On a point of order, I understand that a vote was taken and the proposal was defeated.

I wish to share time with Senator Gavan.

I welcome the Minister to the House and I welcome John Finucane MP, who is also present here this evening. I commend the family of Pat Finucane, who thought on many occasions in the recent past that they were one stop closer to truth, only for the process of truth recovery to be unnecessarily lengthened. This journey for truth began with the Weston Park Agreement in 2001, when six controversial killings, including Pat's murder, were recommended for review by Judge Cory. In 2004, he recommended a full public inquiry…

I have not prepared many notes but I have a lot of paper in front of me, which is all from the then Taoiseach's Seanad reform implementation group. I might reference some of that material. It dawned on me as the debate was proceeding that this is one of the most important days of this Seanad term. That has been reflected on. We will not be presented with another such comprehensive Private Members’ Bill in our time here. I say that because I am losing hope in our ability to deliver Seanad reform. I want to use my ti…

All I hear are problems. What about solutions?

I thank the Acting Chairman. I also thank the Cathaoirleach for eventually selecting this matter, which has been submitted every week since we resumed this term. I am glad to finally seek action on the issue of mobile home caravan parks and, in particular, the need for regulation and legislation that would ensure fit-for-purpose contracts between mobile home park operators and those who rent or lease pitches from them. I was contacted by a constituent during the summer who faced issues with their contract. After 18…

I thank the Minister of State. The issue here is that in many cases these are just one-year contracts. Some people have spent more than €30,000 for a pitch in a mobile home site and suddenly find themselves, in some examples I have seen, in one-year contracts. The system is broken. The Minister of State asked how many people responded to my survey. It was just over 200 people. I have also reached out to the CCPC and it is aware of the issue because, as the Minister of State mentioned, many people have contacted it …

We are talking here about a human right to safe, affordable and suitable accommodation. We should not have to return again and again to discuss the non-spending of funds allocated to local authorities to provide houses for members of the Traveller community. This is ring-fenced money we are talking about and we need to ensure that it is spent. It is even more frustrating when the guidelines and direction for where the money should be spent and what type of accommodation should be prioritised is contained in the rep…

Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill. I have to ask, however, why we are here on the Private Members' business time of a Government party not debating the Seanad Bill that was produced by the Seanad reform implementation group? That was a group that involved a cross-party selection of representatives that worked painstakingly for months and that delivered a good Bill at the end of that process. That Bill would legislate to radically reform elections to the Seanad and it includes this very proposal of a single six-…

My next two points refer exactly to this Bill, and, in fairness, they were touched on by Senator Byrne. If Irish citizens in the North are entitled to vote across five vocational panels, then surely Irish citizens should be allowed to choose their university or higher education constituency. Mention was made of Queen's University, and I am thinking of St. Mary's University College, Ulster University, the Open University and Stranmillis University College. As I read it, that would require an amendment to section 7 t…

It is good to see the Acting Chairman, Senator Pauline O'Reilly, in the role. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As has been mentioned, the motion does not change the substance of the regulations. In fact, it does nothing more than correct an indentation error made in the printing process in the regulations that came into effect in October last year. The regulations themselves apply to personal data in respect of which the Central Bank is the controller and which are processed by the Central Bank in purs…

I welcome yesterday's decision by An Bord Pleanála to reject a co-living development in Harold's Cross. Last week, we debated the Residential Tenancies Bill here and I raised the issue of co-living in the context of Covid-19. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, did not seem too impressed that I used the debate to raise the issue of co-living. I ask for a debate in this House specifically on co-living and let those who support the model come in, and stand over it. Even a …

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It was reported towards the end of last month or last week that our managed forestry estate has become a net emitter of carbon, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. That would be a staggering finding as it contradicts the Government's position that Irish forests are a significant carbon sink and carbon store. I have just seen a statement provided by the Minister of State that refutes the claim so I would appreciate if she expanded on the issu…

I welcome the Minister to the House for the first time. It is an important recognition of the crisis facing renters that he is present. I will support the Bill but I want the Minister to listen very closely to what I have to say. We will support any Bill that protects renters. It is regrettable that only in unprecedented uncertainty are we seeing proper protections being introduced. I know many people in this city and beyond who are in rental accommodation and have felt uncertainty for very many years. This legisla…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 4, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(4) Notwithstanding the interpretation contained in section 1(2) , sections 2, 3 and 4 shall also apply to such persons living in dwellings with written license agreements, verbal license agreements and informal rent-a-room arrangements.”. I will be brief because my priority, as I mentioned in my opening comments on Second Stage, is the six-month ban on evictions. We submitted this amendment to ensure that the protections in this Bi…

The six-month ban on evictions would see us through the cold winter months and, hopefully, through much of the Covid pandemic. Many countries, such as France, have had wintertime bans on evictions for years. As I said in my speech, we urgently need time and space to sort out the private rental market. The Simon Community stressed this measure will give time to get beyond flu season, increase contract tracing and for non-governmental organisations, NGOs, local authorities, the HSE and the Department of Housing, Loca…

That is not our problem.

Then we may as well not be here and go home.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: "2. (1) An emergency period in relation to the tenancy of a dwelling shall be a period of at least six months from the enactment of this Act.".

I welcome the Minister to the House. Many people are very angry and disappointed by the process that we have seen over the last number of weeks, and by the nature and the design of this legislation. There has been an outpouring of support that I have not seen since my first election into politics. Therefore I am making one last appeal, however likely at this stage, for us to go back to the drawing board. I have two questions for the Minister that will tee up Sinn Féin's amendments, which will be moved by Senator Bo…