I raise the institutional betrayal of Ireland's vulnerable children. I wish to address one of the most shameful failures of our State, which is the ongoing betrayal of the survivors of abuse in St. John Ambulance and the disgraceful response from those entrusted with protecting them. We are here because of the immense courage of Mick Finnegan and other survivors who came forward to expose horrific abuse they suffered as children. These were boys, some as young as 12, who volunteered to serve their communities only …

I welcome this important Bill. If enacted, it would make a huge difference throughout the country. It is disappointing that it will be kicked down the road for 12 months. Any issues I have heard being raised here could be addressed on Committee Stage. Why not let it go through the process and iron out the creases? That is what we are supposed to be doing. Instead, the Government is again short-changing the Seanad. The Bill is important because it is about dereliction and regeneration. We do not have to look too far…

Today we had a very strong dog welfare presentation in the audiovisual room. I thank everybody who came to it. I thank Working Animal Guardians, Greyhound Action Ireland, Greyhound Awareness Cork and Ban Bloodsports, who all attended and were part of the presentation. Working Animal Guardians, WAG, and five other groups took a judicial review against the Government to have an appeals process for the XL bully ban recently, and there still has been nothing from the Government. Where is the review and when will this d…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and I wish him well in his job. I have not seen him since his appointment. It is in everyone’s interest that he is successful. I have a couple of observations. I agree with Senator Fitzpatrick that councillors are on the front line. They have their fingers on the pulse of various events and issues that flare up in every constituency. Often, they are the link to the local authority. My local council is Dublin City Council, DCC, and I see the connection between th…

The British establishment is complicit in genocide in Gaza. It funds genocide in Gaza. It supports genocide in Gaza. The same British establishment has now charged a young Irishman in his 20s from west Belfast of a terror charge for waving a flag. It is bizarre and it is political policing. It is trying to silence Kneecap. Kneecap are not the story; genocide in Gaza is the story. We need to ensure our Taoiseach and Tánaiste tell the British Government that this is completely unacceptable and that we are not going t…

I acknowledge the campaign of 14-year-old Cara Darmody, campaigning for improvement in the waiting list for assessment of needs. A total of 15,000 families are now waiting on an assessment of need. It is completely unacceptable, and I find it really difficult to listen to Government party Senators telling Cara how wonderful she is when it has been under their Government that the waiting list for assessment of needs has increased to 15,000. Rather than congratulating Cara, the Senators’ time would be better spent ta…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I will share my time with Senator Maria McCormack. I thank the Minister for coming in. Before I begin, I will acknowledge the absolutely Trojan work done by IHREC, the #AddThe10th Alliance, ATD Ireland, EAPN Ireland and the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, whose representatives are here with us today watching proceedings. Many other organisations have also put in a great deal of work in advancing this issue over the years. I also acknowledge the resid…

I thank colleagues for their contributions and the Minister for her comments. I know she cares deeply about equality and I sincerely hope the Government makes progress on this urgent issue. However, I am deeply disappointed that, once again, we see the Government tabling an amendment to attempt to kill these legislative proposals. More than two years ago, the then Government passed a near-identical amendment to stop the progression of an identical Bill. That amendment stated that 18 months were needed to examine th…

There are no more laws that Israel can break. There are no more UN conventions that Israel can ignore, and Israel continues with the ongoing genocide. The Irish Government continues to do nothing. I know Government will list things it believes it has done, such as measures like recognising the State of Palestine. It will say it funds various projects in the West Bank, and of course that is positive and good, but it does nothing to end the genocide in Gaza. It does nothing to make Israel be held to account for the s…

American football is coming to Dublin. Craig Hughes, in his article for the Irish Daily Mail , highlights that the Government will spend €10 million on this event and on bringing over the two American teams. Yet, at the same time, 77% of Irish amateur football clubs do not have adequate changing facilities for women. The Government continues to ignore Irish football because four years ago, the Taoiseach said on radio that he would ensure the Government invested in academy football, yet not one cent has come across …

He is a bit old for that.

No homework.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I know this is an issue she is very passionate about and active on. I thank and acknowledge all the volunteers who came out last Saturday morning for the Pieta House Darkness Into Light walk. The volunteers come out extra early, at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. If it was not for them, this event would not happen. It is a very important event for mental health and suicide prevention but also for Pieta House, whose funding is almost exclusively dependent on private donations and events…

Six years ago, there was an agreement for 900 social and affordable homes on the Irish Glass Bottle site. The agreement was put together between An Bord Pleanála, Dublin City Council, the Government, the then Minister for housing, Eoghan Murphy, and the housing action group in Ringsend. There was going to be 350 social houses and 550 affordable homes. That was the agreement the then Minister signed off on. Now it seems that is being reneged on because there will not be any affordable housing in the first phase of t…

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 11 be taken before No. 1. I refer to the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025, signed by all Sinn Féin Senators. This Bill seeks to prohibit socioeconomic discrimination or any sort of discrimination based on social background or economic disadvantage. The purpose of the Bill is to amend Irish equality legislation and two Acts, namely, the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000, in order to add a tenth form of legally defined dis…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for prohibiting discrimination on the basis of a person’s socio-economic disadvantaged background, for those purposes to amend the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000; and to provide for related matters.

Next Tuesday.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I appreciate that she took the time. Your day really is not all that different. You leave the house and go to work. It is the same as it is every day. Maybe you go for a drink with colleagues or to a match afterwards, then you come home and it is so empty. The house is so unbearably empty. A piece of your life is gone forever in one tragic event. This is a story many of us know. Almost everyone has had the experience of this tragedy in life, if not with their partner, th…

The reduction in income from Darkness into Light walks and various activities means that Pieta will need more from the State for services, otherwise services are unfortunately going to close. I acknowledge the thousands of volunteers who wake up extra early in support of Pieta's Darkness into Light walk. Funds raised by Pieta are already down for Darkness into Light, and there is a real worry for the services because, without the money raised by Darkness into Light, those services will close. This is a major concer…

Can we ask that the Minister for Justice attend today to explain why the barriers surrounding the International Protection Office on Mount Street have been up so long and when they are coming down? The Mount Street residents in Power's Court and Verschoyle Place have been living with tents and metal barriers in their neighbourhood for over 18 months. The tents are gone but the barriers remain. Residents are asking why the barriers are being allowed remain. Mount Street and the streets off it look derelict. There ar…