As this will be my last time to speak in the Dáil, I take the opportunity to thank the people of Kildare North who have afforded me the privilege to represent them over many years. I also thank my supporters and particularly those who have worked with me, my parliamentary assistant, Aaron McAllorum, and my constituency manager, Fionnuala Killeen. I thank the staff of the Houses for their courtesy and assistance over the years. Such is the magnitude of what is occurring in Palestine and Gaza that we have chosen to u…

We will also be supporting this motion. Having an extradition treaty with the UAE is desirable. It is galling to see individuals who have wreaked havoc living in comfort in another jurisdiction and also operating without any sanction. These are people who in some cases are household names. However, we must remember that individual cases do not make good law. That has often been said, rightly so. In looking at this extradition treaty we must consider it in a wider context, not just through the lens of organised crim…

I am around long enough to remember when courthouses were the responsibility of local authorities, which did not really want them. Courthouses were run down because of the lack of finance and resources going into them. There are many things we could vote against or criticise but this is constructive and positive. It is important to separate out family courts. This is a very good start. We have been waiting far too long. We know the background to the proposed building on Hammond Lane. This is most certainly a start.…

I raised this issue earlier this year with the former Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath. He accepted that I made a fair point and undertook to have the issue re-examined. It relates to a judgment of the European Court of Justice in 2022 relating to public access to the register of beneficial ownership of companies. As Minister for Finance, he signed a statutory instrument, SI 308/23, the European Union (Anti -Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. It m…

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae purports to speak for the people who went out and fought in 1916. My grandparents fought in 1916. My grandfather was interned. I do not think he would take the same view as the Deputy in respect of a lot of things.

The Deputy does not have to. I am just saying that a variety of people were involved and that it was in a different time and a different era. I do not believe the Deputy speaks for everyone who went out and fought in 1916. He should ponder that a little. When I started looking at this Bill and preparing for the debate this evening, I asked myself what was the point of doing so. The Bill has been absolutely gutted. I am not saying that it did not require to be amended or improved. However, the consequences of deleti…

No matter how hateful it is.

I did not interrupt the Deputy. I just said, “No matter how hateful it is.”

None of us need a reminder about the destruction caused by the economic crash, out of which Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide were combined to form IBRC and NAMA was formed to deal with the loans of the pillar banks. IBRC was the biggest liquidation in the history of the State. Both organisations dealt with very high-profile cases and individuals. I recently attended a meeting of the finance committee, which is carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny of legislation providing for the wind-up of both IBRC and NAMA.…

The ambition of this Bill is to replace the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, a body which was flawed from its inception. The fundamental weakness of the board was the presence on the board of the chief surveyor of the Marine Survey Office and the Secretary General of the Department of Transport, people who by their positions were objectively biased. It is not about the individuals, but they were objectively biased. The function of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board was to investigate maritime accidents, wh…

Speaking broadly about the intentions of the Bill, we will be supporting the legislation. It contains some logical and practical provisions. Some Covid-19 legacy legislation is hanging around the House and we see another piece here, addressing the issue, for example, of remote meetings, which can be an option on a permanent basis in the right set of circumstances. The framework that will govern this is clear and it is set out well in the legislation, including that notice for virtual or hybrid meetings must clearly…

Homelessness costs an absolute fortune, but there is another cost and it is building trauma into children's lives and life experiences. As we know, the more adverse childhood experiences a child has, the more it impacts his or her life expectancy, health and educational attainment, missing milestones for babies and so on. This is a tribunal of the future. It is costing more and getting worse, and it has become normalised. Now we talk about numbers every month. What will the Minister specifically do to address child…

There are aspects of the Bill that we can support and other aspects about which we have concerns. If we were to ask the average person on the street whether they see this as something that applies to them, they would say it does not, not because they fear their reputation being defamed but because there is a perception and reality about the cost of taking legal proceedings. It would only be in the most egregious cases that the vast majority of people would even consider taking such action. Taking a defamation case …

The State has a central responsibility to put systems in place to protect its citizens as much as possible. In this House, we pass criminal justice legislation and rely on the criminal justice system to do its work. There has been a concern about the consistency of sentencing and the Judicial Council Act was passed in 2019. One of its stated aims is public confidence in the Judiciary and the administration of justice. The fully suspended sentence given to Cathal Crotty for his violent attack on Natasha O'Brien shoc…

Yes, I did.

I have listened very carefully to the arguments that have been made. Before every recess we have last-minute legislation and things that are rushed. It is possible to get one's head around some of the things that are rushed, but this Bill has potentially very serious consequences and I am not satisfied at all with being told that it is like a pat on the head and that it will only affect a tiny number of people. I am not satisfied with that because the principle is the critical issue. I do not see how it is fair to …

I met with the National Advocacy Service, NAS, outside the gates today. Its staff have resumed a strike. It is an independent service that deals with clients who were in institutions or inappropriate accommodation, who are very vulnerable people, and the NAS tries to advocate to ensure their human rights are respected. The staff have not had a pay rise in 14 years. They went to the Labour Court some time ago and sought conditions similar to those of others who operate in the same kind of areas. They were awarded a …

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this really important motion tonight. Like others, I welcome the O'Farrell family and say I am sorry that you must continue to campaign for justice for Shane. I could begin by saying "I know that you were forced to endure a living nightmare which began when your loved ones were so cruelly snatched from you" but I must confess they would not be my words. They would be the words of the Taoiseach when he made a public apology to the Stardust victims. He continued: We failed you w…

We are seeking a debate as a matter of urgency on the issues that have flowed from the "RTÉ Investigates: Horses - Making a Killing" programme. A significant abuse occurred in Shannonside Foods, which is the only equine abattoir in the country and has been temporarily closed down. The abuse that was featured has rightly caused outrage. Horses have been removed from the site. The owner has removed them to his County Clare lands. There is much concern about the welfare of those horses and what oversight there is. The…

I also express my sympathy on the death of Tommie Gorman. It is really shocking. Last February, I submitted a question to the Minister for Transport about the transport requirements for Dublin, specifically for next weekend. We know that many events will be happening. It is Pride weekend. A number of concerts will be taking place and there will be two double-headers at Croke Park. The response that came to me from the National Transport Authority in February was that it was aware of the events and would engage with…