It is also important that it is sustainable for people to live in rural communities. Last week was a funny week in politics. It was a bit of a comedy show for a number of reasons which I do not intend going into here. Last week, An Taoiseach s…

This is a Commencement matter. The Senator mentioned the RTÉ documentary but we cannot go into that today. The Minister of State is here to deal specifically with the individual education plans for students with special needs. I call on the Minister of State to reply.

I warmly welcome the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, to the House.

I thank the Minister.

I warmly welcome the Minister of State to the House. We soldiered together for a few years on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council so I know of him. We have not been in the Chamber at the same time during his ministerial term, so I wish him well and congratulate him on his appointment. The Bill is an important part of his work and it is an area in which he has experience, so it is appropriate that he has responsibility for it. I thank Senators Higgins, Ruane, Black and Flynn for introducing the Bill. It is importa…

I warmly welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to the House. The issue I want to address today relates to the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, the union that represents national school teachers. Many of us will be familiar with the union's magazine, InTouch , that it sends us every month and which is very informative. As a result of reading an article in that magazine, it became obvious to me that the union had made a detailed submission on the issue of bullying and the need for continual suppor…

I thank the Minister of State. Her comments were exceptionally helpful. There is a review, and I welcome that. However, it is a learning curve for everyone - children, young people, teachers and parents. It is important to acknowledge that, and that we continue to monitor it on an ongoing basis. The INTO represents over 40,000 people in the staff. It represents the national schools across the Republic. We should not be short in supporting those people in their work in helping children to understand the complexities…

I warmly welcome the Minister. First, I thank him for his concise contribution. It is a measure of him. I have been following him and reading about him in the months since he took office and it is clear that he has a concise way and great clarity in what he does and says. In the short, concise, five-page document he presented to us there is a recurring theme, which I am delighted to see, of enhanced governance and new assurance structures. He will add five people to the board, over and above the Secretaries General…

I am conscious it is coming up to St. Patrick's Day and would like to take this opportunity to thank our overseas missions and embassies that represent us, our diaspora and more importantly, our interest, throughout the world. I single out the ambassador, Dan Mulhall, based in Washington. I also refer to our ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, in Austria, as well as our Irish ambassador to Austria, who is also based in Vienna, Austria. We are unique in having two ambassador…

One of the drawbacks of speaking last is that one runs out of time and nobody remains to listen. As they say, that is politics. They will say that they are in their offices. First and foremost, I welcome the fact that it is local enterprise week. It is a very positive time for businesses. I also wish to acknowledge the 31 local enterprise offices, LEOs, across the 31 local authorities that do enormous work on enterprise. The LEOs are very positive in respect of promoting entrepreneurship, fostering business, encour…

I thank the Minister of State and welcome today's announcement that the green for micro scheme will be extended around the country. Green ventures at community level should be promoted in line with sustainable development. The old proverb comes to mind that great oak trees from little acorns grow. That is true. Great enterprise starts with simple thoughts and loads of enthusiasm and energy. We must continuously and imaginatively support small enterprises in our communities for there lies the future in terms of sust…

This week is also local enterprise week. On the local level, I know the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment is undertaking a number of online engagements with the local enterprise offices, LEOs. Excuse the play on the term but I am talking about the LEOs as opposed to Leo. I welcome that engagement. I had a Commencement matter on this issue this morning, specifically on the green for micro scheme. On behalf of the Tánaiste, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, confirmed that as of today there …