Today is National Women's Enterprise Day and it is appropriate to acknowledge the many women involved in business throughout the country who do sterling work at both local and national level. I want to acknowledge a number of excellent businesses in my own area run by women that are unparalleled. I could talk about numerous shops, restaurants, accountancy firms and lawyers in the area but I want to mention a couple in particular, including Jane Carroll Design in Blackrock, a shop that provides good quality clothing…

I have a brief question on order and procedure. I recognise what the Senators are doing. In light of what they have said about the definitions they propose to insert in the context of later amendments that make reference to the term "humanitarian assistance", for example, a proposed new section 9 under amendment No. 12, is it in order to discuss those amendments now to give us all clarity on where the Senators are coming from? If amendment No. 1 is not accepted, what will happen to amendment No. 12? It might make m…

I understand where the Senators are coming from. Given the Long Title makes it clear what this Bill is and the link into the international treaties and agreements to which we are subject, I wonder if this is necessary. I acknowledge what Senator Ruane has said but I would be interested to hear what the Minister of State has to say. I would have thought that this is probably covered by what is in the Bill.

I am sympathetic to what Senators are proposing to put in here. However, the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the ECHR already apply. There is no doubt about that. That fact has been recognised by courts in this jurisdiction, in Strasbourg and elsewhere. In the circumstances, I do not think it is necessary to put this in, notwithstanding the legitimate concerns and issues that Senator Higgins has raised, the justifiable difficulty she has mentioned, and transgressions of these international agreeme…

I had not looked at this from the perspective that the Senators are coming from and had not considered it in the context of the protocol. On Second Stage I indicated that there should be additional references to recklessness in sections 6(1)(b) and 7(1)(b) in terms of whether the person had a reasonable cause to believe or whether the person was reckless as to whether he or she believed that. The fewer stumbling blocks we put in the way of prosecutions in general from the point of view of achieving not only prosecu…

This amendment is misplaced. It misunderstands the importance of giving as many tools as possible to prosecutors. In making amendments to this Bill intended to ensure that the wrong people do not get caught up in prosecutions, there is a danger that we may end up making it more difficult for legitimate prosecutions to be undertaken. If it was only necessary for a person to know that "entry into, transit across or presence in the State is in breach of a specified provision", then, arguably, a simple statement that t…

I think we have got away a little bit from what this Bill is trying to do. It is important to recognise that there is an enormous distinction between what happens in Italy, in terms of this kind of issue and what happens here. The Bill is designed to have effect here and is designed to refer to the prosecutorial authorities here in Ireland, not those in Italy. One of the most important distinctions that exists between the prosecutorial authorities in Italy and those here is political independence. The 1974 legislat…

I want to be clear, because I mentioned the issue of recklessness earlier. I support the presence of the word "reckless" in this provision. It expands upon and allows for greater scope for prosecutors to identify people who have been involved in offending under this legislation. It is important to note, however, that there is a difference in law between recklessness and a mistake and they cannot be equated. Senator Higgins raised the point that somebody could make a mistake or misspeak and that could be deemed as r…

The Leader will remember that last week in this Chamber a number of colleagues raised the issue of antisocial behaviour on our streets. A particular video was going around on social media showing a Deliveroo driver being attacked. In the aftermath of that, I was contacted by a number of people and I subsequently put out a call on social media for people to share their experiences with me. I have been not only disappointed and disgusted, but shocked and astounded by the volume of responses I received from people all…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire freisin ar an ábhar an-tábhachtach ar fad seo. I start by saying "Congratulations". The achievement of the Government and the Minister's Department in the roll-out of the vaccination programme has not just been exceptional but has been a watershed in terms of dealing with this virus. The Minister deserves great credit for it. We can rightly be proud of the work that was done by staff in the HSE, pharmacies and GP practices throughout country to ensure every citizen who wanted a vaccine c…

This week we are focusing on some of the huge infrastructure projects the Government is planning, and I welcome the news about them. However, I also look at how they will be implemented and how much regard will be had to the views of local communities in respect of those projects. There appears to be a crisis in our local government, both in terms of the powers of councillors to do the jobs they must do locally and the resources that are available for the local authorities. Given that so many Members of this House …

It is a pleasure to speak on this motion. As the Cathaoirleach indicated, this is an important matter, which has been discussed in this House on a number of occasions. I acknowledge the fact that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has come to the House himself to speak to Members about this. The things he said are important, and I will go into them shortly, but I also want to acknowledge his own deep connection to Belarus. I know the Minister has been there and has spent time with Belarusians both here and there. It is …

We all know the difficulties young people have faced in getting time to sit driving tests and the knock-on effect that has had on people who have to travel to or need to drive for work. I welcome the work done by the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to address the backlog and provide an opportunity for people who need licences to get tests early. However, I was contacted by a young woman in my area who requires an adaptation to drive her vehicle. It seems there exists an extraordinary situation whereby persons w…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus gabhaim buíochas leis as ucht an méid atá ráite aige. Ar son ghrúpa Fhine Gael an tSeanaid, cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille. Is ábhar an-tábhachtach ar fad é. In the course of this debate, there has been a lot of discussion about the differences between people smuggling and people trafficking. They are not mutually exclusive. We recognise that. This Bill represents an extremely important modernisation of the law on people smuggling in Ireland. It is a mark of progress that we wo…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." It is my honour to move the Bill. I am delighted to see the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth. He was my neighbour and colleague for a long time on the council in Dún Laoghaire. It is great to see him taking the Bill on behalf of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. In essence, the Bill seeks to prohibit the use of commercial or private gambling or betting operations on the infrastructure put in place by the national lottery, predominantly the lott…

I thank the Minister of State for his time and his comprehensive response on the various issues that were raised. I am very grateful to Members who took the time to read, consider and speak on the Bill. I am in no way an apologist for the national lottery and I have no skin in the game. I am not anti-gambling; I have been known to buy a lotto ticket and to go to Leopardstown and place a bet on a horse. I am not here on behalf of the national lottery or anything like that. It is important to state that comments such…

Dé Máirt seo chugainn.

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I welcome this initiative and it is great to have our MEPs here. As a former member of the European Committee of the Regions, I recognise how difficult it can sometimes be to achieve that connectivity between operations at a European level and at a national level. I acknowledge how difficult it must have been for Mr. Markey to take over when he did when everything was virtual. My question is about Lithuania. Our guests will be aware that in August of this year there was a br…

In the first instance, I entirely agree with what Senator Byrne said about the privacy of politicians' homes. We have a system where politicians are accessible only because people treat them in a civil and human way. I welcome the decision by the Department of Education, in principle, to agree to the purchase of Booterstown parish hall. This is an issue I raised as a Commencement matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, last June. I am delighted to see progress on that and we look forward to the special n…