I second the amendment.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and affording us the opportunity to make our points. I understand that the majority of local authorities want the best for their local communities. In 2011, I was looking for a unit for a family in Labre Park who did not have running water or electricity. I remember speaking about the redevelopment of Labre Park and how we should look at future-proofing it. It is the same here today. We should be future-proofing our planning at a local level, and through this, w…

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. She is very welcome. In 2015, I worked with the Migrant Rights Council of Ireland, MRCI, for three months. To say it was the best three months' work experience of my life is an understatement. I got to meet the most powerful young people in the world. I do not mean that in a patronising way. I hate it when people tell me I am a brilliant young Traveller woman. The young people I met were young, paperless and powerful. That is exactly what they were back then and still a…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I second what many other Senators have said. It is remarkable that we are here talking about opportunities and third level education, universities and all the work that we have to do to get into these universities, be successful and then come out the other side after all the hard work. Student nurses are on the front line and are not being treated as equal to more senior nurses. I second the call for student nurses to be paid, particularly during this crisis. The new TU for the …

I am here as well.

I am here and I would like to speak.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is a privilege to stand in front of a Minister of State who I know believes in equality. I have many notes on this issue, but I will be brief and refer to the most important issues. Referring back to what my great friend, Senator Ruane, said earlier, since 1937 people like me have not belonged in our own Parliament, the Houses of the Oireachtas, both the Upper House and the Lower House. I strongly support this Bill. As Senator Higgins said, if we need to push this pr…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I thank the Minister for State for taking the time to listen to Senators speak on accommodation issues that are impacting on the Traveller community. Many local authorities have failed to deliver appropriate cultural accommodation for the Traveller community. In Ireland we have our own humanitarian crisis, that is, the living conditions of the Traveller community in 21st century Ireland. Now is the time for action. The lack of appropriate accommodation and supports for the Traveller commu…

I have spoken once before in the House about the need for hate crime legislation and I welcome the opportunity to address this important subject again. I came into the Seanad with the hope that I would help break down barriers for the Traveller community and for all those on the edges of society. I believe inclusive and effective hate crime legislation must be part of this. I acknowledge Senator O'Loughlin's efforts in this area. However, I am aware that some of the issues with the previous draft legislation in 201…

I support the call for a debate on fishing. Fishing is a very important part of life in rural Donegal and a very important way of making a living. A report this week showed the need for Government support to make sure all women have equal access to domestic violence services. A new report from Safe Ireland shows that approximately 3,450 women and 589 children contacted domestic violence services for the first time during the first six months of the Covid pandemic. That breaks down to 19 women and three children per…

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the healthcare workers who work in our healthcare system, including all the front-line workers, from the cleaners to the consultants. I thought of them very much this week. I also heard the shocking story this week of two women care workers who worked in a nursing home throughout the pandemic and have been denied leave to remain in Ireland. These are healthcare workers being sent from Ireland in the middle of a pandemic. It is absolutely ridiculous. These women put their…

The Civil Engagement Group is more than happy to support the motion on disability rights and service during Covid-19. This is a very emotional weekend for the Traveller community. Has Ireland forgotten the Carrickmines tragedy? Tara Gilbert, aged 27, Jimmy Lynch, aged 25, their daughters Jodie, aged nine, and Kelsey, aged four, died in the fire, as did Willy Lynch, aged 39, as well as Thomas and Sylvia Connors, both aged 27, and their children Jimmy, aged five, Christy, aged two, and Mary, who was five months old. …

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister come into the House tomorrow to discuss Traveller accommodation.

I will withdraw the amendment and take the Leader at her word. To a certain extent, that is what politics is about - trust and working together. That is what I am looking to do. I thank the Leader. Next week would be perfect.

I am going to read from an email I received from Dr. Claire Dunne in respect of the 400 Welcomes campaign. It states: The people I care for have already lived through horrendous ill-treatment and war. They already had to deal with the awful conditions in the Moria camp, even before this recent tragedy. Now the Minister for children, Minister O'Gorman, is saying that just four children are allowed to come to Ireland without parents or guardians. The doctor goes on to state that as an Irish doctor working there and c…

I will address the rise of the far right. It is very rare that I would say I am afraid of anything but right now I am very afraid of the rise of the far right in Ireland. I hold great fear for the future if we do not stand together against hate and division. We do not have to agree on everything. We do not have to agree on economics and social policies. This threat should unify us as a country and as people. There is no place in our country for an agenda that divides us from one another and that seems to be the aim…

I thank the Minister for taking the time to come here and listen to our concerns about the Bill. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. If I had not learned the importance of these social connections from living in rural Ireland for the past two years, as a Traveller woman I would probably not be so supportive of the pubs reopening. Publicans are not always very nice to the Traveller community. However, I will do the right thing and support their reopening on 21 September. I live in Donegal and I support the reopen…

I echo what has been said about the third day of hunger strike for the people in direct provision. This is one example of people living in pure poverty in 2020 Ireland. It is clear that people living in direct provision do not want to be there and are getting treated horribly by the State and some in the communities around them. I, therefore, support the call for a debate on ending direct provision. I am open to listening to what people have to say and I hope we do not have to put these people's lives on hold any l…

I thank the Minister for taking the time to come to the Chamber and listen to the important points raised by Senators. I want to start by saying that people in direct provision are not just like us. In fact, they are far from like us because they are living in hell under this State. No matter who we are or where we come from, we all deserve a roof over our heads, a place to call home and water and food to keep us healthy and alive. For many people who seek asylum in Ireland, they do not get those things. Right now,…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I thank her very much for taking the time to listen to our concerns. In making my comments I draw on my personal experience as a Traveller who faced multiple barriers in getting an education that I deserved and to which I had a right. From coping with racism in the schoolyard and the classroom to never believing that my culture was acceptable in the school system, I know what it feels like to be at the end of the pie. I also know from first-hand experience what it is like …