Senator Clifford-Lee's remarks were well made. Ireland should be a leader in the area of remote working. We can be competitive and be compassionate about our workers at the same time. A working group was launched yesterday called the Remote Alliance. It consists of four leading Irish employers: eBay and Liberty Insurance, companies that I am pleased to say are located in Dublin 15, and the ESB and Vodafone. Those businesses have come together to drive the cultural change required to embrace remote working permanent…

Senator Fitzpatrick has made her point well. I extend my sympathies to Senator Hoey on the passing of her father. It is very sad news. I want to bring up the issue of maternity restrictions. It is not the first time, but I hope it is the last. It is not enough that the HSE has its version of guidelines for access for partners on its website when the lived experience of women in hospitals is entirely different. That is where politicians step in on behalf of their constituents to say that this is just not good enough…

Mr. Markey might want to answer this because Ms Walsh might not be talking to me after the all-Ireland final against Tyrone. I thank the MEPs for their words today on the lack of representation for the North and being a voice for it. It is hugely frustrating for people who consider themselves European, whether they have an Irish passport or a British passport. We saw that through the EU-Covid digital certificate and now I hope a portal will be launched whereby they will have access to it, but there are still questi…

I thank the Minister of State for coming here today. I wish to discuss with him the DART+ West upgrade. This is an extremely positive and essential project. It involves electrification of the line and an upgrade to the DART network which will bring services from the city centre to Maynooth, serving places such as Ashtown, Coolmine, Castleknock, Clonsilla and Hansfield. Capacity on the line will increase and the frequency of service will increase from six trains per hour to 12 trains per hour in each direction. Of c…

This is about having confidence in the process. I agree that the restrictions meant that changes had to be made to the process. Irish Rail showed that it was listening to the concerns of Coolmine after the first consultation process. Although that has not solved all the problems, it has got us to this point. However, this is serious. People do not just want to know that one has listened, but also that one is listening. If there is a visible mute and a person is muted in a meeting where there should be engagement, t…

This is an extension of the plan we have been following, which is that we are about protecting lives and livelihoods. We are in a race against time, in terms of dealing with Delta and getting people vaccinated but also making sure hospitality has a chance to survive over the summer. It is about indoor hospitality. When it comes to hotels, they will continue to follow social distancing to allow that mix of vaccinated and non-vaccinated people. There is nothing in here specifically about weddings. Is it implied that …

Senator Chambers is right. The House is full of female legislators. Senator Martin Conway contributed as well.

Senator Chambers is entirely right that the experience of going for a smear test overshadows what it actually does. Much of the focus is devoted to preparing to go for the test and to encouraging people to do it. The same focus is not necessarily placed on what the smear test does.

We need to move on.

Senator Keogan has already contributed to the debate. I call Senator Ardagh.

I was going to make the point the Minister of State just made, which is that we want to protect jobs in small businesses and micro companies. A point I have heard my colleague, Senator Garvey, make is that many of these employers work side by side with their employees all the time. During the Covid pandemic especially there has been a real sense that we are all in it together. There is very little difference day to day in the work all these employees are doing together to keep their companies and businesses alive. …

I also congratulate our former colleague, Deputy Bacik. Persistence does, I hope, pay off and it is a message for all of us. Today is 12 July and I wish the people on our island to have a happy and safe celebration of this day. It is an important day for the community. Last year celebrations were cancelled because the Covid-19 and this was respected and I hope that they proceed safely. This weekend showed us that while progress is being made in some respects with a DUP city mayor attending our National Day of Comme…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I hope he has a successful week. Covid might be the reason we want to get this legislation across the line for the summer but it has been a while in the making. It has been examined by the Company Law Review Group, CLRG, and that has involved analysis by practitioners, businesses, unions and academics. Prior to that, there was public consultation. The legislation fills a gap in our examinership laws. It is tailored to meet the needs of small and micro businesses, enabli…

Tomorrow.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I support the Bill. It includes necessary procedural amendments to ensure the WRC adjudication service will continue in its role to protect the rights of employees and employers. I commend the Minister of State on his swiftness in dealing with the matter and the cross-party support it has garnered. The Bill amends the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 in response to the judgment of the Supreme Court. We have extensive employment and equalit…

Next Wednesday.

I will share my time with Senator Ward. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I am very supportive of this Bill, which puts the LDA on a statutory footing. It is good news, especially for Dublin. There are two principles that are central to tackling the housing crisis, and we are working on them. These are accessibility, whether through affordability measures or social support, and stock and supply. We will not have a healthy housing system without both. They are inextricably linked. The Land Developm…

I have no wish for us to be in a situation where we have to wait until we have full employment again before women returners become a major priority for the Government. Many women did the State a service by caring for their families and loved ones. Often they did so because the supports that would have enabled choice simply were not there. I know this because I did it myself. Workplace inflexibility, a lack of accessible and affordable childcare and the unpaid nature of care continue to be key factors. We have a rea…

I thank the Minister of State for that positive response. It is good to know that returners are firmly on the agenda. It is very difficult when people are facing going back to work, and if the odds are stacked against them or if there are unnecessary barriers it just makes it harder. We are definitely moving in the right direction. As part of this, we have to ensure that the Pathways to Work strategy covers the spectrum of situations and scenarios, as well as the skills and experience people want. What appeals at t…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am not going to ask him about anything that the Government does not already agree with in principle. The Liffey valley is recognised as a special amenity area. It is an area of outstanding beauty and special recreational value. The Minister of State will be aware it is recognised by Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Time has stood still, however. Nothing of note has happened regarding …