I offer my solidarity to Senator Boylan. Those comments are awful and as Senator Clifford-Lee said, many of us have experienced something similar. The vitriol in those emails was horrific, and I am very sorry the Senator received them. It is not acceptable. I want to quickly address three points. There has been a lot of talk about dissent, free speech and this, that, and the other. One would swear we were putting a safe access zone around the entire island. We are not putting a safe access zone around the entire co…

I also compliment the Cathaoirleach and the Ceann Comhairle on this morning's joint sitting and on their statements in particular. April is sexual assault awareness month. As we know, rape and sexual assault are considered war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law. Women across Ukraine are grappling with the threat of rape as a weapon of war as growing evidence of sexual violence emerges from areas retaken from retreating Russian forces. The world was horrified on Sunday by a picture taken by the ph…

It is no surprise on Trans Day of Visibility that I am offering my support and that of the Labour Party to the trans community in Ireland and worldwide.

One of the biggest things we need to think about today, on Trans Day of Visibility, is that it is really sad that there are no trans Members of the Upper or Lower Houses. I hope that someday that will be rectified and there will be visibility across society. I was thinking about this in the context of the census and the binary question in respect of sex. The census is used for many things, such as collecting data in respect of disabilities, access and travel. It is used for planning. Given that a couple of years ag…

I put on record once again that I and many people here and in the Labour Party celebrate and stand in solidarity with the trans community worldwide and want to see them thrive as their true authentic selves.

I want to quickly raise the fact that the repeal review, that is, the review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, is closing tomorrow. Some 400 people are still travelling for care. Among the issues the Labour Party will be putting into its submission, and a matter raised by several of our members, is that of extending the 12-week limit on access for people diagnosed with fatal foetal abnormalities. We need wide local coverage. There are still counties in which people ca…

People's rights are not up for debate-----

They are not up for debate.

It is very important in this House that we do not have people's rights and existence up for debate. That is not what we are here for.

I raise the recent changes in the blood donation policies. As the Acting Leader may know, the new four-month deferral policy is now in effect but it seems that, contrary to assurances from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service during a Newstalk interview on 22 December of last year, the service has suddenly decided to continue to include oral sex between men as grounds for deferral. Women who have had sex with bisexual men will also continue to be deferred for four months instead of the previous 12 but again, the man…

International Women's Day, Lá Idirnáisiúnta na mBan, is when we always hear the phrase, "Lots done, lots more to do." I hate that phrase. I see it in my old social media posts where I would say things like, “Yay! Look how far we have come! We have done so much work and we have got lots more to do.” I was very optimistic about things. I do not know if I am just having a bad year, a bad day, a bad International Women’s Day week or because it is the day after International Women’s Day, but when I think about the “lots…

I welcome the Minister of State. This is an important topic and it is great that people have spoken about us moving towards being a dementia-friendly society. Like some others, I attended yesterday's briefing, which was organised by Senator O'Loughlin, on the topic of dementia and brain health. It was an eye-opening experience for me. Many young people tend to think of dementia as being far away and as having nothing to do with them because they are invincible and will skip through life without having to worry abou…

Another of the things that struck me was the link between hearing loss and the development of dementia. I was surprised to hear that. I looked it up afterwards because I wanted to know what the story with it is. A 2020 report in The Lancet highlighted that people who live with hearing loss have a greater risk of developing dementia. That is something I would not have had a clue about. I did not know anything about it. A message for us all today is that we need to get our hearing tested in the same manner in which w…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House for this. I do not know whether he is aware of this or what awareness his Department has on this issue. We know that Covid has not been the only challenge that festivals and artists have faced. I will talk about the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. Its funding had been increased by 50% in 2019, just ahead of Covid hitting. Obviously, we then had Covid and all sorts of things. My understanding, from my engagement with the team at the International Dubli…

I thank the Minister of State for his response but I am not asking that anyone directs the Arts Council to fund this festival or to change its funding system. The issue I am raising is that there seems to be no other revenue stream or way to fund this festival. The festival has gone through the appeals process and the issue is that process. The appeal is about the process, not about the decision. There is no way, as far as I can tell, for the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival to even find out why the fundin…

Guím Lá Idirnáisiúnta na mBan faoi mhaise ar gach duine. Is lá é le smaoineamh ar an dul chun cinn atá déanta, agus atá fós le déanamh, ag mná na hÉireann. I want to briefly talk about International Women's Day in Ukraine. It could be argued that war is one of the most gendered of experiences. While men in the main depart their homes to fight at the front lines, women and their children in general are left with few options - stand to protect their homes, organise resistance movements or flee. War visits particular …

First, I must offer my apologies. As it is International Women's Day, I am scooting from one Zoom event to another today. It is a big day for us gals. I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House. The Labour Party of course supports this Bill. It will bring peace of mind to many workers who were laid off during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the past two years, our society made many large changes for the greater good of public health. The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) …

Like Senator Maria Byrne, I want to raise World Book Day, an issue that is very close to my heart. In particular, I want to talk about access to libraries and library services for children. I loved nothing more than going to the library as a child. I was a voracious reader and sometimes during the summer holidays when there were late-night openings, my dad would bring us to the library twice in one day. A love of books is one of the great gifts that my parents gave me and my sisters. I recognise that it is not alwa…

I want to talk about a new scheme for care leavers in Wales that was announced last week. Under the plan every 18-year-old leaving care in Wales will be offered £1,600 a month over two years under a basic income pilot. This will be the highest amount to be offered on a scheme of its kind anywhere in the world. It is expected that about 500 people will be eligible to join the scheme, which will be taxed and counted as income by the UK Government. That means it would affect someone's eligibility for benefits. It will…

I speak in support of literally every word that my colleague, Senator Ruane, said. There is not one word that I would disagree with. I hope that the Government is listening. What Senator Ruane has talked about is important. She has talked about people's lives, communities and realities. She is in here day after day, talking to us about this issue. I agree with her frustration about whether people are listening and whether we are committing to effecting real change for these communities, which have been devastated b…