Hear, hear.

We have some forms in our office.

I thank the Green Party for using its Private Members' time for what is a very important proposal, which it has covered well. I also thank the Minister for setting out his stall honestly and frankly, if not somewhat disappointingly. He has been honest and frank and what more can we ask of a Minister? He said that Senators will be aware that there is a finite budget and we all know that. I wish we did not have a finite budget but we do. Our development funding for next year is more limited than I had hoped. All of t…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important Commencement matter. I know the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is in Brussels to discuss fisheries policy and is held there. I am sorry he cannot be here. The Minister of State is not from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine but I thank him for coming to the House to take this matter on behalf of the Department. The matter I raise relates to correspondence that many Members will have received, certainly members of the Joint Committee on Agricultur…

I thank the Minister of State. He can share the frustration. It is about trust. There is a very fragile relationship between the Department, the Government and agriculture. Agriculture has become very divided. Here we have a really positive scheme and yet trust is now broken. The IFA contacted us last Friday expressing concern. Where is the lead-in time for this? Why was this not flagged four or five weeks ago? Why were the measures not put in place? I accept it is not the responsibility of the Minister of State; i…

I join with others in congratulating Senator Mary Seery Kearney on all her championing and advocacy for surrogacy. Like so few in here, she was courageous, brave and bared her personal circumstances around the issue. That is not an easy thing to do; I have done it myself. There have been many disappointments and setbacks along the way, but she was always dignified. She gave witness to her campaign. She had personally walked that road and had that experience. That was potent, strong and powerful. She showed great sk…

I highlight what Senator Chambers said. It is a very important point. We need a renewed focus on the Garda Reserve. I have had a good few friends in the Garda Reserve, more than half of whom have left. They are very discontent with the whole setup, disappointed with what they see inside Garda stations and disappointed that they were sent to police rugby matches. People have told me they arrived and were told they were not really wanted at the station. There is a huge suggestion of bullying and intimidation within A…

I would say three words would cover it.

And struggling.

I think the Senator needs a gallon of water after that.

I thank the Minister of State for taking the first three matters. It is greatly appreciated by the House.

I thank the Minister of State for her time. We appreciate it.

I will raise one issue today which is the report of the Dublin Citizens' Assembly dated December 2022. We are now in December 2023. The Government tasked the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to review the report and consider various matters, which we did. The terms of reference were established and set. We have more or less completed that work. The joint committee will meet today and there is an expectation that the Government will have a report next week. The Government will cer…

The Cathaoirleach got it wrong.

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials. As we come to the end of another calendar year, if not perhaps a political one, I particularly thank the Minister of State for his work in the area of electoral reform. As Senator Cummins said, we are members of the Oireachtas joint committee on housing, planning and local government, so we have a very close interaction with the Department. I take this opportunity to pass on my thanks to the other two Ministers in the Department. Electoral reform is very important …

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his organisation of Bród 93/23 last night. It was very impressive. There is a lot of feedback from some of the participants this morning. I was in the UK but want to acknowledge the significance of the Cathaoirleach's leadership in this area. When he was elected Cathaoirleach, he gave a commitment that equality, gay rights and so forth would be at the centre of his platform. True to his word, he has been a strong advocate for all of that and much more. I want to acknowledge that.…

I will get the message out.

I will get the message out.

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will take it up on her response to Senator Ruane, when she said she did not want to be too prescriptive and mentioned the broader sense of community. As the Minister knows, we will come later to the issue of community stakeholders, who are very wide and varied and come at different levels. Oireachtas Members are stakeholders. They live in communities. One of the great things about Irish democracy is that most of our parliamentarians live within their communities. That is a ver…

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is very welcome to the House. This is a Private Members' motion in the name of the Seanad Independent Group. The combined speeches for the proposer and seconder shall not exceed 16 minutes. All other Senators shall have six minutes. The speaking list may vary depending on people's availability. It is a busy night so people may be in and out of the Chamber. I call Senator Keogan to move the motion.