The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the report of the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, referral to committee, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, motion regarding the referral of the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss to the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, referral to committee, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 1, without debate; No. 3, motion regarding the Tec…

It is actually four years. You are a year older than you thought you were, a Chathaoirligh.

We started the Order of Business with Senator Mark Daly, who spoke about waiting times for driver tests and how difficult it was for young people, which we understand, particularly those starting to work or who have to drive to college or university because of the cost of accommodation. The Minister gave extra funding and resources to driver test centres. For example, in Kildare, we have three more testers in Naas. I have no doubt this is causing a problem for young people in particular. We will submit a question o…

I move: That Seanad Éireann, in accordance with the Resolution of the Seanad of 23rd February, 2022, agrees that the report of the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly, copies of which were laid before Seanad Éireann on 30th December, 2022, be referred to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage in accordance with Standing Order 71(2)( b ), to consider the recommendations contained therein and to advise on the requirement for the holding of a plebiscite to determine if Dublin should have a directly electe…

I move: That Seanad Éireann, in accordance with the Resolution of the Seanad of 23rd February, 2022, agrees that the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, copies of which were laid before Seanad Éireann on 31st March, 2023, be referred to the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action in accordance with Standing Order 71(2)( b ), to consider the recommendations contained therein; and that the Committee be instructed to report thereon to Seanad Éireann by 31st December, 2023.

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Technological Universities Act 2018 (Section 44F) (Appointed Day) Order 2023, copies of which have been laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 12th June, 2023.

Governor Healey's words were absolutely inspiring. She embraced all of us in every single thing that she said. I will tell the governor that the ambassador, H.E. Claire Cronin, is very efficient in all of her official dealings with us and is also truly a friend to us. She is always a proud Massachusetts woman. Nowadays, when somebody leaves school, it is a rite of passage to take a flight and go away on holiday. When I was leaving school in the 1980s, that was not necessarily the case. However, my father heard an i…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “recognises that” and substitute the following: - “seeking asylum is a fundamental right under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; - every person’s right to seek asylum in a safe country is enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; notes with sympathy and concern: - the recent tragic and avoidable loss of life in the Medit…

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. Yesterday was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. I was not aware of that myself until after the Order of Business. It is important to speak very briefly about it. As it happens, I had organised to have a meeting with Patricia Rickard-Clark, who is the chairperson of Safeguarding Ireland, which is a terrific organisation that does a lot of very good work. It believes in the dignity of every human being and that everyone is entitled to respect. I know that is s…

Apologies; I thought we were waiting for another Minister to come in.

I certainly appreciate that the Minister of State is here to take on board what I am going to say. I have no doubt that he will go back to the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Rabbitte, and the Minister for Health with these sad and pertinent points and the situations I am going to describe. Many of us deal with this issue for the people we represent. I know the Minister of State appreciates the importance of supporting families and communities to grow, develop and prosper, be that throu…

I thank the Minister of State. I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is very compassionate and is trying to do her best. I am also aware that a lot of extra money is going into the system but it is about outcomes, it is not about finance. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, said that there will be 43 new placements. These 43 placements will go nowhere. They would be absolutely taken up in CHO 7. When I went into the recent CSO data, I saw that 299,000 people identify as unpaid carers. This is an in…

The Order of Business is No. 1, Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and to adjourn at 5.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, and business will be interrupted at 2.45 p.m. for a sos of 30 minutes; and No. 2, Gradam an Uachtaráin Bill 2023 – Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, to be taken at 6 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. We started this morning with Senator Murphy, who quite rightly complimented all the ushers on how they deal with our school tours and all of the visitors who come to this House. This is the Parliament of the people. It is wonderful when everybody acknowledges when we have schools in. We have had four groups in already this morning. I thank Senator Murphy for reminding us to thank those who facilitate that. It is very important. Senator Murphy also spoke about the sad loss of Christy Digna…

He is absolutely on the ball. Senator Davitt spoke about the impact of Tara Mines on Westmeath. Senator Paddy Burke expressed his sympathies on the death of former colleague, Paul Coghlan. I would like to be associated with that, as I know everybody else in the House would be. He spoke about the disability grants report. It is a priority that we have a debate on that. Senator Craughwell spoke about the independent review group. Under a freedom of information request, correspondence between the then chief of staff a…

The Minister is very welcome back and I wish continued good health to her and her family. As she knows, I previously introduced hate crime legislation in 2016 in the Dáil and in the Seanad in 2020. That Bill dealt with the area of hate crime but not hate speech. The reason I introduced that Bill at the time, and why my party supported it, is because it is a sad reality that hate crime is a real and lasting problem in Ireland today. Over recent years, Ireland as a country has become far more diverse and inclusive. T…

Initially, I want to mention Private Seán Rooney, who lost his life so tragically in Lebanon in December while serving our country overseas. I understand that the United Nations is to award Private Rooney a medal to honour his memory and his sacrifice. This will be a very bittersweet but proud moment for his mum Natasha and his fiancée Holly. I just wanted to say this today and that we here in the Seanad have absolutely not forgotten the sacrifice of Private Rooney. We know the lengths to which our Defence Forces p…

I second the motion. Senator McGreehan is so passionate about the Good Friday Agreement and everything it brings that I thought she was going to use all of her time and possibly even go over time. I commend Senator Niall Blaney on the work he does in this area. I welcome the Tánaiste to the Seanad. It is really important that he is here to celebrate, acknowledge and look forward in terms of where we go from here. It is said that politicians speak of events in one way and that poets do so in another way as do histor…

I have been working with a wonderful team of people at Sensational Kids in Kildare, including Karen Leigh, CEO, and Ann Marie Sweeney, to try to realise their vision to transform access and therapeutic supports for children with additional needs and their families. On Friday last, I visited the enterprise's interim space in Kildare town once again and had the opportunity to tour its national headquarters, which really embodies the ethos of a child-first approach. Every element of this building is focused on support…

The bottom line is that the Department of Justice has pulled the rug out from under Sensational Kids at the last minute. It was approved for the IIP programme. It was told it could still access the required additional funding to complete the project after the IIP closed. It was never advised of a timeline to submit additional information and now it is in a situation where costs have risen by more than €4 million and there is nowhere to turn. Sensational Kids is not alone. Numerous organisations have committed signi…