Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I commend the repeated statements of solidarity, as well as the actions, that this Government and previous Governments have taken concerning this issue. We are here again to discuss how a foreign Government's actions affect us as a people. For generations, it has abused this island and because of that, I find it hard to see a time when we, as a people, will not be continuously traumatised by its actions. Time and again the British Go…

Like my colleague, I will not be speaking on the budget today but I want to welcome the disability budget that was announced today. I especially welcome the single biggest increase in personal assistance hours, totalling 3 million. This is a very welcome announcement. On another note, I propose that this House has a series of debates where each Department could show how it is going to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. The UNCRPD needs to be implemented. We will be ratif…

I thank the Cathaoirleach, the Minister of State, my other colleagues and the staff in Leinster House who are going pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. First, I must say that today is an emotional day, because this issue means a lot to me. I am thinking of everyone who is currently going through treatment for breast cancer or is in recovery. Second, I wish to say how sorry I am for those families who are grieving the loss of a loved one. It is a terrible loss and one which is never understood. This mark of soli…

It is positive news that, as the Minister of State mentioned, the three-year extension of BreastCheck appointments will be back to normal within the year. When reflecting on all the challenges the health service and BreastCheck have had over the past 18 months to two years, it is good news that we will be back to normal and better than our neighbours in having a two-year turnaround for BreastCheck. I very much welcome that the national screening service and the HSE will carry out an extensive media campaign to high…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This Commencement matter is a practical way to update an existing and very important scheme, which is in line with our sustainable and carbon neutral ambition. We should be cognisant of the huge cost to living with a disability. I have been working with some of our Ógra Fianna Fáil members on this proposal, notably Brian Crehan from Kildare North. Disabled persons have not been properly accommodated or encouraged by the green initiatives taken by the Government, in particular, on …

As the Minister of State mentioned, the primary medical certificate is not perfect. I look forward to the review because even the descriptions he read out are incredibly crass. There are some aspects that we have to look at. He also mentioned that there is a significant tax expenditure on this. It is money very well spent, however, and it will do no harm for the State to spend more. We refuse to publish the Indecon report on the cost of disabilities in this country. There is a huge cost involved and we should do an…

The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is very welcome.

Yes.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I wish to share my time with Senator Gallagher.

I and my Fianna Fáil colleagues support and welcome this Bill. It makes a number of important required changes that exist in defence laws and will address the ongoing issues in the Defence Forces. The Bill also includes provisions on the role of the Reserve Defence Force, including the removal of the prohibition currently contained in the Defence Acts on members of the Reserve Defence Force serving overseas. We all absolutely support that and it is a welcome development. I take this opportunity again to pay tribute…

I also raise the matter of the ESRI report on the employment rates for people with disabilities. Those figures have not come as a surprise because we know about the barriers to helping people with disabilities into our workforce. It is not a friendly place. I call on the Department of Social Protection to publish the Indecon report on the cost of disabilities. The report was commissioned over two years ago and should be released. It should be published before the upcoming budget because, as we know, there are extra…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. There is great representation from County Louth here today, including my two previous colleagues on Louth County Council. It is very good to see Mr. Markey here today. My question, which was touched on by Senator Blaney a little while ago, relates to how we directly fix the democratic deficit that we have in Northern Ireland at the minute. Do we put forward proposals for representation on the European Committee of the Regions, or appoint a special rapporteur or person who will be a …

I welcome the Minister. I hope to see a lot more of him during the session, given that we have a lot of legislation to go through. I welcome the Bill. It is common sense. I was not educated through homeschooling. The Minister's Department and Tusla had sole responsibility for homeschooling, and that did not make sense to me. It is wonderful that all education and welfare functions will be with the correct Department. As mentioned by other Senators, we must ensure every support is put in place for the families of ch…

The Minister of State is very welcome. First, I congratulate my colleague, Senator Chambers, on the work she has done on this Bill. I am incredibly in awe and humbled by the two women in particular, Una Ring and Eve McDowell, who set up Stalking Ireland. They have been victims and because of their experiences they started this process to change things. I also thank Senator Keogan for sharing her story. As Senator Pauline O'Reilly said, we are human here and we all come with our lived experiences so I thank her for …

I thank the Minister for being here and congratulate Senator Ruane on her work in the area. I thank her for bringing this motion before the House. I also acknowledge Senator Ruane's work bringing the Employment Equality (Amendment) (Non-Disclosure Agreements) Bill 2021 to the House last June. I was very much educated in the area of third level sexual harassment internationally and nationally with the webinar Senator Ruane organised before that. To my embarrassment, it was an issue on which I was not well briefed be…

After a wonderful weekend of sport, I want to look ahead and think of Friday week, when the Olympic Games begin. We have an incredible Team Ireland going to Tokyo to wear our green and represent this island proudly and well. I hope the Leader and the Cathaoirleach will write a letter to Team Ireland to wish them the best of luck from us in this House. Representing one's country at any level, especially in the Olympic Games, is an incredible honour. My interest is in athletics and we have a strong athletics team. I …

As a mother who had to leave the workforce because of the lack of childcare I look forward to more being done in getting women back into the labour market.

I wish to highlight the lack of proper action with regard to the recommendations for Drogheda published last March in the Guerin report. As we know, Drogheda has experienced serious drug crime and serious problems with drug feuds. For far too long, the people of Drogheda have been left behind, ignored and failed. Drug crime in Drogheda, as well as the heartache, tragedy and hardship the entire town has been put through, is a symptom of underinvestment and not enough help for the town over the past decade. I urge th…

I thank the Acting Chairperson. It is very nice to see her in the Chair today. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I am grateful he is taking this Commencement matter. The shared island unit is one of the many commitments in the programme for Government that has interested and excited me. The historical significance of the unit is underestimated. For the first time in the State's history, we have a dedicated unit whose sole responsibility is to examine policy, infrastructure and the future of this i…