Garret Ahearn
Administrative Panel · Fine Gael · Ireland
“The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 9(2)) (Amount of Financial Contribution) Order 2025 (Revocation) Order 2026, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No.”
“I am very conscious that No. 10 is to be taken at 11.30 a.m. and it is now 11.30 a.m. I will be brief. I will make a note of any contributions relating to debates for when we come back in September. There were a lot of calls for debates.”
“We have been here for a number of years and she is correct; a lot of it has come through in July. Technically, it is for the Leader to set out the timeline of debates but I understand the frustration when it comes late or when there is little scope for debate. The motions, in fairness, were referred to committee for debate.”
“9, whichever is later, and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 75 minutes by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government, the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister at th…”
“5, motion regarding Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No. 4) Regulations 2026, back from committee, to be taken on conclusion of No. 4 without debate; No. 6, motion regarding Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No.”
“We will have a busy time coming back in September with an expected by-election to this House, which will create more work for them. To all colleagues across the House, on a personal level, I thank them for the last number of weeks since I took over as Leader of the Seanad. It has been a busy number of weeks for all of us.”
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“In his contribution, the Minister said this is not a free movement of people because in the context of things in the UK, that can be skewed into something it is not. The scheme is for people aged between 18 and 30, and from my reading of it, it is for a minimum of one year to a maximum of three years. It is to avail of those same opportunities and advantages people have in European countries to come to the UK, whether that is for work, college or something else. There is an essence of irony - I know the Minister does not want to touch on Brexit - that we are trying to provide those opportunities to the UK despite it having democratically voted against being a member of the European Union. We are trying to give them the opportunity to have some of the good aspects of membership to the European Union.”
“We look forward to working with him over the next five years. As previously stated, this is a fairly easy piece of legislation. We nearly take for granted in this country the opportunities we have for free movement across the European Union and the advantages that brings. What the Minister is asking us to do here today has no impact on us because we have a common travel area with the UK which predates our joining the European Union. It is important, however, that we are part of that negotiation with all EU countries in terms of working with the UK. We have a special bond with the UK and it is of benefit to all European countries that we are part of that negotiation because of our close relationship with our UK counterparts.”
“I will share time with Senator Lynch if that is agreeable to the House. I probably will not need all the time. First, I congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on her election success and I wish her well. As others have stated, she will be a very fair and balanced Leas-Chathaoirleach. She has huge experience in this Chamber and I know she will work extremely hard on behalf of all Senators. I welcome the Minister to the Chamber for the first time. As Senator Clifford-Lee said, I suspect this will be one of his easier visits to either Chamber. The Minister knows well that in his role he will be called on to come here or to go to the Lower House quite often but I know he takes the role and responsibility very seriously. He has huge respect for this Chamber and that is acknowledged and appreciated.”
“I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on a Youth Experience Scheme, a copy of which was laid before Seanad Éireann on 10th February, 2025.”
“We have all travelled the country and met councillors. There are big issues regarding housing, disability and health. If we speak to councillors in rural areas, the main issue is with regard to road projects. I would really appreciate if we could have a meeting with the new Minister for Transport to outline his vision of what he wants to deliver in the next five years.”
“We need to make a decision that we will not do it and allow people to get on with their lives and build a house or do whatever they want to their farmland, or fund it with the extra €2 million to get it to planning stage. The reason this is so important is that if we do not do anything in the next couple of years we will have to go right back to the very start where we were five years ago. We have already spent €5 million on the project. Essentially we will have wasted €5 million if we do not get it to planning stage. If we do get it to planning stage and complete it, no matter what happens at least we will be at a point where we do not have to go backwards. Any future Government could then state that once it is in a position to do so the road can be constructed. This is one example but there are numerous examples throughout the country.”
“Tomorrow morning the Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council will host a meeting with elected representatives from Kilkenny and Tipperary, including Oireachtas Members, to outline what will happen with the project. This road project was funded up to a certain point. It had almost reached planning stage when funding was stopped in 2024. It needs an extra €2 million to get to planning stage and then it will be a decision for the Government to decide to construct it. The challenge we have in Tipperary and Kilkenny is that people in many areas in the buffer zone cannot build. Farming families cannot build a house or change anything on their site because they are in buffer zone where a road might be built. The funding to build that road has been paused.”
“I congratulate the Leader on his position and I wish him well. It looks like we have a fairly full House today so if he will be answering questions he might be half the day replying to everyone. I am sure that will change in time. I ask that we have a debate with the new Minister for Transport at the earliest convenience. The previous Minister, Eamon Ryan, did an awful lot of good work in certain areas in terms of public transport, walkways and cycleways but in the previous programme for Government there was an agreement for two thirds spending on public transport and one third spending on roads. That was a challenge for the previous Government with regard to road projects throughout the country which are a priority and need to be done. One in particular, the N24, is in my area.”
“When she spoke about her mother passing away 25 years ago, I said to her that my mother passed away 25 years ago as a serving Member of the Lower House. My father, Liam Ahearn, is present. She could not have done it without his support. That support has continued 25 years later. I certainly would not be in this Chamber without his support. I thank him for that. I also thank my wife and children. I was tempted to invite them today, but I have a five-year-old and a two-year-old and I feared that the Cathaoirleach would have to kick out my five-year-old if I brought him here; maybe I will bring him on a quieter day. I look forward to working with everyone to bring about what we all spoke about, which is positive change. We come from different backgrounds and have different priorities but by working together we can deliver change.”
“I look forward to working with people in the coming months and years. I particularly welcome my friend from County Tipperary, Councillor Imelda Goldsboro. I also acknowledge Senators Noonan and Rabbitte, who are welcome to the Seanad. They both did immense work in their portfolios in the previous term. They were constant visitors to this Chamber and respected it hugely as Ministers of State. They also respected its Members. I wanted to acknowledge that. I look forward to working with them too. As everyone in politics knows, you cannot be in politics without the support of your family. I talked to Senator Flynn earlier, who I became very good friends with. Every week, we find we have more and more things in common.”
“We share a keen interest in Ukraine and its people. I remember very early on in my first term, I came to him with a proposal regarding four Ukrainian MPs who were willing to come to Ireland to speak in this Chamber. This was only three or four months into the war. The Cathaoirleach was more than willing to offer this Chamber to them to speak in. This became the first Chamber in the world that any Ukrainian MPs spoke in in person when the war started. That is an example of what we in this Chamber can do by working together under the Cathaoirleach's leadership. I wish him well. I wish our father of the House, Senator Wilson, well. He is a man I hugely admire. He will suit the role of father of the House perfectly. He embodied the role of father of the House even before becoming it. I congratulate everyone who has been elected.”
“We realise that we have ample opportunity to speak in the Chamber on a range of issues on any day of the week, but it would be remiss of me not to congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his election. Many attributes have been directed his way by a number of speakers, with whom I agree. He has and holds two very important attributes, which he showed as Cathaoirleach previously, that are crucial going forward. The first is his relationship and connections with our friends in America. That is more important now than it ever will be. It is to be hoped that in his position as Cathaoirleach he will be able to enhance that for us as a country over the next number of years. He has always been open-minded as Cathaoirleach. People have talked about him as a reforming Cathaoirleach but he has certainly been open-minded.”