I will very briefly acknowledge much of what Senator Chambers said and the initiative behind this Bill. I congratulate her on the progress it has made. It sets down an important message regarding the ability of non-Government Members, if I can put it in those terms, to bring forth legislative proposals that work. There is a body of elected representatives in this House in particular who want to progress legislative proposals. I also acknowledge the fact that the Minister has been a particularly good and open recept…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit freisin. At the outset, let me say that I have read this report. It took a little bit of time because there is an enormous amount of detail, testimony and evidence in it. It is disturbing, in no uncertain terms, but it is not surprising, because this is not the first we have heard of what is happening in Xinjiang and to the Uyghur Autonomous Region. There are Uyghurs living in Ireland and throughout the world, most of whom can …

I condemn China. No one condemns China quite as much as I do in this House. I am a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which I co-chair with Senator Malcolm Byrne. We have been to several meetings with our parliamentary colleagues around the world. We are doing our best to bring a message to China that it cannot and must not continue. The Uyghur case is perhaps one of the worst examples but the spectrum of misbehaviour by China on the world stage runs from that to the suppression of freedom of spee…

-----that if we do not stand up as respectable and consistent members of the international community, we diminish our power on the world stage. We are not a great military or industrial power so for us, that power is soft. It is exercised in the Security Council at the UN, in our embassy in Beijing and in contact between the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, and Wang Yi and other ministers in the Chinese foreign affairs department. That is where we can actuall…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus a Cheannaire Ghníomhaigh. Cuirim fáilte roimpi. Go n-éirí léi mar Ceannaire Gníomhach an tSeanaid. I want to raise an issue today that is quite delicate. It is something that I am conflicted on as a criminal barrister and somebody who has practised in an area of law that requires principles of justice to be applied delicately. I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of a fair trial, the right to represent yourself and all of the other rights that are contingent on that.…

In the first instance, I welcome this Bill. I congratulate Senator Flynn on the work she has done on this, which is clearly extensive. It is not an easy task to approach the Statute Book with a view to carrying out an amendment that will cover all the bases. It is an arduous task to go through it. We can see that from the fact that a statute law revision project within the Office of the Attorney General has been going on for 20 years now. It is a long way away from making serious inroads into the massive volume of …

I agree with everything that Senator Cummins has said about the conduct of this debate. It is entirely inappropriate that we have facilitated this debate when a tender process is under way. In the face of some of the proposers' talking about the importance of not undermining the procurement process, we then proceed to have a debate about a procurement process while it is under way. I think it is entirely inappropriate and should not have been facilitated. In addition, all kinds of unsubstantiated allegations have b…

Is the Senator taking questions?

I am asking whether Senator Craughwell will take a question.

And I am asking. I am not interrupting.

Does Senator Craughwell agree that it is not our job to compromise procurement? We hold it to account, but not during the process when there are sensitivities in the public domain.

Will the Senator take a question on this?

The Irish-----

That is not correct.

I second the motion.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach. Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire go dtí an Seanad agus comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis as an méid oibre atá déanta ag an Roinn, ag a oifig féin agus ag Oifig na bPasanna freisin chun déileáil leis an bhfadhb agus leis na hiarratais ar phasanna a thagann isteach. As we heard from Senator Ahearn, the extraordinary demand for passports recently has been a problem on one hand, but also, on the other, a challenge that the Minister’s Department has met. I congratulate…

Happy St. Brigid's Day, and a happy lunar new year, which so many people around the world and in Ireland also celebrate. I wish to raise the issue of the increase in the cost of a stamp. Today we heard the news from An Post that it proposes, for the second time in a year, to increase the cost of postage nationally and internationally. The cost of a stamp for a letter in Ireland will now go up to €1.25. I could understand if this was being done to stem the closure of post offices around the country. Even in my own a…

Gabhaim buíochas, a Chathaoirligh agus a Cheannaire. This week the Government announced €35 million for what it is calling Brexit infrastructure funding for local authority piers and harbours around the country. Reading about this in Afloat magazine this week, it is very much talking about the rehabilitation of piers and harbours that are owned by local authorities. My concern about this is that it overlooks those other aspects which may not be directly connected with Brexit, particularly in heritage areas like Dún…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus an mBille chomh maith. The Minister has gone through some of the extensive details. This is not a small Bill, although I recognise that it is largely technical. I congratulate the Minister on introducing it because she and all Members of this House want as effective a police force as we can manage. Where that requires legislative change, it is appropriate that we make those changes in a Bill such as this. This is a technical Bill. Reading through it, I was astonished to learn how ma…

Ba mhaith liom a rá go gairid, gurb í seo an tslí gur ceart don Oireachtas a chuid oibre a dhéanamh. Ba chóir go mbeadh Billí ag teacht ó Sheanadóirí nó Theachtaí mar seo. Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Aire as éisteacht leis na Seanadóirí agus leis an ngrúpa. Ba chóir di é sin a dhéanamh agus tá a fhios agam go ndéanann sí é sin an t-am ar fad. Is maith an rud é go bhfuil Billí ag tosú sa Seanad agus ag dul tríd an Oireachtas le bheith ina Acht ag críoch an phróisis.