Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the leader of the Independent Group in Seanad Éireann, I warmly welcome and congratulate Senator Bradley on her appointment. A great honour and privilege has been bestowed on her by the Taoiseach, which is his prerogative. All Senators are equal in this Chamber at all times. That is important. I do not give a lot of advice but I have loved every day since I came here eight years ago. I do not see myself as a politician; I see myself as an advocate. If any one of us, including Senator Bradley, can simply be an advocate, a voice bringing issues from outside the gates of Leinster House to the centre of parliamentary democracy, he or she will achieve great things. I wish the Senator every happiness and every enjoyment. It is a great honour. From having heard a little bit of what she said earlier on, I have no doubt that she will hit the ground running and that she is the right choice. I commend the Taoiseach on making that choice. I also warmly welcome the Senator's family. It is a great honour for them but it is also a great honour for the Senator to be here and to have this accolade and position bestowed on her, as is right. I wish her well and I wish her every happiness.

Two weeks ago, I referred to a letter the Ceann Comhairle wrote to the leaders of all of the different groups, dated 25 June 2024. I am glad that I did because I subsequently received loads of queries on it from the media and from Members of both Houses. I will make one reference to it. It relates to that enormous planning and development Bill. I draw the House's attention to the second item on the second page of the letter, which relates to the grouping of the amendments. The Ceann Comhairle tells us that:

The Bills Office will not be in a position to group amendments for debate, as is the usual practice. The Department [that is, the Department sponsoring the Bill] has agreed to group the amendments and will advise the Bills Office of the proposed groupings for inclusion in the Chair's brief.

I am not looking for debate on the matter. I only ask whether the Deputy Leader, along with the powers-that-be, the Seanad Office, the Bills Office and the Leader's office, can facilitate us seeing those groupings tomorrow so that we can prepare for the mammoth task facing us on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.