I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for coming to the House. I am conscious he is a rural Deputy as well as a Minister of State. He represents Longford and Westmeath where there are many farmers. I will spend most of my time speaking about engagement with the Irish Farmers Association, IFA. There was very little talk, if any, about the farming community in the Minister of State's presentation. I will speak about this in some detail. I have no difficulties with the Bill but I have issues with regard t…

I welcome the Minister of State Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Peter Burke. He is here every day. I call Senator Garvey on the first Commencement matter.

I thank the Senator. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, has four minutes to reply.

I extend a warm welcome to the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Calleary. It is great to see him in the House and I congratulate him on his appointment. I know I join with all colleagues across this House in wishing him well in the future. I thank him for coming to the House to take this Commencement matter in the name of Senator Ahearn relating to the review of Ireland's furniture fire regulations.

I call on the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, who has four minutes to respond.

It is worth pointing out, in the interest of being impartial, that the Minister of State has come to the table here in good faith. He is well able to speak for himself, but we do not tend to suggest in the Chamber that people are telling lies-----

That is fair enough but-----

The Senator has made her point and we accept it-----

I appreciate that, but I am conscious it is important to protect all sides in the House and the Minister of State has come to the House in good faith.

I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive response to Senator Gallagher's Commencement matter. The Senator has one minute.

I thank the Minister of State for comprehensively covering that issue.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Last week, I raised the issue of devolving or transferring more powers from central government to local government. That is a theme I want to revisit today. The Dublin Citizens’ Assembly voted overwhelmingly in its recommendation - and it is a recommendation - that all four Dublin authorities, namely, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council should be retained. That was important to note in the context of the debate I was seeking last week. Al…

I welcome the German ambassador to the House. Many of my friends go to St. Killian's, the magnificent German international school and education campus on Roebuck Road in Clonskeagh. It is funded substantially by the German Government. It is a wonderful educational campus. Many Irish citizens, who are also European citizens of course, choose to go to this amazing school. I wish the ambassador and the campus continued success. Councillors from all over the country are gathering for the annual general meeting of the A…

I do not think there has been a Cabinet reshuffle and the Minister of State is the Minister for Transport-----

-----but I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This matter was billed as being for the Minister for Transport, but I know that the Minister of State is very competent and able and has his hand across all aspects of government. My matter relates to the ambitious Galway hydrogen valley project. On 14 April 2022, I met, as did a number of Oireachtas Members, with the Taoiseach at the Port of Galway conference on renewable energies and the opportunities particularly for the west of Ireland. The Taoisea…

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. I will read it in more detail later. I want to try to keep the focus on Galway, in particular the GH2 project, and will continue to do so. I flag something I noted from gov.ie this morning. There is now a campaign to appoint members to the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, with which the Minister of State will be familiar. I want to renew my call for the Government, when considering the appointment of the board, to consider people with expertise …

I am happy to support the Order of Business. I refer to No. 1 in respect of the arrangements for Lord John McFall, Lord Speaker and Presiding Officer of the House of Lords, to address the Seanad on 5 October 2022. I am particularly delighted to support that motion. He is a wonderful friend to the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly of which I am a member. He is very supportive and favourably disposed to Ireland and its various circumstances. It will be an interesting visit to the House which I welcome. On local go…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to deal with the motion. I thank my colleagues, Senators Clonan and McDowell, for teeing up and leading off on what we think is a constructive motion. It was never our intention to create division but, rather, to share our lived experiences. That is key in all of this. I only have one ask of the Minister of State and I wish to stay specific in that regard because this is a broad topic. My ask relates specifically to homelessness in Dublin. Yesterday was budget…