I welcome the Minister of State to his important Ministry. I have no doubt he will do an exceptionally good job. He is fiercely committed and applies himself to the challenges put in front of him. I thank Fine Gael for using its Private Members' time to afford us an opportunity to discuss and debate care supports and enhanced provisions for services for older people. That is important. There are many asks in the motion. I am familiar with them, as Fine Gael Senators will be also, having prepared them. As the Leader…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 9, to delete lines 11 to 16. I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate her on her appointment. I welcome her staff who are here and have much experience in these matters. These three amendments are grouped. I have tabled amendments Nos. 1 and 2 and will speak collectively to those two amendments. We are debating Committee Stage of the Statute Law Revision Bill 2024. I want to make a number of points on the record about the background of these two amendments. I will be brief an…

I thought amendments Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were listed here.

I will come back on it if the Cathaoirleach wants.

Does the Cathaoirleach want me to finish up on amendment No. 2?

I will come back. Let us deal with amendment No. 1.

I am not talking about amendment No. 3. I indicated that I would talk about amendments Nos. 1 and 2. I will come back to talk about amendment No. 2

I will park that. I have not gone into it. That is fine.

I am happy not to discuss amendment No. 3.

I will come back on that. I thank the Minister of State. One of the great things about this debate is that it puts all of this on the record, which is really important because it is a bit sketchy. Clearly, the Minister of State has the advice and I am very happy to take on board all of that. I am not an expert on genealogy by any stretch of the imagination, but this was an issue that was raised with me and there seems to be more than some logic in it. The Minister of State used the word "uninterrupted". Yes, it mig…

In light of what the Minister of State has said and the fact that there will be another Stage of the Bill next week, I will withdraw the amendment, take some further advice and have another opportunity to come in here next week. We will all have another opportunity to have a chat and we can pursue it on the next Stage. I will not pursue the amendment at this point.

I thank the Minister of State and congratulate him on his appointment. We are familiar with each other. We worked well in agriculture for a number of years. At 4 p.m. yesterday evening, I received a letter from the Department stating that, unfortunately, none of the Ministers from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage were available to take my Commencement matter today but the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, had kindly agreed to take a response. The Minister of State is welcome and I thank…

I thank the Minister of State for the overview he gave. In summary, it is not working. Tailte Éireann is not delivering. People who want to do property transactions, whether for agricultural land, farms, pubs and commercial buildings, are having difficulties with Tailte Éireann and so are local authorities. It is simply not fit for purpose at this time. There is talk of a recruitment drive but this is after the body has been established. It acknowledges it needs a recruitment drive and training. We need to look at …

I wish to raise the Planning and Development Act. It is a substantial document and runs to 870 pages. It was signed by Uachtarán na hÉireann on 17 September 2024. It is now almost March. I understand that people have even had a difficulty getting a hard copy of the Act. It is still in the preparation stage. I need to clarify that and the Leader might check it out because it is important that we have the document. It also needs to be translated into Irish, which is standard and right, and should happen. This is one …

He will get a third term.

First, I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him on his appointment as Minister for Transport. Those who are new here may not be familiar with Private Members' business. This is a Fianna Fáil item and I congratulate their Senators for putting it forward. None of this is new. This has been rehearsed two or three times in the Seanad and I will share some of that with Members in a moment. Let us forget about all the points where they set out phrases like "agrees to do" and "notes that"; let us get to th…

To come back.

Absolutely.

Absolutely. I have no difficulty with that and I said that. The Minister is one to engage and I am always happy to engage with him. I acknowledge his co-operation and engagement, which has never been a problem. I am deeply concerned that the front-line staff and the passengers on all our public transport modes are exposed to the threats of sexual assault and aggressive drunken behaviour on the public transport network. Open drug taking, dealing and fighting should not have to be encountered by anyone. Our public tr…

I share the concerns of my colleagues on the matter. We have two very fine candidates and I mean that sincerely. I was in this process for the job of Cathaoirleach after the previous election so I know how it plays out. We need to ask ourselves, particularly as we start afresh in this Senate: are we committed to its reform? Can we work collectively together, not against one another, to support this House and give confidence in this House? I always say to people when I speak in here that I am not really speaking to …