I add my voice to the welcome for Councillor Gary Prior. It is wonderful to see Gary and his guest Seán. This is the people's Parliament, and it is very important that we have our public representatives and, of course, citizens of the country coming to Leinster House to see how we do our business. There are a number of issues I wish to raise. First, it is really good to see a satisfactory outcome for those who have been on hunger strike outside the gates of this building. We are all quick to criticise when things a…

I second the motion. The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is very welcome to the Chamber. I acknowledge his work as Minister of State with responsibility for special education and the very reforming work he is undertaking, while acknowledging that this particular motion is under the brief of the Minister, Deputy McEntee. It is a very important motion. I commend my colleague, Senator Curley, our education spokesperson, on all the background work he has been doing in this area. Senator Crowe has been very vocal al…

The Order of Business is expressions of sympathy on the death of former Senator Billy Lawless, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 12.45 p.m. if not previously concluded; and No. 1, statements on international development and the diaspora, to be taken at 1 p.m. and to conclude at 2.30 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes each, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes e…

We started this morning with Senator Blaney who spoke about the N2 and A5, particularly the A5. This has been ongoing for a long time. I think the agreement was made in 2009. The Senator has brought this up several times and I thank him for being a champion for it. We need champions for different infrastructure projects in different forums. My understanding is that a commitment has been made by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I read somewhere a few weeks ago that he recommitted to that financial commitment. Commitmen…

I thank Senator Ahearn for allowing me to go before him due to another appointment. It is really appreciated. The Minister of State is very welcome. This discussion is timely. It is also important that we had the opportunity to discuss it yesterday at the European affairs committee but our voices need to be heard in every Chamber and committee. I acknowledge the Minister of State's commitment and the Government's commitment to firmly pledge, with our international partners, that we need to tackle issues that affect…

I welcome the women from Templeogue Women's Shed whom I met on the way in. It is wonderful to hear that the women's shed is thriving in Templeogue. I want to speak generally about the women's shed and men's shed movements. They are a wonderful asset to communities in both urban and rural Ireland. The men's shed movement originated in Australia and came to Ireland in about 2011. I have the good fortune to work with a number of the men's sheds in my own county of Kildare. The women's shed movement started at a later …

The Minister of State is very welcome. He takes this matter very seriously and is committed to supporting our post offices in all of the communities that they serve. I understand there are 960 post offices. When I was a child growing up in Rathangan, the highlight of any day or week was the possibility of calling in to Mollie Forde, our local postmistress. She knew every single child and adult. She knew if somebody was doing exams. When someone turned 18, she would put them on the electoral register. She was a trea…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, to the Seanad. Rarely have we had an opportunity to have a Minister of State so well matched to his brief. I acknowledge the former Minister of State, Senator Noonan's same passion, commitment, dedication and, indeed, expertise and knowledge. I welcome the Minister of State's speech, in which he showed his clear commitment to where we were now and where we needed to go. It is quite incredible to think that, in 2020 when Senator Noonan came into the position, there…

On behalf of Fianna Fáil, I express our sadness on hearing of the passing of Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy, who was rightly revered for her lifelong dedication to social justice, especially her work with the homeless, immigrants and marginalised communities in Ireland. She earned deep respect and admiration. We can look back at the organisations she co-founded: Focus Ireland, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, and the Sanctuary. I took one quote from her many wonderful sayings, that belonging is a basic human need. Without…

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I too extend my voice of welcome to the Austrian ambassador. I also extend condolences to the Calnan family and to the Labour Party. Tomorrow is an important day, not just in Brussels but across Europe, for an Irishman Séamus Boland who is the first Irish person to take the presidency of the European Economic and Social Committee, EESC. Many of us got to know Séamus through Irish Rural Link. He is an Irish community leader and a farmer. He is to be inaugurated tomorrow as preside…

I second that proposal.

I am sharing time with Senator Paul Daly.

I welcome Councillor Caroline O'Reilly, who is with us this morning. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Taoiseach. Gabhaim buíochas leis as a chuid focal. Last Friday, thanks to national and local funding, we had the opportunity to open the Shackleton museum in Athy. Shackleton, as the Taoiseach knows, was from Kilkea, just a few miles away. He is famous for having demonstrated great leadership skills on three Antarctic expeditions, including the famous Endurance expedition. Endurance is an important strength that is sometimes…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for being here. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was keen to be here but she had a prior commitment and I appreciate that the Minister of State is here on her behalf. The issue I raise relates to Jigsaw and my disappointment at the fact that we did not get a Jigsaw service for Newbridge and surrounding areas in the budget announced last week. I will prove the need for it. I will also refer to the fact that, having raised this matter several times in this …

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge that I spoke to the Minister's adviser yesterday. I am not at all happy with that response. I went through the statistics earlier. County Kildare has the highest rate of youth suicide in Leinster. That has to stand for something. I always try to be positive about my town and my county because I believe in being positive. I do not believe in being negative. but I am so disappointed by this response and the budget allocation. I accept that no new physical location has been…

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I extend our deepest sympathies to the family of the former Senator, Professor James Doolan. I remember him coming to my house when my father was a councillor. There were lots of visitors and, living out in the country, one always looked forward to those who came canvassing for the Seanad election. He stood out. There was just something very special about him. I think part of that was because of his sister, Lelia, who was the most wonderful actress. My parents were big into theat…

First, I extend the sympathies of the Fianna Fáil Party to our colleague, Senator Teresa Costello, on the sad passing of her father, John Francis, and to Teresa's mother, Marian, and sister, Eileen. One of the issues I want to bring up today is in relation to an article I read over the weekend about the results of the autopsy of a young 14-year-old girl in County Clare. Her name was Sarah Mescall and by all accounts she was a lovely, bright, athletic individual. Very sadly, she passed away two years ago. That was f…

Yes.

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: agrees that: - in February 2022, Russia - a founding member of the United Nations (UN) and a permanent member of its Security Council - launched a full-scale, illegal invasion of Ukraine, in defiance of international law, and in defiance of the UN Charter; - Russia has prosecuted the war with a wilful and reckless indifference to its human consequences; - tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed and maimed, millions have been forced to flee their homeland and millions more have…

I thank all who participated in the debate, including my colleagues, Senators Daly, Ahearn, McCarthy, McCormack, Stephenson and McDowell. I thank the Minister of State for his response. Senator McDowell was perfectly correct in what he said about calling out the United States and President Trump. When we see the efforts the EU has gone to in supporting Ukraine and trying to plan for the future, it is quite unconscionable that the US has done so little but humiliated President Zelenskyy to try to defeat his morale a…