I move amendment No. 16: In page 29, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “(c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (13): “(14) The Appeals Board shall publish, in anonymised form, every decision made under this Part within 90 days of the decision. Such publication shall include the facts, issues, reasoning, statutory interpretation and final outcome.”.”. Amendment No. 16 would ensure that every decision made by the appeals board must be published in an anonymised form within 9…

I move amendment No. 18: In page 29, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: "Amendment of section 41 of Principal Act 29. 29. Section 41 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): "(3) The Minister shall, annually, publish a report summarising data received from local authorities and the Housing Agency relating to: (a) deleterious materials detected in dwellings (including, but not limited to, pyrrhotite, pyrite, total sulphur, and mica), 4 (b) regi…

I move amendment No. 19: In page 30, to delete lines 4 to 18 and substitute the following: " "(3A) The SEAI may share information with a designated local authority solely for the purposes of administrative verification of applications under this Act and not for the purpose of reducing or offsetting any grant payable under this Act, where it is necessary and proportionate to establish the funding which has been provided, or is to be provided by, the SEAI to a person who has made an application under section 13, 17A,…

I move amendment No. 20: In page 30, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “(3C) SEAI funding cannot be used to reduce, replace, offset, or otherwise diminish a person’s entitlement under the Defective Concrete Block Grant Scheme.”.”.

I move amendment No. 21: In page 30, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “(3C) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, information shared by the SEAI under this section shall not be used to reduce, offset, or otherwise limit any grant payable to a relevant owner under this Act.”.”.

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. Today we are not just debating a routine amendment, we are being asked whether this State will finally face the consequences of catastrophic regulatory failure and whether we will stand with the families whose homes and lives have been devastated by defective concrete blocks. I really do not think the amendment before us meets that responsibility. It does not reflect science, the scale of the trauma or the lived experience of the people enduring this crisis every sing…

Artists and musicians in Ireland are facing an emergency in terms of their access to studio and performance spaces. There is a critical shortage across the country. This was highlighted by the announcement last week of the closures in Dublin of Ormond Art Studios, which is a self-organised visual arts studio, and The Complex, which is the only multidisciplinary gig venue of its kind in the capital, containing a gallery, theatre, music venue and artist studios. Losing spaces like this have devastating impacts on mus…

I am disappointed. The reality of the situation is that we have seen at least 36 closures of independent arts spaces in Dublin since 2000 and that very few new spaces have been opened to replace them. While I obviously welcome the cultural capital scheme and the artists' workspaces scheme, it really is not at the scale it needs to be to meaningfully respond to the barriers artists and musicians face in trying to find studio and performance space. I highlight the positive examples of local authorities that have brou…

I move amendment No. 28: In page 18, line 37, after “restraint” to insert “, chemical restraint”.

I agree with Senators Boyhan and Stephenson. The Minister of State is aware that adult units are inappropriate. She knows it is potentially harmful for children. We all know these settings are not designed to meet the development and the emotional or safeguarding needs of those young people. Placements in such environments even briefly can be frightening, isolating and traumatic, especially during a mental health crisis. As others have said, the practice violates international human rights standards. The UN Committ…

I know huge progress has been made because of the Minister of State. There is no doubt about that. However, legal safeguards are still needed and that is the concern. While the number of children placed in adult units has significantly declined in recent years, which is, no doubt, because the Minister of State is sitting in the seat, there is a risk of regression without legal prohibition, in particular if no Minister is actively watching these numbers as closely as the Minister of State is. Alongside investing in …

I am a bit confused and I ask the Minister of State to bear with me. Before I speak about my confusion, I have heard what the Minister of State is saying about emergencies and about the anxiety and worry about the children. As a mother and a grandmother I would love to see child-centred mental health infrastructure. This is my dream. It is very important. If we had the proper staffing and the proper crisis response systems that ensured timely access to appropriate care, and if we could put those safeguards for chil…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I wish to share time with Senator Flynn.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Before I start, I welcome Councillor Joe Malone, from the Local Authority Members Association, LAMA, who is in the Gallery this evening. I thank LAMA and the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, for attending the briefing that I hosted here last week and all those who attended. I am delighted to move the Local Government (Support for Elected Members) Bill 2024 on Second Stage in the Seanad today. I am grateful to my colleagues in the Civil Engagement Group, Sena…

I thank the Minister of State for his genuine and very kind response to our legislation. I wish I could say the same about some of his colleagues here, but anyway, I will come back to the timed amendment piece. I have to bring that up again. It is becoming a regular feature and I am worried about it. It is being used in how the Government engages with legislation in this Seanad. As I said earlier, it is cynically undermining our parliamentary work going forward. It blocks us from doing the real work we want to do.

I am concerned about that and I wanted to say that. This is a very simple Bill. It is very simple. It would really support councillors, not only by supporting them in the work they do but also by validating the work they do. I actually take offence to what Senator Kelleher said. What he said was disgraceful in the sense that he implied we are disregarding the local democracy task force. I absolutely do not disregard it. I had long conversations with AILG. I have spoken with LAMA about this. It came into the briefin…

I want to speak about my Private Member's Bill that will be before the House tomorrow evening, the Local Government (Support for Elected Members) Bill 2024. Colleagues should know that this Bill seeks to address long-standing and well documented challenges facing local democracy in Ireland. I hosted a briefing on this recently but not many people turned up, which was disappointing. This legislation is rooted in a simple but fundamental principle. As we all know, our local authorities cannot function effectively unl…

I want to pay tribute to the Minister of State. I know how much work she has put into this, and I know also that this is an area about which she is extremely passionate. I am very aware of all of the work she has put into new services over the last few years that she has been Minister of State. I just want to say that at the top. I am here to speak about amendment No. 84, which seeks to reduce the maximum time for a mental health review board hearing to take place after a person has been involuntarily committed fro…

I still have a concern, bearing in mind that the expert review group of the Mental Health Act examined the issue in depth and concluded that a maximum time frame of 14 days for review hearings is more appropriate and more consistent with the human rights standard. I believe that shortening the time frame could help drive a shift towards earlier review, stronger protections and the development of more robust community-based alternatives, which are really needed here. Overall, there has to be a more holistic approach…

I want to get some clarity from the Minister of State. The 2001 Act currently allows the review to happen before 14 days. Why change it to a 14-day minimum if the 2001 Act currently allows the review to happen? Can I get clarity on that?