Despite concerns raised during discussions on the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 and the scepticism expressed by survivors, the Minister said it would provide a clear pathway for access to identity records for adopted people and others. However, survivors are encountering delays, barriers, and in some cases less information than they had been able to gather themselves previous to this legislation. What steps is the Minister taking to improve this situation?

The Minister said that as of last Monday, 7,526 applications for information have been received by Tusla and the Adoption Authority of Ireland, as well as 3,489 applications made for tracing services. However, only 2,948 requests have been completed. The Minister said that like it was a good thing but that is kind of the problem because of the requests yet to be processed, does he know how many of them are waiting for longer than the statutory time period of one month, extendable to only three months under the Act?…

I do not think the Minister said how many of the applications are waiting for longer than the statutory time period, but maybe I missed it. That was one of my questions. We all knew there was going to be thousands of applications when the Minister set out the timeframes for responses. People have been waiting for decades to access this really basic information about themselves. Every time I and other members of the committee called for adoptive people to be included in the mother and baby homes redress scheme, the …

The report of the independent review group into the Defence Forces is damning and deeply disturbing. It details a toxic culture that has become embedded in the Defence Forces, in which abuse, bullying, harassment, sexual assault and rape occur with regularity and impunity. The Defence Forces, we are told, "barely tolerates women and, at its worst, verbally, physically, sexually and psychologically abuses women in its ranks." Almost nine out of ten women who responded to the review group experienced sexual harassmen…

It drove lots of excellent members of the Defence Forces out of the institution, and resulted in huge levels of trauma and suffering.

My question is simple: Does the Tánaiste have confidence in the current leadership of the Defence Forces?

I thank the Tánaiste but am a little bit confused about his reply. He spoke of resistance to change within the institution but then spoke of confidence in the leadership being able to change that. Will he clarify if he has confidence in the ability of the current leadership to change it, when it says it has no awareness? After 40 years of being an institution, it has no awareness. Is the Tánaiste worried about the disconnect there, if there is no awareness? The report is blunt and clear and it states that neither m…

Does the Tánaiste have confidence in the current leadership?

I welcome this overdue discussion of the major challenges facing the sheep sector. It is fair to say that these farmers have been severely hit by recent circumstances, especially Brexit and increasing operating costs, and that they simply have not received the same level of support as other sectors in agriculture. There are more than 47,000 sheep keepers registered with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with 36,000 herds being recorded for 2021, spread across the country. The past year has been pa…

This is the second vote of no confidence in the Government on the subject of housing in the past three months. In December there was a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. Today there is a motion of no confidence in the Government. Both motions are inextricably linked to the housing disaster. Even if the Government survives the vote on this occasion, I expect there will be more motions of no confidence. Time is running out for the Government. Th…

There are tens of thousands of vacant homes in the country that would come back into use with an effective vacant home tax.

Crucially, we need to build State homes on State lands. Enough is enough.

The Social Democrats have no confidence in the Government.

The report by the independent review group about the Defence Forces is disturbing. Much of the abuse and behaviour detailed throughout the report is not just horrific but criminal. Almost nine out of every ten women who responded to the review group reported that they had experienced sexual harassment. The report stated there was a discernible practice of rape and sexual assaults in numerous settings and locations. That this disgusting and hurtful abuse happened with impunity in the Defence Forces, whose members ar…

As the Bill is on the last Stage, we can speak about it.

There are a lot of amendments, so I will be speaking in respect of them. I welcome this and any Bill that helps to improve situations for workers, employers and families. It has many benefits in transposing into Irish law, the European directive of 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers. However, many of the flaws identified at the pre-legislative scrutiny stage remain and undermine the overall impact of the law. It is good to highlight the headline issues but when we consider the details, there are some …

What I am saying is around amendments Nos. 20, 22 and 23. That is what I am getting to. I am supporting the point I am trying to make.

I will skip my last point if the Ceann Comhairle wants me to move on more quickly. Is there a reason we are under time pressure?

It is related to the amendments. The Bill must be met with improvements in the provision of accessible and affordable childcare under the care services. In this context, the least we can do is ensure people have the right to flexible working arrangements as an acknowledgement of the poor provision of childcare and social and healthcare. One area of concern in the Bill was covered by amendment Nos. 20, 22 and 23 relating to a parent's request for flexible working arrangements. The Government has proposed that flexib…

Several of these amendments relate to gender-based violence leave. I wholeheartedly welcome the right to access leave for domestic and gender-based violence. It is significant that people now have that statutory right, but the provisions fall short of what is required. Most obviously, the Bill only allows for five days' leave, when the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth heard, repeatedly, that ten days is necessary. We have all raised these points before, but if we are to take …