On 20 November, it will be World Pancreatic Cancer Day. Pancreatic cancer is one of these devastating diseases. In Ireland, 600 people every year are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and, sadly, 500 people pass away within the year. Five in six people pass away within the year of the diagnosis. It is a devastating disease and I would like to highlight efforts to try to improve patient outcomes and conditions for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Those efforts are led by the co-founder of Pancreatic Cancer Ire…

I join my colleagues, Senators Boyle and Flynn, in raising the issue of defective concrete blocks. I entered politics six or seven years ago. We obviously all enter politics to try to help people, communities and society, and the most pronounced and most pressing issue since I entered political life has been defective concrete blocks, in particular the pyrite situation in County Mayo and the mica situation in County Donegal. People buy a house in good faith, pay their local property tax and home insurance and play …

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to the Seanad and I welcome the opportunity to discuss the national human rights strategy for disabled people between now and 2030. I wish to make three key points. The first is something we have discussed before in the House. It has come on my radar in the past 12 to 18 months when discussing it with activists within my own community, namely, Changing Places facilities. In the UK, there are Changing Places facilities right across the country in every large town and…

I welcome the Minister of State and the opportunity to support Second Stage of the Air Pollution Bill 2025 on behalf of my Fine Gael colleagues. The negative health implications of poor air quality are stark. The Minister of State identified 1,700 premature deaths per year due to poor air quality. That is a stark figure, which obviously has a major human impact on families and communities, but there is also the financial cost. The ESRI identified that just five air pollution-related conditions cost the State €56 mi…

I welcome to the House the ambassador of the Czech Republic and share in the warm wishes to Peter Finnegan as on his retirement as Clerk of the Dáil. I use this opportunity to highlight the positivity of sport for communities, young people in particular. On my travels here today, I met with the Ballina Town under-17 girls team who had returned to Ireland having competed in Barcelona, where they finished third place in their tournament. The sense of joy from parents, players and coaches at the achievement and experi…

I welcome the Taoiseach to Seanad Éireann. Following Senator Flaherty’s contribution, I will focus on the shared island unit. The unit has a €2 billion fund, which is primarily focused on investment in infrastructure and education and bringing people closer and bringing them together. Before entering politics, I worked on a project in Northern Ireland, which was the creation of the all-island league. It was a proposal to unite the League of Ireland and the Irish League. There is a divided community in the North, fo…

I wish to raise an issue of serious concern to residents in County Mayo, in particular in the Lacken and Ballycastle area. It relates to a proposed wind farm development. In Mayo, we have seen a lot of investment in wind energy and turbines. It is something I support in a structured and considered way. The challenge we have at the moment, however, is that we do not have a clear wind energy strategy published by Mayo County Council. leading to a less considered and strategic approach to different developments. There…

I thank the Minister of State for joining us for such an important discussion on the all-island rail review. I acknowledge and compliment that 7,000 submissions made, the truly inclusive nature of the review and, in particular, the work of different advocacy groups, including West on Track. While I do that, I acknowledge the late John Bradley, who was dedicated in his advocacy as a former economist with the ESRI and an advocate for West on Track and the western rail corridor in particular. He passed away recently w…

I first offer my sympathies to our colleague Senator Teresa Costello on the passing of her father, John Francis. I wish to raise an issue that has been highlighted with me today and that has been publicised all over County Mayo by Michael Conroy of Conroy Motors, which is based in Belmullet, Erris, County Mayo. I refer to the lack of NCT facilities in Belmullet. There are currently two NCT facilities in the county, one in Ballina and one in Westport. If you are living in Belmullet or in the barony of Erris, if you …

I apologise for any confusion earlier. Before we finish for the summer, I thank the Cathaoirleach, all of the team and the Leader for his welcome, help and support to the new Senators. I thank Martin Groves for his professionalism and diligence in the short term I worked with him in the Oireachtas. Indeed, I also thank Bridget Doody, Clerk Assistant of the Seanad. I also support the words of support by Senators Cummins and Ní Chuilinn on the Oireachtas broadcast staff who will be, essentially, on the dole from next…

I attended a briefing for Mayo Oireachtas Members related to the proposed sewage treatment plant in Newport, County Mayo. This proposal has been going on for far too long. The initial proposed completion date was 2023 but the project is still so far off where it should be. What is being talked about now is a completion date of 2030. Raw sewage is flowing into Clew Bay as we speak. Newport is a beautiful, scenic part of County Mayo with a brilliant, vibrant community that is demanding action. We have been waiting fa…

I thank the Minister of State for facilitating this discussion and for his work to date in this area. Sport is the great connector of communities and civic life. It brings people and communities together. It can be such a force for good in terms of both physical and mental health. We need standardisation of provision of sporting facilities across the country. One town or village that has a competent community group should not receive all the different funding for various types of infrastructure while a place with a…

The Minister is very welcome. I thank him for his work in an exciting period in Ireland's ambitions for transport. As he outlined, there are many exciting and ambitious projects being proposed at different stages across the country. BusConnects will be a very positive measure in improving connectivity and access for people across the cities. The improvements to the regional bus networks have been welcomed, while the expansion of rail services to different regions across Ireland and the reduction in fares have seen …

Happy birthday, Minister.

I welcome the opportunity we have to make statements on transport this week. I wish to highlight road safety. Sadly, 19 fatalities occurred on Mayo roads last year, which is an astounding figure and a sad and damning statistic. I highlight an issue of safety on the N17 roadway travelling from Charlestown towards Knock Airport. The reason I raise it is that it is the responsibility of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. We need it highlighted in the Seanad to put pressure on for a community that is living in fear…

The Minister of State is welcome. The housing crisis affects the whole island and it is important we use every measure at our disposal to unlock one of the great social challenges of our time. The croí cónaithe scheme has been delivered specifically for land or building owners. It is a positive measure. It began for towns with populations of more than 600 people. Something I campaigned for when I was in Mayo County Council was that it be expanded to the whole countryside, to towns and villages, because we have cott…

I also welcome my guest, Mr. Fitzpatrick. It is great to have him in the Public Gallery of the Chamber. I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am well aware of the repair and lease scheme. It is an excellent scheme, but it is not the same as the croí cónaithe scheme with its city-style development. The repair and lease scheme provides funding of up to €80,000 per unit. It specifies that beneficiaries take tenancies from the county council. Croí cónaithe, on the other hand, is a more private sector-led devel…

I thank the Minister of State. Before I call on Senator O'Loughlin to reply, I welcome Mr. Joe Druhan, Fr. Richard Redmond and Fr. Odhrán Furlong to our Distinguished Visitors Gallery. They are guests of the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Verona Murphy. They are very welcome.

Before I call Senator Kennelly to reply, I welcome to the Public Gallery Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn's guests, who are from the Neighbourhood Management Team.

I thank the Minister of State for his time this afternoon in addressing the Commencement matter of Senator Kennelly.