I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am speaking for the Labour Party. We are not opposing this motion. Like other speakers, we recognise the great importance of transnational mechanisms to tackle the scourge of transnational and cross-border crime. The Minister of State spoke about the sort of crime that is so much at issue here, that is carried out on a cross-border basis and has had such a serious impact on so many victims. We are glad to see that, within the motion, there is further strengthening of …

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Given that we are speaking on section 1, and that I understand the timeframe within which the Bill is to be brought into effect, which is hugely important, I want to reiterate my support and that of my party for the principle of preliminary trial hearings. This mechanism will be very important in the interests of justice and in the interests of victims. During my time in practice, I saw many trials in which the trial before the jury was delayed for hours some days, but …

I did not agree with Senator Ward's previous amendment so I am glad he withdrew it. I do, however, think there is some merit in these two amendments, particularly as section 6(4) refers to the interests of the victim as one of the criteria that a trial court shall look at in determining whether a preliminary trial hearing should be held. It is interesting that particular consideration is not included in the range of issues set out in subsection (7) for the trial court to consider at a preliminary trial hearing. It …

I am not disagreeing; I was merely asking a question.

I am delighted to hear the response from Senator Ward. I should stress it is a great idea for Senators from Government parties — I apologise as I should have used that more accurate description — to table amendments. It is very good and emphasises the strength of the Seanad as a legislature, and it emphasises the role each of us plays as a legislator. I speak as someone whose party was in government and who was, to use shorthand, a "Government Senator", that is, a Senator from a Government party. Indeed, I was Depu…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I welcome the news that this Bill is due to pass today and will be brought into effect, as the Minister said, for 3 May. That will be a major relief for the many who have been so distressed by the anomalies and unintended consequences, as we have heard, brought about by the interpretation of the Children Act. I commend Senator McDowell and his colleagues on bringing forward the amending legislation so quickly and swiftly. While the Senator said that the progress through the Hous…

I welcome the Minister back to the House and apologise for being late to the session. I was actually speaking to Alicia O'Sullivan and Jennifer O'Connell about the issue I raised in the House earlier today about Coco's Law. I wish first to speak on Second Stage of the Criminal Procedure Bill before us but also, briefly, if I may, to refer again to some comments on Coco's Law and other relevant legal reforms. First, on behalf of the Labour Party, I very much welcome the Criminal Procedure Bill and the provision it m…

With the permission of the House, I will share time with my colleague, Senator Sherlock.

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank her for her attendance. I thank the Leader for organising this emergency debate, for her strong words of outrage and, indeed, for disclosing to the House the very positive news that the report of the senior counsel is to be published. I think all Members who watched the "RTÉ Investigates" programme broadcast last Thursday were utterly shocked and outraged on behalf of the families and children whose privacy and trust in the Stat…

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. I also welcome the opportunity to have a debate on living with Covid-19. I am conscious we had an earlier debate on vaccinations but it is inevitable the two issues overlap. I do not think anyone who has spoken so far in this debate has done so without mentioning vaccinations and I will be the same. The issues are bound up. All of us are, of course, having this debate in eager anticipation of tomorrow's Government announcement as to where we are going with the plan…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I welcome the opportunity to resume our Committee Stage debate on this important Bill. I wish colleagues well for Daffodil Day. I know we are all wearing the masks that the Irish Cancer Society has so kindly supplied. I thank the Minister for coming in to deal with the Bill and for her very constructive engagement with me. I have been glad to engage constructively with the Minister and her officials since the last occasion we were in this House. Since Section 2 is the substantiv…

On a point of order, I just want to make it clear that the sort of language Senator McDowell describes has not been used by any of us in this House, and certainly not by my party, in the context of this Bill or section 2.

Or the Labour Party, or this Bill.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank her for being here to take this Commencement matter. I have asked for the Minister for Education to provide me with an update on the status of a school's application for the construction of a permanent building and to provide a timeline for the commencement of construction. The matter relates to a school in my local area, indeed a very small distance from where I live, namely, the new Harold's Cross Educate Together Secondary School, which opened just recently,…

I thank the Minister of State and I am glad to receive an update from her in respect of the holding of the pre-planning meeting with Dublin City Council on 26 January and her assurance that school representatives will be invited to a meeting shortly with a view to seeing those plans. That is most heartening, because it amounts so some progress, albeit slower than we had hoped. I also thank the Minister of State for her commitment to speaking with the Minister, Deputy Foley, to ask her if she can do as much as she c…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his comments about Greece's national day and echo them. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to take No. 12 to introduce my Organisation of Working Time (Reproductive Health Related Leave) Bill before No. 1. I have spoken about this legislation before. Colleagues will know that much of the Bill is largely technical and designed to amend the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and the statutory framework relating to it. The key substantive provision in the Bill is to provid…

I move: That leave be given to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for a period of paid leave consequent upon miscarriage or for the purposes of availing of reproductive healthcare; for that purpose to amend the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997; to extend the protection against unfair dismissals conferred by the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015; to provide for the consequential amendment of certain other Acts; and to provide for related matters.

Tuesday week.

I welcome both Ministers to the House. I reiterate some of the points I made on the first occasion we had Committee Stage, which is to express my regret at seeing unrelated amendments being shoehorned into a Bill. I know that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, agreed that it was not ideal. We are all agreed that it is not an ideal situation. This is a Bill that is coming from a different Department. Department of Justice amendments are being inserted into a Bill introduced by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disabi…

Yes. Nos. 1 and 3 anyway. I think they are just technical amendments but Nos. 5 and 6 are more substantive, albeit that most of the changes are relatively technical. It is very welcome that provision will be made for those claims currently in being. On amendment No. 5, I have a question as to the wording of the new section 99(a), which substitutes a new subsection in the Civil Liability and Courts Act. It refers to a personal injuries action commenced on or after the date on which section 99 comes into operation. O…