I ask the Acting Leader to outline the Order of Business for today.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
The ambassador is very welcome. It is a case of "Hello" and "Goodbye". I thank him for his service.
The Order of Business is No.1, motion regarding Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2023, back from committee, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 12.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the opening contribution of the Minister not to exceed five minutes and those of all Senators not to exceed five minutes, time can be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 2, Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 – Second Stage, to be taken at 12.30 p.m., with the opening contribution of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed four minutes, time can be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.
I wish the Acting Leader and Cathaoirleach a good morning. I welcome H.E. Palm and Lieutenant Colonel Piso to our Chamber.
I wish to raise a couple of issues this morning, the first of which is the news yesterday from the Minister for Justice that there will be gardaí on duty at railway stations, starting at Heuston Station with a new Garda transport hub. I very much welcome this news and progress. I am keen to see this also rolled out in Connolly train station, which, of course, would affect my train line going through Dublin West and the interchanges to the Luas trams. It is important to trial this. It is good for tourism to have a Garda presence for people visiting the city. It is also good to look to other cities to see what works. Something that has been brought to my attention is that in Tokyo, Japan, there are carriages for women at night. That is also something we could consider introducing on a trial basis.
I also want to mention the campaign the Neurological Alliance of Ireland has been running on multidisciplinary teams. I believe two community healthcare organisations, CHOs, are doing pilots in this area to which I want to lend my support. I have met, in the course of my work and canvassing, people who have young-onset Parkinson's disease. They are living with neurological conditions and see the potential for much more assistance with day-to-day support, and communicating the likes of the benefits of exercise and supporting well-being through information campaigns. It is a really important campaign. I want to see the pilots do well.
I also wish to mention the news yesterday that the report of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland on Councillor Patsy Kelly, who was killed in 1974, has been completed and released. He was failed by the police at the time according to this report. His family has been failed by the justice system and they will be failed by the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill if that is implemented in May. I take the opportunity once again to call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Taoiseach not to take anything off the table in fighting the prospect of this becoming law and people being cut off from routes to justice and truth for which they have been fighting for all those years.
Like the Cathaoirleach and others, I welcome our guests. I thank the ambassador for his service and, indeed, the solidarity and friendship the Netherlands has shown between our two countries.
I also welcome the deployment of gardaí at railway stations, which is a positive move. It was part of Fianna Fáil transport policy that we would seek the deployment of gardaí at rail stations. It is certainly welcome for rail users.
Tonight marks the opening of the RTÉ all-Ireland drama finals in Athlone, which is a wonderful festival of drama that takes place every year. Nine groups from around the country are taking part and have taken part in competitions the length and breadth of the country. I wish the very best to all the groups. I am slightly biased in wishing particular good luck to Wexford Drama Group, which will take to the stage next Wednesday. A number of my friends are taking part. The Amateur Drama Council of Ireland organises a wonderful series of festivals. We are grateful for RTE's sponsorship, but this rich drama tradition in this country deserves to be appreciated.
I welcome the remarks of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, today on the structure of government. He is correct that when we think about how our State only hit a population of 4 million in the 1990s, and in the census last year, we reached more than 5.1 million, the structures of government have not kept pace with that rapid growth. We sometimes underestimate the importance of a well-functioning and resourced bureaucracy. The Acting Leader will be aware that I have raised on many occasions how we as a State respond to emerging technologies and rapid changes in technology. One of our problems is that we have a digital archipelago at government level and, therefore, responsibility falls all over the place. The Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Ossian Smyth, has responsibility for eGovernment. Issues relating to cybersecurity and so on are the responsibility of the Department of Defence. Data protection is the responsibility of the Department of Justice. When we deal with infrastructure in terms of digital technologies, that is all to do with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Attracting many of the tech companies and liaising with both indigenous and international technology companies is the responsibility of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Online safety and regulation of the media is the responsibility of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media while the skilling, upskilling and reskilling of our citizens is the responsibility of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
I think people get the point. I do not wish to sound a little bit like a Sir Humphrey Appleby of today-----
The Senator did a good job.
-----or maybe Robert Watt is the modern Sir Humphrey-----
Careful now.
-----but what we need in terms of this digital archipelago is a digital czar at Government level to bring all this together.
I ask again for a debate-----
Senator, your time is up.
-----on how the Government responds to emerging technologies like nanotechnology, biotechnology and artificial intelligence. I appeal for a debate on how the State is responding in these sectors.
I welcome the ambassador and the military attaché to the Seanad. I want to raise the challenges confronting Irish citizens in Sudan, who are there amid the fighting, as well as our response and what we can do in Ireland to assist them. I understand that we have successfully evacuated just short of 100 of our citizens, but there are other citizens stranded there. I listened yesterday to the account of a young woman and Irish citizen who described her mother's escape to the Egyptian border by bus from a remote part of Sudan. She described her mother crossing the desert through very dangerous terrain and being stopped by the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, at gunpoint and questioned. People in Sudan are being exposed to very traumatic experiences, whether they are outside Khartoum trying to get to other borders or within the city itself. As our diaspora grows and as we welcome new citizens from around the world, this is going to be a recurring feature for Irish citizens abroad in man-made or natural disasters. It is only a short period of time since we had to evacuate Irish citizens from Kabul in Afghanistan in August 2021. It really brings into sharp focus our capacity to assist our citizens.
At the moment there are 12 members of our special forces, the Army Ranger Wing, in Djibouti and elsewhere assisting Irish citizens who are in extremis. I think that figure is an arbitrary and idiosyncratic one that has been chosen so that we are consistent with our triple lock obligations for foreign deployments as a neutral state. When it comes to humanitarian deployments, we need to revisit the triple lock. We do not need a UN Security Council resolution to deploy our troops to assist Irish citizens or, indeed, citizens of any country or neighbouring countries. I ask the Government to revisit that figure. Confining it to 12 actually exposes our troops to risk. I also advocate for us joining the European Air Transport Command, which is based in Eindhoven in the Netherlands and is a EU initiative. Joining it would not impact on our neutrality, but it would allow us to get the heavy-lift capacity to bring our four-wheel drive vehicles out to help citizens to get across hazardous terrain, instead of them having to rely on buses and so on. I say all of this in the context of our military neutrality. I am a confirmed advocate of our military neutrality. We do not need to join a military alliance, but by being creative and inventive, Ireland, as a neutral state, can become a diplomatic superpower by assisting our citizens and other citizens in humanitarian crises like this. We just need to allow our Defence Forces to be involved.
I welcome the reporting yesterday of the construction of new homes for the first quarter of this year. Housing construction is up 20% on the same time last year, with a record high of almost 7,000 new homes being built. This is an incredibly positive and encouraging report for anyone who wants to buy their own home and anyone who cares about our citizens having a secure and affordable home. I also welcome the Government's decision this week to increase the grants for vacant and derelict homes. Since this Government was first formed, this is an issue that I, as Fianna Fáil spokesperson in the Seanad, and my colleagues, on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party, have pushed hard on to ensure the State basically tackles the scourge of vacancy and dereliction which exists in every town and village across the country. We have successfully and reasonably argued that the fastest and most sustainable way to increase our housing and affordable housing supply is to reuse existing vacant properties on every street in every town and village in the country. These are properties that are already connected to water, sewerage and electricity, are on public transport routes and are close to shops, villages and schools. The grants that have been announced include a grant of €50,000 from the State for properties that have been vacant for two years or more and those built before 2007, and a grant of €70,000 for derelict properties. These grants are helping young people to achieve homeownership and they are very welcome. They are the fastest and most sustainable way to increase our housing, and I congratulate everybody who worked on making it happen.
I concur with the comments made by Senator Fitzpatrick. It is not just Fianna Fáil that has been pushing it; our colleagues in Fine Gael have been involved too. There is a housing policy group within our party that has been pushing these issues. Indeed, our colleague, Senator Cummins, has been very proactive in putting forward the whole issue of dereliction and supporting those grants.
(Interruptions).
Are we seeking a debate on housing? We are.
I want to put that on the record. I also want to thank the Cathaoirleach and other colleagues for attending yesterday's event with AsIAm on autism awareness. I welcome the Houses of the Oireachtas initiative that involves all of the parliamentary community taking up autism training. I ask all Members of the Seanad and their staff to take up that training over the next number of months. We want to be one of the first autism-friendly parliaments in the world by the end of December 2023. That includes all 1,500 staff taking part in that training. I urge colleagues to support the initiative.
I also want to raise a few points about carer's allowance. I would like a discussion with the Minister for Social Protection ahead of the budget. Through its work, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism has produced evidence and studies which show that as a State, we are not meeting the significant cost to families associated with paying for services in this area. There is no income disregard for those expenses when it comes to applications for carer's allowance. There are families where one parent may have to give up work, yet he or she is not entitled to carer's allowance because his or her partner is working. There is no income disregard for the expenses of €10,000, €15,000 and up to €20,000 that families have on a yearly basis. They are not entitled to carer's allowance. I would like a discussion with the Minister for Social Protection. It needs to be looked at and a change needs to be made in the budget.
We have discussed the issue of the building of housing. There are numerous people in my own area that travel to and from Dublin to work in construction, whether it is roofing, plastering or bricklaying. There is an issue with the changes in the vehicle registration tax, VRT, charges for vans or caddys. I was chatting to representatives of a company yesterday that is looking to bring six lads to Dublin and provide a van for them. The company has to pay €30,000 in VRT to purchase the van. If the business owner bought two small vans that carry three people, he would pay €200 in VRT. We want to reduce the number of vehicles on our roads, especially where those vehicles are for the building industry. They are not being used for social purposes or for bringing kids to school; they are being used to bring workers to Dublin.
I commend the Senator on his work on the initiative that was launched yesterday, and on his leadership in the area of autism and creating autism awareness. As Cathaoirleach, I will be writing to all Members to encourage them to accept that we need to make our Parliament autism-friendly by December 2023. That requires all of us collectively to do that together. I thank Senator Carrigy and the members of the committee for all of the work they have done thus far. We certainly all need to support the next challenge. The Ceann Comhairle spoke on the issue yesterday. I look forward to us all working together on the initiative.
I call for a debate with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on the non-commencement of sections 6 to 9 of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014.
The Act was passed by both Houses on 27 November 2014 and was signed into force on 4 December that year. As per section 1(3) of the Act, the Minister must commence certain sections, but this has not been done for sections 6 to 9, inclusive. The legislation has been in operation for 3,064 days but the commencement order has not been given. We should have a debate on this issue.
The sections in question relate to the registration of births and the naming of children's parents on documents in cases where the parents are not married. The provisions state it is the duty of both parents to comply with the registration of the birth of a child, notwithstanding that they are not married to each other. Where the mother of a child attends alone, she must provide information as to the father's name and contact details. Where the mother furnishes evidence and a statutory declaration that her spouse is not the father of the child, the registrar must make reasonable efforts to contact the spouse. Where parents fail to agree on the surname to be registered, a registrar may complete the registration by leaving the surname field blank or, where a surname is already registered, leaving the surname in place.
These are practical, common-sense provisions that were debated and voted for by the Oireachtas almost nine years ago. They will enable persons in the future to trace their lineage more accurately and get in contact with estranged family if they so wish. They will engender greater certainty in the birth registration system. Will the Acting Leader invite the Minister to the House to discuss the commencement of these sections of the 2014 Act?
I refer to remarks that were made yesterday at the annual meeting of prison officers. The figures for the prison system at this time are shocking. There are 157 people sleeping on mattresses on floors. There are cells with four bunks. The capacity of the women's prison is approximately one third of what is necessary. It is suggested in The Irish Times today that the Minister, Deputy Harris, is thinking of knocking down the separation unit in Mountjoy and rebuilding it to provide 100 extra spaces.
Years ago, as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I inspected Mountjoy Prison on a number of occasions and came to the conclusion that it was wholly unsuitable to remain a prison. It is a 19th century institution and there is no real chance of rehabilitative activity taking place there. The State sold Shanganagh Castle to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and a private builder for €30 million, which was invested in buying 150 acres at Thornton Hall in north Dublin. That place was fitted out with new road access and the like and it has lain vacant ever since. It could provide a fantastically improved prison for the greater Dublin area.
I am not in favour of sending people to prison lightly. Most District Court judges who send young men to jail for small things like spitting at a garda or something like that should think twice about it. They can ruin those people's careers forever for something minor. However, there are 5.1 million people in this country now and we need extra prison capacity. I call for a debate in this House in which the Minister comes in and admits honestly the existence of the revolving door, the gross overcrowding and the inhumane conditions in our prisons, for which the UN Committee Against Torture will be on our case very soon. We need to adopt a strategy for the next 50 to 100 years, which will require finally admitting that Thornton Hall must be built.
I welcome to the Public Gallery the students and staff from Greystones Educate Together National School who are on a tour today. They are very welcome and I hope they have a pleasant visit to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
I welcome the news that the community first responders unit on the Ennis Road in Limerick city has been granted a temporary home. The unit does fantastic work and its members are highly trained in first aid and dealing with issues to do with older people. They do not have a permanent home. I thank Limerick 2030 for giving them temporary access to a unit in the Cleeves Riverside Quarter site on the North Circular Road. They will be able to use the facilities there for a number of years as there is a long-term plan for the site. The first responders have been operating out of each other's houses and supporting one another in that way. The provision of temporary accommodation is welcome but I ask the council to look at finding a permanent home for the unit.
The Limerick Person of the Year awards take place today. There are 12 nominees, each of whom was selected for one of the past 12 months. I wish all the nominees the very best as they go forward for this prestigious award. It is designed to recognise people who have done things for the benefit of others in their community and to promote Limerick. I wish all the nominees well.
As we all know, the EU fiscal rules were suspended during the pandemic. Indeed, the pandemic underlined the fundamental weakness of those rules, particularly the Stability and Growth Pact. What good are rules that are suspended if and when they become inconvenient? What good are rules that make impossible the necessary public investment in housing, healthcare and climate action that is needed in our country and in Europe?
Last month, I highlighted that this is an important time for EU economic policy. Yesterday, the Commission announced proposals to reform the EU fiscal rules. The proposals are an improvement on the damaging rules of the past but it is clear the original suggestions have been diluted to placate the German Government. A number of proposals Sinn Féin argued consistently and strongly against as being unworkable have been removed. However, arbitrary targets remain in place that could damage the economies, services and societies of EU member states that deviate from them. As the proposals are brought before the European Parliament and the European Council, it is crucial the Government and Irish MEPs make the case to respect the sovereignty of member states, abandon the failed rules of the past and allow the necessary investment our Continent needs in climate action, housing and healthcare.
The social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, is a hugely important programme run by the Department of Rural and Community Development and Pobal. I understand the new programme is due to start on 1 January next year. In Galway, we have had a debate for many years, going back to pre-2016, on how many lots should be allocated to the county. We ended up with one lot to cover the second largest county in the country. This is a totally inadequate allocation of lots to tender for this programme.
I understand the Department of Rural and Community Development has made a decision that the local community development committee in Galway must make an application by next week for any changes to the number of allocated lots. This is a totally inadequate timescale to allow for a meeting and to agree on and justify a new application. When we were dealing with this some years ago, prior to the previous programme, there was huge concern and debate, which ended up with the status quo of having FORUM Connemara looking after the Connemara side and Galway Rural Development looking after the east Galway side changing suddenly such that Galway Rural Development was looking after the whole county. This is not in accordance with the wish of either organisation.
I acknowledge this is a competitive tender process but we need to have a minimum of two lots for County Galway instead of one. On previous occasions, my colleagues supported having at least two for the county, which is of a size that is geographically distinct. SICAP is about assisting people in areas where there are issues of deprivation and poverty. I ask the Acting Leader to contact the Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, Deputy Joe O'Brien, who has responsibility for the programme, to advocate for an extension of time for the decision on a new application from next week to a future date.
I am delighted that Senator Gallagher is the Acting Leader, as I want him to see whether he can arrange a debate with someone from his area, namely, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, about funding-----
(Interruptions).
We know we are writing all of Fine Gael's policies, but we cannot do everything-----
No interruptions, please. Senator Ahearn has the floor.
I am referring to funding under the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF. There have been incredible announcements in recent months, particularly relating to the Acting Leader's constituency, of funding received under a number of schemes, including the RRDF. County Tipperary was successful in that regard in the last round, with us receiving more than €30 million for three projects in Roscrea, Carrick-on-Suir and Cahir. These were announced as phase 1 and 2 projects because some had not been delivered or reached their commencement. The project in Cahir, which is my home town, was classed as a phase 2, so it essentially cannot commence until other projects have moved forward. This decision was made in November. In the time since, all of the phase 1 projects in Tipperary have commenced and been moving along steadily, which is good. The project in Cahir is ready to put out tenders, but it cannot start until the Department classes it as a phase 1 project. I am asking for a debate with the Minister on the projects that were announced and are ready to commence on the back of good work by local authorities throughout the country.
I thank Senators for their contributions on a wide range of issues. The last shall be first in this instance and I will start with Senator Ahearn. He referred to the RRDF and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. Great work has undoubtedly been done in that regard. The Senator raised a problem with the way the fund was set up, with one phase depending on the other. I will ask the Minister to attend the House to debate the issue. She has a great deal on her mind at the moment. There has been speculation in the media that she may be thinking about the Phoenix Park. However, I trust that she will have her eyes focused solely on her Departments until that happens, if it turns out to be the case.
The Acting Leader will support her.
As always.
She will need Senator Gallagher's help.
Senator Byrne had his opportunity. Let the Acting Leader reply.
Senator Kyne discussed Pobal's social inclusion programme and how great work had been done in funding projects across the country. He spoke about how Galway, being such a large county, should ideally be split in two. That seems to make sense. He also referred to how the closing date was imminent. He would like to see the county being split and has asked for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to consider the matter. I will contact the Minister. I understand that the closing date is next week, so time is tight.
Senator Warfield discussed the issue of the EU's fiscal rules and how he would like to see more flexibility for this and other states in funding various projects. He mentioned housing and health. In those respects, €20 billion has been made available over the next five years. I do not believe funding is the issue in housing, though. Rather, it is a matter of getting enough workers to ensure houses are built.
Senator Maria Byrne spoke about her beloved Limerick and the great work being done there by first responders. We are deeply indebted to first responders the length and breadth of the country for their excellent life-saving work. The Senator spoke about how first responders did not have a home in Limerick but had now been facilitated with a temporary home, which is good news. As she said, Limerick City and County Council needs to get them a permanent home.
The Senator also mentioned the person of the year award, which is under way in Limerick. There are 12 nominees and she wished them all the best in the competition.
Senator McDowell raised the Prison Service and the combination of issues obtaining in that respect. He outlined how there were even problems back in his time as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and how they had been exacerbated recently. I understand that the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, attended the Prison Officers Association, POA, conference this morning, where he spoke about 600 much-needed additional places. Senator McDowell is correct, though, in that we need a debate on the future of the Prison Service, particularly in Dublin. We will do our best to arrange one as soon as possible. We will probably need a purpose-built prison to meet the level of need. As the Senator mentioned, the last thing we want to do is to put people in prison, but where that happens, it is important that we have accommodation to do so.
Senator Keogan asked for the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to attend the House to debate the legislation on birth registration. It was passed many years ago, but sections of it have yet to be commenced, which is having serious repercussions for families across the country. I will do my best to arrange for the Minister to attend for a debate. It is important that people have access to their personal details whenever they want them. Where legislation was passed so long ago, questions need to be asked about what the problem is. Perhaps a debate with the Minister might sort out the issue.
Senator Carrigy discussed autism awareness. I commend the Senator on his excellent work since entering the House on highlighting this issue. He is well versed in it. He wants everyone in Parliament to become more aware of autism. That makes perfect sense. He has undertaken an initiative, and I ask all Members to embrace the idea of an autism-friendly Parliament. We all need to know more about autism.
The Senator also spoke about eligibility criteria for the carer's allowance. Perhaps a debate on the issue would be worthwhile. We are deeply indebted to the many carers the length and breadth of the country. God knows where we would be if we did not have them. In many cases, they are fighting tooth and nail to get a pittance. Any additional money, and any way we could relax the criteria so that more people would be eligible, would be well worth examining.
The Senator also spoke about VRT on vans, particularly large ones. He gave a practical example of a five-seat van as opposed to a three-seater. The difference in VRT between the two seems to be an anomaly. Perhaps the Senator will consider raising it as a Commencement matter in the coming weeks.
Senator Fitzpatrick discussed the housing situation and outlined the progress that had thankfully been made in that regard. Statistics released by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, yesterday show that more than 6,700 new homes were completed in the first three months of this year, representing an increase of more than 19% on the same period in 2022. This is welcome. The Senator also outlined how the Croí Cónaithe scheme had been increased this week. Under it, the vacant property grant has increased from €30,000 to €50,000 and the grant for derelict properties has increased from €50,000 to €70,000. These increases are welcome. The scheme is important to rural constituencies in particular, albeit not exclusively to them, and many people are taking it up. We are all aware that a great deal of work needs to be done on housing. Thankfully, however, we are seeing signs that progress is being made. There are many strands and facets to it. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet to solve the entire housing problem, but I am happy to report that progress is being made. We look forward to that continuing.
Senator Clonan discussed the events in Sudan and how 100 Irish citizens had been repatriated, with perhaps up to 200 more yet to be. He spoke about how the Defence Forces could do more. His point makes perfect sense and we could become world leaders.
We are a neutral country. We could do more, not just to protect our citizens but other citizens as well. A debate on the matter would be very worthwhile. We talked about the Army Ranger Wing and that only 12 people from it are in Sudan at present. That needs to be expanded. There is room for expansion of that service and a debate on the issue would be very worthwhile. I note the 72-hour ceasefire is still in train. Hopefully, that will hold and we will get as many of our people home safely as we possibly can.
Senator Malcolm Byrne talked about the All Ireland Drama Festival about to take place in Athlone. He mentioned the people involved in drama from County Wexford, where he lives. He wished them well as he did all the other participants. I look forward to that event and commend all the people involved in drama. We have a very rich tradition in that regard, as the Senator outlined. I hope that goes well for all concerned. He also talked about the comments made by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. In light of the fact we have an ever-increasing population with more than 5.1 million people resident here, which is rising constantly, that brings stresses to our public services, which may have to expand in that regard. The Senator requested a debate that would cover a wide range of areas pertaining to that, which would also be very worthwhile.
We kicked off with Senator Currie who welcomed the news regarding railway stations. We are now seeing signs of a Garda presence there. Many voices have called for that for some time. As the Senator said, it is very welcome development that she would like to see expanded, as we all would. It is very worthwhile and, I suggest, long overdue but welcome nevertheless. It is important people feel safe as they go about travelling. She mentioned the example of Japan, where there is a separate carriage for women, particularly at night-time. That is an excellent idea and one we could possibly look into here and perhaps hold a debate on the issue. We can talk to the Minister about coming to the House regarding that. She also talked about the legacy Bill in the UK, which has been mentioned many times by the Senator in the Chamber, and others, and this Government's total resistance to it. We had another example yesterday, that of Patsy Kelly who was murdered in 1974, where it was found the security forces then had questions to answer. Those questions still remain to this day. That is very unfair on families. The legacy Bill will put a sledgehammer to all of that, which is something none of us in this House can allow happen.
I again thank all the Senators for their contributions.
I welcome students from Greystones Educate Together National School and St. Mary's Holy Faith in Killester. They are all very welcome. I thank them for their patience as the Acting Leader replied to the Order of Business and for being here.
Order of Business agreed to.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.13 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.46 a.m.
Sitting suspended at 11.13 a.m. and resumed at 11.46 a.m.