The Cathaoirleach ruled amendment No. 24 out of order because it would have made the commencement of certain provisions of the Bill contingent on non-statutory actions such as the preparation of reports and confirmation of compliance with the Aarhus Convention. It is a long-established precedent that making commencement contingent on non-statutory administration action which is external to the provisions of the Bill itself is in conflict with the provisions of the Bill. The amendment must be ruled out order in acco…

Amendments Nos. 26 and 27, amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 27, amendment No. 28, and amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 28 are related and may be discussed together by agreement.

Government amendment No. 27 has already been discussed with amendment No. 26.

Amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 27, in the names of Senators Stephenson and Higgins, has already been discussed with amendment No. 26.

Government amendment No. 28 has already been discussed with amendment No. 26.

Amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 28, in the names of Senators Stephenson and Higgins, has already been discussed with amendment No. 26.

Government amendment No. 29 has already been discussed with amendment No. 20.

Amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 29, in the names of Senators Stephenson and Higgins, has already been discussed with amendment No. 20.

Government amendment No. 30 has already been discussed with amendment No. 20.

Amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 30, in the names of Senators Stephenson and Higgins, has already been discussed with amendment No. 20.

Government amendment No. 31 has already been discussed with amendment No. 20.

Amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 31, in the names of Senators Stephenson and Higgins, has already been discussed with amendment No. 20.

Amendments Nos. 32 and 47, amendments Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, to amendment No. 47, amendments Nos. 48 and 49, and amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 49 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Do any Senators wish to speak on the amendments?

We are on amendments Nos. 32 and 47, amendments Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, to amendment No. 47, and amendments Nos. 48 and 49.

Irish foster carers play a vital role throughout our country in terms of caring for children and the most vulnerable. There are 3,600 foster carers in the country. Unfortunately, this is a reduction from 4,800 five years ago and there are a number of reasons for this. These 3,600 foster carers look after and protect 5,800 children in care. That is approximately 87% of children who need foster care. The other 13% are in institutions. The Irish Foster Care Association has launched its pre-budget submission and the ne…

I too support my party colleagues' comments on the messages from the Minister for higher education about increasing fees in the next budget. I have got hundreds of calls from parents who are absolutely terrified of the cost that college fees will impose on them come September if there is an increase of €1,000. We know a lot of families who have two, three and even four people going to college at the same time. That is a massive increase for people. This reduction is something that was introduced by Deputy Simon Har…

I now call Senator Aubrey McCarthy, who I believe is sharing time with Senator Boyhan. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Senator Maria McCormack is sharing time with Senator Andrews. Is that agreed? Agreed.

That is not relevant to the Bill.