I move amendment No. 49: In page 28, to delete lines 19 to 21 and substitute the following: “ “applicable period” means— (a) the period of 12 weeks commencing on 26 March 2020, and (b) such other period (if any) as may be specified by order under subsection (20);”. Amendments Nos. 49 and 56 try to put in legislation the idea that rather than just extending the period by the Minister's will, the Minister would have to go back to the Houses of the Oireachtas to get permission from time to time to do that. The wording…

I was listening when I was in the Chair, though the Minister might think I was not. I heard the point he was making. He accepted the rationale for the amendment then and equally for the amendment now. Based on what he is saying and what he contributed earlier, I am happy to withdraw amendment No. 49.

I move amendment No. 59: In page 33, line 35, after “that is” to insert “not more than 3 months”. The amendment seeks to put to insert an actual timeframe, as opposed to leaving it vague.

I do not want to delay this Bill, so I am not pressing the amendment. I am happy to withdraw it.

That is great. I withdraw the amendment.

Members had things to say and they wanted to say them.

I move amendment No. 64: In page 39, after line 35, to insert the following: “PART 10 AMENDMENTS TO THE LANDLORD AND TENANT (AMENDMENT) ACT 1980 34. The Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1980 is amended by the insertion of the following new section after section 88: “89. (1) In this section— ‘emergency period’ means the period beginning on 26 March 2020 and ending on 31 May 2020. (2) Any provision of a lease requiring a tenant to keep a premises open for a specified period or specified hours shall be dis-applied …

I wish to make a point to Senator Conway through the Chair. The whole point of amendment No. 64 is that there are contracts and leases that require shops to stay open. Technically, they would be in breach of their contracts and tenancy agreements. That is the point.

I did not particularly wander. Amendments Nos. 64 and 67 are in order and they were the only two I addressed.

It relates to the opening hours and requirements of shops to open under tenancy agreements. Some must open. In large shopping centres there are often requirements that shops must open for a minimum number of hours per week or per day. The request is that we would disregard that for now so that people cannot then be held by their landlords to be in breach of their agreements because they have been shut by Government instruction, directive or advice. That is all we were trying to do with that amendment. Amendment No.…

I move amendment No. 66: In page 39, after line 35, to insert the following: “PART 10 AMENDMENT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT RATES AND OTHER MATTERS ACT 2019 Amendment of section 4 of Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 34. The Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 is amended by the insertion of the following new section after section 4: “4A. (1) In this section— ‘relevant property’ has the same meaning as it has in the Valuation Act 2001; ‘emergency period’ means the period beginning on 26 March 2…

I thank the Minister for his response. I note the Minister stated, and I assume meant, that it is deferral of a payment as opposed to deletion of an obligation. The Government is saying it does not have to be collected for the moment but the bill will stand, existing into the future. Businesses that are shut for two months and are not trading commercially will still be required to pay their rates in the future. The bill has not gone away. It has merely been deferred, which is an improvement over not being deferred …

I was not expecting that and as I am the only one in my group who is here-----

-----I had better say something. I thank the Cathaoirleach and Minister. The legislation passed here is very significant and momentous and I am glad I was able to play my part in it. To everybody here, it has a been a wonderful experience for me and I hope to continue it but who knows? They are in the post upstairs somewhere but we will have to wait until Thursday to get the result. I wish everybody the best. I have enjoyed working with every single person here, including my own group and every other group, being i…

I am conscious that as we talk about this issue every family in the State is enormously affected by it. It may be stating the obvious but very simple and ordinary things are not happening such as grandparents being able to talk with their grandchildren and to see them and wish them a happy St. Patrick's Day in person. Mother's Day will not be happening the way it normally would. There were three funerals this week of people I knew very well. They were not distant relatives, I knew them very well. I could not go to …

Before we start, I make the point to Members that there are 34 amendments, of which 19 have been ruled out of order. Therefore we need to deal with 15 amendments obviously as quickly as we can.

Notification has been sent to those Members by email.

The following amendments have been ruled out of order: Nos. 3 to 11, inclusive, 15, 18, 19, 24, 25, 27 to 29, inclusive, 31 and 33. This debate must finish by 2.23 p.m.

Amendment No. 3 in the names of Senators Ardagh, Clifford-Lee and Wilson has been ruled out of order due to a potential charge on the Exchequer. Amendment No. 4 in the names of Senators Ardagh, Clifford-Lee and Wilson has been ruled out of order due to a potential charge on the Exchequer.

Amendment No. 5 in the names of Senators Ardagh, Clifford-Lee and Wilson has been ruled out of order due to a potential charge on the Exchequer. Amendment No. 6 in the names of Senators Warfield, Gavan, Devine and Ó Donnghaile has been ruled out of order due to a potential charge on the Exchequer.