I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. I commend the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, on bringing forward the Bill. Many individuals thought that by An Garda Síochána exercising its discretion, we could overcome the problems that have been outlined in this legislation. It is preferable, however, to have certainty on the issue. When a publican or a restaurant is granted a licence to sell alcohol, the permission they are granted is to sell alcohol on their premises. This means that if a pub at the top of …

I am sharing time with Deputy Alan Farrell. I hope this is the last time in this House that we have to debate the introduction of legislation to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. As the Ceann Comhairle will be aware, the House last year enacted four items of substantive legislation as part of our response to the pandemic. We introduced the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act, the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act, the Criminal Justice (…

-----virus and a developing situation that required a response from the State. On balance, when we have a review, I think it will find that the State managed circumstances quite well. As I said, we may have been too slow to impose restrictions at the beginning. I suspect another criticism may be that we were too slow to lift restrictions at the end of the pandemic. One thing we know about pandemics is that they all come to the end, and this pandemic will end as well. Fortunately, I believe we are now coming to the …

I thought the Deputy is getting five minutes after me.

I beg the Ceann Comhairle's pardon. I was told I had 20 minutes. I beg Deputy Farrell's pardon. I will conclude as I got my timing wrong. I commend what I have suggested to the Minister and ask him to take it into consideration.

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the ongoing violence that is taking place in the Middle East. In the past 11 days, we have seen untold suffering being inflicted, predominantly on the people of the Gaza Strip. We need to recognise the violence that breaks out in the Middle East seems to follow a standard pattern. Sometimes rockets are fired by Hamas into Israel and inevitably we get a response from the Israeli military and Government that is always disproportionate, excessive and indiscriminate. We see this b…

I wish to ask the Minister about the review of mandatory retirement ages for officers in the Defence Forces. He will be aware that a review has been ongoing now for quite a while. There were reports that the review was supposed to have concluded a year ago. Where is that review and when does the Minister expect it to be published?

I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome the fact that the report has been completed. I know it is still a draft report but it is now with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The reason I asked the question is because, as those in the House will be aware, many officers who have joined the Defence Forces since 2014 are now leaving ahead of the mandatory retirement age because they are on reduced pension terms as compared with other public servants. We know that those in the Defence Forces are regard…

I am fully aware that the Minister does not make decisions in respect of pensions and I was not trying to land this issue completely on his desk. However, he is the advocate at Cabinet for the Defence Forces. I know that he will continue to advocate on their behalf when it comes to the mandatory retirement age, which I believe should be increased. The issue for the Defence Forces officers arises because of the Public Sector Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012, which resulted in the designed entit…

It is important to point out that the massacre of the Armenians in 1915 and 1916 is not only a matter of historical interest. It also is, notwithstanding its antiquity, an issue that requires a political response. That is why, I suppose, I put down this question. We recently saw a political response from the new President of the United States who, on 24 April, which is the date upon which Armenians mark the commencement of the genocide, issued a statement on behalf of the United States indicating that they recognis…

When President Biden was making his statement on 24 April, he said the reason American policy had changed was not for the purpose of trying to cast blame but in order to ensure this would not happen again. We need to recognise that regrettably, there will be efforts at genocide again in this century as there were in the last century. The purpose here is not to try to hold any country to account. In fairness, there is no country today that represents the Ottoman Empire of the past and nobody is suggesting that a cou…

I wanted to speak on this Bill because it is very significant legislation that this Dáil and the Houses of the Oireachtas are going to enact. Not only is it very important legislation for this Dáil but when we look back on the legislation enacted in the early part of this century, it will be recognised as transformative and very effective. That is because climate change is one of the greatest challenges faced by modern societies, not just in Ireland and Europe but throughout the world. It is in how we respond to th…

Last year, the Minister for Health established an expert group to report on the use of rapid Covid-19 tests and to make recommendations on how such tests could be used in different settings. In fairness to the Minister, he put together talented people to form the group to advise him on these matters. The group was chaired by Professor Mark Ferguson, the Government's chief scientific adviser, and comprised two professors of infectious diseases, Professor Mary Horgan and Professor Paddy Mallon, Kingston Mills, profes…

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I am fully aware of his commitment to getting people back playing and watching sport. Obviously, the Minister of State is correct in saying we are at level 5 at present and limited in what we can do. We need to recognise that hope is out there, however. We cannot continue to live with this sense of doom and dread, listening to numbers every evening. Hope is out there in the form of the vaccination. Societally and epidemiologically, we will have changed to a much better …

I thank the Minister and commend her for taking on board the concerns I expressed in the debate on Second Stage on 11 March. She also communicated with Senator McDowell in the Upper House. I also want to commend the Attorney General. The amendments make it far clearer to a court the intention of the Oireachtas when it comes to the amendment to section 252. I welcome the first two amendments, which specify that the child being referred to in the relevant subparagraph is a child that is alive. The inclusion of a new …

I said virtually everything I wanted to say on 11 March last. The next day, I wrote a letter to the Minister setting out my concerns about the way the Bill is drafted. I put forward some suggestions as to how I thought the Bill could be improved. I thank the Minister for the reply, which she sent to me at the end of last week. I am pleased to say the Minister indicated to me that she has taken on board many of my suggestions and that the Attorney General has given her advice in respect of some of the comments I mad…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 by increasing the maximum sentence that can be imposed for the possession of a knife to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate any person. The purpose of the Bill is to introduce a change to the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990. The Ceann Comhairle will be aware that section 9 of that Act states that it is a criminal offence for somebody to be found in possession of a knife for the purp…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

The first thing I want to do is to wish the Minister well on her pending maternity leave. It will be a very happy time for her and her husband. I commend the Government for bringing forward this legislation. As was mentioned earlier, I initiated a Bill earlier in this Dáil term which is still before the Dáil, but I welcome the recognition that this legislation needs to be changed. It is important to get this right because one can be sure that this legislation will end up before a judge of the District Court, the Ci…

Can I continue?