Thank you, Senator O'Reilly. I have to give time to the Minister of State to respond.

I want to raise one issue today. The special advocate for survivors of institutional abuse held a press conference. I do not recall that there were any Senators there but there were a number of Deputies present. It was packed and was extensively covered in all media today. It is a reminder of a lot of unfinished business. We heard a heart-rending story from a man who was taken to Kerry and ended up being boarded out. He shared with us the enormous emotion of the separation of his brothers and the impact it had on h…

I wish I could say the same. I am very positively disposed to this legislation. I thank the Minister for giving his comprehensive statement to us. I smiled with delight somewhat when I heard the Minister pointing out further elements of and commitments in the programme for Government and that he is driving them through. Clearly, this is a Minister with intent and who has a reforming zeal. He is also keeping one eye on the programme for Government, which is encouraging. I do not think any other Minister has ever com…

We will give you the day off work.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. She is here on behalf of the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Foley, who, I understand, is tied up with parliamentary business and cannot be here today. I am very conscious that the national housing strategy for disabled people 2022-27 provides a framework for the delivery of housing for people with all levels of disability. I also understand, of course, that housing is ultimately the responsibility of the Minister for housing and is not the respon…

I thank the Minister of State and ask her to convey my thanks to the Minister, Deputy Foley, for the response. Key to all of this is, of course, the local authority and, as the Minister of State said, the housing development action plans. I do not know where they are, and if they are just about to start; it is pretty new. It would be interesting to keep an eye on that and let us all look at it again. Independent living, independent dignity, respect for the individual to make choices around their needs, accommodatio…

I welcome the Minister and thank him for facilitating this really focused debate on student access, accommodation, etc. I take on board his point about innovation, which warrants another, separate debate in the Seanad. There are many progressive developments ongoing, particularly in regard to STEM, on-campus sites and the synergies between the private sector and education. It is a really exciting space and there are real opportunities within it for a great synergy of private investment funding that could be tied up…

I always come back to listen to the Minister. Cheers.

It is now 9 o'clock. Sorry, I am looking at a clock with a different time. The Senator has about a minute.

As it is now 9 p.m., the debate must be adjourned in accordance with the order of the Seanad today.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I want to touch on the issue of the Ombudsman for Children's report. It was covered very extensively on all social media outlets and on "Morning Ireland" this morning. As always, I am very supportive of the ombudsman. I know we all are here. Some might describe him as a thorn in the side of Government but that is not always a bad thing. We need to be prodded every now and again and challenged on issues around children. There is a very strict protocol and code around the conduct of the work of any ombudsman and he i…

I welcome the Minister to the Seanad and thank him for his engagement and opening statement in relation to this Critical Infrastructure Bill. We have to shy away from thinking parochially here. We have to think of the bigger picture. This is about the economy, sustainability and our future. It is about putting critical infrastructure in place for housing, for jobs and employment, for the development of agriculture, for innovation, for the pharmaceutical industry and for all of the other exciting things that await u…

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that: - the United Nations General Assembly declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF); - only 13 per cent of farms in Ireland are owned by women; - women make up 41 per cent of the global agri-food workforce; despite this, they often have a lack of access to land, finance, technology and training; - women play an essential role in agri-food systems, for which they do not receive enough recognition, and the United Nations (UN) is trying to address this…

Thank you. I welcome the Minister to the House. He is no stranger to me and I hope I am no stranger to him. I thank him for coming to deal with this motion. I want to set the context that the United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. That is a very significant designation and we have been talking about it at the agriculture committee for the last 12 months. It is a global initiative that aims to increase awareness of the crucial role women play in the agri-food system and mor…

Yes.

Well said.

I will not delay. It has been a long night. I thank the Minister for coming to the House and for his ongoing support. I acknowledge the presence of Mr. Bell, one of the Minister’s officials from the Department of agriculture, and thank him for his positive contribution and engagement on the background information. I flagged the wording of the motion to the Department, and I found it very helpful to have its constructive engagement. There is a lesson for us all. Where we work closely together and collaborate, we can…

I acknowledge that the Government has approved a €750,000 support fund for businesses impacted by the devastating fire in the Tycor Business Centre in Waterford that we talked about last week. That was a devastating fire. It clearly had an impact on the community, the businesses there, and the social activities and the community activities in that centre. I learnt much about them from my colleague, Senator Conway, who of course was a city councillor there for many years. It has had an impact on over 200 jobs, betwe…