I commend the Minister. He has done a lot of work on this and I hear what he is saying. I know he has got this to a certain level. We just feel we need to push it that little bit extra. It is very important that we try our best to strengthen the legislation. I hear what the Minister is saying. He has done a phenomenal amount of work and I look forward to engaging with him further on this. Maybe we could have a conversation with the IHREC and the Mental Health Commission. I do not want to be making more work for the…

I am disappointed the Minister will not accept the amendment. The age of medical consent is 16, except in respect of mental health treatment. Sixteen and 17-year-olds cannot refuse consent for hospitalisation, electroconvulsive therapy, or any other form of psychiatric treatment. This is clearly discordant and discriminatory. I really do believe that. I am Chair of the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Mental Health, and we constantly hear about the need for parity between mental health and other health spheres. It is im…

I move amendment No. 40: In page 61, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 84 of Principal Act 73. Section 84 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1): “(1) A person who has obtained the age of 16 and who has capacity may make an advance health care directive.”.”.

I congratulate Senator Hoey on a fantastic speech in which she hit the nail on the head. Her friends and colleagues are in the age group we are talking about today and that was powerful. On behalf of the Civil Engagement Group I also want to commend my colleague, Senator Clonan, on this timely motion. Hearing his story about his son was powerful and that is the reality of life today and that is what we are talking about. It is devastating. The motion is welcome in that it addresses the cost-of-living crisis for peo…

Can I share half of my time with my colleague, Senator Flynn?

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Budget day is a very busy day of drama and pageantry, when Ministers are congratulated and denounced in equal measure. All of the drama and pageantry can feel very far removed from the people most directly impacted by the decisions made in this House. The people whose voices we most need to hear are those who experience deprivation and want. They are not part of our public discourse and at times like this I feel acutely aware of their absence. Budgets are moral document…

I warmly welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for the work he has been doing in this area. I also welcome two campaigners who are in the Public Gallery, Ms Ber Grogan, policy and advocacy co-ordinator for Mental Health Reform, and Ms Fiona Walsh, co-director of Recovery Experts by Experience. There is no doubt that both women have been doing a lot of work around this legislation. Our debates are always enriched by the presence of the people campaigning on the issues we talk about. Legislation is necessar…

I welcome everyone back after the recess which I hope was peaceful and restful. I also want to be associated with the condolences to Ambassador Johnston and to all in the UK who are in mourning. It is a very sad day. There are many things which we all know eat away at the peace of mind of ordinary Irish people as winter approaches. One issue common to almost everyone is the increasingly crippling cost of living. Energy providers across the Irish market have repeatedly hiked their prices in an extraordinary and exto…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I am delighted to be here to support this motion. I thank Senator Warfield and his colleagues in Sinn Féin for tabling the motion and allowing us to debate a crucial issue. There is no doubt nightlife is a central part of our cultural life. It brings vibrancy to our cities and towns and provides a much-needed release from the pressures and drudgery of the working week. The importance of nightlife, cultural institutions and socialising with friends and loved ones was emphas…

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak at such an important debate. The work that Senator Flynn and the other members of the committee have completed is historic and vitally important. I will just speak about mental health and the stark realities of the mental health crisis in the Traveller community. I will read the statistics again because they are vital. Suicide accounts for 11% of all deaths among Travellers. Traveller women are seven times more likely to die by suicide. Travellers represent less than 1% of…

Travellers experience the challenges of racism, discrimination, social exclusion, incarceration and unemployment on a scale that is difficult to comprehend. It is a dense web of disadvantage and cruelty that takes an enormous toll on the community’s mental health. The astronomical rates of mental illness among Travellers remind me of the similar epidemic of mental illness among the residents of Gaza. Both populations experience a crushing sense of oppression and a pervasive hopelessness. In both cases, we can work …

As other colleagues have said here today, a person’s home is supposed to be a place of comfort, and a shield from the elements and the trials and tribulations of the world outside. It is meant to be a safe place where a person can go and rest. Seeing people forced to live in houses that crumble around them is absolutely devastating. I cannot get the images and videos of the homes built with defective mica blocks out of my head. In some of the online videos, the blocks come apart like damp sand when touched. It is a…

They are the victims of gross State failure. It is a core function of Government to enact and enforce laws and regulations which prevent market actors from engaging in dangerous, deceptive and dishonest conduct. This Bill does not satisfy the demands of the mica families and campaigners. Redress is about making a person who has been injured whole. It needs to be proportionate and adequate and this Bill, unfortunately, is neither. There are many issues with this Bill, as the number of amendments compiled by activist…

Mental health is a subject that is important to me. It intersects with almost every issue that we deal with in this Chamber. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the intricacies of the legislative process and haggling over the granular details, that we fail to comprehend the immense emotional and psychological impact of the issues we debate. When we think of the costs of the mica crisis, we can estimate the cost of rebuilding homes and the incidental practical costs such as emergency accommodation in hotels, but we mu…

While this Bill is a bitter disappointment to them, they have a great deal to be proud of. There are people in Leinster House who will be their voice and speak, such as my colleague, Senator Flynn.

I move amendment No. 83: In page 51, after line 39, to insert the following: “(7) For the purposes of this section, political purposes mean— (a) (i)to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the interests of apolitical party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament, (ii) to present, directly or indirectly, the policies or a particular policy of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in…

I move amendment No. 86: In page 52, lines 13 and 14, to delete “that in programme material audiences are protected from anything harmful or offensive, and in particular”.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.