I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this very important debate. First and foremost, we have to recognise the important contribution the private rental sector makes in providing accommodation right across the country, whether to people who have moved out of their house for the first time or people who are moving for study or work purposes. One of the most common experiences people have when they start out at third level college is moving out of their parents' home and into a rented house. It is important that…

There is a need for a once-off emergency roads budget for County Wexford. We have suffered enormous devastation from flooding, and I have previously raised the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme in this Chamber. I want to reflect for a moment on the impact of the floods on our roads network right across County Wexford. On Christmas Day 2021, when I was a county councillor, five bridges in my parish vanished as a result of flooding. There was devastation across the roads network. The then Minister for Transport provide…

I acknowledge our guests in the Gallery, in particular the 2025 Rose of Tralee. She is most welcome here this evening. Her story serves as an inspiration for so many people across the country who are currently considering going down the apprenticeship route. Being from Wexford, I highlight the important work the South East Technological University, SETU, does there and in the south-east. Indecon recently completed a report, which showed that 37% of the people who take up college courses through the SETU continue to…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in for this important discussion. My home county of Wexford was devastated by flooding in the past two weeks and I have to highlight a number of issues. I spoke about the Enniscorthy flood relief project previously, but we saw the impact of heavy rainfall in counties Carlow and Wicklow making its way down the River Slaney, first, with the devastation that was caused on the Ryland Road in Bunclody upstream and then making its way down to a major flooding event in my home town…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to discuss this important issue. Last Tuesday morning, I stood on Island Road in Enniscorthy, where yet again the River Slaney, which goes through the town, burst its banks and the water spilled out. I saw the residents of Island Road place all their belongings onto their kitchen and living room tables and get out jacks to jack them up to the ceiling in anticipation of the water coming in. We saw flooding that was unprecedented in our town. That is saying some…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome the fact the €51 million allocated is still in place, but I have to stress the urgency of this. The residents and businesses in Enniscorthy are beyond frustrated at the lack of progress to date. I appreciate that there are significant regulatory concerns about the freshwater pearl mussel, but we need to rebalance the prioritisation here. The residents and the businesses in a town that has been flooded 16 times since 2000 have to be put as a priority ahead of…

I welcome the Minister of State. The section is very important as it provides for the new changes that are being made to the credit reviewer committee process, including that the credit reviewer will be accountable to appear before Oireachtas committees, which is very important. I am a member of the Oireachtas joint committee on finance, as are some of the Senators present this evening. It is important that it is within the power of a committee of the House to call the reviewer to appear before it. It could happen …

I thank the Minister of State and his officials for the work done on this Bill. The Credit Review Office service is a very important safety net for small businesses and farmers right across the country. I look forward to swift implementation of this legislation.

The Fine Gael group supports this motion. It is important to recognise that this is a loan. It is also important to once again condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At this moment, we think of all the families in Ukraine who are currently experiencing loss, having lost loved ones in the invasion thus far. While we regret that a conclusion to the conflict seems far away, we hope that one will come soon and that it will ultimately be agreeable to all of the people across Ukraine who have sacrificed so much since the …

I thank our colleagues for tabling the motion and I welcome the Minister of State. I have a unique perspective on this. I am a solicitor and I run my own practice in Enniscorthy in Wexford where we specialise in property, conveyancing and probate. In a past life I lectured with the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers on conveyancing and property law, bringing along the next generation of auctioneers. I have seen this from many different perspectives, and one of the most frustrating things I have seen …

I welcome all my colleagues and the staff and wish everybody a very happy new year. Today, I want to bring up the issue of road safety and road traffic and how the two are mixed. I am particularly struck by so many tragedies that we have seen across 2025 and, indeed, at the start of 2026. In my own area of Wexford, I specifically want to highlight three key areas. Clohamon cross on the N80, not too far from Bunclody and Enniscorthy, is well known to local motorists as an area which, too regularly, sees serious car …

I join in thanking the Leas-Chathaoirleach, the Cathaoirleach and all the staff here in the Seanad. This is my first Christmas as a Senator and I have very much enjoyed the experience so far. I appreciate the work that has been put in in facilitating that. I join with colleagues in wishing everybody a very happy Christmas. The Fine Gael Party will be supporting this legislation and I do not propose to reiterate the statements on public expenditure that we had in this House only a short few weeks ago. We will be sup…

Now.

In the absence of our finance spokesperson, Senator Joe O'Reilly, I will speak on behalf of the Fine Gael side of the House. We will support the Finance Bill, which is based on supporting young people to buy their first house, ensuring we have a reduction in cost and more viability in the apartment sector by reducing VAT, ensuring we keep jobs across Ireland through a VAT cut for hospitality and hairdressing and ensuring the coffee shops that employ so many people throughout the country will continue to be viable i…

Today, I want to support the good news about Ireland's nitrates derogation and to speak for a few moments about it. It is very important to recognise that 7,000 farmers throughout the country are availing of the nitrates derogation. What does this actually mean? Because of our unique grassland environment and the mechanisms that we have in this country that are not available to other European countries to support the dairy industry, it allows for farmers to operate at 2.5 cows per hectare versus 1.6 cows per hectar…

I listened carefully to what the speaker from Sinn Féin had to say, but it is important to recognise the contribution that IDA Ireland-backed companies have made to the economy. The tens of thousands of people across the country who are employed by them recognise the fact that corporation tax funds the vital public services that everyone relies on across the country from teachers, nurses, doctors, hospitals and our gardaí. It is so important we recognise the contribution of these IDA investments. I support ensuring…

It is important to recognise that if, as a country, we are to get to grips with the housing crisis, we must ensure we have privately built houses that are available to first-time buyers, people who are downsizing and people who are moving into their forever homes. The reality at the moment is that the companies which are building those houses are saying to us that it is not viable to do that. The reality is that the State cannot provide every housing unit that is needed. There is a very important role for the State…

Fine Gael will support this section. I reiterate some of the points made earlier in the debate around the fact that the State cannot provide all houses, housing developments or apartments that are needed by hard-working first-time buyers, people who are seeking to buy their first starter home, or those who are seeking to move on from their starter home to their forever home. I challenge Sinn Féin to explain how it would go about bridging the viability gap here because the reality is that the private sector has an i…

While I very much appreciate the need for a comprehensive set of reporting on all aspects of housing in this country, the reality is that we have no end of housing reports. We have the Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Finance and the CSO publishing documentation. The Housing Agency publishes reports examining the housing market. These are only the State agencies. We then have all the private entities that deliver reports such as Goodbody Stockbrokers and Davy Stockbrokers. A plethora of org…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue. I thank the Sinn Féin Senators for putting it forward. I am from Enniscorthy, a town deeply rooted in the story of Irish republicanism. I grew up listening to stories about the Battle of Vinegar Hill, the United Irishmen of 1798, the rebellion of 1916 and of Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone. They were big influences on my view of politics. I support the idea of a united Ireland. It is a deeply held belief and passion of mine. It is one I welcome the opportunity to speak a…