There must be uniform application

Does the Minister of State have any idea of the number of people on which this will impact? Are there any cases or is this just ar eagla na heagla, a belt-and-braces approach, in case there are some people caught in this because we cannot know if there are people who have committed an offence and have not been charged yet.

For clarity, this affects retrospectively anyone who has committed an offence before the date of the enactment of this legislation, which is, I presume, the date on which the Minister commences the Act. The retrospection relates to people who have committed the offences relevant to the section prior to that date. Is that what the Minister of State is saying?

Does that include those who are at the point of being sentenced now?

Will there be much more debate on the Refreshment Houses Act? It sounds like one of the more pleasant things that we could do in this place.

My question relates to the so-called post-1994 contract within the Permanent Defence Force. Currently, all privates and corporals recruited post 1994 can continue in service only to the end of December of next year or until they reach the age of 50. Sergeants must retire at the end of next year. I understand there is a review within the Minister's Department on this matter. I would like the Minister to set out clearly today what his policy is on this issue.

I thank the Minister. I appreciate the fitness profile is important for the Permanent Defence Force but age is no longer the sole determinant of fitness. In general employment, we are moving away from deciding such matters purely on the basis of age. My understanding is approximately 700 personnel may be required to leave the Permanent Defence Force under this clause at the end of next year. They are entitled to be able to do their planning properly. I understand the Minister spoke on this matter in the Seanad this…

The Minister was very clear in the other House when he said: I gave a commitment we would do that before the end of the year. We can do that well in advance of the end of the year - within the next few weeks - to be able to give people certainty quite a long way out before the issue comes to a head ... That was his commitment which I take it he is giving again. My concern is we are heading into a budget. I have some experience in these matters. If there are financial implications to this, will the agreement of the …

I begin by expressing my appreciation to the Business Committee for scheduling this truly important debate at the request of my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, with whom I will share time. Like millions of others, I watched with fear and concern as the Taliban forces advanced towards Kabul in August and regained total control of Afghanistan. We were aware of the type of regime the Taliban implemented 20 years ago, when it was last in power in Afghanistan, with the oppression of women, the exclusion of girls and wom…

I too commend my newest Dáil colleague, Deputy Bacik, on her first legislation. This is an extremely important area and a fulfilment of her commitment. We all know and acknowledge that solving the biggest social issue of our time, the crisis in housing provision, is complex. It requires a suite of actions and enormous resolve and resources. Like eating an elephant, we need to do it bite by bite. We know we will not make all the changes in one fell swoop. We will have the opportunity, and we are all focused on it, t…

I am very glad to have the opportunity to speak on the legislation before the House. As the Minister has rightly indicated, this is part of a comprehensive reform agenda. It is a technical measure, but is part of a suite of very substantial change. The Minister will know I have been advocating change in An Garda Síochána for a very long time, since my involvement in various inquiries. The Garda itself wants a fundamental shift in its structures and so on. Thus, I very much welcome the establishment of the overall a…

As has been said already, this is part of the continued outworking of Brexit. It was supposed to be a very simple extraction of a country from an economic union but after 40 years of integration at every level of activity, we can see how fundamentally difficult that extraction of one country has been. The resolution before us, that the Minister of State has proposed, is to opt in to a Council decision to extend the time period for exchanging important issues, DNA profiles, fingerprints and vehicle registration data…

I am pleased both to have the opportunity to speak to this legislation and to have it finally before the House. There is a great deal of legislation coming from the Department of Justice, much of it stuff that has been on a shelf for a very long time. It is unacceptable in the context of us constantly lauding our membership of the EU that we are so tardy in transposing EU decisions and directives. It is my understanding that we are the last EU member state to transpose this directive, almost a decade after the dead…

I thank our spokesperson for affording me five minutes to contribute to a Bill that runs to 245 pages. As one not known for short speeches, I will do my best to touch on one or two aspects of this. The Long Title begins, "An Act to regulate the marine area". That is a mouthful and that is an ambition. It is to regulate an area that is seven times the size of our land mass. We are doing it for the first time. For too long, this island nation ignored or at least downplayed the importance of the marine environment and…

In a parliamentary democracy, the tabling of a motion of no confidence in a member of Government is a most serious matter, one that goes to the heart of our responsibilities as a House under the Constitution to hold the Government to account. Such a motion has been tabled, and I will set out the Labour Party's position on this unfortunate affair. The facts of the issues at hand are clear from the documents published by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Those facts are that the former Minister, Katherine Zappone, a…

I warmly welcome the tabling of these statements and the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I strongly support the very direct words of the Taoiseach in his opening remarks to victims of domestic violence - largely women, as well as some children and men - who, right now, are suffering, that people are there to listen. People are there to respond. Collectively, we should send that message to people who are in desperate straits right now. One of the greatest concerns many of us had at that outset of the lockdo…

I am happy to speak very briefly on an important series of issues that were dealt with at the Council. I am very heartened by the degree of strength presented at the Council in relation to the actions of Hungary. The absolute fundamental raison d'être of the EU is human rights, and that value system must be defended. If any member state decides those shared fundamental values are not for them it is an issue. The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, asked Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary the very sensible questio…

I said on 21 June that a plain reading of the licensing laws would indicate that serving alcohol in the new temporary areas on streets and public spaces that have been set up for pubs is not permitted, despite local authorities granting permission for it. I also said that both the Garda and publicans and restaurateurs need certainty in this regard. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, said that same day, in essence, that she had talked to the Garda Commissioner and that discretion would be applied. For weeks, the Govern…

You took me by surprise, Chairman, when you went to section 3 immediately. On the definition section, we only had sight of the Bill yesterday and there was no pre-legislative scrutiny so perhaps we can have a little elucidation of the definitions from the Minister of State. One of the issues, and the Minister of State mentioned it in her commentary as well, is that the number of seated patrons who can be accommodated in an area should not exceed the number of patrons who may be accommodated in the licensed premises…

Will the Minister of State repeat that please?