Before I call on the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, I too would like to welcome him, wish him well and congratulate him on his appointment. I say well done to him.

Before I call the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, I welcome Ms Gath to the House. It is great to see her here.

We must move on. I thank the Minister of State. The next Commencement matter is in the name of Senator Carrigy. It relates to a family resource centre in County Longford. I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is staying for this matter.

I do not think I have had the opportunity to welcome the Minister for Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Simon Harris, since he was given the additional responsibility of being Minister for Justice. The Minister is welcome and I congratulate him on his additional appointment.

I welcome the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. The next Commencement matter, in the name of Senator Fiona O'Loughlin, relates to the roll-out of the operation of free school books for primary school students. The Senator has four minutes to set out her case.

Before I call the Minister, I welcome people to the Public Gallery. I am particularly pleased to see Teresa Doolan, the former Superintendent of the Houses of the Oireachtas and a great friend of ours and of this House. I also welcome Laura Boyd and Joan Herbert from the Department of Justice and transition year students from Marino College, Larkin Community College and Mount Carmel Secondary School. Their visit to the House is very timely as the Minister gives her response to the Commencement matter.

The Minister of State is welcome to the House, as always.

I thank the Minister of State for that detailed response.

No. I wish to proceed.

My colleague is coming.  I will just give him one minute.

I move: That Seanad Éireann notes that: - currently, 11.6 per cent of Ireland is under forestry, with a target of reaching 18 per cent by 2050; - in 2020, Ireland committed to plant 22 million trees a year from 2020 to 2040, that is 85,000 trees every working day; - the national forestry targets have not been achieved; the level of afforestation in 2020 was 2,435 hectares, in 2021 it was 2,016 hectares, and in 2022 it was 2,243 hectares; - forests once covered 80 per cent of Ireland’s land; sustainable forestry man…

Wise and old.

I thank all the contributors, including Senators Paul Daly, Lombard, Boylan, Wall, Clonan and Murphy, for their very constructive contributions. They touched on many points, some of which I did not even touch on. It has been a very positive debate. There have not been that many Senators in the Chamber but that does not take from the very high quality of this debate and engagement. I thank the Senators who took the time to be here and engage. I also note the importance of Senators Daly, Lombard, Boylan and myself be…

They will always be sitting in that seat.

I wish to raise two things. I would like to ask that No. 2 on the proposed Order of Business before us today is not taken. I do not want to get into the detail of it. I would like us to have more reflection and consideration with the Leaders and the Whips. That is the simple proposal I would ask. I would hope we can get-----

I propose an amendment. I would hope we can get a consensus on it.

Yes. I am proposing that No. 2 not be taken today. Second, on the mother and baby homes redress scheme, I met a few people here yesterday who had been sitting in the Gallery and were totally devastated when they left late last night. We will have an opportunity to discuss this issue again. I commend Deputies Boyd Barrett and Cairns on their moving pieces on “Morning Ireland” this morning. They covered many of the issues. We in the Seanad are an advising Chamber. In time, when the process is finished in the Dáil, it…

I am pressing it. It is very reasonable.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I want to wish everyone a happy St. Brigid's Day and to thank Senator O'Loughlin in Kildare for organising that event to make St. Brigid's crosses. It is a nice idea which I welcome. I am conscious today, speaking to both the Leader and the Cathaoirleach, that the three Ministers, Deputy McConalogue and his two Ministers of State, are currently in Portlaoise where the Minister is already giving an outline to a conference called National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture. This is very impor…

I move amendment No. 15: In page 40, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “(a) in Part 4 of the First Schedule, by the insertion of the following after 26: “ ”.”. I welcome the Minister and his officials to the House. This is sort of a recurring theme. I recall discussing this with the Minister twice in the House. Basically, to cut to the chase, I propose the introduction of a penalty system for those who park in disability bays. I am conscious the Cathaoirleach is hugely involved in advocacy work for …