I welcome the Minister to the Seanad and thank him for his engagement and opening statement in relation to this Critical Infrastructure Bill. We have to shy away from thinking parochially here. We have to think of the bigger picture. This is about the economy, sustainability and our future. It is about putting critical infrastructure in place for housing, for jobs and employment, for the development of agriculture, for innovation, for the pharmaceutical industry and for all of the other exciting things that await u…

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that: - the United Nations General Assembly declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF); - only 13 per cent of farms in Ireland are owned by women; - women make up 41 per cent of the global agri-food workforce; despite this, they often have a lack of access to land, finance, technology and training; - women play an essential role in agri-food systems, for which they do not receive enough recognition, and the United Nations (UN) is trying to address this…

Thank you. I welcome the Minister to the House. He is no stranger to me and I hope I am no stranger to him. I thank him for coming to deal with this motion. I want to set the context that the United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. That is a very significant designation and we have been talking about it at the agriculture committee for the last 12 months. It is a global initiative that aims to increase awareness of the crucial role women play in the agri-food system and mor…

Yes.

Well said.

I will not delay. It has been a long night. I thank the Minister for coming to the House and for his ongoing support. I acknowledge the presence of Mr. Bell, one of the Minister’s officials from the Department of agriculture, and thank him for his positive contribution and engagement on the background information. I flagged the wording of the motion to the Department, and I found it very helpful to have its constructive engagement. There is a lesson for us all. Where we work closely together and collaborate, we can…

I acknowledge that the Government has approved a €750,000 support fund for businesses impacted by the devastating fire in the Tycor Business Centre in Waterford that we talked about last week. That was a devastating fire. It clearly had an impact on the community, the businesses there, and the social activities and the community activities in that centre. I learnt much about them from my colleague, Senator Conway, who of course was a city councillor there for many years. It has had an impact on over 200 jobs, betwe…

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his comprehensive report on the work of the Office of Public Works and the priorities and progress statement. I also thank him for his drive and enthusiasm since he became Minister of State in this area. I will single out three projects I am associated with. First, the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin is the jewel in the crown, the greatest oasis, rated as the best - outside of Edinburgh - botanical gardens in the world. I trained there for a number of years and k…

Today, I want to take some time to thank Fórsa trade union and its members. I wish its members well. It is now in its second day of its three-day annual conference. I also wish the Taoiseach well as he addresses the conference today and engages, hopefully, in a two-way, respectful dialogue with the members of the trade union. Many Members will see Fórsa magazines in the corridors of Leinster House. I go and get them. I engage with them. I think it is a very credible organisation, and I want to support them. It is i…

I want to be concise in what I say. I wholeheartedly agree with my colleague Senator McDowell. This is as much about how the decision was communicated as the decision itself. I have raised this issue time and again. I am looking at the letter here, dated 14 May. This is not the way to do business. It is not the Minister's fault, per se , but I will come to him in a second. I welcome him and his officials to the House. Parliamentary democracy is at the core of this and this sort of thing undermines confidence in par…

There are only two more speakers.

There are only two more speakers.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important Commencement matter. I join him in welcoming the Minister of State to the Chamber. I have asked for the Minister to make a statement on when Ireland intends to ratify the optional protocol to the United Nations convention against torture. As the Minister of State knows, Ireland signed that convention in 2017 and is the only EU country yet to ratify it. To give some background, this came about as a result of some ongoing engagement with the Mental Health Bill th…

That is very encouraging and succinct. I like the responses to Commencement matters that come from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration because they are clear. There is a great sense of clarity about them. We now have a timeline that the Minister of State has confirmed to the House, which is great. It is 12 months. It would be ideal if it could be a bit shorter but clearly there is a lot of work to do. It has to go through both Houses so there are a lot of bits and pieces to that and I understand t…

RTÉ will air an "RTÉ Investigates" programme titled "Inside the Care System" tonight at 9.35 p.m. I am highlighting it in the context of our debate on the Mental Health Bill last week and other areas of welfare. "RTÉ Investigates" spent the last year inside the family law court system documenting an unfolding crisis in the care of Ireland's most vulnerable children. It is described as heartbreaking, with the potential to cause lasting damage. In the documentary that will air tonight, we will hear directly from youn…

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. Initially, I asked for this debate on the basis of the follow-up inspection report relating Mountjoy Prison for the period 28 April to 2 May 2025. I want to reference that here, because it is important. The inspection report was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in last month. As a result, we have been given the opportunity to raise it in this House. I am not going to go into the litany of abuses that have been set out or the photographic evidence contained in th…

On behalf of all Senators, I can say that we greatly respect that hands-on approach and the direct contact with us.

I concur with what Senator Gallagher said. I sit on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food and these issues are debated weekly, but I think there are good reasons for it. Certainly, within the European Union, it makes sense that we do business. That is just a general comment. I would welcome a debate in this House, but I think there are many reasons for this situation. We advocate for trade and competition, of course, and therefore we must engage with competition, certainly within the member states.…

I welcome the Minister. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the Seanad Leader's Office for facilitating this additional hour of debate. It was expected to wrap up last week but a number of people did not get to speak. Thank you for facilitating that. We are talking about the response to the Government's statement in terms of the fuel and the challenges around that. At the very outset, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fisheries and indeed the equestrian sector - we must not forget that, particularly in the heart…

For those listening in here, as opposed to those who are in this Chamber, what we are doing today now is considering the Order of Business. That is our function here under our Standing Orders and under the regulations and precedents that govern the conduct of Seanad Éireann. Today we have one proposal under the Order of Business and that is submitted by the Leader's office, which is No. 1, the Mental Health Bill 2024, Report and Final Stages. So people outside who are tuning in, this proposal is that this Bill will…