I thank the Senators for raising these important matters. I welcome this opportunity to discuss how to protect households and businesses that suffer a loss of electricity supply due to storms or other adverse weather events. This motion calls for electricity suppliers to credit households and businesses with a refund of part of the standing charge amount of their electricity bills during the periods of electricity disruption. The context for this is the widespread concern about the cost of electricity to households…

-----on a daily basis who cannot understand why people are so opposed to Ireland having a successful tech sector. Part of that is having data centres.

I am sorry, I did not interrupt the Senator so please, a little courtesy. As early as budget 2026, the Government has been putting in place measures to help households faced with increasing energy costs. The measures in the budget included an extension of the 9% VAT rate currently applied to gas and electricity saving households up to €100 per year. It is part of the Government recognising that we want to put permanent solutions in place, not gimmicks. The Opposition loves a bit of gimmickry but we want permanent s…

I am pleased to introduce this Bill following its recent passage through Dáil Éireann. It marks a significant step forward in ensuring Ireland's counterterrorism framework is robust and fit for purpose in the face of modern terrorism threats. The Bill will amend the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005, which I will refer to as the 2005 Act and is a cornerstone of Ireland's counterterrorism laws. It will allow for a broader category of prosecutable offences in respect of terrorist activity. These include …

On behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, I thank the Senator for the opportunity to update the House on the HSE primary healthcare centre for Cahersiveen. The programme for Government commits to opening more primary care centres. Providing a home first approach to healthcare will empower people to receive integrated healthcare in their communities in line with the Sláintecare objectives. The primary care centre programme consists of a network of circa 300 projects being delivered through the o…

From the many conversations the Senators has had with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on this, I know this is an issue about which he is very passionate in supporting on behalf of the people in his area. Of course, I will relay his views and comments to the Minister. She will engage with him further in that regard.

I thank the Senator very much. On behalf of the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Deputy Peter Burke, I am delighted to take this matter and to have the opportunity to reply to the Senator. Foreign direct investment, FDI, continues to be one of the key components of the Irish economy. The Minister is determined that Ireland remains a leading location for FDI. The IDA's mandate is well-known and can be summarised as attracting and retaining mobile foreign direct investment to Ireland in support of wel…

I thank the Senator for the strong, passionate and well-argued argument he made in favour of this. I will take the opportunity to convey his views directly to the Minister, Deputy Burke, to make sure he is aware of the Senator's contribution this morning and give him the opportunity, which I have no doubt he will take, to engage further with the Senator on this. I thank the Senator.

I thank the Senator. It is important to remember that the programme for Government contains three commitments in relation to criminal legal aid, namely, to reform the operation of the criminal legal aid scheme; restore the fees, and enact the criminal justice (legal aid) Bill. It is the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan’s intention to fulfil all three commitments. The Minister fully recognises the crucial role played by the legal profession in the effective administration of criminal justice. Equally, the criminal legal…

I will convey the Senator's remarks on this to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. As mentioned, the reform of the criminal legal aid fee structure in the District Court is aimed primarily at improving efficiencies, speeding up case resolution and reducing unnecessary adjournments, while ensuring that those accused of crimes, including those who are vulnerable or disadvantaged, are provided with the legal representation to which they are constitutionally entitled. The proposed reform is intended to make the system wo…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to talk about the work that I and the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, are doing in managing international protection processing and accommodation. At all times, Ireland has endeavoured to provide accommodation and other basic supports to people seeking international protection, as is required under EU and Irish law. The International Protection Accommodation Services, normally known as IPAS, is currently accommodating over 33,000 residents in 305 international protection …

I thank the Senator. I will refer again to the closing remarks I made in my initial reply to her. Since 2024, IPAS has not published the details of specific locations, the resident profile and the occupancy of individual accommodation centres. It is for a very good reason. It is to preserve the privacy, safety and well-being of residents and staff. That is accepted good practice. I am sure the Senator can see there is a need to protect and preserve that privacy and well-being for residents and staff. That is very i…

Leo Varadkar does not speak for Fine Gael.

I thank Deputies from across the House for their contributions to this debate. Obviously, as we have heard, the strength of feeling on this issue is evident. Having sat through this debate, a range of views have been expressed. The Government welcomes the engagement. There are serious issues that require serious and sustained action. It is important to address some of the points raised during the debate. First, I will speak to the contribution we had on bees. As Deputy Heneghan will know, I am the Minister of State…

I thank the Senator very much. I will commence by referring to the line he used to conclude his contribution. Citizenship should be a moment of great pride. It should be a great moment in life for the people who go through the process. I have had the privilege and the honour of being a Minister of State at these processes for the past year and a half. It is an absolutely great moment. Therefore, it is incredibly regrettable that thousands of people were affected because of the circumstances taking place in our coun…

To reassure the Senator, the only word that I do not like is "shoehorned". We are not shoehorning anybody; we are making sure that the experience that will be available to people in June is the exact experience that they would have got at the original ceremony. We intend to make it a memorable day. I hear what he said about the online ceremonies. God forbid, if there were such a thing as a return of the pandemic or anything else like that again, I would certainly see the validity of that. In principle though, I ref…

In two minutes, it is very difficult to make a substantive contribution on such an important topic. I just want to focus on one particular aspect. We are all, as someone stated, messengers of the people. We all need to listen to everybody. There is a real problem with the way in which those in opposition, particularly in this Parliament, have behaved in that they listened to the people who shouted loudest in respect of this matter. That is not the entire population of our country. There is a whole section of our wo…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 4(2)) (Scheme Termination Date) Order 2026, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 23rd February, 2026. I thank the Members of Dáil Éireann for making time today to discuss this motion concerning the order the Minister, Deputy Jim O’Callaghan, and I propose to make. The motion is to extend the termination date of the financial contribution scheme for hosts of temporary prote…

I thank the Members of the Seanad for making time to discuss this motion, which concerns an order that the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, and I propose to make. The motion is to extend the termination date for the financial contribution scheme for hosts of temporary protection beneficiaries from Ukraine, known as the accommodation recognition payment, ARP. The extension of the scheme is the only item for consideration today. The ARP scheme was introduced at the time of the greatest crisis in Europe since the Sec…

As the Deputy knows, Ireland remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine. My Department continues to work as part of a whole-of-government response to the war in Ukraine with a focus on providing access to emergency, but temporary, accommodation to those fleeing the conflict. For new arrivals, State-contracted accommodation is provided for 30 days in designated centres, together with supports to assist them in making independent living arrangements for those who wish to remain for the duration of temporary protect…