Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I welcome the Smith family to the House. It is great to see them here. I also thank the Leader, Senator Doherty, and Senator Seery Kearney for their proposed legislation. I look forward to supporting it. It is timely, appropriate and necessary. I particularly thank Senator Seery Kearney for sharing. We are not very close in emotional aspects of anyone's life. It makes it very real when the lived experience and emotion is brought to the House. I acknowledge that and thank Senator Seery Kearney and the Leader for it. I wish Senator Gallagher well. It is great to see him in the Leader's chair and I wish him well with that.

Yesterday we had a heated debate about peat. I will not go into it now. Suffice it to say the Acting Leader has been very active in it in terms of horticulture. It was a very heated debate. I advised the people from the representative bodies of the horticultural sector and the agrifood sector who attended that meeting that they need to get political and they pull the lever on their Deputies, Senators and sitting county councillors in their communities. They are simply not being listened to. I flagged a bit of hope to them in relation to the words of the Tánaiste who said that the issue simply has to be resolved. He recognises the difficulties. I thank him and the members of his party who have faced up to that. There is a great frustration and a need to do something about it. I would like us to have a debate on the matter if possible.

I would like to highlight the publication of the report on Issues Impacting Dog Welfare in Ireland, which will be launched at 1 p.m. in the audiovisual room. Many Senators are members of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The report is a very substantive piece of work. There is great interest in animal welfare in Ireland and within these Houses. I commend the report to Senators. If they are available, I invite them to come to the audiovisual room at 1 p.m.. There is also a photo opportunity at around 12.50 p.m.on the Plinth.