Hear, hear.

I commend my comrade, Senator Boylan, and Brian Marron, in her office. They have worked tirelessly on this and do an incredible job for Sinn Féin. I also thank our team on climate and just transition. Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures, show that, in Ireland, 8.9% of people cannot afford new clothes, 1.4% cannot afford a warm, waterproof coat, and 2.5% cannot afford two pairs of shoes suitable for daily activities. This is truly shocking in 2023, when Ireland is considered one of the wealthiest countries in th…

Well done.

I welcome the Minister and I thank the Senator Mullen for bringing forward the Bill. It is mind-boggling stuff. There have been some very confusing narratives. There are issues of the barter account, of agents who wield great influence on our public service broadcaster and the tension in the model between the commercial and public service pillars is very much under the spotlight. It is funny. I have referred to Bob Quinn here before - going back decades - on children’s advertising and the stand that he took in that…

Nightlife and the night-time economy remain under severe threat in our towns and cities and, by the looks of it, the Government is dragging its feet on reform. Rising property costs, rip-off insurance, extortionate licensing fees and archaic licensing are crippling businesses and cultural activity. I call on the Government to reform licensing laws immediately and implement the raft of more than 30 recommendations made by the task force on the night-time economy as soon as possible. I particularly call on it to intr…

I thank the Minister of State and welcome the commitment to publish a Bill and introduce it to the Oireachtas this year. I plead with the Government to include this Bill in the autumn schedule so that it can be on the books before the end of the year because a pattern of behaviour of delay when dealing with this industry is all too common. I welcome the Minister of State's commitment and plead for this to be included in the autumn schedule to ensure it is on the books and in law with the reforms enacted before the …

I second the amendment.

It is almost a year since Sinn Féin's Private Members' motion in the Seanad that sought to save the night-time economy. I know the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, was on maternity leave but I wonder what the Minister, Deputy Harris, was doing. The general scheme of the sale of alcohol Bill 2022 was published in October and there is still a good bit to be resolved. By the sounds of it the Government is dragging its heels on this issue. The Bill should have been presented by now and things are extremely difficu…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is a very broad topic. I will focus on a couple of areas that I have recently brought up on the Order of Business. The first is the procurement of facial recognition technology by the Government. The State is going to begin the procurement of body cameras that make use of facial recognition software despite there currently being no legislation to provide for the use of such technology. At a time when many cities across the world are banning the use of facial techno…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The far-too-often stated sad reality is that there has been a failure of mental health care under this Government. Waiting lists for CAMHS have nearly doubled in recent years with a record level of children waiting for first-time appointments. All this is at a time when Government announced that it plans to reduce CAMHS teams across the State from 73 to 50 and ask already strapped parents to drive greater distances to access basic supports for their children. Sinn Féin …

I want to talk about the public services card. The Department of Social Protection has been building a biometric photo and template database of 3.2 million people. There is no legal basis for collecting these data in exchange for services people are legally entitled to. Through a freedom of information request, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, and Digital Rights Ireland have found that the Department of Social Protection has known since 2021 that this database is illegal. This processing of personal and…

I welcome the inclusion of data protection statements next week. This is something that Sinn Féin and others have called for in this House and it is long overdue. In July last year, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, made a commitment to appoint two additional data protection commissioners. These posts have still not been advertised, let alone filled. We were told by the Minister that this process would take six months, yet these much-needed posts have not yet been advertised. GDPR provides strong protection…

I wish to be associated with the Cathaoirleach's remarks and extend my sympathy to the family of Paul Coghlan. It was a pleasure to work with him in the previous Seanad term from 2016. The European institutions are working on a directive that will affect the rights of millions of platform workers, including those who drive for Uber and Deliveroo. Yesterday the European Council watered down initial proposals from the European Commission and the European Parliament that would potentially strip millions of workers of …

I welcome the Minister to the House. It is clear that since the launch of Project Ireland 2040, the socioeconomic environment that underpinned that plan has changed drastically. I want to speak about multi-annual plans. The proposed level of capital expenditure is inadequate to deal with the challenges we face in healthcare. The HSE capital plan for 2023 is inadequate. It lacks the urgency and ambition that are necessary to turn the health service around. Instead of bringing about much-needed reform, this plan guar…

The University College Dublin, UCD, students’ union released a report on student accommodation. It not only highlights the housing crisis that students and their families are facing but also the measures that can be taken by the Government in the upcoming budget to reduce the cost of living and studying in Ireland. Two thirds of students are paying upwards of €750 to €900, which is completely unfair. Some 45% of students say that housing has a negative effect and impact on their mental health and 71% had difficulti…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will address amendments Nos. 55, 58 and 91. On No. 55, the wording "as soon as practicable" gives too much discretion to the chief deciding officer. There is no reason a decision could not be reached within 28 days as specified in section 21(1)(a) or within an additional 28 days, as specified here in our amendment, given the resources afforded to the chief deciding officer as set out in head 9 of the general scheme and that a potential workforce of up to 60 people could be req…

I move amendment No. 55: In page 16, line 34, to delete "as soon as practicable" and substitute "within 28 days".

I move amendment No. 58: In page 16, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following: "(c) shall, when applicant has reached the age of 75 years or older prioritise applicant and process within 15 days.".

The Bill requires survivors to waive the entitlement to initiate litigation in order to access the redress scheme. As Senator Black pointed out, and as Sinn Féin pointed out in previous amendments, the position that has been taken by Government here can be contrasted to the symphysiotomy payment scheme, which did not require or compel any woman to forgo her right to initiate legal proceedings. Therefore, the introduction of a waiver to this scheme is inconsistent with previous schemes and, as discussed by Senator B…

Regarding the Minister's consultation with the Attorney General, is there room for manoeuvre in his position or is that to give legal clarity to what is in the Bill as it stands?