I want to acknowledge the achievement and work carried out by my two colleagues, MEPs Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion, on getting the Mercosur trade deal referred to the European Court of Justice. I was disappointed that four Irish MEPs voted against that move. As we have spoken about here, Mercosur is not a good deal for Ireland. It is not a good deal for our farmers or for rural Ireland. This is not over. Just because it has been referred to the court, it does not mean it will not go through. The deal could be …

Today is a critical day in the fight against the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, when the European Parliament will vote on whether the deal should be referred to the European Court of Justice. That referral is essential. It is about ensuring that the trade agreement is legally compliant with the European Union's obligations on climate action, sustainability, human rights and the Paris climate agreement. These are not abstract concerns. The Mercosur agreement raises serious questions about deforestation, environmental …

I raise an issue related to the childcare sector and early years educators, specifically jury duty. As the Leader knows, primary and post-primary teachers are exempt from jury duty. However, early years educators are not. As we all know, crèches are fairly tight as regards staff. When a staff member in a crèche setting is called for jury duty, the crèche does not have the luxury of having a panel or substitutes. As a result, it is more than likely that a room will have to be shut down and all the parents will have …

Once again households are being dealt a blow through higher energy costs and once again this Government is choosing to stand back and not step in. We already have some of the highest electricity rates in Europe. Record numbers of people are in arrears and energy poverty is a daily reality for far too many families. Yet, at this critical moment, the Government has withdrawn the electricity credits which was the only meaningful support these families had. It now expects these hard-pressed households to shoulder the c…

I echo the show of appreciation to my colleagues beside me for introducing this important Bill in the House. I am going to focus on the apprenticeship side of this Bill. Apprentices are the backbone of our economy and, in many respects, the backbone of rural Ireland. They are the electricians, plumbers, carpenters and mechanics we depend on to build homes, maintain infrastructure and sustain local communities. Too often, though, they are expected to survive on wages that do not reflect either the value of their wor…

I went to Limerick Prison yesterday with the justice committee. We were given a presentation with some very stark numbers. It costs €97,000 a year to house an inmate in Limerick Prison. Between 4% and 11% of the general population in Ireland has a personality disorder. For inmates in prison, that figure is 60% to 70%. There is a trend there. The female prisoners in Limerick Prison have said they feel safer going into Limerick Prison because they come from domestic abuse and coercion in their homes. They actually fe…

I welcome the Minister. This legislation has been a long time coming, and while we stand here and speak about it this evening, there are families across the west and north west who are still living in houses that are cracking and crumbling and, in some cases, genuinely unsafe to live in. I have sat in kitchens in west Limerick, Askeaton and Abbeyfeale and listened to families tell me the same stories as my colleagues in counties Donegal, Sligo, Clare and Mayo. They have heard of people who did nothing wrong but who…

I raise an issue I have raised a couple of times here previously. I cannot even count the amount of calls I had on the matter over the weekend. I am standing here on behalf of hundreds of families in County Limerick who have voiced their disgust and anger at the Government's decision to vote down the Bill on wind farms last week. As the House will know, I have raised multiple times the fact that County Limerick has three proposed wind farms about to go up. New guidelines were drafted for this in 2016. That is ten y…

I welcome the Minister of State. I echo the appreciation for Senators Rabbitte and Paul Daly for bringing this important Bill to the floor of the Seanad. Like others, I have stood here over the past couple of moths and complained about flooding in areas that do not usually flood. I have spoken about Dromcolliher, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale in County Limerick flooding in the middle of the summer. I know that the Shannon lakes seem very distant from those communities, but the truth is that water management is inte…

When we talk about a united Ireland, people often imagine big constitutional debates and the big questions, but every fabric of our society is affected by constitutional change. If planned and prepared for, we can tackle it for the best outcome. An example of this can be seen today with farmers across the island who are looking at their herd wondering what is going to happen tomorrow. For farmers North and South, this week has brought real fear. Bluetongue, a disease spread by midges, was first confirmed in two cat…

My thoughts go out to all the families in the mid-west who have unnecessarily lost loved ones due to the clear failures of our health service in the region. I commend the staff of UHL. They get up every day and go to work in what can sometimes only be considered a warzone. They have talked about the stress they are under and about feeling that staff in the mid-west are not being seen. I thank the Minister for giving up her time for that meeting yesterday. I apologise that I had to leave early but I did catch up wit…

The plan we have been given says it will be 2029. The winter plan that comes out every year is great but it is a piece of paper and nothing ever seems to change. The hospital is still overrun with patients. It is constantly at capacity. It is great idea on paper to try to bring in GPs but we do not have GPs to put in there in the first place. People cannot get appointments with their GPs. Trolley numbers went down a little but they are jumping back up. Yesterday, they were at 75. Today, they are at 93. That is not …

I move amendment No. 1: After the last paragraph under “calls on the Government to:”, to insert the following paragraph: - “stand up for our Irish fishing communities by demanding our fair share of the fish in Irish waters and by challenging the failings in the existing Common Fisheries Policy that facilitate this injustice.”

I welcome the Minister of State. It is great to have him here. I welcome the motion and the opportunity to strengthen it through the amendments that we have tabled this evening. We also acknowledge the importance of having a Minister of State for marine affairs. Acknowledgement is not enough, however. Our fishing communities are in crisis. The recent report from An Bord Iascaigh Mhara suggesting that everything is fine has been described by industry leaders as offensive and unacceptable. The reality on the ground i…

I move amendment No. 2: In the fifth paragraph under “calls on the Government to:”, to delete “small-scale and inshore fishers” and substitute “small-scale, inshore and island fisher-men and women”;

I move amendment No. 3: To delete the fourth paragraph under “That Seanad Éireann:” and substitute the following: - “notes the investment by Government in some ports, harbours and piers, under the Fisheries Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme and the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund;”

I welcome the Minister of State. I have spoken a lot in the House about the lack of water in county towns. It sounds awful but it gives me some relief to hear it is not just County Limerick that has this issue. In the only county town or tier 2 town in Limerick, Newcastle West, houses have stopped being built. A development had to be stopped and the doors closed to people because it could not be connected up to the system. It will be 2031 before the wastewater treatment system can take another connection. That is s…

I echo the Sinn Féin Party's condolences for those poor lives that were lost in Louth. As a parent, I can only imagine. It is the worst nightmare to get that phone call, whether it is in the middle of the night or during the day. When my kids are out and they are not home yet, I have my phone on loud and I am waiting. Every time my phone beeps I have to look. We often speak here about our farming community and how important it is to have our small family farms rooted in our rural communities. This evening, Sinn Féi…

The electricity amendment Bill is not being given enough time.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “(2) Section 4 of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954 is amended by the insertion of the following: “(4A) The Board shall borrow to invest in projects on the basis of a prioritisation framework which encompasses— (a) congestion softeners in areas of high congestion, (b) security encompassing hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment, (c) basic needs encompassing residential construction, and (d) exc…