Like other speakers, I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. Her success in her position is a success for all of us and will be a success for people with disabilities, who are people we represent. I genuinely wish her well in her work in the years ahead. A figure that has been reported in recent times is that 22% of the population, or 1.2 million, have a disability or a disabling condition. That is quite a large figure. Other Senators have spoken about the population growth in this country. With the populat…

I welcome the Minister of State and the students in the Visitors Gallery to the House. I hope they enjoy their moment watching us debate issues that are really important for our areas and for this country. I welcome the Minister of State and his appointment to the role. He is a model for many in this Chamber in how he does politics and his success is an ambition for all of us. In one of my first contributions in this House, I spoke on an issue close to my heart, which is the issue of the wastewater treatment plant …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. The thrust of my point referred to the national level in terms of how we can improve the efficiency of the delivery of these capital projects and, more locally and parochially, in respect of Dunmanway. At a high level, I welcome the Minister of State's words and engagement with Uisce Éireann. We need to speed up the process because we cannot allow situations such as that in Dunmanway. I could speak about Rosscarbery, Shannonvale and Ballydehob, where there are issues.…

I, too, welcome the British delegation to the Chamber, although as a new Senator I have not worked with Jeremy much. I put on record the appreciation of the people of this country for how relations now are. It was a testing and challenging few years. The people in my community in west Cork express positivity about the relationship. I thank our guests for their work and wish George the best in the role he is now going to take on. I raise the issue of Union Hall pier in west Cork. Union Hall fishing port is very impo…

Like previous speakers, I welcome the Minister of State. There is an extra element of pride for me in welcoming him here because he is a fellow Corkman. I have known the Minister of State for many years through politics. It is a great credit to him personally and to his family that he has been elevated to the position he holds. I genuinely thank him for his public service to Cork and congratulate him on achieving the platform that he now has at national level. The topic of road safety is close to my heart in light …

Like all the other speakers, I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. A comment was made earlier about politics being about listening. It is something all of us as politicians need to always remember. From my engagement with the Minister so far in his role, I know he is someone who cares deeply about our farming industry and farmers right across the country. As a public representative, I am very pleased to see him as the Minister, as are the farming bodies. I look forward to working with him in respect of the farmers…

I wish to discuss the issue of housing, and more specifically a wastewater treatment plant in Dunmanway, west Cork. Dunmanway, my home town, is famous for being the home of Sam Maguire, even though we do not win the cup too often. For the past number of years, people have been unable to build houses in the town. Similar to the issue my colleague Senator Murphy raised about an area in Galway, the wastewater treatment plant is at capacity. It was built in 2013 but no longer conforms to EU discharge limits. It is a re…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and congratulate him on his appointment. I had engagement with him in his previous role and he showed energy, drive and determination when he visited Bantry after the recent flooding so I am sure he will bring a similar type of work to this Department. It is timely to have this debate on improving supports for elderly people as our first Private Members’ motion. I finished college in 2011 and will never forget the words of one of my lecturers who said in the next ten y…

As we look out the windows of the Chamber this afternoon we will see, dare I say it, signs of spring or a good summer ahead. Unfortunately, the issue I will raise is the flooding events in west Cork during the past weekend. It was yet another flooding event for many of the rural communities I represent, including Rossmore, Ardcahan, which is near Dunmanway, and Halfway. Ballinascarty, which is close to Clonakilty, was probably the worst-hit area. We saw both residential and commercial properties flooded yet again. …

As these are my maiden words in the Chamber, may I begin by wishing the Cathaoirleach well in his position as Chair. I also extend my well wishes to the Leader of the House and my party colleague, Senator Kyne. I look forward to working with them both and with all Members of this House for the collective and common good. I also put on record my appreciation to the leader of my party, the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, and the Taoiseach for affording me the opportunity to be here today. Finally, I thank the importan…