Members of both Houses will have been taken aback at the recent re-emergence of the Garvaghy Road issue. After decades of relative quietude, all the old angst has erupted again. Many here are asking what the Parades Commission was thinking. With all the routine memes and tropes being rehearsed again, this issue underscores just how premature all of the recent talk about a united Ireland has been. Maybe that is what the Parades Commission was thinking. Who is to say? To an outside neutral like myself, it hardly seem…

Is aoibhinn liom a bheith anseo inniu. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire, an Teachta O’Callaghan, arís chuig an Teach seo don díospóireacht úsáideach atá idir lámha againn tráthnóna. Even as I stand here as an Independent Senator, I do not carry a remit from my Independent colleagues. All the Members of the House will understand that. If I were, however, to wager a sense of the level of conversation held among our group, I would pretty confidently guess, that this proposal would not meet with broad approval from the grou…

Cuirim fáilte mhór roimh an Aire agus í anseo don díospóireacht seo. I am delighted to make my small contribution to this debate, which is timely and valuable. Notwithstanding the fact we have a beautiful country and have so many assets in our beauty and in our resources, we sometimes overlook the fact that probably one of the greatest resources we have - this will come as no surprise to anyone, particularly those of us who served in education - is our young people, our children. They tangibly and unquestionably ar…

All Members will be familiar with the murder, in the not-too-distant past on our neighbouring island, of two parliamentarians, Jo Cox and Sir David Amess. During the summer past, we had Ann Widdecombe, a former MP, and last week, unfortunately, in our own State, a serious assault on a Member of the Lower House. To protect against these things, the Government wisely brought in a scheme whereby people could enhance the security of their residences. Unfortunately, that has yielded up unintended consequences. During th…

Cuirim fáilte mhór roimh an mBille seo agus admhaím go bhfuil sé an-úsáideach sa troid i gcoinne an stuif nimhneach seo atá istigh sna "vapes" - an t-ainm a thugtar orthu. My grandfather used to tell me stories of watching poor quality American detective movies during the Second World War. He would tell stories of the private detective lurking in the shadows with his upturned collar and his hat slung down over his eyes, standing in a doorway or on a corner watching a suspect or somebody of doubtful motives. The det…

I want to be associated with the congratulatory remarks for Senator Byrne. I want to put on the record of the House the decorous and sincere apology given on behalf of the State by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, and attested to by the other party leaders, to the victims of the Kenneally abuse in Waterford. A chronicle of missed opportunities and neglect by the powers that be allowed the case to go unanswered for so long. It is particularly poignant for me because one of the abused men, Colin Power, was a fourth-cl…

I move amendment No. 73: In page 41, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “Report on the protection of whistleblowers 63. The Minister shall within 12 months of the commencement of this Act lay a report detailing how whistleblowers who expose information related to artificial intelligence technologies can receive enhanced protections apart from what is listed in the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022.”. The amendment states that the Minister shall within 12 months of the commencement of this Ac…

Chuala mé níos túisce ar maidin an Teachta Moynihan ag labhairt ar an raidió faoi chás na e-scooters agus an méid oibre atá déanta ag An Garda Síochána chun iad a bhaint de na sráideanna agus stop a chur leis an dainséar. It was a point very well made by Deputy Moynihan. I praise his initiative in gathering the statistics that highlight the very good work done by An Garda. As in all cases, there is much more to be done. Practically every Member of this House spends a fair amount of time behind the wheel. In so doin…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 7, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “Report on regional development 4. (1) The Minister shall within 12 months of the passing of this Act lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on how smaller regional airports can be effectively utilised in order to support regional development. (2) The report should take into account how smaller regional airports can be utilised to support lower fares, increase local employment and reduce the need to rely on larger airport…

I would like to take up the theme that was adverted to by Senator Higgins. I am looking at a prediction from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council to the effect that between now and 2030, we are going to have to open the envelope and look at a bill for anything between €3 billion and €6 billion. Irish taxpayers will be faced with paying this money because the country is going to remain off track on its emissions up to 2030. I do not know where we are going to get that money and keep health services, education services …

When we had the debate last week, I listed a number of critical safety, resilience and security questions for the Minister of State who was here, Deputy Buttimer. I followed this up with an email to the Minister's office yesterday. Latterly, I got back a very comprehensive reply from the Minister's private secretary. Perhaps I should not have mentioned that. Be that as it may, the answer to the questions I asked was generally that none of the investigations I specified, which related to security, safety and resilie…

I asked what they would be like.

I want to augment what Senator Higgins was saying. I recall when it became almost moderately fashionable to go to places in the Middle East, like Dubai, Doha, and so on. Neighbours with children out there would come back and say they do not know how people live out there, that it was 36°C and hit 40°C once. The fact is that right now, places that are heavily serviced by aircraft, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily, are almost burning at the moment. It is a harbinger of what will become o…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. Is mór é domsa an Bille seo a fheiceáil ar an gclár inniu. Is fada an t-achar ó tháinig sé os ár gcomhair i bhfoirm eile in 2018. Is fearr déanach ná go brách, i ndáiríre. Is mian liom tagairt a dhéanamh den mhéid oibre atá déanta ag mo chomhghleacaí, an Seanadóir Frances Black. Rinne sí sárobair ar an gcás seo agus d’oibrigh sí go dúthrachtach ag cur na hargóinte chun cinn, ag déanamh oideachais agus ag feabhsú an cháis i measc na Seanadóirí agus níos forleithne ná sin. Aft…

I want to record my concerns about the proposed data centre and energy campus development at Blackknock in Adamstown, Kilmeaden, County Waterford. The proposal by Echelon Data Centres and Kent Homes Limited includes three large data centres, a solar farm, battery energy storage systems and a gas-powered energy centre across approximately 108 ha of rural land. While located in Kilmeaden, the issues raised by this development are of national importance. At a time when Ireland is seeking to reduce emissions and meet a…

I láthair na huaire, táim cinnte nach bhfuil aon cheist ann atá chomh réabhlóideach agus chomh casta leis an gceist seo faoin intleacht shaorga. Is breá an rud é go bhfuil seans againn inniu féachaint ar an mBille seo agus ar an imní atá againn ar an taobh seo den Teach faoin luas lena bhfuil an Bille ag dul ar aghaidh agus faoi na rudaí atá ag gabháil leis an mBille i gcoitinne. To break it into percentages, I suppose that 90% to 95% of people who speak about AI in forums like this remind me of a conversation I he…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit anocht. I am going to speak on the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 in the context of aviation safety, aviation security, operational resilience and public participation. A lot of the opening remarks I am going to make here are based on a report done in June 2026 by an airspace safety advocate from the perspective of aviation reporting and governance. I refer to his covering letter: I write further to my previous correspondence regarding aviation safety, aviation secur…

What might the reason be?

I join Senators Wilson and Gallagher in congratulating our new Leader and wishing him all the very best. I wish him very well. I have no doubt he will do extraordinary work for the effectiveness of the House. Cuirfidh mé leis an méid a bhí á rá ag na Seanadóirí Gallagher agus Wilson faoi na coimisiúin a bhí a dtabhairt amach le déanaí don slua muirí. Ní mór dom a rá go bhfuil sé scannalach gan Aire a bheith ann chun an dualgas sin a chomhlíonadh. Tá drochbhail ar an scéal sin faoi na coimisiúin. Ba mhaith geallúint…

Mar is eol do nach mór gach Seanadóir, chaith mé tréimhse dhá bhliain ar bhord an údaráis. Chuala mé arís agus arís eile an díospóireacht a bhí ann ansin. Níl mé ag ligean amach aon rún anois, ach bhí síordhíospóireacht faoi thithíocht agus na tailte a bhí i seilbh an údaráis agus an chomhairle a bhí á fáil aige iad sin a ligean amach ar an margadh agus araile. I measc na gcomhaltaí, bhí sé go forleathan ina dtuairimí go raibh dóthain oibre le déanamh ag an údarás féin gan a bheith ag dul isteach sa mhargadh maoine…