This annual motion without change happening in between continues to be completely unsatisfactory. Last year's debate occurred very shortly after the independent review that resulted in both the minority and majority reports being published. That review had been ongoing since 2021, as the Minister stated. The six-member group voted four-two - majority-minority. The independent review group reached a consensus on the need to repeal the Offences against the State Acts but, as we know, did not agree on what should repl…

The question relates to GSOC secretly and unlawfully accessing journalists' mobile phone records.

I was referring to the newspaper article written by John Mooney in The Sunday Times last weekend. There have been follow-up articles as well. It came about as a consequence of journalists receiving information they requested from GSOC about themselves. There appears to be solid evidence that the accessing of certain phone records is happening. Does the Minister accept that this is unlawful? Has she not been contacted by GSOC? Has she not contacted GSOC following this? GSOC is accountable to the Minister. Her Depart…

Has the Minister been in contact with GSOC since that article was written at the weekend? Has she satisfied herself that this is, as she has put on the record of this House, very limited? Is she absolutely satisfied that is the case? If so, on what basis is she satisfied it is the case? Is she aware that a legal case is likely to flow from this? It was reported in one of the newspapers yesterday that this is likely to happen. The NUJ has come out on this as well. I am very surprised. Has the Minister been in contac…

The Social Democrats recognise that some indigenous businesses are struggling and we support a targeted approach for providing support to them. In addition to the hospitality sector, some smaller retail outlets are under pressure. We are losing vibrancy in our cities, towns and villages, seeing buildings becoming redundant and that leads to dereliction. In turn, that puts other businesses that are trying to exist in that kind of environment under pressure. The motion is not targeted and that is of concern to us. It…

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this legislation and the Social Democrats are happy to support it. The Bill gives me an opportunity to return to the Digital Services Act, which we debated late last year. At that time, it was stated that Coimisiún na Meán was funded to the tune of €6 million for 2024 despite a business case that had been developed by the commission for additional resourcing. I understood at the time the Department made an allocation of €2.7 million to the commission in respect of its functions…

This debate is a facade. The Government will be able to point to it to claim there was a debate in advance of the Government opting in, which it has already decided to do. It will be in advance of the various legislation that will be required. When we talk about legislation, there are five Stages to Bills, the first of which is when a Bill is published and considered in advance of speaking to it. The Second Stage is about the detail of the legislation and the principle of it. What will we be doing when legislation …

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The briefing document was very useful. The opt-in to this directive should, of course, proceed. Many aspects have been either clarified, updated or better defined. It also reinforces a victim's right to pursue avenues of compensation. This recasting of the directive tightens up many strands in the context of the detection, reporting and investigation of CSAM. Crucially, it endeavours to keep pace with advances in technology, particularly in the area of AI-gene…

I would like to follow on on that theme. Every six months we deal with this motion and have been told today that the initiative is part of business support. I feel sorry for the Minister of State. He is standing up here and trying to say something different but it is pretty difficult to do that. We know this is a temporary provision and none of us will oppose it, but neither do we find it satisfactory. We can pick holes in how the law is functioning. In the closing remarks on the last debate on a similar motion, we…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. One of the things business people will tell you is about the high input costs, including, for example, energy. We have some of the highest energy costs in Europe. It depends on the particular business but they will tell you about insurance costs. They will all talk about them but some businesses are particularly impacted by it. The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, spoke about premiums coming down in due course but people need to see them coming down now. It …

I will read back to the Minister of State one line that he read. He stated: The HSE public dental service also provides oral examination and treatment identified as necessary for children at three intervals, at ages six to eight years, 11 to 16 years and subject to capacity, nine to 11 years. Why are we hearing from parents and on the doors that children in certain locations have never seen a dentist at any point in primary school if the Minister of State is saying that service is offered? It is not being offered. …

The number of people killed in incidents on our roads is an issue of major concern for all of us. Speed, together with the consumption of alcohol or drugs and distractions such as mobile telephone use, are most definitely factors in some collisions. The reduction in the numbers involved in the traffic corps over the past few years, rather than an increase, is relevant when we consider enforcement. Temporary solutions, such as 30 minutes per day for uniformed members, is welcome, but it is not sustainable on an ongo…

I raise the issue of services being rationed by the HSE. The executive will only provide one therapy at a time. Let us take, for example, a child who is neurodivergent and requires several therapies, such as occupational and speech and language therapies. That child will not get parallel services even if they are vital to his or her needs. If a child goes onto a children's disability network team, CDNT, list, the HSE takes that child off its list and he or she is denied services. The CDNTs currently have 16,500 chi…

I want to raise the issue of summer provision for children with special educational needs. It is not an added extra but in some cases that is exactly how it is being treated. A variety of people from my own constituency have contacted me with regard to this, and I expect it mirrors other areas, where sanction was sought from the Department of Education but that sanction was not given.

Sanction was sought from the Department of Education for summer provision for special educational needs. This goes back to court cases where parents took the State to court for appropriate education. Where there is July provision for some weeks each year, some people are getting it for their children and some people are not. There has to be a consistency in this but there certainly is no consistency.

Some people are being told they will not get it at all.

It is the Minister who wrote-----

That is right.

I too express solidarity with the Minister and her family. There has been discussion in this House over the past few years about the coarsening of debate. We are seeing that going to another level now where we are seeing things falling into the criminal code. There is a real need for leadership right across the House on that. We need a well-managed asylum system, irrespective of the EU migration pact, for people who have left their own countries and arrived in Ireland, often in a chaotic way. They have a right to s…

I welcome the fact that the Minister of State listened to the arguments we made. I take at face value his statement that the changes will be made and I appreciate that there have to be safeguards. There is no doubt that we have to allow for and expect bad actors. The intent of the Bill is primarily good. It is to address harmful gambling, which we know destroys lives. It is good that the Minister of State accepts that the committee did not intend to include fundraising as gambling. What the Minister of State brings…