I will start on a positive note. The active travel funding is very much welcome for communities right across the country. Indeed, there are some positive projects in my home county of Mayo. However, I must highlight the huge disappointment in Balla and Westport about the fact that funding was provided for either in the context of infrastructure that is much needed. At the Ardboley junction in Balla, a greenway was developed. There was huge expectation that the town of Balla would be connected from the outskirts rig…

As a member of the Committee on Transport, I would like to highlight a matter. Yesterday, I travelled to Leinster House and listened to "The Tommy Marren Show" on Midwest Radio when Darren Forde phoned in. He was recognised as Mayo person of the year and is a brilliant community activist from Hollymount. He has led the Hollymount community first responders and is a very entrepreneurial man. We are all very proud of him. He pioneered eco-powered defibrillators. Mr. Forde highlighted an accident where a car left the …

Last weekend, I attended the launch of the Lahardane community futures action plan. I have been a long-time time advocate for community empowerment. I highlight the community futures initiative and the positive impact it has on communities across the country. At the launch of the Lahardane community futures initiative, the committee, led by Caoimhín Rowland, engaged over 400 households. It identified a range of issues and ways to improve the community for the betterment of the next generation. The 400 households in…

I would like to highlight the benefit of community policing across the country. In my home county of Mayo, community policing has been an excellent way to provide security and peace and has been a positive touch point for gardaí and members of the public. We have seen brilliant benefits of that in Ballina, Castlebar, Westport and other towns in Mayo where the community policing team goes above and beyond looking out for people, being a touch point with youth services, checking in on the elderly, being a visible pre…

I share Senator O'Donovan's disappointment and anger at the proposals at EU level to reduce fishing quotas for the Irish fishing industry. In particular, we see a disparity in the distribution of quotas, which I have raised on the floor of this House many times, where 1% of the quota is shared among 1,500 vessels, while 99% is shared among 50 vessels. This is being played out right across Europe, where we see that the bigger, more industrial fishery operations are benefiting more from the distribution of quotas as …

I thank the Minister of State for being here. Today I advocate for an amendment to Part 9 of the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022. For those unfamiliar with the Act, it helps people to access information on their origins, especially in cases of adoption or incorrect birth registrations. Part 9 specifically deals with correcting birth records when new information comes to light such as through official records or DNA testing. The proposed change is simple but vital in the context of the people affected by it. …

I thank the Minister of State for his reply, which I welcome. This is a particular, niche and sensitive issue that affects a certain cohort of people who deserve dignity, ownership of their identity and choice about their privacy. The changes being asked for are reasonable, sensitive and will give great dignity and ensure the complexity of each story is protected and held and is publicly available where the individual so wishes. I welcome the consultation proposal and I encourage the Minister to engage as widely as…

I wish to highlight the benefit of the rural regeneration development fund, RRDF, and how it has impacted positively on so many communities, towns and villages across the country. I also wish to lend my support to the town and community of Ballinrobe. The people in the community there, supported by the local development company in south-west Mayo, have come together and shown incredible leadership to propose the regeneration of a historic building, namely the old Valkenburg building. The latter is a protected struc…

I wish to highlight discussions on urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, and rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, funding. As the Leader knows, the URDF is a substantial fund for urban regeneration development. We have benefited from it in the innovation quarter of my home town of Ballina. Proposals around additional URDF projects need to be pursued in consultation with the local community, no matter where that is and what town that is. There are proposals and discussions for the quay area in Bal…

I want to raise an issue that has been highlighted to me by Bonniconlon ICA, a group of brilliant volunteers and community activists who have done great things in their community and continue to do so. They have highlighted, as concerned residents in Mayo, the policy on the shingles vaccine. They request its inclusion in the national vaccination programme funded by the HSE for the general population, similar to programmes in the UK and Australia. Shingles is a serious condition with potentially debilitating effects…

I thank the Minister of State for being in the House for this very important legislation. I acknowledge Senators Rabbitte and Daly for their great work in bringing this Bill to the floor of the Seanad. It is a very common-sense and practical Bill for all the reasons outlined. I am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy. We all know too well that, because of climate change, the increased intensity of rainfall and the predicted increase in such intensity will have pronounced imp…

I thank the Minister of State for being here this evening for this very important discussion on supporting the fishing industry, which is holding on by a thread in certain communities. I compliment Senators Manus Boyle and Noel O'Donovan, who have done great work in representing fishermen and fisherwomen and coastal communities right across the country, for their leadership on this issue. With regard to my home county of Mayo, I will specifically raise the issue of the hook and line-caught mackerel quota, which is …

I join with colleagues in the House in supporting the Orange the World campaign, which supports 16 days of activism against gender-based violence between now and 10 December. I wish to highlight the Soroptimist groups in Ballina and Castlebar, County Mayo. I met this morning with the Ballina group, which has launched its campaign and has a series of events organised between now and 10 December. The Castlebar Soroptimists have similar plans. It is so important for this work to be highlighted here and in every house …

I support the previous speaker's contribution in relation to winter readiness. It is a very good discussion and very worthwhile. I extend my congratulations to my party colleague, Paschal Donohoe, on his retirement from political life after an incredible contribution to the State and to society generally. He has had a remarkable political career. I wish him the best. I have no doubt he will do great things for Ireland and the world in his new position. I call for a discussion with the Minister for sport on the stan…

I thank the Minister of State for joining us for this debate and for all of the contributions made thus far. Like Senator Kyne, my own political experience in relation to immigration has had its own challenges. One of the first interactions we experienced in my home county of Mayo was the war in Ukraine and the huge compassion felt across the country and the willingness to help and empathise with those who were fleeing war and terror in their home country. The Irish response to that has been incredible. Like everyo…

May I also offer my condolences on the tragedy of the five young lives lost on the road. It is an unimaginable thing for a whole community, for their families and friends and I want to offer my sympathies to them. I also wish to share in congratulating the men's national team and its manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson. It has been an incredible few days for Irish sport. It has unified the country in a way that only sport can by bringing people together and celebrating remarkable success. It gives us all a bit of hope goi…

The Minister is welcome to the House this afternoon to discuss the energy and electricity Bill. I welcome the urgency of it moving ahead at speed because we do need to move at speed both in terms of legislating for this important Bill but also in creating the critical infrastructure that is needed to deliver on the ambitions that have been set out by Government, including housing, transport and, indeed, energy. The €1.5 billion investment into ESB Networks over the next five years is critical for the growth and amb…

I wish to highlight the multiple issues that have been raised with me regarding the An Post network, particularly in my home county of Mayo. Councillor Alma Gallagher in Ballyhaunis raised with me the proposal to relocate the delivery unit of An Post to Castlerea. In 2015, this unit was relocated from Bridge Street to the enterprise unit on Clare Street, which is owned by Ballyhaunis Chamber of Commerce. It has operated successfully. It handles approximately 2,000 packages per week and serves many of the businesses…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, to the House. My Commencement matter relates to the living city initiative. The initiative is a tax instrument to stimulate regeneration and redevelopment in cities across Ireland. Budget 2026 extended the living city initiative to other regional towns, including Athlone, Sligo and Drogheda. My call is for this incentive to be expanded to all towns with a population over 10,000. One size does not fit all in trying to solve the housing crisis, as the previous Minister …

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. We need to revisit this. The reason I say that is that anyone who walks through any of our towns with a population of over 10,000 will see substantial buildings in a state of dereliction, disrepair and vacancy. In Mayo, two towns, Castlebar, where the Minister of State is from, and Ballina are examples of that. There is a housing crisis in the towns with a population of over 10,000. Even in rural areas, there are challenges across the board. We need to use every measure …