Gabhaim buíochas, a Chathaoirligh. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Taoiseach. I am sharing time with Senator Carrigy.

Given my limited speaking time, I wish to address one issue with the Taoiseach which is the issue of local government and the importance of giving powers back to councillors. We have had a situation over successive Governments, not this one or the one before that, where powers have been progressively stripped away from councillors over the past 20 years. We have disregarded the constitutional status of local government and have taken our trust out of it and put it into central government. The powers now vest in une…

I have two matters to raise and the first is in respect of vaccines. Other Senators have mentioned the importance of the booster programme, but there are certain people falling between the cracks. For example, I am aware of one individual who was hospitalised and therefore missed the appointment with her GP and did not have the opportunity to avail of the booster vaccine from her GP. Those vaccines do not appear to be administered in hospital, so can something be done to ensure people do not miss out because of tha…

Cuirim fáilte roimh Chathaoirleach an choiste dlí agus cirt. I had the honour to be part of the committee that put together this report. We had a number of engagements with various witnesses from a variety of perspectives. We received an extraordinary perspective from those who represented victims, particularly of sexual assaults and rape. As has already been noted, we received evidence from Rape Crisis Network Ireland and Mens' Aid Ireland, among others. There were also written submissions. What came with that was…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus an díospóireacht seo. I acknowledge the work he has done on this. It has consumed his Ministry and, indeed, this country and our neighbouring country for a long time. It is in that context that the behaviour we have seen in recent times has been extraordinary. In the week after we lost Austin Currie, it is appropriate to think back to the leadership demonstrated by people such as him and others in the context of Northern Ireland, and how that contrasts with the behaviour of the Brit…

I said they prided themselves on doing so; I did not say they did.

Cuirim fáilte ar ais arís roimh an Aire Stáit. Aontaím leis an mBille seo go ginearálta agus cuirim fáilte roimhe. Ag an am céanna, bhí mé ag éisteacht leis an Seanadóir Gallagher, a ndéanaim comhghairdeas leis ar ábhar an Bhille, nuair a bhí sé ag labhairt faoin bhfadhb atá ann agus faoi na figiúirí. Chuir sé sin an-imní orm. Aontaím leis maidir leis an bhfadhb atá ann agus maidir leis an méid atá le déanamh againn. Aontaím freisin leis an iarAire, an Teachta Flanagan, áfach. Dúirt sé go bhfuil fadhbanna ann le hí…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I raise the issue of the leaving certificate Chinese Mandarin course, which is in its infancy and being put together by the Department of Education. This may be a niche issue because we do not have huge take-up on it yet but there is an opportunity for Irish schoolchildren to get involved in and study Mandarin. An issue of controversy arises regarding the use of the characters or script used for learning Mandarin. Mandarin is the official language in China but is one dialect of th…

Much of that is information the Minister, Deputy Foley, has put into the public domain before. One change is that she had said previously that this might have implications for vocabulary, syntax, language use and, potentially, cultural use. She seems to have dropped the cultural aspect whereas I would see this as being exactly the crux of the issue. There is a significant difference in the experience of language learners depending on whether they are using simplified or traditional characters. My concern is that, e…

We all recognise that domestic violence is a scourge on society. It is something that affects many families throughout this country. When it happens then we must have in place structures to deal with it and to allow people who are the victims of domestic violence to seek refuge earlier. That is why I welcome the moves this morning by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to re-establish that certain payments will not be used against people who are the victims of domestic violence to deny them the opportunity to get housi…

I also wish to be associated with those Members who have expressed condolences to the Currie family. Austin Currie was a giant of Irish politics and the only person to have served on the Executive on both sides of the Border. I extend my condolences to our colleague, Senator Emer Currie, as well. I also wish to be associated with those who have expressed support for the America's Cup coming to Ireland. I am a sailor, not at that level, but I can recognise the massive benefit inherent in that project coming to Irela…

Following on from what Senator McDowell said, I have no difficulty with criticism of the judgment, conscious that Senator McDowell from the outset acknowledged the supremacy of the Supreme Court and the reality of the fact that the Minister, the Executive and, ultimately, the law must follow what the Supreme Court has said. I do not necessarily dispute what the Senator has said. Undoubtedly, the Wayne Ellis case was a complex one. I am not sure how much the parsing of arguments in this House advances the matter bef…

Are we not on section 2?

This Bill, as has been pointed out, seeks to amend a number legislative measures arising from the decision in the Ellis case. As I said on Second Stage, I do not have a difficulty with the changes. Many of them reflect what was in my Private Members' Bill, the Criminal Procedure and Related Matters Bill 2021, or go beyond it. The one question I have, on which I have not tabled an amendment but which arises from the Road Traffic Acts, concerns the fact that this Bill, arising from the Ellis judgment, deals primarily…

I agree with this legislation and welcome it, on behalf of Fine Gael. It is important to set things right. I am generally opposed to the concept of minimum mandatory sentences as they unduly fetter the Judiciary. That is not to say that I think all mandatory sentences should be removed. There is a mandatory life sentence for murder, for example, which is appropriate. It puts back into the hands of the Executive the decision as to how much time that person will serve behind bars. One often gets the misconception tha…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus roimh an mBille seo freisin. Is Bille an-tábhachtach ar fad é seo. Tá a fhios agam go raibh an-díospóireacht sa Dáil ar an ábhar agus tá roinnt oibre déanta cheana féin air. Ag an am céanna, ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá faoin mBille freisin. I dtús báire, chun an fhírinne a rá leis an Aire Stáit, tá beagáinín eagla orm faoin gcoiste comhairleach um sheirbhísí Gaeilge atá sa Bhille seo. An fíorchoiste atá i gceist anseo? An bhfuil sé chun rud éigin a dhéanamh faoin nGaeilge …

-----ach tá a fhios agam go bhfuil a lán Gaelscoileanna agus Gaelcholáistí i mo cheantar féin. Tá Scoil Lorcáin ann i mBaile na Manach, tá Gaelscoil Phádraig i mBaile Breac, tá Coláiste Eoin agus Coláiste Íosagáin i Stigh Lorgan agus tá Gaelscoil Laighean, Gaelscoil nua atá againn, i nGráinseach an Déin freisin. Tá a lán teaghlach i nDún Laoghaire dá bharr a labhraíonn Gaeilge sa bhaile agus caithfimid tacaíocht a thabhairt do na teaghlaigh sin. Ag an am céanna bhí an-fhadhb againn suíomh a fháil le haghaidh Gaelsc…

Gabhaim buíochas, a Chathaoirligh. In recent weeks we have seen progress in policing in Ireland. The visibility of policing on our streets has been a welcome change in the post Covid-19 reality and in particular in the night-time economy, which is an issue that has been raised here. Policing, of course, goes beyond the streets of Ireland. Ireland is involved in Interpol, Europol and other international policing organisations. Later this month, the annual meeting of the Interpol General Assembly will take place, and…

Ar son Fhine Gael, cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo agus roimh an Aire Stáit freisin. Cé go bhfuil sé déanach, tá sé tábhachtach agus ní fheicim aon fáth ar cheart dúinn vóta a chaitheamh i gcoinne an Bhille seo. Caithimid tacaíocht a thabhairt dó. Senator Paul Daly, when he spoke earlier, was very self-effacing when he said that this is a difficult matter to understand. I have practised at the Bar for 15 years yet I must sit down and read this legislation in some detail to have any idea what it is about. I am gra…

Gabhaim buíochas leis na baill de Pharlaimint na hEorpa a tháinig anseo aréir chun labhairt linn, chun éisteacht linn agus chun ár gcuid ceisteanna a fhreagairt. We had an impressive display from the four Dublin MEPs who came to the House yesterday. One of the issues that arose in the course of the discussion was Taiwan. Members will be aware that, last month, the European Parliament passed a motion or approved a report in respect of strengthening ties between Europe and Taiwan, which was passed with a huge number …