I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following: "Local authorities funding 2. A minimum of 20 per cent of the increased borrowing capacity shall be reserved for local authorities with populations under 150,000. The Housing Finance Agency shall consult with these authorities on a quarterly basis to identify priority housing needs and barriers to accessing finance. The funding shall be reviewed annually and be subject to approval from the Minister." This is a very short and reason…

In deference to what the Minister of State has said and informed the House of, I withdraw the amendment. It will be likewise with amendment No. 2.

I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following: "Quarterly report on developments 2. Within three months of the commencement of this Act, the Housing Finance Agency shall be required to publish quarterly reports detailing— (a) the total loan disbursements by county and local authority, (b) project types funded, (c) average loan size repayment terms, and (d) environmental and energy efficiency ratings of funded developments.

I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the ambassador from the Czech Republic. I was in his lovely country on one occasion in 1999. It was a bittersweet occasion for me because while I was there, on 2 July 1999, we lost a Dauphin helicopter in the sand dunes in Tramore, County Waterford, with the loss of the four Air Corps members on board. That gives me an easy segue into what I want to talk about. That helicopter was based in Waterford Airport, which has had a difficult existence for the past 40 years. Not many pe…

I join with the Acting Chairperson and with the previous speaker in welcoming the Minister, Deputy Lawless, to the House. I have only met the Minister once before but on hundreds of occasions I had the pleasure of working with his mother Mary in a couple of educational sectors. During the recess I hope the Minister finds the time to pass on my very best wishes to her. She was always a joy to work with.

Back in 2014, Waterford County Council and Waterford City Council amalgamated. At the first meeting of that amalgamated council in July 2014, I put a question to the then chief executive, Michael Walsh. I asked him if he could tell the council how many apprentices there were in the new amalgamated council. He said he regretted to tell us that the number was zero. I thought it was a shocking indictment of a local authority at the time. Obviously, things have changed, with a lot of fosterage and good governance by th…

I compliment our Sinn Féin colleagues in giving some oxygen to this much-pressed issue of childcare. A lot of the comments to date in this debate have been on the macro question. I have consulted my own resource team, notably my son and daughter-in-law and their 11-month-old daughter. We came up with some micro suggestions. I will instance the first problem that they identified. Parents currently face severe uncertainty and stress due to the scarcity of early childcare places. It is self-evident. Many of them have …

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish. I am here as an advocate for the school community in Scoil Gharbháin, which serves the people of Dungarvan, Abbeyside and most of west Waterford. The Minister of State and I are of a vintage to remember the beginning of the Gaelscoil movement. That is 50 years faoi lán seoil at this stage. We could reasonably say that the Gaelscoil movement is a victim of its own success. Gaelscoileanna everywhere are held in high esteem and are expanding and getting greater pupil n…

It is often said among Irish language enthusiasts gurb é todhchaí na nGaelscoileanna todhchaí na teanga. The embodiment of the revival and the strengthening of the Irish language is inextricably bound up with the Gaelscoileanna and the impetus it gives to the proliferation of an Ghaeilge among the younger generation. At this stage, Scoil Gharbháin has probably issued into the community at least 2,000 Irish speakers, which, for a west of Waterford cohort, is hugely significant. I am a tad disappointed that, despite …

I welcome the Taoiseach. There has been a lot of talk about world issues but my issues are strictly parochial. As the Taoiseach knows, Waterford Airport is being progressed using private funding. This is a good news story for the south east. I do not want to pre-empt the discussions of my former colleagues in Waterford City and Council, but it is not all good tidings and hoorays because the airport development will necessitate realignment of the R708. That is going to cost the council €800,000. I wonder if, through…

We need €400,000. Go raibh míle maith agat. Job done, I would say.

I mentioned Waterford Airport.

I also ask about funding for the R708. It is too high and is going to be in the way of dropped undercarriages.

I add my voice to that of Senator Craughwell earlier when he asked the Leader - I am asking this as well - that we request the Minister for Defence to come into the House and give us a decent debate on the defence budget, as exposed last week, and on our defence of our sovereign nation, given our non-aligned status. An príomhphointe atá á dhéanamh agam ar maidin ná tagairt a dhéanamh don mbriseadh a tugadh sa bhuiséad an tseachtain seo caite d'óstlanna agus do bhialanna. I refer to the amount of money that was set …

Like Senator Nelson Murray, I do not pretend to have any legal expertise given my background. Fundamentally, my concern relates to the possibility of increased costs for the layperson. I understand there is a commitment to alternative dispute resolution in the Bill and the change regarding juries in the High Court is mooted as having the effect of reducing costs and unpredictability in cases. Can the Minister give a guarantee that in those instances, the costs will decrease for the layperson? I am a bit curious abo…

At my age, it is not all that easy to be shocked by things but I have to say the bar is being crossed here today by the section under discussion. As a democrat and as somebody who treasures free speech and fairness in public life, I am truly shocked by the proposals in the measure under discussion. Most of us here would remember an August day in 2014 when South Yorkshire police raided the house of a very prominent entertainer, Sir Cliff Richard, in Sunningdale in the UK. The raid on Cliff Richard, his reputation an…

The famous phrase Mandy Rice-Davies was connected with was how, when someone rebutted an allegation, she said, "Well he would, wouldn't he?" This is the sort of thing that attaches to people who are ringing up public figures and telling them about how they have "credible evidence", "well-appointed sources" and "sources close to Garda." These sorts of phrase mean nothing really - they are just conjectured by journalists - but are put out in the public domain after there is a consideration of the so-called allegation…

I have high admiration for him. He is an extraordinary Minister and an extraordinary public representative, but I fundamentally think, "Guys, gals, the man may be great, but on this occasion he is damned wrong." I am not encouraged by the tendency of the divisions on this Bill that they are going through on the nod. The Government side and the Minister have an onerous responsibility to step back from this and not to press it ahead because we are doing ourselves a desperate disfavour.

I am of an age, unusually in the Chamber today, that I sat in a family huddle around the wireless and listened to the early broadcasts of the budget on Radio Éireann. It has been a spectator sport for me ever since those early days. I am always struck by how the budget is presented. It is sort of a spectator sport in many ways because proponents of the Government laud it and opponents of the Government execrate it. As in many things in life, the truth lies somewhere in between. That is how I view the budget present…

A short week ago, I knew very little about this topic. By chance, my daughter and I met Senator Craughwell in the coffee dock, of all places. He told me he was bringing this Private Members' motion to the floor of the House today. Like any habitué of this House, I got to work on doing a little bit of self-enlightenment on the topic. I was absolutely amazed by the complexity of the condition and the harrowing effects it has on those who suffer. I want to applaud Senator Craughwell for bringing this to the attention …