I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber this morning to take this very important Commencement matter. This is a pretty straightforward topic. The programme for Government commits to funding a matching road maintenance catch-up programme for local authorities with poor pavement surface conditions. Of the approximately 3,000 km of local roads that Wexford has at the moment, there are many roads that are in need of significant repairs. I ask the Minister of State for an update on the Government's catch…

I thank the Minister of State. I think the main issue here is that the programme for Government commitment has created an expectation that there will be additional once-off funding to bridge the gap between where our roads are and where they ought to be. There is a growing sense of frustration among county councillors and Wexford County Council, as with many local authorities up and down the country, who want a clear timeline for when this catch-up funding will be made available. I appreciate the fact that the Mini…

I join the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming our guests. They are most welcome, and I hope they have an enjoyable trip. Today I raise the issue of pensions for our local councillors. I know the local democracy task force on the future of local government reported in March and an implementation plan was published in July. I have spoken to a lot of our local authority representatives, who have highlighted to me that there is still no clarity on what the future will be for them with regards to a pension. At the moment,…

We will support the Order of Business. Today, I want to speak for a moment about a meeting that I had in my office with members of Wexford Macra na Feirme on their concerns about generational renewal. They gave me some fairly startling statistics. At present one in three farmers across the country is aged over 65 while only one in 20 farmers is aged under 35. That is something that all of us in this House have to take stock of. Why is it the case at present that we have such a high average age for our farmers? It i…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I will raise three issues. First, at a local level in my home county of Wexford, there are three dangerous crossroads. Unfortunately, over the years, they have been the locations of many fatalities and serious crashes causing devastating, long-lasting harm to people. They are at Kyle Cross on the N11 outside Oilgate, Larkin's Cross on the N25, which is the road that runs from New Ross to Wexford town, and Clohamon Cross on the N80, which runs from Bunclody to Enniscor…

I second the motion.

I thank the Minister of State very much for being with us today. There is no question that up and down this country at the moment, on the tip of everybody's tongue is the question of what is going to happen in the budget this day next week. We will know the details but it is very important for me and my colleagues to put forward some of the suggestions we have around what we feel would be an adequate set of supports for people who are really feeling the impact of the cost of living and, in particular, the impact of…

I agree with the comments by Senator Craughwell on the need to reform the enduring power of attorney system. I have said in this Chamber before that the system is not working. It needs legislative change and, ultimately, the goal has to be to make it accessible, user-friendly and fully available throughout the country, which, at the moment, it is not. I want to raise the lack of early morning commuter trains from Wexford to Dublin. If you live in Gorey, you can get on a train at 5.45 a.m. that will have you in Dubl…

The Minister of State is most welcome to the Seanad Chamber today. I commend him and his officials in the Department of justice on bringing forward some changes to how the citizenship procedures, processes and laws work. I think these are changes for the better, and I commend the Minister of State and the work he has done in the whole area of temporary protection, the closing down of IPAS centres, the establishment of deportation flights and the speeding up of the processing of applications for asylum. It is very i…

I would like to offer my condolences to Senator Craughwell and his family on the sad passing of his wife. I want to speak about the school bus transport scheme, in particular some of the anomalies in how the scheme is administered that appear consistently and repeatedly year after year. I want in particular to addreess a point I raised in the Chamber on a previous occasion. There is anomaly in Wexford town with students who were unable to attain a secondary school place in the town and had to take a school place in…

The MEPs are all most welcome to the Chamber today and I thank them very much for coming in. I have a very specific point to raise with them, which I raised it with some of their colleagues when they were before us a few months ago. It is the issue of a united Ireland. A number of years ago the former Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, secured a commitment that when a united Ireland takes place, it would automatically become a member of the EU. It is important there are funds put in place in this EU budget to prepare for that …

It is good to see the Minister of State in Seanad Éireann again. I want to commend our Fianna Fáil colleagues on putting a very important motion before us this evening. It is important to recognise that while there are obviously policy differences between different parties and different Members of the Seanad, there is no doubt in my mind that childcare, looking after and supporting young children, and making sure they are looked after is an issue that is above party politics. Really it is about ensuring that those …

I join colleagues in thanking so many of the staff here who make it possible for us to do our day-to-day work. That includes not only Martin Hughes and the team here in the Seanad, but also the ushers and all those who make the day-to-day life of Leinster House possible, including those who work in the restaurant, the canteen and behind the scenes. The work they do is very much appreciated. It would be remiss of me, as we come to the conclusion of another term, not to join in what many other colleagues and Senators…

The Order of Business is No. 1, Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 - Committee Stage (resumed) and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m., with the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, to be brought to a conclusion at 3.45 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government; No. 2, Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026 - …

Today, 15 Senators contributed on the Order of Business and I thank each one of them for that. Senator O'Loughlin spoke about artists, creativity, the protections they need from AI and the damage AI can do when there is not copyright protection for artists' important work. She congratulated Des Egan, a Newbridge poet, on a milestone birthday. She also spoke of Áine Lawlor's retirement from RTÉ and wished her well. She called for a debate on antisocial behaviour on blueways and spoke of the impact an alleged assault…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will also be supporting the countermotion. I will make a couple of brief points in relation to the Department. I very much appreciate the high level of activity that the Minister has brought to the role since he took it up and the many visits he has made to my own home county of Wexford. These successful visits have been an opportunity for the Minister and his officials to meet and engage with so many of the people who make up the real fabric of the rural community right acros…

I wish to begin by acknowledging Councillor Marie-Thérèse Duffy from Ballina, who has joined us in the Public Gallery. She is the sister of our colleague, Senator Mark Duffy, and does a fantastic job in representing the people of the Ballina area. Today, I wish to speak about an act of heroism that took place off the coast of Wexford down in Rosslare on Sunday evening. When a child got into difficulty swimming, a man jumped into the waters to try to rescue the child. That man then got into difficulty himself and fo…

I very much welcome the move by the Government to recognise Rosslare Europort as a tier 1 category port. This is a significant development, not just for Wexford, but also for the entire south-east region. The issue that I want to highlight is the long-awaited and much discussed road that will run to Rosslare Europort and will ultimately connect it all the way up to Belfast. The stretch of the M11 motorway from Oilgate to Rosslare has been under discussion since 2009. Finally, the route has been selected and detaile…

Next Tuesday.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to take this important Commencement matter. I was recently contacted by a teacher who had returned home from Canada looking to take a job as a PE teacher. He described his situation to me. In May 2025, he completed his qualified teacher status. He applied to the Teaching Council and was told that that was a requirement. He had previously completed a PE course - a postgraduate certificate in education and a masters in physical education with the Liverpool John …