But no tellers were appointed to the division on the amendment to the Bill.

I have looked at the minutes. I think that was an issue. I am sorry, this is what I researched. This is fact and I was present. No tellers were appointed by the Government. The contents of Senator Clonan's Bill were consistent with everything listed in this motion. So why the deferral? Why the lack of support? Why were no tellers appointed by the Government? That can be checked with the Whips on all sides. I do not want to go back and just say this is what actually happened. It can be checked and validated after th…

It would be inappropriate for me to comment on that. I am in the chair, so I will not comment.

Okay. No, that is your view.

Senator, you have four minutes-----

On behalf of the Independent Seanad group I would like to warmly welcome our new superintendent, Barry Ryan. We look forward to working constructively with him and we very much welcome him to the Houses of the Oireachtas. I join with others in their tribute to Councillor Damien O'Reilly. What a wonderful colleague. What a pragmatic politician. He was perhaps one of the better politicians in Leinster House, although he was not elected to Leinster House. You would meet him on a daily basis manoeuvring and scheming, v…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, to the House. I thank him for coming in to deal with this issue, which falls clearly, of course, within his brief. I will be brief and concise. The Minister of State will be familiar with the Not Our Fault campaign that has been running. At the very outset, I salute the people involved in this campaign. These people have been affected by homes that are defective with regard to fire issues or construction defaults. They are the very people who feel totally abandoned…

There is no reassurance in anything the Minister of State has said. We have heard all of it before. He said the Minister is working on developing a scheme "as a matter of priority" and he needs "sufficient time" to do so. The Minister of State is not in a position to tell us anything. He has given us no timelines. He has told us the Minister is working on a scheme. The Houses go into recess today for two months. We will not have an opportunity during that time to question any Minister. He made reference to a scheme…

The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 was signed by the President this week, the day before yesterday, thereby completing the cycle of this very important legislation. It will be no secret that I am committed to campaigning for further aspects of issues we touched on in this regard. It was disappointing that we could not secure any support from the Government Members of this House for amendments relating to two or three issues I will single out today, the first of which is the drug trials that we…

I might have other ideas, now.

Before I call the Senator, there is standard practice that we would have a script for Commencement matters and there does not appear to be any here.

That is okay. We will get them on the way out. I thank the Minister.

I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, to the House again. The next Commencement matter is in the name of Senator Seán Kyne and relates to the Government's commitment to index-link tax credits and bands. It is important to recognise that without index linking, eventually everybody would end up at a higher rate of tax as wages grow. A tax cut is a misnomer to a degree. It is about indexing tax rates to wage growth. That is important. It is important to acknowledge that people in this country are working ve…

Before I call Senator Kyne, I note that the standard practice is that we would have a script from the Minister of State. I do not know if there are scripts available or if we can make them available.

It is not the Minister of State's fault. I just wanted to flag that. Maybe we could get copies circulated. This happened for the previous matter as well.

I join with others in welcoming the sports capital and equipment grants programme which will open next week. A detailed circular was issued early this morning. I have read three or four copies of it so it is out there. It is great news and to be commended. Sport is important to our health and well-being and we are all involved in it in the broader sense. It has lots of benefits. Well done to all involved. I wish applicants every success. Further to last night's debate, I thank all who actively engaged. The debate o…

I welcome the Minister to the House to discuss this matter. I thank the Labour Party for using its time to bring forward this very important motion. I thank the people in the Gallery and those who are tuned in. We have had a difficult few days. We had a lot of discussion on disabilities. Last night, during discussion of Senator Clonan's Private Member's Bill, we had a very frank and honest exchange. People came to this House with certain views but then left with a different position as regards how they had intended…

I wish to continue on the issues raised by Senator Daly regarding the "Prime Time" programme last night. It exposed shortcomings in animal welfare but, ultimately, the majority of farmers are compliant. I wish to draw the Government's attention to its commitment in the programme for Government. I believe it is on page 69 because I quoted extensively from it earlier today. It suggests that veterinary surgeons would travel with animals outside of the EU. Quite frankly I do not believe this needs highly paid and highl…

I was thinking about the journalists when I saw them doing their exposé last night and doing investigative journalism really well. I think of the institutional abuses, the sex abuse in institutions, the over-the-counter pharmacy shown on "Prime Time", the shortcomings of the Dental Council of Ireland and the Medical Council of Ireland. It has continued to advocate and shine a light on real issues that we tend to come in here the next day and raise under Commencement matters. Fair play to RTÉ and to its journalists.…

I second the motion. I thank Senator Clonan. I also thank and welcome his family here. It is never easy to stand up and share one's own personal experiences and how they impact on one's own family, but the great value of that is that it is a shared experience and I think that is really important. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for coming to the House to deal with this issue. My Independent colleague, Senator Clonan, understands the challenges people with disabilities face in their daily lives. He h…