Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on budget 2015, to be taken at 4 p.m., with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes each and those of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes each, and the Minister to be called on to reply to the debate not later than 5.55 p.m.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Senators, I formally welcome the newly-elected Senator, Gerard Craughwell, to the Seanad. It is a momentous day for him and a proud day for his family, the members of which are present for him. Like all colleagues across the House, I look forward to working with him and to his adding to the experience and knowledge of the House. He will mostly find it collegial. From time to time, we have disagreements, but that is what it is about. The by-election is over, Senator Craughwell rightly won it and I congratulate him in that regard. From my perspective and that of my colleagues, we look forward to working with him. We in the House work together. Our focus is on the good of the people, the members of the public who elected us, on doing our job, on continuing to make the Seanad relevant and on moving towards further reform. Senator Craughwell's election may spurn the Government into bringing about the reforms for which the people voted in the Seanad referendum but that is for another day.

I do not intend to delay the House further on any other business, as the Budget Statement will begin in the Lower House at 2.30 p.m. Since we will have our own budget statements at 4 p.m., many Senators will want to see the Budget Statement and consider its provisions. As such, I will agree to the Order of Business and again congratulate our new colleague on his election to Seanad Éireann.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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I join others in welcoming the new Senator, Gerard Craughwell, to the House. He will bring a particular expertise in education and I look forward to his participation in debates on education legislation and statements on education.

As others will agree and many Ministers have remarked, a strength of this House lies in debating legislation, particularly on Committee Stage, where the expertise of individual Senators feeds into improving legislation on an ongoing basis. I very much look forward to working with the new Senator, along with my colleagues, and I speak on behalf of the Labour Party group in the Seanad.
Like others, we look forward to the budget today. It is the first, after seven budgets, in which we will see no cut in public services. We hope to see a raising of the threshold for the universal social charge and widening of tax bands.
I am very pleased to see reports that there will be extra spending in the justice area, which is my own area. We know already that Garda recruitment has started again, which is very welcome. Many of us have welcomed the initiative already but I welcome the reports that there may well be increased resources available to modernise the Garda fleet. It is very important that there is investment in Garda vehicles.
I welcome the establishment yesterday by the Minister of State, DeputyÓ Ríordáin, of the working group on direct provision. This House has played a central role in seeking improvements in the direct provision system and sought to ensure that the rights of those in the system are respected. I am glad to see that the working group will be made up of a good range of people who will bring a range of different expertise, such as people from the NGO sector and so on. I am also glad that it will be chaired by former judge, Mr. Bryan McMahon. We very much look forward to the report of the working group which has been charged with making practical recommendations to the Minister on how the system may be improved, not just that the delays in the system will be tackled but also that the rights and the dignity of those currently in the system will be respected. Go raibh maith agat.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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I warmly welcome Senator Gerard Craughwell to the House. I have no doubt that my colleagues in the Independent group of Taoiseach's nominees would like to extend a warm welcome to him. We look forward to working with him in a constructive atmosphere that I hope we can embody here in this House for the betterment of the people of Ireland.

I also join in congratulating the Minister for Justice and Equality and her Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, for the excellent selection of members for the newly established working group referred to earlier. The cross-range of people selected is unique and it is good to see personal experience, academia, civil society and departmental views represented. It is good to see the working group is headed up by former judge, Mr. Bryan McMahon. Such diversity is essential for an holistic review of the current system and I am optimistic that we will have a positive outcome. I still hope that the report will be ready by the end of December as promised by the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, in this House. We have a very strong Seanad cross-party working group on direct provision and I hope we can deliver on the issue.

My final comment is on the budget today. In my former life I was in the Children's Rights Alliance and I used to tune out of the budget on the morning of it because I often got confused by everything that was said and whether it would turn out to be true or not. I hope that many of the things that have been said will relieve the hardship, stress and distress being experienced by many children, families and young people in Ireland. I also hope we will have time later today, when discussing the Budget Statement, to reflect on what is actually in the budget and how it will pan out. I will look particularly at the impact on children and how their lives will be improved and not just simply having cash transfers and going back to the old way of doing things. We debated in this House, after the last three budgets, the need to invest in services at local level and I hope we see those investments.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I join in the words of congratulations and welcome extended to Senator Craughwell, our new Senator. His election is a cumulation of a hectic few weeks. I also welcome his wife and son to the Chamber today. He is another man with Galway connections so there is no doubt he will be a strong advocate for the west and also a very strong advocate for education and investment in education. I very much look forward to working closely with him for the remaining year and a half of this Seanad. Today is a proud and wonderful day for him and his family. It is also an historic occasion to arrive on the day of the budget, a day that he will not forget for many years to come.

I welcome the fact that this afternoon the Minister for Finance will present his budget. As the Leas-Chathaoirleach has said, we will have statements on it at 4 p.m. I hope we will see a budget that will secure the recovery that has been evident in recent times, that will build on the sacrifices that people have made over the past three and half years and that we put in place structures and a budget that will ensure we will not repeat any of the mistakes of the past.

I also hope it will give some relief and some benefits to people who have been hard hit over the past few years. We are all waiting with interest and excitement for the budget that will be presented at 2.30 p.m.

David Norris (Independent)
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I take great pleasure in welcoming the new Senator Craughwell to Seanad Éireann. It was a remarkable victory. Mr. Craughwell, as he was then, contacted me in advance of the election and we had a very good discussion. I indicated that Independents do not normally support candidates, but that since he was an Independent, if he needed a name I would supply it. In fact, he got two nominations, so he did not need me to add my support. I am extremely glad. He is precisely the kind of person that we need in Seanad Éireann - a person of independent mind, with clear views.

I was extremely impressed by what he said. I was sitting with my ear cocked, listening to what he said to the media, and when he was asked about voting the Government out or voting it down in the Seanad, he said "vote on the issues". That is the policy of the Independent group. We are all independent of each other, we discuss policy but we do not always come to the same conclusion, and we vote as a matter of conscience. I must say I am struck by Deputy Peter Mathews's introduction in the Dáil of a formula from the Bundestag, where every single Member is allowed, and indeed required by the constitution, to vote according to their conscience. Germany has not collapsed. This shows that democracies can allow for conscience, so why not do it here? I welcome the fact that Senator Craughwell is also a teacher, like myself and Senator Barrett, who is a professor, and I think the Seanad will be strengthened.

The fact that the Government is technically in a minority is good for democracy as it means we can hold it to the principles enunciated at the time of election and we can influence it. However, we do not block, we are not destructive, we are not negative, and we wish to co-operate. I am glad to say that Senator Craughwell has so far indicated that he will be joining the Independent group, and that is another great addition. It is notable that in the three by-elections, one for Seanad Éireann and two for Dáil Éireann, neither the Government nor the Opposition managed to get a seat. That says something about the mood of the electorate, as did the march of 100,000 people through central Dublin a few days ago. We will get into that later on.

With regard to direct provision, we may be able to be of some help. I have been in consultation with some people and a Bill has been prepared. I hope to introduce it, seconded by Senator van Turnhout, in the fairly near future. That will be a test, and we will be able to see then what we can do by the passage of such progressive legislation.

This is a good day for Seanad Éireann. I welcome Senator Craughwell.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Like others, I warmly welcome our new colleague, Senator Craughwell. If my maths are correct, we have a situation now where in excess of 10% of this House has Galway connections. Seven of the 60 Senators have Galway connections.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Join us, Senator Conway, join us.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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That is quite a remarkable achievement.

I studied Senator Craughwell's CV in advance of the election and what struck me most was his commitment to teaching and education. I have often said in this Chamber and in other fora that education is the great equaliser. Whatever one's background in society - whether one has a disability, or comes from a poor background - if one gets a quality education, the goalposts may be moved into an equal position. One will then get the same opportunities as everybody else. I am, therefore, like others, looking forward to Senator Craughwell's contributions in the area of education. I would also like to acknowledge his family in the Visitors Gallery. It is a very proud day for them. I remember the first day I came into Seanad Éireann. It was one of the proudest days of my life, so I can appreciate how he is feeling and the sense of achievement and pride in being a Member of the Irish Parliament.

The budget is today, a historic day. Every budget is historic in its own right. I sincerely hope that education is protected and, indeed, that we see more primary school teachers, in particular, and that there are no further cuts to education in the budget.

We need to realise that the time has come to reinvest in education. We have had enough of cuts over the last seven years in terms of SNA hours, resource teachers and so on. I am looking forward to a positive budget in terms of education that will hopefully bring many more citizens in from the margins and ensure that we will see a more equitable framework.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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I would like to join in the very warm welcome to Senator Gerard Craughwell on his membership of Seanad Éireann and to welcome him to this House. I congratulate him, his wife Helen, his son David and his daughter Rebecca on this great achievement for the family. Senator Craughwell is a former president of the Teachers' Union of Ireland from 2012 to 2014. He played a very important role in that union; indeed the former Minister of Education, Mary O'Rourke told me during the campaign that she knows Senator Craughwell very well and has great admiration for him, and when Mary says that, she means it. She enjoyed working with him in the Department of Education. Senator Craughwell joined the Army at a young age and then went on to qualify as a teacher. I welcome the fact that he is from Salthill in our neighbouring County, County Galway.

I also welcome the new Deputies that are coming into the Oireachtas - Deputies Michael Fitzmaurice and Paul Murphy. I commiserate with all the other candidates who ran in the by-election last Friday, 10 October, particularly Councillor Ivan Connaughton who headed the poll in Roscommon-South Leitrim, and to John Lahart who polled well in the other constituency. They were very courageous in putting their names forward and all the other candidates who ran in that election played a very important role in the democratic structure. I wish them all well in the future.

I also wish to say, in case anyone has any doubts, that Deputy Micheál Martin, the Fianna Fáil Party leader, played a very important role----

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I remind the Senator that this is not a party political broadcast.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Let me say this. He played a very important role in the constituency of Roscommon-South Leitrim and the other constituency. I can assure the House that I have never come across a more popular leader in Fianna Fáil in my time and I have served under five or six of them.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator----

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Deputy Martin will be glad to hear that. He will put Senator Leyden on a list.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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If anyone has any doubts about his continued leadership of the Fianna Fáil party, he is going to lead us into the next election and will be successful then.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the new Senator, Senator Craughwell to the House and welcome the disproportionate representation that the west now seems to have in the Seanad - I believe it is a good thing. In the last days I have expressed concern that RTE is going to get rid of the long wave service, which is the last remaining broadcast radio service with Irish programmes available in the UK. While this move will not affect a huge number of people, it will certainly affect people in rural areas and the Irish diaspora in the UK, particularly the elderly and vulnerable. Listeners can tune in to radio stations online and via satellite, but the DAB service that RTE offers is not available in Britain or the North. RTE has broadcast Radio 1 to Britain on that wavelength since 1932, and many of the Irish immigrants use it to listen to GAA matches from home. For some, it is their last connection to Ireland, and the shutdown, first of medium wave, and now of long wave is severing a vital connection to home for certain vulnerable people. Estimates suggest that it would cost RTE approximately €150,000. There will be a lot of talk of budgets today but in the context of RTE's overall budget this does not seem like such a huge amount of money. As such, I am urging RTE to postpone this move until there are better options that will make RTE radio accessible to all the Irish in Britain.

David Norris (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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I join with others in welcoming our new colleague and wish him every success in his endeavours here in the coming months and years. It is with great dismay that I note the Taoiseach's ongoing contempt for this House continues.

We see the budget in its entirety in the hands of the media - the political correspondents in the print and broadcast media. They have been in a position so far today to give us details of the impact of the budget on every household. This is a recent practice of recent years begun by the previous Government. It is highly disrespectful and shows contempt for the Houses of the Oireachtas. This is consistent for the Taoiseach given that he wanted to abolish this House, and we know about the affairs of recent weeks in terms of the manipulation of the membership of various bodies. It does not augur well when we see this level of disdain for the institutions of the State and ultimately the people whereby, to curry favour with the media, the budget has been systematically leaked by members of Cabinet or perhaps the Taoiseach, so that it is available to all except the people, instead of going through the correct procedure. I thought that such matters were governed by Cabinet confidentiality which in fact is not the prerogative of the Taoiseach or individual Ministers, but the prerogative of the State and its people. The basic approach that should be taken by any Government is to respect that and keep things confidential until such time as they are brought into the public domain through the Houses of the Oireachtas. It should not be through a bidding process in media to ensure good copy to reflect the Government's performance.

Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael)
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I, too, welcome Senator Craughwell and congratulate him on his election to the Seanad. I wish him every success during his tenure and I look forward to working with him. It is a great honour for him and his family and I wish him every success.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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That is a lesson in brevity.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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I welcome Senator Craughwell to Leinster House. JFK used a quotation from Lord Edward Fitzgerald that: "Leinster House does not inspire the brightest ideas". That is wrong. It will inspire the brightest ideas and I hope he will enjoy and learn from it as much as I have.

I commend to him our Leader and Deputy Leader, whom he will find most interesting and satisfactory to work with, as well as the Cathaoirleach and the Leas-Chathaoirleach, who run this House extremely well. The officers and staff of these Houses are some of the nicest people he could meet. Senator Craughwell is very welcome aboard.

It appears that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, will be announcing soon tax relief on the water tax to be made through the income tax code. This is necessary. It was first suggested by Senator Crown. We have been paying for water through income tax.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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Now, with the two systems being combined it will catch those who did not pay their taxes, those with enough tax lawyers and accountants, but we cannot neglect the fact that the majority were tax compliant. We are dealing with an organisation, Irish Water, which as John FitzGerald in the ESRI points out has more than 2,000 surplus staff. The regulator paid itself a billion in bonuses. A third of Irish Water staff, surplus as they are, will receive bonuses of 14% to 15%. The organisation has recruited half of 579 extra staff without written competition. It insists, as the Sean O'Rourke interview showed last week, in hiding behind PR departments when it is asked to account for itself in public. I welcome the attempt by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, to bring this organisation to heel. It should stop hiding behind the PR department. Its staff should emulate the Seanad, we have 60 legislators, not 60 PR companies. It is about time Irish Water accounted to the public for the great damage it has done. Very few organisations get 100,000 people out on the streets, as Irish Water managed to do last Saturday.

David Norris (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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Irish Water needs to be reformed. I wish the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, every success in accomplishing that task.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I join in welcoming Senator Craughwell to the House. Having looked at his CV, I know that he has a major contribution to make to this House and I look forward to listening to him and to taking on board the issues that he wants to deal with in education. He did a very good job in his previous role in the educational sector.

I will now raise an issue on the budget.

It is interesting that when we talk about figures, we generally talk in general terms about the social welfare, education or health budgets. In recent days, a newspaper published an interesting analysis of how our money is being used. We need to get this information out there. According to the newspaper, a person who earns €36,000 has a total tax bill of €7,850, of which €1,128 is spent on education, €2,598 is spent on social welfare and social welfare programmes, and €1,823 is spent on health. It is important to give people information on how money is being used. We must make sure we get value for money. I suggest we are still not getting value for money in some areas. We need to work towards getting value for money. I have serious questions about the use by local authorities of the moneys they collect through commercial rates and housing rents. In the near future, we should debate whether the delivery of services by many State systems could be more efficient.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I would like to welcome Senator Craughwell to the House and extend many congratulations to him. I am glad the second preference I gave him made a difference in the end.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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Well done, David.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I do not doubt that he will be an independent voice in this Chamber. I am sure he will be on the right side when important votes are taken on issues that have an impact on people. Fair play to Senator Craughwell on his election.

On three occasions over the last two weeks, I have called for a debate on water charges and the water service plan. I made the point that during the many hours this House spent debating the Water Services Bill 2013, at no point were we allowed to discuss the charges themselves. We were told by the then Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, that when the water services plan, which was farmed out to the Commission for Energy Regulation, was ready, it would be brought back to the Oireachtas so that we could have our say. That did not happen.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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The vast majority of the 100,000 people who were out on the streets on Saturday cannot afford to pay these water charges. On each of the three occasions in recent weeks on which I have asked the Leader to arrange a debate on this matter, I have put it to him that 180,000 families cannot afford to pay their mortgages at the moment. Should they allow their mortgages to slip a bit further so they can pay the Government's water charges? Should families that cannot put enough food on the table put even less food on the table to pay these charges? Should people who cannot afford to pay existing bills let those bills go into further arrears to pay water charges? This was not properly explained by the Government. It is a disgrace that Fine Gael and the Labour Party voted for the Water Services Bill 2013 without knowing how much it was going to cost or how all of this was going to work.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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The former Minister of State who set up Irish Water, with whom Senators on this side of the House argued for almost 16 hours, now agrees with us that the whole thing is a disaster. The Government needs to wake up and listen. It got a wake-up call in the two by-elections. It got another wake-up call when 100,000 people came out onto the streets. As the Leader of the House will know, I have held a number of public meetings on the issue of water charges in Waterford city and county. The anger out there is real. People on the other side of the House can smile, but they do not get the reality of what it is like for many families that cannot afford to pay another austerity tax. They do not have the money to give. Perhaps the Leader will give some advice to families that cannot afford to pay existing bills. Which bills should they not pay so they can pay water charges? I reiterate my call for a debate. I am seeking to amend the Order of Business to call on the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to come to the House today. I have asked for such a debate on three occasions and every time the Leader has failed to provide for it. I think that is wrong. The amendment I am proposing would require the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to come to the House to discuss the water services plan and all of the issues in relation to it.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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Like other colleagues, I would like to welcome Senator Craughwell to the House. I wish him well in the remaining year or so of this Government.

I also welcome his family, who are in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. It is a very proud day for all of them as well. It is a great honour for any of us to be elected to the Oireachtas, be it the Lower House or this great House we all serve. As the Fianna Fáil Whip, I look forward to working with Senator Craughwell, in particular on education matters. The Senator has a very distinguished career in the education field, both as a teacher and as a former president of the Teachers Union of Ireland, a union to which I belong.

As Senator Craughwell said quite emotionally during the press conference following his election, it is a great honour for him personally to serve in a House of the Oireachtas. He recalled that as a boy of 16 years he joined the British Army and then the Army and following that he educated himself to become a teacher.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Hear, hear.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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I wish him well. By way of advice, as the Fianna Fáil Whip I had a conversation with the Government Whip, Senator Paul Coghlan. The voting system can be confusing for those of us who have been here for a while, and we agreed that perhaps for the first year or so Senator Craughwell would just follow whatever I do.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Good try.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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That will ease him into the House.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I remind Members to be brief as the budget will be introduced in the other House and most of us want to attend.

Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael)
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I join with my colleagues in welcoming our new colleague, Senator Craughwell, to the House. I welcome his family to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. Everybody is talking about the west of Ireland connection. I hope we will all work together to deliver for all of the country with a little bit extra for the west. Coming from County Leitrim, I would like to see that happen.

Today is budget day and I hope we will get some good news for the first time in seven or eight years. I have been contacted by a number of farmers. We are all aware that this is the time of year when farm payments are made. Disadvantaged area payments were made around the time of the ploughing championships. Next week single farm payments will be made. However, I have been contacted by a number of farmers in recent weeks and again this morning whose payments have been delayed. I would like to see progress in that regard. I will speak to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine about making progress. Payments are being delayed for similar reasons to last year. It is unacceptable for the same problems to crop up year in and year out. I wish the payments to be made because people in rural areas are dependent on the payments and would like to have them as soon as possible.

Feargal Quinn (Independent)
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I welcome Senator Craughwell to the House. He made a very interesting election for us. It is not often that we have by-elections for this House but he certainly made it very interesting. I congratulate Senator Craughwell and look forward to a long and fruitful period serving with him in the House.

I am concerned about competition. I am a great believer in it but I keep my eyes open. There has been far less competition in the petrol and oil business than used to be the case. A number of petrol stations have closed down. I read recently there has been a reduction of 16% in the Brent oil price, yet there does not appear to be any reduction in the price of fuel in petrol stations around the country, certainly not in Dublin as far as I am aware. That is something that would be worthy of debate in the House to see whether we are managing to establish competition in the fuel business to ensure citizens are getting the best value.

A biography was recently published on T.K. Whitaker. He is a man whom I have gotten to know over the years and I regard him very highly. He did a review many years ago on the Prison Service. It is worthwhile looking again at the review because I understand the suggestions and recommendations he proposed have never been fully implemented. He will be 98 years of age in early December but he is full of energy and vigour and he is still thinking as actively as he ever thought. It would be worthwhile to have a debate on the review of the Prison Service he did so many years ago, which I understand has never been fully implemented.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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I join in the welcome to Senator Craughwell.

He is a native of Galway. When he first approached me to vote for him in the Seanad by-election he said he wanted to test the democratic process in the Seanad. He certainly tested it. The road was rocky and uncertain but he has prevailed. I congratulate him.

Senator Craughwell’s presence in this House is also remarkable because he left school at the age of 16. He educated himself through the lifelong education process, a system that we now promote every day to our young people and went on to become the president of the Teachers Union of Ireland, TUI. By any stretch of the imagination that is a remarkable achievement. I have no doubt that he will bring much of that expertise, experience and diversity to this House. I wish him well and will be happy to work with him.

It is good news that we will have a positive budget today. The people of Ireland deserve it. I am particularly delighted to hear that there have to be more teachers because of the increasing birth and enrolment rates. One group of teachers I did not hear much about are guidance counsellors at second level. They are completely stretched. Could this House have a word in the ear of the Minister for Education and Skills? That is vital. Almost one third of first year students at institutes of technology drop out. Over 10% of first year university students drop out. One significant reason for this is poor course choice and lack of appropriate career guidance.

Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent)
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And bad teaching.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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One career guidance teacher for 500 kids is pie in the sky. It is not possible to sustain that.

Will the Leader ask the Minister for Defence, Deputy Coveney, to come to the House to discuss the Ebola crisis? It is growing more worrying by the day. We need to know that we are ready should anybody here be affected. We need to know what precautions and screening are being taken. I was shocked to hear him say on the RTÉ news recently that there is no need for screening at Irish airports because nobody comes into Ireland on direct flights from west Africa. That is immaterial. I might go to the United Kingdom and meet someone there who has come into the UK from west Africa. This virus is contracted by contact. Let us not be caught unprepared. I am talking about protecting our people. We need reassurance and to hear that statement, from the health and defence points of view.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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Senator Healy Eames has raised a very important issue. This will have to take up a good deal of attention in the House in the coming days.

I also welcome our new Member, Senator Craughwell, and congratulate him on a stunning and dramatic political achievement. I congratulate and welcome his family too.

No doubt Senator Craughwell has heard Senator Wilson’s generous offer. The Government Senators, particularly the Whips, will hope that his experience of serving in the British and the Irish armies may lend a certain bipartisanship to his approach to politics. He may even have been offered generous pairing arrangements should he wish to absent himself on any occasion but the dynamic has changed. Those of us in this House who care and are serious about political reform should recognise the opportunity that Senator Craughwell’s election presents. The Government does not have a majority in this House. I am delighted by what Senator Norris said about conscience voting. I fully subscribe to it but it behoves those of us who care about political reform to sit down and talk to each other and present to the Government our expectations of what should happen now. Without in any way making presumptions about Senator Craughwell’s voting intentions, it is time for us to talk if we are to deliver to the public the important programme of political reform that Senator Quinn and others have done so much to champion in recent years.

I also welcome the re-announcement of the working group to examine the plight of long-term asylum seekers in this country. Of course we need the promised legislation that will guarantee a swift process for asylum applications.

In the meantime, we cannot overlook the appalling disparity in the conditions in which asylum seekers live. The amazing difference between the quality of some centres and of others, in terms of people's ability to live a normal life or cook a meal for their children, is simply unacceptable. I hope that is one of the issues the working group will take up and on which we will seek early improvement. Right now, people's human dignity in these centres is not being honoured and that has to change very quickly.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I congratulate our new colleague, Senator Craughwell, and wish him well in his term here. I also congratulate his family, who are justifiably proud of his great achievement. He showed great courage in contesting an election which 90% of the public expected to be a foregone conclusion and there are probably many people who are sorry they did not do the same. I am from Listowel and we had a very famous scribe there at one time who said if one only has a puck goat for sale, make sure one is in the middle of the fair with him. I think Senator Craughwell was in the middle of fair and it paid off. Like himself and our Whip, I, too, am a former member of the Teachers' Union of Ireland and it gives me added gratification to see him here.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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I join my colleagues in wishing Senator Craughwell well and I congratulate him. Senator O'Sullivan summed it up very well in that at the outset of this campaign, the general public and certainly those of us in the political system would have seen Senator Craughwell's nomination and subsequent election bid as a token gesture because of the precedence set down through the years of by-elections. I was also elected to this House in a by-election, primarily because the then Government held a majority. I am sure Senator Craughwell's time here will be well spent.

Senator O'Sullivan referred to the TUI. I live in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, and all the teachers in the local vocational school, with which Senator Craughwell will be familiar, are members of the TUI and from that point of view, I have a certain empathy. I have no doubt Senator Craughwell will bring all of his experience and expertise in the education sector and beyond to the deliberations of this House. Once again, I congratulate him and his family as this is a very proud day for them.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Last but by no means least, I call Senator Craughwell, who is more than welcome to make a contribution.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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Tá an-áthas orm a bheith sa Teach seo inniu. Gabhaim míle buíochas le gach duine. I am extremely proud to be here. I did not expect to speak today and thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the opportunity. Now that I am on my feet, I could not let the day go by without doing so. Everybody has complimented and welcomed me and spoken about my family. My wife, who is here, has been through a lot with me down through the years. I have changed careers and moved from one thing to another and without her at my back, I would not be where I am.

My election to this House was the triumph of pragmatism over democracy. I am very proud to be here and I hope to work with both sides of the House. I take my lead from Senator Norris. I will be independent and will vote on each issue as it arises. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and my now colleagues in this distinguished House.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call the Leader, I wish Senator Craughwell good luck in this House. I am quite sure he will make a noble contribution and I wish his wife, Helen, and his son, the very best. It is a very auspicious and great occasion for him and his family and I hope he will enjoy the day, irrespective of the budget.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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I join with the Leas-Chathaoirleach and all the Members of the House who have welcomed Senator Craughwell. We all look forward to working together for the benefit of the country. I wish him, his wife and his family every success over the coming years. Senator Craughwell was elected in probably the most interesting Seanad by-election that has ever been held and we compliment and congratulate him. I am sure he will be a wonderful addition to this House.

A number of Senators spoke about their wish list for the budget.

We await the details of the budget which we will have in a couple of hours.

Other Senators raised the issue of direct provision. We had lengthy debates on that issue, and Members have welcomed the working group on direct provision that has been set up. When that report comes out we might be in a position to have a debate on it in the House.

In response to Senator Leyden, I am sure all of us would like to congratulate our two new Deputies in the other House. I compliment Senators Cáit Keane and John Kelly, who contested those by-elections as well.

Senator Noone raised the issue of the removal of the long wave service, an issue raised on several occasions last week and prior to that by Senator Mooney. I understand it is about to be addressed by the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications tomorrow. Members who are interested in that issue should attend that meeting.

Senator MacSharry spoke about the leaking of the budget. We have had that for many years where journalists were doing their job in trying to determine what would and would not be in the budget, but they will all have to wait to see what it will contain. Likewise, Senator Barrett spoke about tax relief but we will have to wait the announcement on that, as well as the transparency required in respect of Irish Water.

Senator Burke pointed out that Deputy Eoghan Murphy in the other House brought forward a tax transparency Bill, which spelled out where people's tax goes. That is a good idea.

Senator Cullinane spoke about water charges. I will try to arrange for the Minister, Deputy Kelly, to come into the House to address that. The Government is aware of the need to protect and support vulnerable households. A number of measures have been introduced to help in this regard, including a free allowance of 30,000 litres of water supplied and wastewater treated per annum for primary residents on a public supply; a free allowance to cover the normal usage of water services by every child in their primary residence based on the same qualifying conditions as a child benefit allowance; a capping of charges for customers for specific medical conditions which require additional water consumption; and Members should note that from January 2015, the household benefits package will include a new water support payment, which will be €100 per year. There might be some other news in that regard in the budget-----

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Is the Leader announcing the budget?

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Senator Cullinane gave me a copy of his party's budget proposals last week, which I read with interest, but if I was buying it in a bookshop it would be on the fiction shelf.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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You two need to sort out Waterford.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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The Leader, without interruption.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Senator Comiskey spoke about the delay in the single farm payments. We will certainly raise that matter with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Senator Quinn spoke about the reduction in the price of oil and the need for more competition. I assure the Senator that in my neck of the woods there is fairly good competition. In some garages the price of diesel is €1.39 a litre, so there is competition, although I agree with him that there is a need for further competition.

Regarding the Senator's request for a debate on the Prison Service and T.K. Whitaker's report, there is a need for a further debate on the service, which we will probably take in conjunction with the prison report we get from time to time.

Senator Healy Eames raised the issue of guidance counsellors. That is a matter for the budget so we will await to see what transpires in that regard.

On the question of Ebola, I inform the Senator that the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, will be before the Joint Committee on Health and Children on the issue of the Ebola crisis at 9.30 a.m. next Thursday. The Senator will have an opportunity to determine the situation in that regard at that Oireachtas joint committee meeting.

That covers most, if not all, of the issues. I do not propose to accept the amendment to the Order of Business as tabled by Senator Cullinane.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Cullinane has moved an amendment to the Order of Business seeking to have a debate with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government on-----

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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Given that it is budget day, I will withdraw the amendment and re-table it tomorrow.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator has decided to withdraw it. As it has not been seconded, it would fall anyway but I will give him the privilege of withdrawing it.