We do not accept anything that happens in Guantanamo Bay.

This is not a comparable situation.

I welcome our new colleague, Senator Nikki Bradley, to the House, which I did not have the opportunity to do previously. I know she will add a new and important perspective to our debates. It is wonderful to have her here. She is a neighbour of mine in Ulster, from the neighbouring county. I have huge affinities from childhood with Donegal and I look forward to working with her. I support the remarks of Senator Gavan in relation to the Cathaoirleach, Mr. Martin Groves, Ms Bridget Doody and all of the staff, includi…

At the outset, I want to formally second my neighbour's, Senator Vincent P. Martin, amendment to the Order of Business. I know he is celebrating the great emissions results today and it is good to see the legislation coming through. I want to join in the words of sympathy to Gerardine and all the O'Mahony family on the passing of John, a man of great warmth, high principle and dedication. He had a wonderful teaching career and an illustrious GAA career and political career. It was a privilege to serve with him, to …

With the exception of our esteemed colleague Senator McDowell, we are all approaching this Bill and the legalities of it as lay people. My interpretation of this provision, as a layperson, is somewhat different from that of my colleagues. I interpret the practical legality as being that a soldier, of whatever rank, can be active and vocal within PDFORRA or RACO. That is a given. I interpret it as implicit in the legislation that soldiers can be active in their community and in all the voluntary organisations, socia…

That is why we should guillotine it; I am joking.

I thank the Acting Chair for the recognition of the relevance of this matter to real people and families. I also thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting it to be taken. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth. It is always great to have him in the Seanad. His answers are always lucid and frank. I recognise the fact that he is here representing my constituency colleague the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. It is important to put this matter in context. The Minister allocated €40 million, a record allocation, to the l…

I thank the Minister of State for the response he has delivered on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I welcome the fact that there is dialogue. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, tends to take a very commonsense approach to things. I am happy that her officials are engaged in dialogue with local authorities to keep the scheme under review. All I ask of the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, is to ensure my proposition today becomes part of that dialogue. I ask for it to be stress-tested and looked at by official…

I thank the Minister of State.

I agree with the Tánaiste's fundamental proposition. Most members of the Defences Forces and society in general would agree that we should have non-political Defence Forces, in the sense of non-party political and non-politically active. I ask the Tánaiste to respond further to Senator Wilson's point and the points made by Senators Craughwell and Wall and to assure us that members of the Defence Forces, in a lay or private capacity, can be members of community organisations, school bodies, local pressure groups wor…

Does that include housing and so on?

With great respect to my distinguished colleague, Senator Craughwell, who has a proud record as president of the TUI and so forth, which we recognise, if I understand the legislation and the Tánaiste's explanation of it properly, members of representative bodies can comment, act and discuss with the Government and within their organisation properly on issues that concern them. Such issues include housing and their welfare issues. It should be recognised that it is a huge advance that they will be part of the bargai…

I will be very brief. I am slightly different from colleagues in that I am a bit agnostic on the question of the Secretary General. However, I do believe in the proposition that if we put the Secretary General in there, the Tánaiste should look seriously at putting representatives of PDFORRA and RACO in on the basis that they have skin in the game. They have a commitment to the betterment of the forces. They are not just representative bodies and they are capable of going on the body with a level of objectivity, an…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Burke. I had the privilege of working with him in the Seanad when he was a Member and it is wonderful that he is back as a Minister of State. I congratulate and thank my colleague, Senator Kyne, for bringing forward the motion and taking the trouble to write it up very effectively. Senator Kyne is a conviction politician and he is very sincere about this issue. I thank him for doing that. I salute the volunteers, the people in towns and villages all over this country who do v…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I welcome the introduction of this Bill to the Seanad. It represents a crucial step in the ongoing reform of our Defence Forces by addressing some of the most pressing issues that have come to light in recent years. The establishment of an external oversight body for the Defence Forces is a particularly welcome development. The initiative was recommended by the independent review group that was tasked with examining allegations of discrimination, bullying, h…

Senator Craughwell would be very good at creative writing.

I congratulate the Leader, Deputy Leader and other Seanad colleagues on their performances in the European elections and join in congratulations to the people who are winning. I will make one sad remark. In the midst of all the joy of the weekend, as Senator Dolan said, there is sadness and misfortune. One of the best county councillors in Ireland, respected across all political shades and none, was Councillor Peter McVitty in Cavan. He is an absolute gentleman. He and his lovely wife Susan gave much to public serv…

I commend the Government on its recognition of the State of Palestine. Our recognition, along with that of Spain and Norway, has made a big international contribution to the possibility of further recognition, to creating momentum for a ceasefire and to allowing politics to fill the vacuum. It was a worthwhile, important and courageous step for our Government to take and it merits acknowledgement. I welcome the introduction of this Bill, particularly in the light of the horrific events we have seen recently in Gaza…

We accept the bona fides of the proposal and the genuineness of where it is coming from. We accept what it is trying to achieve. It is just a question of asking to look at its implementation and working-outs. I presume the Minister will go through more of those technicalities. This is an important debate. Sadly and tragically, we are going to have to continue discussing this awful situation on an almost weekly basis.

I welcome the Minister of State. It is good to have him here. I will make sure my phone is off. I welcome this conversation and congratulate Sinn Féin on initiating it. It is important we discuss housing regularly and look at where we are. As a Government we can be particularly proud of where we have got to now. I will give some headline figures as quickly as I can. Since 2016, 166,000 new homes have been built, with almost 33,000 in 2023, which is the highest number in 15 years. There have been 30,000 commencement…