Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to be associated with the tributes to Flor O'Mahony. I did not know him but his reputation was one of dedicated public service. I would also like to pass on my sympathies to the family of Damien O'Reilly. I attended his family last Thursday, as many in the House did. I knew Damien, initially through Senator Davitt's office and through working with Senator Davitt. I subsequently got to know him well by meeting him at various different functions. He was bright and capable, and a committed public servant. He is somebody who will be truly missed by the political world, no matter what side of the political divide you are on. That was reflected in the personal vote he got in the last local elections and in the outpouring of sympathy across the political divide at his death. Ar dheis Dé go raibh sé.

It was by and large a good summer, although the weather was not great. There is a challenge in certain areas of the country, however, and the budget needs to contain a Ukrainian business disturbance fund, something similar to the business supports that were in place during Covid, because there are certain parts of the country where we are correctly responding to the war in Ukraine by providing shelter and accommodation to people from Ukraine. However, the unintended consequences of that are that there are some businesses that have been adversely impacted. I sincerely hope we will see a package of measures in the budget to help those businesses that have seen their income and turnover badly affected as a result of the displacement that has taken place in Ukraine. We will have a lot of budget engagements over the coming weeks but this is one that should get priority.