I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also stand in support of my colleague, Senator McDowell, and compliment him on the speed with which he reacted to the case that arose. It is one of the great aspects of this House that we are lucky to have so many brilliant legal eagles in both the Dáil and Seanad who are able to immediately respond to something like this. I also compliment the Minister for taking on board the concerns of Senator McDowell and, more important, the concerns of the families. She is to be…

Members of the Oireachtas would be dismayed if they realised that a decision of Government on the recommendation of a Department almost ten years ago now has negatively affected mothers staying in State employment of their choice. That negative effect on State-employed mothers was not the intent of the Government decision but has become the unintended and regrettable outcome of it. It has not been brought to the attention of the Dáil or Seanad before now but I intend to rectify that today. The mothers in question a…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and I express my sincere thanks to her for being available to all Members of this House, and not just party members, and for her response when we come to her looking for assistance. The first thing I want to do today is to thank the principals of the schools who have managed to keep their schools running, albeit remotely. They are managing staff, parents, students and boards of management, all of which is taking plac…

I welcome the Minister. This is the first time I have addressed him as Minister. Congratulations to him. He is a hard-working man and I am delighted to see him in the position. I also think he is ideally suited to the Department to which he has been appointed. I am always unhappy about statements. I believe they are a waste of parliamentary time and it is a waste of the Minister's time to have happy-clappy statements about how well the Government is doing. The people on the ground know how well a particular Departm…

Like everybody else, I congratulate the Minister. She should set aside some time to bring herself up to speed on "Thomas the Tank Engine", "Paw Patrol" and various other things like that. There is a lot of learning there because the language has changed. The Fat Controller is no longer working for Thomas the Tank Engine's company. It is very serious stuff. The other thing about having a grandchild is that it is so easy to love them because when they become a little bit stroppy, one can hand them back. That is one o…

I wish the Leader of the House a happy birthday. I agree with everything Senator Norris said this morning. We are the one workforce in the country that has no representation anywhere. They can change our terms and conditions of employment and we have nowhere to go, which brings me on to another issue. About two weeks ago there was a newspaper article about a very senior civil servant - I know I am not allowed use names so I will not - who was intending to move from one Department to another with a bump in his salar…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today to represent the Minister for Health at this important debate. The HSE is being overstretched in the responsibilities that have been placed on it by the Government. It is responsible for the general healthcare of the public as well as testing and tracing and now it is responsible for the roll-out of the vaccine. There should be a single person reporting directly to the Taoiseach who is responsible for the roll-out of the vaccine and that person should have…

I, too, recognise the Acting Chairperson's position today both as the leader of my group and as somebody who has been brave enough to put his personal life in the public domain. I welcome the Minister to the House. It took five years to produce this report and I am sure those who produced it believed it to be a considered and complete report, but I agree with most other speakers who said that they must be willing to go public and take questions on the report. The late poet, Eavan Boland, said that in Ireland the pa…

I join all my colleagues in particularly thanking those who work in the background in Leinster House and make this House work like a well-oiled machine. I wish the Cathaoirleach and the Leader a very happy Christmas. Senator Bacik has blown me away today. I congratulate her on her marriage. This year will stand out in my mind for the coronavirus and everything that goes with it. What really stands out in my mind is the impact it has had on children. It is no secret I was locked down for a fortnight because my three…

They already know that.

I will be as quick as I can. I brought this issue up on Inchydoney Island in 2015. I said that no government was going to increase the pay of councillors and, to date, I have been proven correct. How does any government or political party dare to treat these people in the way they have treated them over the five years I have been in this House? These are the foot soldiers for political parties. They are the guys who go out in the rain. Senator Kyne said a few moments ago that we do not respect local politicians in …

I welcome the Minister of State. This is the first time I have addressed him since his elevation and it is great to see him here. I was proud to step aside and let the Labour Party take the slot, given the debt of gratitude that is due to Deputy Howlin, the party and, indeed, Senator Bacik, for bringing this legislation forward. It has been a long and arduous journey. I wish to tell Jackie Fox that Coco did not die in vain. The outlandish and horrendous torment, abuse and harassment she took from bullies online was…

I was just ahead of the smoke signals.

I moved from Morse code in high frequency, through to very high frequency and later mobile phones and on to the Internet where we are today. In that short space of time, I have seen how communications have been used as a weapon to pull people into line. I know this Bill deals with online communication but we must also look at bullying in the workplace and the classroom but particularly the former. I am familiar with this because a former colleague took his own life because he could take no more of it. The bully is …

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “ “Act of 2010” means the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2010;”. The Minister is welcome back to the House. I acknowledge her as a decent and hard-working Minister who has done a great deal for this country since the pandemic hit and before it in her previous ministerial roles. What I will say here is about the issue and not the individual Minister in charge. I need to put this on the record because I realise she must have worked 23…

The Minister has brought forward a fine Bill and I am sorry that my two amendments are the only ones. I sincerely hope that they do not overshadow the fantastic work that the Minister and her officials have done in the horrendous times in which we live. I have no regrets about bringing forward this amendment because the matter has to be debated. I am honoured that all of my colleagues in the House see that the profession of politics needs to be examined. Senator Lombard talked about the young councillors in Cork le…

I will finish quickly. Senator Lombard is right that we need to get young people in here. In doing that, we need to ensure that we give those young people a career path that offers them alternatives. I thank the Minister for taking the time to listen to this debate. I am not going to press the amendment. I believe the point is made and that we, as politicians, will be big enough to step back and examine the entire profession. I thank everybody for their contributions.

I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “ Contributions by Public Office Holders 3 . Section 14 of the Act of 2010 is repealed.”.

I want to make a point about amendment No. 3. It is important for those who think-----

It is out of order because it involves a charge on the Exchequer. I need people to know that what I was trying to do was to bring in a social welfare charge that we would pay. I was not trying to make Deputies and Senators exempt from paying social welfare contributions.