Victor Boyhan
Agricultural Panel · Independent · Ireland
“It also mentions the agrifood sector and the importance of diversification in agriculture, the maritime sector, coastal communities and fishing communities in terms of rural policy.”
“I know from my engagement with both the Department and the Minister that over 900 submissions to the consultation process were received. No Member or parliamentarian will have had the opportunity to consider the anonymised version of these consultations, which contain many good suggestions in favour of the regulations and many concerns in…”
“I welcome the Minister and the official to the Seanad. This is particularly important Private Members' business. I thank Senators Collins and Tully for setting out the background and the rationale behind their Private Members' motion. I acknowledge the Minister's exceptional commitment to rural Ireland and his Ministry.”
“I am conscious of the Minister's public consultation, and I acknowledge it and thank them for it, in relation to the Our Rural Future work programme in 2025. In fairness to him, he did not stop at that. I received a further update when I requested it from his office very recently.”
“This will come about through that process. It is for the Minister to decide. Maybe he will do so tomorrow when the regulations are dealt with. However, when Senators are in this Chamber discussing these regulations tomorrow, they will have no sight of any constituent who made a submission. That is my first item.”
“I am pleased to see Senator Byrne in the Leader’s chair. I wish him well in that job. I also wish him well in his new position as Government Whip. There are three items I wish to discuss today. First is the exempt development regulations, which are being covered extensively in the media.”
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“Fiona O'Loughlin, then a TD and now here in the Seanad, supported that legislation. The point I am making is that there has been a long lead-in. I will not push it too much other than to say that in 2024, as the Minister will be aware, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recommended that Ireland should adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that includes explicit references to all prohibited grounds of discrimination, including socioeconomic status. Enough of that; enough people have spoken. Given the amount of lead-in time and in light of all the promises made, the focus should be on getting the legislation through. Are we all committed to getting this legislation across the line? I would like to think that we are.”
“I also accept that there are new dynamics, a new Government, a new programme for Government and new priorities and that it is not possible to get everything through in a programme for Government. As a result, the Government has to recalibrate its priorities. Politically, it is a coalition Government. which means that compromises have to be made as well. That is political pragmatism, and I understand how it works. Going back further, on 28 June 2017, the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 was also initiated in Dáil Éireann. That Private Members' Bill was sponsored by the now Minister for justice, Jim O'Callaghan TD, a fine legislator, a fine Minister and a fine politician with vast experience in legislation and the preparation thereof. He was very happy to put his name to that Bill, to speak on it and to endorse it.”
“On 1 March 2023, Dáil Éireann passed an amendment which stated: Dáil Éireann resolves that the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 be deemed to be read a second time this day 18 months, to allow for time to further examine the introduction of 'disadvantaged socio-economic status' as an additional ground in the Equality Acts in the context of the Review of Equality Acts currently under way in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Bill then fell because of the dissolution of the Thirty-third Dáil. The point I am making is that there has been a long lead-in time. I accept that the Minister, Deputy Foley, is new to her post.”
“The purpose of the Bill is to expand the protection of the relevant Acts, namely the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2021 and the Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2018, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disadvantaged socioeconomic status. Let us set the legislative context for this. Currently, discrimination is prohibited under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2021 and the Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2018 in respect of employment and access to goods and services, respectively, across nine grounds, which the Senator already set out and I will not repeat them. I looked at the previous Private Members' Bills on this. A similar Bill, the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021, was initiated in Dáil Éireann on 27 January 2021. It was sponsored by Senator Chris Andrews, who was then a TD, and Violet Anne Wynne.”
“When we are discussing things here, many of these programmes are fed out on "Oireachtas Report" at night. If it is halfway through something, people may not be quite sure what is going on. The purpose of the Bill is to introduce a new ground for discrimination into Irish equality law on the basis of disadvantaged socioeconomic status, which is important. In that context, on 13 May last, Senator Andrews initiated the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill in the Seanad. Generally, both here and afterwards, he got considerable favourable support, but that is politics for you. People will you on the corridor that they will support you, but when you look around you ask where they have gone. Other people are doing other things today at various committees. I respect and accept that.”
“The Minister is very welcome. I thank her officials, who put considerable work into this. I acknowledge the proposers of this Bill, namely Senators Andrews, Nicole Ryan, Conor Murphy, Collins, Tully and McCormack. I support the Bill. Having looked at it, I realise that it has been a long time in gestation. I thank the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, which prepared a very interesting paper in advance of this debate. The service is full of integrity. It provides independent validation and gives us the confidence to stand here and discuss the legislation in the proper context as well as its background. As other Senators indicated, this is not altogether new. Today, we are dealing with the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025, a Private Members' Bill in the names of Sinn Féin Senators. I wish to set the context.”
“The audiovisual room was packed to capacity, with more than 40 advocates present. These were people who lived in institutional care and shared their personal experiences and stories. It is a most moving film. The participants spent more than two hours here and met with several politicians afterwards to advance what they call their human rights, the dignity they want to be afforded to them and the independence to enable them to live in communities. I am circulating this film today to every Member of the House. I strongly encourage everyone to have a look at it and, possibly, to engage and go back to the organisation. Big thanks go to Councillor Alan Edge, who facilitated, organised and initially thought up the idea and suggested we bring it to these Houses, and to Sharon Devlin, creative director of Tallaght Community Arts.”
“It promotes Irish horticulture, which I also continue to promote in this House. In the area of horticulture, I also acknowledge the wonderful work of the National Botanic Gardens. This is a wonderful horticultural gem, where I was a student many years ago. The gardens are free for everyone to visit, and I ask people to go there. I request a debate on horticulture because it is important, particularly in the context of ornamentals and fruit and vegetable production. I give thanks to Sharon Devlin, the creative director of Tallaght Community Arts, who came to the audiovisual room yesterday at my invitation for a film presentation. Many of the Senators will have missed it, but what a treat we had. The film was entitled "We Will Not Sit Down and Be Quiet", and how moving and inspiring it was.”
“Alexander is a great advocate for Irish horticulture and garden design. I strongly recommend that people visit Kells Bay. The gardens are open, and they are wonderful. That leads me next into giving a plug for Bloom, which starts next Thursday, 29 May. It is our equivalent of the Chelsea Flower Show. Bloom is fast coming up to that pace and standard, and I wish the event well. Tickets are currently on sale at www.bordbiabloom.com .”
“I wish to highlight the significant win yesterday at the Chelsea Flower Show by one of our greatest Irish horticulturalists who exhibited a microcosm of Kells Bay in the beautiful county of Kerry. The display took a gold medal, which is very prestigious. It was a massive undertaking. It meant the shipment of many ferns that grow in that most beautiful part of the world overlooking the Dingle Peninsula. The Cathaoirleach knows it well, as do others here. Our participants at London's Chelsea Flower Show are hopping with excitement. This morning they are looking at an award from this most prestigious horticultural event. Of course, it has gone to Billy Alexander from Kells Bay Gardens. It is a fantastic achievement. In those gardens can be seen the famous Dicksonia antarctica ferns and all the Irish ferns he grows there. Mr.”
“Before I call the Minister of State, I welcome the students and my council colleague. They are very welcome here today. I hope they enjoy their stay. We are dealing with Commencement Matters - basically a number of topics submitted by Senators. Four are picked each day and four have been picked today, so we are at the conclusion of this section. This is an important part of the Seanad's deliberations where individual Senators raise topics of interest to them, their constituents or organisations with which they are involved.”
“I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, to the House. On behalf of the House, I offer our condolences yet again to him on the loss of his sister. We know it is a difficult time for him and his family. Our thoughts are with him.”
“I welcome the children from sixth class in the Ranelagh Multi-Denominational School. Their visit is timely because we have present their local TD, namely, the Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan. It is great to see young people here and I hope they enjoy their day in the Oireachtas.”
“I congratulate Senator O'Loughlin on the work, drive, commitment and enthusiasm she has shown to see this important legislation through the House.”
“I welcome the Minister to the House and I thank him for coming as the lead Minister in the Department. I thank Senator O'Loughlin for pursuing this Bill. I fully agree with the four previous speakers. There is no point in repeating ourselves in these Houses. Let us keep the clarity and keep it simple. I fully concur with everything said. I also thank the departmental officials. While Deputy O'Callaghan is the Minister and that is great, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes in supporting him in his work. I look forward to hearing his contribution. I am glad to see he has a script but he has loads of additional notes in pen. I would expect nothing less of him. Clearly, he is engaging which is in line with his style of engaging and modus operandi . The Minister is very welcome.”
“Too many voices remain silent in this House, in the Dáil and in the European Parliament. The supply of humanitarian aid must never be a condition of political or military aims. Starvation must never be allowed to be used as a bargaining chip. Joined by my colleagues, I call on the Leader to discuss with the Government the importance of having a debate in Seanad Éireann on the situation in Gaza and the international humanitarian response that must be called up to support people.”
“I drew from that analogy and conversation about An Gorta Mór how, when we look back on it now and revisit history, it was nuanced genocide. In many ways, it feeds into our learning and past experience of why we Irish people have gone to the front line and why we have been strong advocates for human rights and a humanitarian response. Our spirits were never quenched. Yes, many of our hearts were broken and our families were dispersed, but we know one thing about the Irish diaspora: it unites around a common cause. I give great credit today to Irish humanitarian workers across the country and across the world. The intense escalation of the use of weapons and destruction in Gaza is resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. It is horror played out on our television screens every night. I will finish with these few words.”
“I received a letter today and I will quote just one sentence from it, "Please do not allow international humanitarian law in relation to Gaza to be dismantled on your watch; it will be a stain on Europe forever." How true those words are. The other day, the President addressed the National Famine Commemoration 2025, at which a number of my colleagues on the left were present, as, indeed, was the Cathaoirleach also. I took time to reflect on what the President had to say and I looked on his office's website this morning to be 100% sure of the facts I wish to quote. In his address, the President of Ireland referred to “forced starvation”. He said “Famine is a horrific reality in so many parts of the world” and “is a great human failure”, and he referred to “starvation being used as an instrument of war”.”
“I thank the Senator. That is a nice way to conclude the Senators' contributions. On behalf of all Senators, I wish the Minister of State well in her new Ministry. She is no stranger to this House. She was an amazing Senator when she was here. I know she is doing amazing things in her new Ministry. Like all my colleagues, I wish her well. I know she has great respect for this House, its debates and its goings on. She is very welcome. This is the first time I have had an opportunity to see her in this Chamber since she took up her new role. I congratulate her and wish her every success for the coming years.”
“I thank the Senator for her constructive use of time. The next slot is for the Cross-Party Group. There are three speakers on my list but I see only two are in attendance, namely, Senators Cosgrove and Noonan. As time is on our side, and if the Minister of State is amenable, I propose that the Senators have five minutes each. Is that agreed? Agreed.”
“These people are working and want their jobs to be secure. They want their work to continue to grow. I acknowledge all the people who have played their role or part in this.”
“They are mandated to create a local biodiversity forum; to write a local biodiversity plan in conjunction with others; to research surveys and collect data; to provide advice on biodiversity to all local authority staff; to undertake community engagement in raising awareness of biodiversity and driving forward practical projects in partnership with others; to develop strategies, policies and projects relating to wildlife, habitats and biodiversity; and to provide biodiversity expertise to groups such as the heritage forum and the climate action team. They are doing amazing work. It is a good news story. We need to support it. We need to secure the funding model going forward for each of these biodiversity officers. There will come a time when the Department may have to review it or give block funding to the local authorities.”
“It is also cosupporting and cofounding projects in a co-ordinated way rather than some Minister at a desk in some building or headquarters deciding who best can benefit from this funding because it is politically advantageous for them. It is now done on a numeric and assessment basis. That is important. Looking at the functions and responsibilities of a biodiversity officer in a local authority, there are six or seven points.”
“While I had concerns initially when the Minister brought forward proposals to give additional powers and functions to the Heritage Council, I now see the benefit. It is all under one roof and collectively driven. It is not broken up between natural heritage and built heritage. All heritage, be it built, natural or maritime heritage and all of that, is included. Virginia Teehan is doing an amazing job, as is the whole organisation. It is driven. What has really impressed me about the Heritage Council’s work in the area of biodiversity is that it interviews and assists local authorities in recruiting biodiversity officers and heritage officers. It provides a one-stop shop. It knows what it is doing. It is building strong, practical relationships and putting plans in place.”
“We do not know how long that is going to continue. We need the Minister, and I ask the Minister of State to take this back, to do an audit of that. What are the contractual arrangements for each of our 31 local authorities? In some local authorities, they actually have two officers. We want to ensure they remain in these roles. That is really important. They have a key role, and rightly so, in communities that are driving this agenda. We need to ensure they are part of a multiteam in terms of planning, heritage and biodiversity and they are all interconnected. I acknowledge the absolute commitment of the former Minister of State, Senator Noonan, to driving that and his enormous commitment to the Heritage Council. Virginia Teehan heads up the Heritage Council in Kilkenny. It has done an amazing job.”
“Many of the things he predicted a few years ago have come true and many of the benefits he set in place are beginning to come through. One of the important benefits, and one which I wish to acknowledge today, is how he championed and sought to ensure that every one our 31 local authorities had a biodiversity officer. That is very important. I have a word of caution in this regard, however. On a printout I received today of the 31 local authorities and the names of each of the biodiversity officers, in many cases there is an asterisk after the names. At the end of the list, it states that these positions - the ones with an asterisk beside them - are positions funded entirely by the relevant local authority. There is not too many of them. Currently, many of these biodiversity officers are funded centrally from the Department.”
“Clearly, under CAP, the European Green Deal and particularly in the EU context of our consciousness of the environment, as well as our own, we have to look at imaginative ways of embracing set-aside in certain circumstances. We had all of this years ago. There are ecosystems and best farm practices that we can and should embrace. That is really important. I am making the strong case that we should support, incentivise and reward farmers when it comes to biodiversity because it is important. It was promised that by 2030, habitat biodiversity assessments would be conducted regularly as part of the national farm survey. That is important and something we need to keep in our minds going forward. I acknowledge the former Minister of State and current Senator, Malcolm Noonan, in this regard. He very much led in this area.”
“I welcome the Minister. I wish to be associated with the condolences to the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, on the loss of his dear sister. May she rest in peace. My thoughts are also with their extended family. I will start with agriculture. I am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food and, although it is now a separate committee, I am also on the marine committee. I will focus on agriculture. Farmers and many Senators represent farming communities are fully committed to saving our biodiversity. We are now going to embark on preparations for the next Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. In the 2023-27 CAP, many commitments and promises were achieved in the context of creating and maintaining habitats and the importance of that. I make the case again that we must incentivise our farmers, too.”
“We should invite him because we need to see the plans but also prepare for the challenges and seek diversification. I do not know whether anyone heard “Morning Ireland” on RTÉ Radio reporting on the challenges around diversification to Asia and the Arab states in terms of our food markets. We need new markets and to put in place policies that will support them.”
“It is being well promoted. I hope as many people as possible can go. The leaders of the main political parties go every year, spend the day there and bring teams with them. That is important in highlighting this unique enterprise that is Ireland. We have the green island of Ireland. We are an island. I refer to the challenges, excitement and possibilities of an all-Ireland approach in terms of what the Taoiseach talks about and the shared island initiative. We can collaborate more across the island of Ireland. Let us forget about the political issues. The potential for the natural resources, production and enterprise of this sector is enormous. I call for a debate on it. It is important we have a debate on this field. The Minister of State, Deputy Noel Grealish, is responsible for this area.”
“I wish to highlight a report by Bord Bia, entitled Export Performance and Prospects 2024-2025. I am sure everyone here knows of the amazing work that Bord Bia does. This report is quite interesting because it highlights there is €17 billion of business exports. It is an amazing success story and organisation that is highly focused on food and horticultural production. There are challenges around alcohol that is exported. There will be serious challenges relating to potential tariffs if they are not sorted out. This is an amazing organisation that is the engine in marketing and innovation for agriculture, horticulture, food production and beverages, which is another important facet of its work. Senators will be aware that it will be showcasing its organisation at its now infamous Bloom festival, which is in the next few weeks.”
“I do not want to miss this opportunity to champion the really important advocacy work of Irish Rural Link. The Minister of State might raise in conversation the possibility of adding that important organisation as a consultee.”
“I thank the Minister of State for covering all the points really well. I am fully supportive of this legislation and something that gives me more confidence is the role of the Central Bank under it, which is very important. I have one request of him, without rehashing the legislation, to which no amendments have been tabled, regarding the consultees. As a rural TD serving a constituency that is both rural and urban, the Minister of State is familiar with Irish Rural Link. Would it be possible through his good offices to make some contact with that organisation and include it in the process? Irish Rural Link plays a critical role in representing rural communities. I am not asking the Minister of State to respond today but he might use his good contacts to suggest that it be made a consultee. I do not think there would be a problem with it.”
“There might not be a bus and there might not be connectivity. People like to go into town, and independence is important for people all ages, where they can put their card into the hole in the wall, draw out their money for the week and manage it that way. ATMs are critically important and there are relatively simple models available. Well done to all of the people involved in this legislation. I am glad the issue was taken on board. It is really important, especially for rural communities, to have, albeit automated, dispensing of cash. I ask the Minister of State, when resources allow and with the co-operation and co-ordination of the banks, to map out and provide an inventory of the locations of ATMs so that we do not see them slowly slipping away.”
“Cash is important and I just wanted to make that point in the context of section 5. There was much discussion in the Dáil about this legislation, and its importance was very much taken on board. I thank the Minister of State and the Department for progressing it. It is particularly important for small communities that do not have access to banks and do not have transport links to big towns, and we have to geographically map and mark them out. There is a commitment in the legislation that there will be a certain distribution of ATMs around the country, but I do not know, and am not sure if anyone else knows, where they are currently. We need to be mindful of that, monitor it and talk to communities. It is important there is a source of cash. People like to go into town but they might not have transport.”
“I do not want to delay the House because I am very conscious no amendments have been tabled. I monitored this Bill's progress through the Dáil. Section 5 deals with the access to cash criteria and I welcome it. It is really important. I and Deputy Fitzmaurice were featured in Agriland recently, which covered the issue extensively. The article referred to the importance of ATMs in our rural communities and the distribution of these machines. We have seen the exit of Ulster Bank and other banks from the marketplace and we have seen machines being decommissioned. It is really important we have access to cash. I spent a week in Portugal the week before last when there was a 17-hour power cut. Interestingly, there was an issue with ATMs there because there was no power.”
“When I had a look at the membership of the commission, I saw that the document speaks about "responsibility, integrity, loyalty [and] commitment". One really interesting line is that members of the commission have a responsibility to "serve and act in a collective corporate capacity to support the work of parliament and its members as a whole" and "accordingly do not represent their own interests or those of their parties or groups or any other interest". Senator McDowell is a man who has the experience, the capacity, the will and the willingness to serve our Parliament. I hope he will have broad support when the motion is put before the House later on today.”
“As we will not be having a debate on the motion itself, I am going to use this opportunity and time to commend the Seanad Independent Group's nominee. We will be pursuing later the proposal that the nomination of Senator Michael McDowell to serve on the commission be considered. Nobody needs an introduction to Senator McDowell. He is an eminent lawyer, a former Attorney General, a former Minister for Justice and a former Tánaiste with vast experience. One thing I can say for this man, whom I have known for over 35 years, is that he is a man of integrity and consistency. In all his time in these Houses, he has championed and advocated strongly for the members of all parties and none. That is what we need.”
“I thank the Leader for putting two important motions down on the Order Paper. This is, of course, the Order of Business slot in Seanad Éireann. We will be dealing later with one of the motions, which relates to the Oireachtas joint committees and is self-explanatory. It is somewhat surprising, months after a general election and months after a Seanad election, that we have finally got our act together in order that we can actually start working for what we are being paid to do. It is to be hoped we will have the committees up and running from now. That is enough about that. I am conscious there is an important and timely motion down on the appointment of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.”
“This is very old social housing stock and we cannot compromise on quality and standards. There are regulations set down about current standards and the standards that apply in the private sector must also apply in the public sector and vice versa . That is the problem. I am not prepared to stand over, sell or make a case for compromised sizes or standards in accommodation for people regardless of their income or where they are coming from. I urge the Minister of State to ensure that departmental officials make this a priority.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response. This ties in with the issue of standards in the public and private sector, which we will revisit at another time. In relation to Pearse House we need to send out a clear message. Are we committed or not? The fact that the complex is a protected structure is not the issue here. There are challenges around protected structures. The Minister of State and I, as former councillors, know that is a reserved function. The councillors have taken advice and made that decision. In fact, I understand the Department is very sympathetic to the retention to old housing stock. We have to respond to the challenges. The key message is that we cannot encourage a local authority to go down a road and then stop it halfway. These homes are in one of the most deprived parts of Dublin.”
“In response to queries the Department said it was not in a position to support a proposal that would result in significant loss of homes. Surely, it has to be about quality and standards rather than numbers. The numbers are quite small and I am not sure what all that is about. It has been suggested by some that this is simply a delaying tactic by the Department to come behind the scheme. I am not saying that, but it has been suggested. St. Michan's House, Chancery House, Oliver Bond House and Markievicz House are old complexes that need significant work. We need to show the local authority that we are behind them. I am interested to hear the Minister of State's response.”
“He will be aware that Dublin City Council was the subject of a 2017 ruling from the European Committee of Social Rights relating to the poor condition of some of its older flat complexes. The Strasbourg-based committee found the human rights of tenants had been breached because of the failure to provide them with adequate housing. In 2020 Dublin City Council produced plans for the Pearse House complex. The Minister of State is aware of them. The complex has 345 social flats designed by the renowned architect Herbert Simms and built around 1936. There are challenges with these buildings. We know that. The project was to be completed in 11 phases over 12 to 15 years, reducing the number of flats to between 215 and 275. We have not even got the first phase of this plan under way.”
“That is something that I thought the Minister of State and the Department, and certainly I, would very much welcome. Seven years ago Dublin City Council announced plans to regenerate more than 6,000 of Dublin city's oldest flats, many of which are in a state of dilapidation, under a 15-year plan to raise social housing standards across the city. Many of the older residential flats on Dublin City Council's books simply do not meet the current building standards regarding accessibility, fire safety and building quality and have significant issues, including mould, condensation, sewerage problems and issues around health and safety. All these are issues I spelled out to the Minister of State only a week ago.”
“It appears that the Department of housing and local government has refused funding for Dublin City Council's plans to regenerate the Pearse House complex. I understand that the Department has decided not to fund the proposed project of amalgamating smaller flat units to create new larger homes on the site. The reason cited by the Department is that the council's plans would result in a reduction in the total number of homes, despite the fact that the existing smaller flat units do not meet the current minimum size standards. The first phase of the work would have seen 78 flats in the 1930s Pearse House complex, which, as a protected structure is a complication in itself, amalgamate into 44 new residential units for the city.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. He was here last week on an related matter, which is fairly interesting. Last week I talked about regulation for the public sector compared with regulation for the private sector. If there was a case to be made for my proposals last week, the matter I am raising today illustrates the sort of problems and challenges we have around our public housing. Let us get to the point. The headline on a recent article by Olivia Kelly in The Irish Times stated that the Government had refused funding for the regeneration of Pearse House flats in Dublin city centre . That prompted me to look into the matter in more detail. I read all of the national papers every day. I made contact with Dublin City Council and some of the councillors involved in Dublin city and I made a number of other inquiries.”
“If anyone saw the news on RTÉ last night, they will have seen Samantha Libreri reporting on the appalling conditions in a council house in north County Dublin. There was an infestation of rats, wires hanging out and lights hanging off the walls. The tenant made a very strong case. She could not get any redress and that is simply not good enough. I want that reviewed again. More important, however, is the strong recommendation in the report of the Housing Commission that public tenants of our 31 local authorities be included in the remit of the Residential Tenancies Board. There is a good case for that and I would like to elaborate on that recommendation when the House has a debate, if the Leader organises one.”
“We have not had a debate on the Housing Commission, which made very extensive recommendations. I raised the issue of tenants' rights as a Commencement matter today. The other day, the Government announced thousands of inspections for the private sector. There was no mention of who was to inspect local authority houses, the social housing in this country. All tenants should have the same rights to redress and the same access to the Residential Tenancies Board, whether they are in the public sector or private sector. There should be rental tenancy agreements in place for everyone. We should not differentiate. The Minister came to the House today and told us there is no proposal for local authority inspections but that the Department might consider it. I am yet again calling for that. I will finish on this.”
“It is important we look at that given it was discussed by a Seanad committee. We should afford some time to go through the highlights of the recommendations. We should also have some influence on the terms of reference. After all, councillors are the electorate for the majority of Senators. We are connected. Many of us are former local councillors ourselves. We should demonstrate our absolute commitment. I know some of the representative bodies of councillors were here to meet some of our Senators today. I ask that we make time in our schedule to recap the key highlights of that report and to feed into the task force's terms of reference. I ask that the Leader use his good offices to find out the status of that task force and its proposed make-up. I again ask for a debate on the Housing Commission.”
“I will raise two issues. One relates to strengthening our local democracy. It is said that local government is the beating heart of our democracy. That is very true. We have just shy of 1,000 sitting county councillors in this country. There is less than a page in the programme for Government, which I have in front of me here, regarding strengthening our local democracy. One of the key aspects of political reform and strengthening local democracy is that the Government was to establish a task force on local democracy and local government. That arises from an initiative of the Cathaoirleach, who led the Seanad committee meetings on local democracy and political reform. We had very extensive engagement on that. From my contacts in the Department, I understand the terms of reference for that task force are being finalised.”