My understanding of the amendment is that it seeks to take from the hands of the Minister the right to designate certain countries that require measures to be put in place and replace it with a blanket application to every country, territory or place outside the State. That is fine on one level and it appears to be what the Labour Party and others advocate. I accept their right to do it. As Senator Conway stated, however, it is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. We can worry about the wording but it is not that u…

I am from Dún Laoghaire. I know the Minister is aware of the project I am going to mention, namely, the Sutton to Sandycove cycleway. I have discussed the matter with him in the Chamber previously. I had hoped to meet him to discuss it, and I hope that we will get a change to meet about it in the future. The project is a transport gem along the coast of Dublin Bay. It is a cycleway and coastal promenade from Sutton all the way round to Sandycove in south Dublin, of which many people will be aware. It will go throug…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This week I met representatives of the ITAA. They are very much involved with selling aviation sector products in the Irish market not just with holidays and leisure travel but also with regard to the business market and the essential travellers we heard about earlier. They have had an incredibly difficult period over the past year, as everybody understands, but in 2021 and post-Brexit, the ITAA members - the Irish travel agents based in Ireland, employing Irish people and regulat…

The Minister of State has heard many examples today of how hard-working councillors are. They are the most underresourced and overworked group of elected representatives in this country. In tandem with that, their role has been devalued by successive Governments since 2000. Since the introduction of the Planning and Development Act, power after power has been stripped away from local government. Sometimes those powers have been taken away altogether; in other cases, they have been taken from elected representatives…

Gabhaim buíochas, a Chathaoirligh agus a Cheannaire. I welcome the statement by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, that she will extend access to rent supplement for the victims of domestic violence without a means test. The Leader will be aware that this measure was introduced last August to facilitate people who had to leave home because of domestic violence and to ensure they were not left with nowhere to go. I also acknowledge the work done by the women’s caucus on Limerick City and County Co…

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach as ucht a bheith sa Chathaoir inniu. I echo what Senator Byrne said. It is very important that we differentiate between the people of China and the Government of China. What has been outlined in the matter is, in many ways, anathema to us in Ireland. We benefit from a very democratic society, one where people have free speech, the right to raise issues and to criticise their Government. They certainly avail of that opportunity as they should. When we look to Ch…

Go raibh maith agat as ucht an ráitis shoiléir sin. It is very important we make that statement which I hope will be followed by actions. As Senator Byrne, I hope we take concrete actions to send the message to the authorities in Hong Kong that we will not stand by and will take actions, such as those the Minister of State mentioned in his reply, to address the issues raised.

I want to raise the issue of travel restrictions under Covid. We all know the Government has quite correctly put in place restrictions on people travelling abroad and within the country. We are told it is acceptable to travel in circumstances where that travel is for essential purposes. Again, I have no difficulty with this. The difficulty arises in the definition of what are essential purposes for travel. I have been contacted by councillors and their constituents regarding whether a particular scenario constitute…

I disagree with what the other Senators have said. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State and the Department have listened to what has been said in this Chamber, taken it on board and rendered it into legislative format. That is welcome. I still think, as Senator McDowell has said, there are difficulties, and Senator Bacik has perhaps identified just one such difficulty. I cannot let stand the comment of Senator McDowell to the effect that councillors have more powers than anyone in this House individually. …

I have one further point to raise with the Minister of State. I raised it on Second and Committee Stages. It is about the index-linking of the amounts mentioned in the Bill and specifically in section 5, I think, in relation to arts dealers and letting agents. The figure of €10,000 was used. Section 5 of the Bill amends section 25 of the 2010 Act. I suggested that that should be index linked. At the moment we are in a very stable, low-interest environment and that is obviously to be welcomed, but it will not be tha…

I thank the Minister of State for taking on board what was said. Again, it reflects very well on the Department, the Minister of State and the Government that they take on board what is said on Committee Stage. It enhances the legislation.

Other Members have raised the issue of the landmark decision of the High Court last week in the FBD insurance case. It is welcome that the High Court has clarified the position, but those four individual businesses should never have had to take the case in the first instance. In January, the UK Supreme Court made a similar ruling. I know that the High Court here waited to see what the outcome of that would be and allowed the parties to make submissions to it on the matter. The case in the UK was taken by the Financ…

Yes. Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to introduce the Criminal Procedure and Related Matters Bill 2021.

Yes.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to make various amendments to aspects of criminal procedure and to make provision for related matters.

Next Monday.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 2 of Act of 2010 2. The Act of 2010 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 2: “Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act— ‘Data Protection Regulation’ means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive …

I welcome what the Minister of State said and I am delighted to hear that the Department of Justice is liaising with the Law Reform Commission. The commission does tremendous work and is often under-recognised. It has a small team and I marvel at the amount of work it gets through. The suggestion the Minister of State made regarding an official version of the principal Act with changes tracked and showing what it would be like when the legislation is passed is very valuable. That would be very helpful for Members a…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 6, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 3 of Act of 2010 3. The Act of 2010 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 3: “Regulations 3. (1) The Minister may, after consulting with the Minister for Finance, by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this Act (other than section 106ZC (inserted by the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2020 )) as prescribed or to be prescribe…

On Second Stage, I raised an issue regarding the proposed amendments to section 25 of the Act of 2010. The figure of €10,000 is mentioned in section 5. Certain obligations are to be placed on art dealers and letting agents involved in transactions that amount to more than that figure over the course of a year. I have not put an amendment down but I suggested that we look at index-linking that figure because I suspect it will become outdated quite quickly. Has the Minister of State given any consideration to that su…