Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit agus mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis agus leis an tAire Dlí agus Cirt as an tuairisc sin a chur ar fáil dúinn roimh an díospóireacht seo. I will not say I have read the report, but I have had a brief look at it. I agree with what Senator McDowell says, that it is enormous, but it is also very detailed and it gives very careful consideration to the issue at play here. I welcome the report. I also welcome its majority finding. On behalf of Fine Gael, I supp…

But is that not the point? The Constitution allows it to apply to any offence, but the legislation limits it to scheduled offences.

This is the point I was going to get to. I accept that point, but it does not mean that scheduling offences is necessarily a problem. What I do think is a problem, as I have said in every one of these debates in the years I have been in this Chamber, is that the decision-making process, whereby cases are nominated to go to the Special Criminal Court, is problematic because the sole decision maker is not an independent authority. The DPP decides of her own motion whether a case goes to the Special Criminal Court. Th…

Ar dtús báire, cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille agus roimh an Aire. Gabhaim comhghairdeas léi agus cuirim fáilte roimpi ar ais don Roinn Dlí agus Cirt. Táimid go léir sásta í a fheiceáil sa suíochán seo arís. There is much to unpack in this Bill. The Minister has covered a lot of the material. What is important is to dispel much of the opposition to this that has appeared online and in the ether, almost all of which is ill-founded and misplaced. Legitimate questions have been raised, and I intend to address them as we…

Will the Senator take a point?

I welcome the Italian ambassador. I also wish him a happy Republic Day. The connections between Ireland and Italy are clear, not just because we love Italian food and culture and love visiting Italy but because there is also a certain commonality between the people of Italy and the people of Ireland. We share so many values, and so much about the enjoyment of life, including food and drink. It is great to see the ambassador in the House. Yesterday, a casualty who had been swimming in the sea off Killiney had to be …

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 to prevent the use of any average clause by insurance providers. In moving the motion, I acknowledge Julian Deale, the solicitor from Monkstown who brought this issue to my attention; and the barrister, Liam Vanmechelen BL, who gave me great assistance in understanding the issue and examining the options.

Dé Máirt seo chugainn.

Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh Ghníomhaigh agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I echo what the Minister said about recognising the contribution members of the Garda Reserve make. As a society, we can be very proud that there are so many individuals who are willing to do work that is unpaid and monetarily unrewarded, albeit that it comes with its own reward. Those people who step up, volunteer, put themselves forward for the Garda Reserve and are willing to walk a beat, lend a hand or be an extension of the long …

I propose to share time with Senator Doherty. I will have ten minutes and she will have six. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire inniu. The Minister is welcome to the House to discuss the Bill. This Bill is very close to the hearts of those in the Fine Gael group. It stemmed from an initiative taken by Young Fine Gael and a campaign it led in respect of spiking. Spiking, which I will talk about in a moment, takes a number of different guises, but I want to acknowledge the work done by the members of Young Fine Gael, partic…

Tá mé ag labhairt ar son mo ghrúpa. Ar dtús báire, gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an méid a dúirt sé agus as an tacaíocht a thug sé don Bhille. Má thuig mé an rud a dúirt sé i gceart, tá tacaíocht an Rialtais agus tacaíocht na Roinne ag teacht. Táimid go léir ag tnúth go mór le Céim an Choiste dul tríd an Teach seo agus go mbeadh an Bille mar dhlí go luath. Tá súil againn go léir go dtarlóidh sé sin. I hope I have properly understood what the Minister said but the support the Government has given to this Bill is …

Next Tuesday.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach sa Teach chun an cheist seo a fhreagairt. Last week, the Courts Bill 2023 was passed by the Oireachtas. Primary among its functions is to increase the number of judges in all courts, including the Court of Appeal, High Court, Circuit Court and District Court. It is a very welcome measure. As I have said on several occasions in this Chamber, we are lucky to have a functional justice system, including a criminal justice system, in this country. We have courts…

I thank the Minister of State very much. I acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy Harris, is dealing with Priority Questions in the Dáil this morning. I accept entirely and understand that he is not able to be here. I am grateful to the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. I acknowledge what the Minister of State said about the progress made in the Department on streamlining courts processes through investment in technology. Every user of the court, whoever it may be, whether a lawyer, litigant, witness or g…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus gabhaim comhghairdeas leis as an mBille seo, Bille an-tábhachtach ar fad a dhéanann rudaí go bhfuil gá leo a chur sa dlí in Éirinn. On behalf of the Fine Gael group, I welcome the Bill. There is quite a lot in it. Although it is a miscellaneous provisions Bill, it does many really important things to change the law in respect of several matters. I acknowledge the increase in the offences for section 3 assault under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. It is important to ac…

This issue has been on the agenda for some time. Taiwan, as a broader issue, has been there for longer, but I do not want to talk about that. However much I want to see enhanced relations between Ireland and Taiwan and enhanced trade and enhanced acceptance of Taiwan, as an autonomous and self-determining state, that is probably a more controversial issue than the one I want to raise with the Minister of State. Ireland is very much aware of the contribution Taiwan can make. Given what we have been through in the pa…

I acknowledge what the Minister of State has said and appreciate its tone as regards the value that Ireland places on Taiwanese co-operation. I also appreciate what the Tánaiste said in his speech at the Royal Irish Academy’s conference on 2 May. I am not sure the headline I would have taken from that speech was a reaffirmation of Ireland's support for the One China policy. What was much more important than that is the acknowledgement that as global colleagues, we must also raise with China issues with which we are…

When speaking on this amendment on the previous occasion, I was agreeing with the amendment in respect of the difficulty it places because it perpetuates something which I have described as the difficulty in this Bill from the point of view of failing to recognise that the people who take judicial office cease to be former solicitors or barristers and are in fact judges and that they carry out an important judicial office in that regard that does not tally with their descriptor as a former member of either professi…

A Chathaoirligh-----

Yes, it is a point of order. An issue has arisen in the reply for the proposer which was not discussed at any point up to now.