I have no doubt the Leader will ensure the relevant Minister will come to the House for statements on this issue. I have spoken in the past about the Brandon case in Donegal. We had the Grace case in Waterford. We have many cases and we have to put these learnings into action. There is no point in having reports if we do not have proper frameworks. This is a really positive step but we now need to understand what is the meat that will go on the bone to ensure there is proper protection and a proper rulebook for how…

Now.

Now.

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on the Order of Business. Garda vetting is an age-old problem here in Ireland. Unfortunately, we do not have a straightforward system approach. If someone applies for a number of posts and is being offered the opportunity of work, unfortunately, an application for each has to be submitted to the Garda vetting office. What I am proposing is no different from what we are looking at in relation to age verification for children online. Can we have a verification system that is…

The Minister is very welcome to the House today. I invite him to introduce the Bill.

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive opening statement.

Before I move on to Senator Tully, I welcome to the Gallery the visitors from Naas Women’s Shed. They are led by Barbara Hennessy, I believe. They are guests of the Minister, Deputy Lawless, so they are seeing him in operation here today. I hope they have a lovely trip around this beautiful building.

I call the Minister for his closing remarks. It is great to have a Minister in the House who uses the word "agile", which means that they are prepared to make changes as they see fit. Not every Minister has that in their speech so it is important to acknowledge it.

When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Today in Australia, there is an outright ban on children under the age of 16 accessing certain apps on mobile phones and smartphone devices. They ran a campaign to protect their children and to ensure their mental health. Various forms of online abuse that children are subjected to on a daily basis are now treated equally in law. What the authorities in Australia have done is harvest the data and left it there. As young people turn 16, they will be able to access it again. I am not in favour of outright bans on pho…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank him for the work and effort he has put into bringing forward a comprehensive social welfare and auto-enrolment Bill. I compliment him again, as I did before, on the new funds of €1.15 billion that he has added as new measures across this area. It is important to say that due to the €10 increase in all core social welfare payments, no one got left behind. There is a €5 increase in the fuel allowance, which goes from €33 to €38 from January 2026, and the expansion of the f…

I propose to suspend until after the Dáil vote.

Next Tuesday.

Tomorrow morning at 9.30.

I have been listening to the debate and, on the back of Senator Stephenson's contribution, I heard something different. What I heard the Minister of State say - I hope she will correct me if I am incorrect - is that this period is to ensure that the medication has worked and that the person has had time to recuperate so that any decisions made are made in the best interests of the individual. If I have heard the Minister of State incorrectly, I ask her to please clarify.

It is good to see the Acting Leader in the chair. I concur with my colleague, Senator Conor Murphy, in relation to having a debate or conversation on the new national tourism policy that was launched during the week in Mullingar. I compliment the Minister, Deputy Burke, on the work that he and his Department have put into it. Coming from Portumna, as I always tell Senators, on the banks of the Shannon, I am on the fringes of the Hidden Heartlands, but just inside in the city I have the Wild Atlantic Way. I jokingly…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, for being here. I am sharing time with Senator Paul Daly, ten minutes and six minutes.

My colleague Deputy Paul Daly and I are glad of the opportunity to speak to the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025. I want to start far away from Acts and Schedules. I want to start in a kitchen along the Shannon on a wet night when the rain is hammering on the roof and the phone pings with another yellow or orange warning. The first thing people do is check the OPW app and the Waterways Ireland app and then ring a neighbour to ask what it is like at the bridge in Portumna. They might look out acros…

That is okay. We have to speak honestly about the financial cost and how it feeds into the fear. Dealing with or getting insurance can be impossible for homeowners. When we strip everything back, we have the uncomfortable answer about the laws from the 1930s and the related guidelines. In 2025, the Shannon is still being managed by means of a legal framework that was written in the 1920s and 1930s. I refer, in particular, to the Electricity Supply Board (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1934. The real day-to-day rules are i…