I welcome Eileen, Julie, Chloe and Matthew. They are very welcome here today with Denis, it is lovely to have them in the Chamber. I concur with the Cathaoirleach's remarks and wish Senator Doherty the very best on her resignation from the Seanad and ascension to the European Parliament. She was a fantastic Member of this House, a great colleague, somebody I worked very well and very closely with between being Leader and Deputy Leader. She was a great person to work with, always straight-up, never took anybody short and was a very able and articulate Member of this House. I wish her well as she represents Dublin in the European Parliament for the term ahead.

The Order of Business today is No. 1, Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2024 - all Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 2.15 p.m., by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by Government, the time allocated to the opening remarks by the Minister on Second Stage shall not exceed eight minutes; group spokespersons should not exceed eight minutes; all other Senators should not exceed four minutes, time may be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than eight minutes to reply to the debate and Committee and Remaining Stages will be taken immediately thereafter; No. 2, Statements on migration, to be taken at 4 p.m. and to conclude at 5.45 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes, all other Senators not to exceed four minutes, time may be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3, Civil Registration (Electronic Registration) Bill 2024 - Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken at 5.45 p.m.; and No. 4, Digital Services (Levy) Bill 2024 - Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken at 6 p.m. or on the conclusion of No. 3, whichever is the later.

Before I call on Senator O'Loughlin, at the beginning of the Order of Business I neglected to congratulate the Filipino Government and the people on the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the Philippines, which were established in July 1984. During that time, our bilateral relationship has developed significantly, including enhanced political engagement, strengthened trade and economic links, as well as a deepening of the people to people links and a shared commitment to multilateralism and to a rule-based international order. The opening of our embassy in Manila in November 2021 has given us the opportunity to strengthen this relationship and enhance our diplomatic footprint in the region.

I acknowledge today, as we celebrate 40 years of that relationship, the large number of Filipino people who have made a significant contribution to Ireland and now call it home, contributing to our society and economy across a variety of sectors. I want to particularly thank our Filipino healthcare workers who supported our health system during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and who have taken Irish people to their hearts in the way they administer care in our health system.

My late father had the pleasure of travelling to the Philippines with the Cope Foundation to recruit nurses and other healthcare workers to come to Ireland. He always spoke highly of the Filipino people and their commitment to the patient, as opposed to the entity of the organisation. As we mark the 40th anniversary of our relationship, we look forward to the next chapter in our warm and flourishing friendship.

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. In echoing the Cathaoirleach’s words of support and best wishes to Regina Doherty, it always amuses me when I hear the term "casual vacancy" because there is nothing casual about it. In fact, J.K. Rowling wrote a really good book about a casual vacancy in a county council election. It is well worth reading.

Yesterday, as we are aware, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Chambers, published the summer economic statement for 2024, which sets out the fiscal parameters for budget 2025. The figures are a testament to the prudent management of our economy and of the public finances and put us in a good position, once again, to be able to deliver a strong budget for 2025. I commit to working in the background for better investment in our schools through increased capitation, which is badly needed, for our public transport infrastructure and for enhanced cost-of-living supports for those most at risk in our society, while also supporting our local business sector.

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to take a short boat trip down the Grand Canal in Kildare, by the Pollardstown Fen. It was absolutely beautiful. A group of volunteers there have started offering these tours as a pilot project. We reckon we were probably the first group in 50 years to navigate this specific part of the waterway. I give a big shout-out to Frank Moran and Arthur Voigt in that regard. I mention this because being at home and close to nature is wonderful, and we came across herons, families of swans and so on. Waterways Ireland has been very helpful with this project, but there is an issue with some of the bridges that cross the canals. One bridge, at Ballyteague, has been damaged and barges cannot get through it. Milltown Bridge is damaged, too, and is dangerous for those who are around it. A survey of the bridges needs to be done. I appreciate it is a big task but they are part of our heritage and they need to be repaired where necessary.

Another issue relates to Airbnb operators, especially in rural areas. It is very much feared that thousands of them will have to close if legislation goes through whereby, if they are in an rent pressure zone, RPZ, according to their eircode, they will not be able to operate as an Airbnb. It is good that we have RPZs and in towns such as Newbridge and Kildare, it is important we have them, but there are Airbnbs that are still within those eircodes, such as on the Curragh, that provide a terrific service for those who wish to come and stay for a few days, either for events or just to see the lovely nature and so on in the Curragh. There should be an exemption for these Airbnbs and I hope the Leader will ask the Minister for a debate in that regard.