I join colleagues in thanking so many of the staff here who make it possible for us to do our day-to-day work. That includes not only Martin Hughes and the team here in the Seanad, but also the ushers and all those who make the day-to-day life of Leinster House possible, including those who work in the restaurant, the canteen and behind the scenes. The work they do is very much appreciated. It would be remiss of me, as we come to the conclusion of another term, not to join in what many other colleagues and Senators have said about that.

I want to speak about the local democracy task force and the work done over recent months to prepare that report. I join other Senators in urging the Government, including the Minister for local government, to produce the action plan on local democracy and make it a key priority to work on it over the summer so that the hard-working councillors up and down Ireland can have clarity about what exactly the changes will be as they face into another round of local elections, in particular the boundary report and the terms and conditions of that report. Local councillors find it very difficult that they do not know if the area they represent is going to be part of the ground they will be contesting in 2029. For all involved, it is important that we have clarity and certainty about that.

I urge the Minister to take into account the need to rebalance the power of the executive and the power of local members. It is so important at local democracy level that the voice of the people, through their councillors, is heard loud and clear. I urge him to make that a cornerstone of those recommendations when they come available.