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Seanad
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Farewell and thanks

Summary

Senator Fitzpatrick thanked the Leas-Chathaoirleach and Seanad staff on behalf of Fianna Fáil, the Leader noted forthcoming debate requests and the Chair closed the sitting with personal thanks and good wishes for the summer.

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for her forbearance and patience with us. I thank Martin and all of the staff of the Seanad Office on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group. It is a tremendous personal honour and privilege for me to serve with all of the Senators. We only operate to our best because of the support we are given by the staff of the Houses and we are eternally grateful. Enjoy your break from us and we will be back with a vengeance in September.

Comment on this

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. I will make sure there is a significant amount of time for a debate about drugs, in particular, because it is an important piece of legislation. To anyone who has called for a debate, I hope we will have opportunities when we come back in September. I will record those requests and try to facilitate them as much as psosible.

Unfortunately, I cannot accept the amendment proposed by Senator Andrews. The Order of Business has been lined out and I cannot accept it. I understand Senator Higgins's point about planning and the Department of housing. 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. It is not like they just arrived this morning, but I accept exactly what Senator Higgins said.

Like everyone else, I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach, Aileen, Martin and all the staff in the Seanad. They have done incredible work over the past number of months. There has been a lot of legislation coming though the House, particularly in the past month. They have put a lot of work in. I wish them and their families all the best over the summer. 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. I wish them, their families and their staff, who have put in incredible work, a happy summer.

We spoke about positivity. If you just talk about soccer to Senator Andrews, the positivity comes out naturally straight away. That is my strategy with him every time and it seems to work. There is positivity there; you just need to find it in people. I say that half-jokingly. I wish everyone a happy summer. I am looking forward to coming back in September to work on important stuff, as people outlined in their contributions, which we can get stuck into when we come back.

Comment on this
Maria Byrne An Leas-Chathaoirleach Fine Gael

On a personal note, I too would like to thank everyone for their collegiality over the last 12 months. I thank Aileen, Martin, the staff in the Seanad Office, the ushers and all the staff in the House from the cleaners up. This House would not function without every member of staff within it. I wish Members a happy break. As has been said, many of them will be working in their areas but everybody deserves a break. I look forward to working with them all in September. I thank the Leader, Deputy Leader and Cathaoirleach for their help and support.

Comment on this
Division Carried

Question put: "That the Order of Business be agreed to."

Tá 18
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Níl 11

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