I move amendment No. 41: In page 34, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “Review of Scheme following ruling of international human rights bodies 49. (1) Should any opinion, decision or recommendation be made by an international human rights treaty body relating to remedies for mixed-race persons who resided in relevant institutions, the Minister shall cause a review of the operation of the Scheme to be commenced as soon as is practicable but not later than 6 months after the date of the determination.…

I move amendment No. 45: In page 35, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “Report on contribution of relevant parties to Scheme 50. (1) Under this section, "relevant parties" means persons, organisations, the estates of persons, or other entities involved at any time in the operation, management, administration or ownership of relevant institutions, or in the carrying out of illegal vaccine trials or any other medical experimentation on relevant persons.(2) The Minister shall, within 12 months of the p…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House.

Three years ago, I got a telephone call from the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, to be one of his 11 nominees. To think I am still here three years later is incredible. Almost three years ago, a report called No End in Site was launched. It was about a specific halting site where children lived in dire accommodation. Where is that report? To the best of my knowledge, not one of the recommendations has been implemented in the past two and a half years. It is my job as a Member of this House and, most importan…

It has been three years for me. I started here a few months after other Senators.

I am proud to be part of the Civil Engagement Group and to bring a human rights and equality-focused motion once again to the House. In recent days, we have seen what multinational search and rescue can look like. We have also seen what happens to ships that are reported to be in grave danger and there is no response. Ireland has been involved in search and rescue missions in the southern Mediterranean. The EU withdrew those services in 2019, a measure for which Fine Gael's MEPs voted. However, it is clear that thi…

I thank the staff of Leinster House and the politicians who are heavily involved in celebrating Gay Pride this morning. The Taoiseach and the Cathaoirleach gave speeches, and it was lovely to hear. One of the Taoiseach's lines was about the level of homophobia having increased within Irish society. It was good to hear him acknowledge that. It is unfortunate that it has increased, but we also have lots to look forward to with the hate crime legislation. Things are changing. They may be changing very slowly but thank…

I support the motion and understand the importance of career guidance counsellors, who have played an important role in my life, as a Traveller from a very disadvantaged and marginalised community. I wanted to say that before I get into my speech. It seems to me that the lack of resources, despite the increase in the demand for the services of career guidance counsellors, has not been dealt with by this Government. I sit on the Joint Committee on Education, which has spoken to career guidance counsellors and teache…

Sometimes our county councillors can be counsellors.

Sometimes I still see a councillor when I look at the Senator.

There should be psychological therapists within schools. That is something we should look at. We should listen to all of the teachers in our secondary schools and support and fund a counsellor within every school on the island. That would be very beneficial to our students. As I said, I could go on to talk about the good work of guidance counsellors. We support this motion. However, we think the amount of pressure on our career guidance teachers and ordinary teachers in schools is appalling in this day and age. I s…

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I welcome the Minister to the House. It is good to have her back. Many people and civil organisations have worked hard for many years on hate crime legislation. The Irish Traveller Movement, Pavee Point, the Irish Network Against Racism, INAR, Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, the National Women's Council of Ireland and many other organisations never stop working for human rights and equality in this country. I remember working with INAR in 2015 when we launched the "love not hate" campaign all those years ago. We had…

I welcome the people from Claremorris National School to the Chamber. The motion is regarding Government commitments on offshore renewable energy.

This morning, I want to bring it to the attention of the House that the Traveller committee will be set up officially. I thank Members for supporting it. The one positive thing is that when I am long gone as a Member of Leinster House, the committee will still exist. It will have the power to hold the State to account and bring about good, meaningful, positive, life-changing and lifesaving changes for our community. That is really welcome. On that note, it is three years since we had a proper debate on Traveller ac…

I second the amendment.