I add my voice to the welcome for ambassador Gill. I have had the opportunity to welcome him to Newbridge, which has been twinned with Bad Lippspringe for 29 years now. The ambassador has been a frequent visitor and indeed came for the Manley Hopkins festival this year. It is always a pleasure to see him in Newbridge, in Kildare and here in the Seanad. The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Tuesday, 6 October 2026; Wednesday, 7 October 2026; and Thursday, 8…

We started with Senator Fitzpatrick, who led the expressions of sympathy for Seamus Carroll, and to his wife Treasa, his children Cillian and Aisling, his family, friends and colleagues. Many Senators have spoken about what a fine person Seamus was, and how sad it is for all of those connected to him. We had a minute's silence yesterday to mark the passing of Seamus. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. Senator Fitzpatrick also spoke about the lack of seriousness with regard to the safety of public representatives. She men…

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the sittings of the Seanad on 6th, 7th and 8th October, 2026: (1) The Seanad shall meet at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 6th October, 2026, and the following arrangements shall apply: ( a ) Standing Orders 31 and 32 shall stand suspended; ( b ) The Order of Business shall be proposed at 4 p.m.; (2) The following arrangements shall apply to the sittings of the Seanad on Wednesday 7th …

I move: That Seanad Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence entitled ‘First interim Report’, copies of which were laid before Seanad Éireann on 12th December, 2025.”

I move: That Seanad Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport entitled ‘Report on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the revised General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill’, copies of which were laid before Seanad Éireann on 17th September, 2025.”

Next Tuesday at 4 p.m.

I thank the Acting Leader for outlining the Order of Business, which I support. Last Friday, I attended a lovely event in Athy at the invitation of Eileen Doyle, who runs a choir, Athy Choral Fusion. Along with her choir, she brought the renowned tenor, Paul Linehan, Castlecomer Male Voice Choir, the Baldonnel Singers and the school choir of Scoil Phádraig Naofa along for the night. It was a beautiful night of harmonies, which was the title of the evening. It was a special night but, most importantly, the money rai…

Well done.

The Order of Business is No. 67(5), Private Members’ business, motion regarding reports under Seanad Standing Order 87(1)(b) - report of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media entitled "Report on Inclusion in Sport", to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 1.30 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 1, statements on the Irish naturalisation and citizenship system, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to conclude at 2.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the openi…

We started with Senator Fitzpatrick, who spoke about the horrific tragedy of five young people being killed over the summer in a horrific car accident in which four innocent people were caught up. She spoke also about the need for provision of a national prevention strategy and said the Minister for education should take that on board. During the summer, I was at a presentation by a collective group of people about caring for communities. It sought to address some of these issues. It was a pilot study really becaus…

Senator Clonan also spoke about the personalised budget Private Member's Bill he has introduced and which has been time delayed. I know the Minister with responsibility for disability is working on personalised budgets. There was an issue with the pilot project. It was very much undersubscribed which was a shame for the efforts to try to assess responses. We are looking for debate on a number of issues which were raised today which are related to disability. We have reached out and are looking for a debate next wee…

Having just come from the Chambers Ireland briefing on businesses, I want to take the opportunity to wish the new Kildare Chamber CEO, Cliodhna O'Byrne, well. We have a very active chamber. It does an excellent job under the leadership of Ruth Murphy and it excels in representing the many businesses we have, small as well as large. It is very conscious of the cost of business and what we need to do to support our indigenous businesses in particular. I note the publication during the summer of the cost of business a…

I second the motion.

I also welcome the delegation. I took the opportunity in the House yesterday to mention the important work the Committee of the Regions does and the fact it had the bureau in Mullingar yesterday. I also congratulated the leader of the Irish delegation, Gillian Coughlan, on being the incoming leader of the Renew group. It is the first time an Irish councillor has taken this position. It is great to see Gillian. I hope all our guests have an excellent evening and a really good trip. I thank the Minister for being her…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, for being here. I know he is very committed to rural transport and making sure we have connectivity, which is so important. It does not matter what age somebody is; there is a need for connectivity. The town buses are a wonderful example of that. We have had successful pilot schemes in places like Drogheda, Mullingar, Carlow and Portlaoise. Newbridge, the town I am making the case for, is now one of the largest towns. It is growing and developing rapidly. We have quit…

I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate his supportive words. I am pleased to hear him say that the NTA is planning new town bus services in Newbridge and in Naas, which is another growing town, and that public consultation will begin in October. It is important that the NTA does a briefing for all public representatives. We all get a lot of responses in relation to this. I look forward to that piece and to the implementation. Once we have that, I will be looking for a service for Kildare town, which is anot…

Woo-hoo.

I am always tripping up with it as well.

Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh. I thank the Leader for the Order of Business as outlined, which I support. I extend on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group our deepest sympathies to Phyllis, Elaine, Patrick and Elizabeth on the passing of Enda, who was an exemplary Senator but also a very effective and committed county councillor for the Glenties area for 20 years. He was incredibly committed to his community and to his political family. He excelled in everything he did, whether that was at a community level, a pol…

I thank the Minister of State very much for being here to respond to my Commencement matter. She and I have spoken both publicly and privately in relation to it. She is an incredibly strong advocate for preventive measures and for positive mental health, which we always need to focus on. We must ensure that everybody's, and particularly every young person's, mental health is valued and supported, and that where a young person needs early intervention, he or she can get that. That is the motto and the value of the o…