I warmly welcome the motion before the House. There is no doubt that the Good Friday Agreement was the greatest achievement on this island in the last 100 years. The importance of the Good Friday Agreement and the possibility of constitutional change is being discussed in all quarters for the first time ever and I believe that this is a conversation being led by civil society. Real change is always driven from the bottom up. We cannot treat this as an issue solely for politicians, though of course we have an import…

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following paragraph after “That Seanad Éireann:” “- acknowledges the need for responsible planning and preparation for possible constitutional change, as anticipated in the Good Friday Agreement, and therefore supports the establishment of an all-island Citizens’ Assembly to discuss options;”

I want to highlight what I believe is a very important issue that is close to my heart. It is around adequate access to eating disorder treatment in Ireland. Over the past few months I have been aware of this issue both in my professional work as a therapist and as a Senator. I recently heard a very stressful radio programme about a young girl who rang in and talked about not having anywhere to go and who was literally on death's door. Shockingly, men and women struggling with eating disorders still have to leave t…

I too send my condolences to the family of Jennifer Poole, who was killed, and all who loved her. Again, we are talking about domestic violence against women and it honestly is really shocking. I wish to talk about the findings published last week by the Health Research Board in its report entitled Alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm and alcohol policy in Ireland. At a time when the health service is almost at breaking point due to the pandemic, it is interesting to establish the huge strains that problematic…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I start by sending my condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in this awful pandemic. I also commend all the front-line workers who are doing an absolutely incredible job. It is an extremely challenging time for everyone at the moment, and no doubt about it. We are all doing our best, but I think that the Minister might agree with me on the following. The idea of wartime solidarity and the we are all in this together sentiment seems to have faded somewhat with the shee…

I also welcome the Minister to the Chamber. We appreciate that he has made himself available. I also want to express my gratitude for the phenomenal work he has done on Brexit on behalf of the people of Ireland. It has been brilliant and we appreciate it. There has been much discussion about the impact on our country of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. Most of the discussion has been centred on the economic impact of this withdrawal but issues such as education and health have also come to the fore. It is vita…

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To delete "12 months" and substitute "6 months". I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am in wholehearted support of this quality in public procurement Bill and I begin by commending my colleague, Senator Alice-Mary Higgins, on her hard work and ongoing commitment to tackling the numerous flaws in the public procurement and expenditure areas. This Bill is clear, concise and strong, and the aim is to strengthen the national legislative framework for sustainable pu…

This is not the first time that I have raised the following issue in the House, and I feel that I must do so again today. I refer to the struggle being experienced by musicians, artists and anyone who works in the entertainment industry during Covid, which seems to be getting worse. It is still a very pressing and important issue that needs to be discussed. In my ongoing communication and contacts with people in the industry, and it is a lot, I have grown increasingly concerned about the state of the entertainment …

I thank the Labour Party Senators Mark Wall, Maria Sherlock, Rebecca Moynihan, Annie Hoey and Ivana Bacik for putting forward this legislation, which is designed to create a safer environment for the common good of everyone. However, it is important to highlight the obvious concern that a balance between privacy and the common good must be struck. I am pleased that the Labour Party's press release on the introduction of this legislation refers to the need to tackle illegal dumping and other forms of antisocial beha…

I thank the Minister of State for taking time to discuss the Palestinian vaccination programme. I am aware Ireland has contributed and plans to spend €50 million in support of global public health, which includes COVAX. Our money is being used to fund this initiative. We have a responsibility to ensure equitable access to Covid vaccines. Ireland should be actively addressing obstacles to equitable access, such as Israeli discriminatory healthcare practice. What progress has been made to vaccinate Palestinians under…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is imperative to remember at this time that despite the Palestinian Authority and Hamas supposedly being the official governments of the West Bank and Gaza, there is no doubt that Israel is really in charge. Israel controls the borders, currency, central bank and even collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, PA. It maintains the right to carry out military operations on Palestinian land and controls the amount of freedom, or lack thereof, that Palesti…

I am delighted to see Senator Norris in the Chamber and back to full health. I also welcome the White Paper on ending direct provision. I visited some direct provision centres in my role as member of the justice and equality committee in the last Oireachtas. What I saw was horrendous and shocking. I have no doubt the residents are celebrating today. Hopefully, it will happen for them soon. I draw attention to the worrying figures released by the Central Statistics Office which show that nearly three quarters of tho…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House today and thank him for all the work he is doing in these trying times. I commend Senators Keogan, Craughwell and Boyhan for putting down this motion. It is of utmost importance to the councillors who elect us to the Seanad. It involves their remuneration and conditions, which are absolutely vital. We all know all politics is local. In a nutshell, this shows the importance of our local authorities. City and county councils are our most accessible form of democratically e…

I wish to highlight the very important issue-----

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I highlight the demolition of Irish and EU-funded aid structures, including homes and schools, in the occupied Palestinian West Bank in recent months. In the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have once again demolished or confiscated homes in the Palestinian village of Humsa al Bqai’a in the northern Jordan Valley. When this village was demolished in November 2020, it was, according to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, which is a fantastic organisation, the biggest single demolit…

I welcome the Minister to the House. A total of 550 survivors of the mother and baby homes came forward to share their testimonies of living in hellish conditions. For this report to be published they provided personal accounts, consisting of their lived experiences, to the confidential committee module of the commission's work. It is so important that we acknowledge and understand how difficult it must have been for each of the individual survivors to speak out about their experiences in mother and baby homes. I s…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I express my wholehearted support for this Bill and commend Senator Annie Hoey and the Labour Party on their dedication and commitment to honouring the student nurses who have so bravely worked on the front line from the beginning of this pandemic without any promise of pay. It is hard to believe we do not have legislation already in place to ensure student nurses and midwives are paid when they are working. This is a simple but essential Bill. Student nurses and midwives have b…

I welcome the Minister of State. I agree with Senator Gavan that she has a tough job ahead of her. She is a compassionate person and I wish her well in her role. As I am sure the Minister of State is aware, mental health activism is a passion of mine in my work as a therapist and a politician. I set up the RISE Foundation to work with and support family members of a loved one who has an alcohol, drug or gambling problem. Often, family members are significantly impacted by someone they love going down that self-dest…

I believe I must raise an issue of great importance to people of all communities in the North who were bereaved or injured during the conflict. The relatives of persons killed by all armed actors in the conflict - republican, loyalist and the British state - need a human rights-compliant remedy in the form of the legacy mechanisms that were agreed in Stormont House and signed by both Governments and all parties. I have been contacted by the cross-community organisation Relatives for Justice, which provides support …

I commend Senator Clifford-Lee on tabling this Bill which tackles the everyday injustices felt by people during their menstruation cycles. It is essential that in 2021 we see legislation to end the prominent problem of period poverty in support of women's rights. Periods are not a luxury. They are an everyday life reality and there should be absolutely no barriers to accessing the necessary sanitary products for all people who have periods. It is shameful that there are young people with periods who intentionally a…