Cuirim fáilte roimh an Taoiseach chuig Seanad Éireann. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil sé an-ghnóthach agus mar sin, tá mé an-bhuíoch dó as a bheith anseo. Tá mé féin an-bhródúil a bheith anseo mar Sheanadóir Fhianna Fáil cuibheasach nua. In my very brief time, I want to discuss our local councillors. By "our", I mean from all parties and none. I acknowledge the presence of one of our very good councillors, Councillor Caroline O'Reilly, in the Public Gallery. As the Taoiseach is aware, our councillors are the bread and b…

I start by welcoming my colleague Senator Andrews back. I am glad he is back. As they would say in Cork, fair play to you, boy, for what you did. I wish to raise the issue of farm safety. Already this year there have been 16 confirmed deaths following accidents on farmyards and in fields, and obviously others could be added to that list. This number is higher than the figure for the whole of 2024 and so obviously there is a problem there. Nine out of those 16 were people over the age of 65. Decisions taken with reg…

I thank my Fine Gael colleagues for bringing forward this motion. I welcome the debate and Fianna Fáil will not oppose the motion. Our farmers are world-class food producers. They are the social, economic and cultural pillars of our rural communities and Irish society. From 2020 to 2024, with the leadership of the then Minister, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fáil worked hard to deliver investment on farms and in industry and provide financial support for farmers. This work included a new €1.5 billion agri-envi…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit to the Upper House. I thank him for taking time out of his very busy schedule. Fair play to him, he is always very available to us here. As the Minister of State knows, Donogh O'Malley, who was Minister for Education from 1966 to 1968, introduced free secondary school education for all in 1967. 1967 was a big year for mankind. Not only was free second level education introduced, it was also the year I was born. There is no going back from either event. The world has changed on both…

Today I wish to raise the subject of the lack of public toilets nationally. A lot of councillors have been on to me on behalf of their constituents, members of the public have been on to me, and people who own bars throughout the country have been on to me. It is a no-brainer really that people should be able to relieve themselves when they want to and not have to go into the premises of hardworking publicans who have to pay to clean their bathrooms and clean their facilities. It is not fair. Often these people jus…

Cuirim fáilte ar ais roimh gach duine. Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo arís. I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing this Commencement matter and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, for taking time out of his very busy schedule to come to us here in the Upper House today. I had requested last week that the Minister, Deputy Heydon, attend today to give us an update on the discussions about the rate of nitrates derogation in Ireland. To be fair, his office contacted me to say he is not available and I thank…

It is great timing that the Minister is in Brussels. Perhaps at some stage I might take credit that when I brought it up in the Seanad he took off to Brussels.

It would not be my first time. No better woman to claim that.

I thank the Minister of State and the other Ministers for their commitment to the retention of the derogation rate. I pointed out, and I know he is very aware, how important this is to the Irish farmer. It is important not only to the dairy farmer; it has a huge domino effect across all farming sectors and therefore to the local economy. I ask the Minister of State to continue to do his best and acknowledge the work he and others have done.

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil le Martin - fáilte, Martin - agus comhghairdeas agus buíochas mór le Martin eile agus le Bridget. It is with great sadness I rise here today to mark the passing of our good friend and colleague Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy. Anyone who knew Patrick knows that words cannot describe the lovely person he was. He served in the Bantry local electoral area. He was also mayor of Cork. He was an expert on planning. If you ever had any planning question, Patrick would have it on th…

Under present requirements, a person with a disability who wants to access a postal vote has to pay €25 for the GP to sign off on the request. I call the Minister for Health to get this covered, either by paying separately or get it covered under the medical card. A person with a disability, even if he or she has a medical card, has to pay the €25. In a recent study, it is proven that this prevents some people from accessing a postal vote. We have an amazing system of one person, one vote, rich or poor. Whoever a p…

Now.

Tomorrow at 9.30 a.m.

I rise to welcome the announcement by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, of a commission of investigation into historic sexual abuse in day schools and boarding schools. When one thinks of abuse, one is inclined to think of the homes that were going at the time. They forget that it happened in boarding schools and schools, just because a child was going to school and going home at 3 p.m. Between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., in many schools, many bad things happened. I welcome that the Minister is doing this. I would like to bring…

If the Leader had one guess, he would guess what I am going to speak about today. I congratulate the Cork hurlers on a fantastic win on Saturday. We are absolutely thrilled. I also say "Well done" to Dublin on getting to the semi-final. The fact that Dublin hurlers made it so far has opened up the whole game. Fair play to them for getting so far. I also say "Well done" to Tipperary on beating Kilkenny. That was an excellent game. I am concerned about safety on the roads for the All-Ireland final on Sunday week and …

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Seanad Éireann resolves that the Disability (Personalised Budgets) Bill 2024 be read a second time this day 18 months, to allow for the completion of a Personalised Budget Demonstrator Pilot which is expected to conclude at the end of the year." I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this important Bill and contribute as Fianna Fáil spokesperson for disability, children and equality. Fianna Fáil welcomes this debate. We suppor…

I raise the ongoing problem with allowing people to drive for Bus Éireann beyond the age of 70. By today or tomorrow, every secondary school child and nearly every primary school child will be on their holidays. Every level of public representative - councillor, Senator and TD - knows what is coming around the corner. We will be inundated with people who have been refused school bus places and are waiting to see if they will get on the school bus. People over the age of 70 who are able to do so should be allowed to…

The Minister is very welcome to the Upper House, and fair play to her, she is always available to us, a sign of a great Minister. Gabhaim buíochas léi. I would like to take a moment to think of the woman we know only as Grace. Grace was let down. There is no doubt about that. She was a non-verbal girl whose dental hygiene and dental health were allowed to deteriorate and who was sent to daycare not as often as she should have been and shabbily dressed. One can only imagine how she felt. I think of her today. Today …

The Leader is aware that this country is very blessed with many beautiful beaches, many of which are in both our constituencies. For anyone who can get to a beach, there is a big feeling of well-being so it is very important. I rise today to talk about accessibility on a beach - not necessarily to it. Many beaches have a buggy service, which is way better than nothing, but, unfortunately, some people with a disability find it hard to get on buggies. They have to get out of their wheelchairs and on to the buggies. T…

I congratulate the Cork team on a fantastic win on Saturday. Up the Rebels. I am wearing red today in support of them. I thank the team, the officials and the backroom team for giving Cork city and county such a magnificent lift. Go raibh maith agaibh. It does lead to the issue of amateur sports, the commitment involved and the pure exhaustion the match last Saturday led to for the players and the officials. There are several things I would like the GAA to look at. One is the ongoing issue of the price of tickets. …