I want to ask the Minister for clarification on two key points. The Minister has given us, to some degree, his interpretation of the Act but there have been ambiguous interpretations of that Act, including within the process that SIPTU has been engaging with. There has been some sense that the human resources department has to go and talk to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform directly, and it will say it is waiting for authorisation from the Department and is not in a position to negotiate. On the poin…

Apologies, and just to belabour the point, the Minister's understanding of the legislation is that the members of the commission are empowered to develop a proposal and to bring that to him. Is that correct?

The commission will bring the proposal to the Minister, rather than-----

Given the Minister's commitment to come back here within the next six months, I do not think we need to press the recommendation at this time.

I move recommendation No. 2: In page 3, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Report on the Scheme for Secretarial Assistance 2. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining— (a) the work responsibilities of those employed under the Scheme for Secretarial Assistance in Seanad Éireann and Dáil Éireann, following consultation with members of Oireachtas and the Commission, and (b) a comparison of the work responsibilities, role…

I move recommendation No. 3: In page 3, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Report on the operation of the Scheme for Secretarial Assistance 2. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before the Committee on Parliamentary Procedures and Oversight outlining a cost benefit analysis in respect of the introduction of the parliamentary assistant pay scale to Seanad Éireann,with due regard to— (a) the recruitment and retention of staff, (b) the recognition and developme…

If the Minister wants to keep that one minute, I will give one minute to Senator Ahearn and I will take three minutes.

I am. I will take three minutes.

I am, unfortunately, going to have to oppose the motion. My concerns relate to greyhound racing. The Minister will be aware that I aired those concerns when the greyhound legislation went through the previous Oireachtas. That was an opportunity for a root-and-branch overhaul of the industry and I regret that it was not fully taken. It is regrettable, for example, that the amendments we tabled to limit the exports of greyhounds and to provide for the proper tracing of the export of greyhounds were not taken at that …

Time could be taken from the Minister.

Yes.

I welcome the motion and the spirit in which it is put forward. I will support it. There are parts of it I would ask the Minister to embrace and move further on. The tradition identified in terms of Shackleton and others is important. It is also important to note there is now credible evidence of the Maori people visiting the Antarctic more than 1,000 years ago. In the celebration of the spirit of those such as Shackleton, we should not overly glorify some of the era of exploration which has had a mixed record. Sen…

I welcome the Minister to the House. She will understand that there has been some frustration. A concern throughout this crisis so far has been that, in the area of education, there is a mix of very rigid measures and a lot being left to fall on the shoulders of individual boards of governance in schools. Individual boards of governance are left to figure out how they are going to implement and respond to certain things; yet, at the same time, they are also being denied flexibility. There is an early example that I…

It is not compatible with EU law or with the achievement or maintenance of 1.5°C of global warming. Peatlands are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store. They store more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined. Damaged and drained peatlands are no longer a benefit or a carbon store, however; in fact, they become major emitters. It is estimated that between 5% and 6% of all global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions each year come from damaged peatlands. To be clear, when we allow the d…

This debate is to be adjourned and will be resumed.

I will take up where Senator Sherlock left off on the question of retrofitting because it is important. I will touch on some of the other environmental and climate aspects but retrofitting is one of the key issues here. It is something we could get right but I am concerned that the mechanisms with which we are approaching it at the moment are not the right ones. That comes down to questions like value for money and so on. It is disappointing, for example, that €49 million of the recovery and resilience funding we r…

I join other Members in thanking the survivors, the Irish First Mothers group, the adoptees and the human rights activists who have driven and demanded action on this issue. We owe them thanks because they have driven us to try to become a better State. I thank them for that. We owe them the absolute best response but, unfortunately, the scheme as it is set out now is not the absolute best response. It is very important that we resist the narrative of there having been good actors and bad actors within these instit…

It is not about individuals. It is about the State, the church, religious orders and the pharmaceutical companies and economic actors who took advantage of it. It was systemic and it has to be taken seriously. With all due respect to the experience of individuals in Bessborough, let us bear in mind that in the 1940s Bessborough had a mortality rate of 68% for children. That is what matters. As regards the redress scheme, the Minister knows that during the heated debate on birth information and tracing I and other S…

These bodies have responsibility. They profited from this period, committed abuse and must be accountable if there is to be any sense that we are moving forward as a State. With respect to the Minister, meeting the religious orders is one thing but other legal measures should be looked at if necessary. Again, those who created shell companies to hide assets, not back in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s but in recent years, must be dealt with because that is a continuation of abuse. I have four other questions. I am conce…

I wish to mention the deplorable actions that have been taken against the Wet'suwet'en First Nation in Canada. It is disgraceful to see rightful protests against an oil line on First Nations land being brutally suppressed. I urge us to have a debate in the new year on front-line environmental defenders, who are now front-line human rights defenders, given that the UN has recognised the right to a healthy environment as a human right. My main focus in this contribution is on adding my voice in support of the need fo…