We will move on to the Independent Group. Deputy Connolly has seven minutes and Deputy Pringle has three minutes.

I want to speak briefly, not necessarily to the amendments but in general as this is our last Stage of this Bill, as the Minister has said. It is a welcome development that a lot of younger people cannot believe the old system of wardship is the way things were done in this country. There have been concerns expressed at various Stages, including on Committee Stage, and some of those concerns have been taken on board. There might be some issues to be teased out as the legislation passes. The Decision Support Service…

I welcome the inclusion of a review or appeal. This is always very important and is something we often look for in various legislation. It is always good practice coming from a trade union background where we regularly relied on the appeals process. It is always good practice to see that being implemented.

I welcome that because it is expanding the service. That is what we want to see as the whole idea of this. As we move out of the very outdated wardship system, the more people can access this service, the better.

This is a really good example of how, when we do the process correctly, there is engagement and back-and-forth, and concerns raised are listened to, it can work very well. We are often critical in this House when stuff does not work well, but in fairness, there are a lot of positive changes in these amendments. Court reporting and research are invaluable. We see so many incidents in family law where the in camera rule can still be respected but the research is done. There are many elements. There is the previous am…

As we are running out of time, I will just say we have had a number of discussions on this now through the various Stages, Second and Committee Stages. I have nearly forgotten what the different processes and Stages are at this time of night. There has been a huge amount of discussion on the issues. As I said earlier, the decision support service will be key in all this. If there are any concerns, it is certainly the body to go to first. I know the legislation is also potentially up for review if there are any majo…

I welcome the Aylward family, Helena, Triona, Bob, Mark and the grandchildren. It is particularly great to see the kids here. I know it has been said already. I offer my very sincere sympathies to his family, particularly in the run-up to Christmas. It is a very difficult time. I got to know Bobby in around 2009. I was elected to the council and was very new to the whole electoral system. Although Bobby was not on the council at that time - he was a Deputy - he was extremely helpful and kind. I got to know him even…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and I am delighted this question has been selected. I am sure the Minister is well aware of this issue and I will expand on it in the further minutes I have, but this was the issue that was raised at the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the past week. It was not a new issue at that point; it has been going on for several years for Dan Brennan and his family. Dan himself gave evidence before the committee and I am asking for a public inquiry and to ensure all…

With all due respect to the Minister, that is a sort of history of the situation as to where we are now but a great deal more needs to be done. For anyone who is unaware of this case or situation, or is watching these proceedings, when I first heard about it, it reminded me of the movie "Erin Brockovich" or the movie that was based on the company which made Teflon. This man, who was an excellent farmer, was told time and time again by the State, which includes the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, tha…

That reply will not be acceptable to Dan Brennan and to the other farmers in the area. They attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine last week and there was great support for Dan. He was present with his wife and family, together with other farmers from the locality, and local IFA representatives. Although I am not a member of the agriculture committee, I attended it last week and this committee was very much of one voice on this issue. This is a cross-party committee which incl…

I thank Deputy Gannon and the Social Democrats. I very much welcome this motion. It is a very serious issue and in the short time I have, I will mainly focus on the impact it is having on children and their educational opportunities. We get one chance in the school system. Every child is obviously different and it can be very difficult for some children, particularly in the aftermath of Covid-19. It has always frustrated me that after Covid-19 schools went back to a more normal system and children were just expecte…

I want to raise an issue that Family Carers Ireland brought to my attention last week. It is possible that it will be addressed in the amendments on Report Stage this evening but in case it is not, I wanted to put this on the record. If it is not going to be addressed this evening, it may be possible to have it addressed in the Seanad. The carers say they welcome the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, which includes a number of important provisions for family carers. However, they are concerned wi…

The Bill will now be sent to the Seanad.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendments Nos. 1, 3 to 12, inclusive, 14, 19, 21, 46 to 48, inclusive, 51, and 71 to 73, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together.

I have not received any direction other than that the Minister should speak to the grouping.

The Minister will have a further two minutes to wrap up.

We have no difficulty with the amendments, which are just technical. I had to dip out of the debate earlier. I made points which were raised by the Carers' Association. I reiterate those to the Minister. Even if he cannot address those today, I ask him to bear them in mind for the next stage or for a response about them at some point if they cannot be included.

One of the mistakes we make here in this Chamber is that sometimes we take far too long with legislation and other times we rush it. There are some really good positives in the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 and it is welcome. As I mentioned, there are many groups such as Family Carer's Ireland which are really happy to see this come forward. This particular section being inserted into it is unfair to the Bill, for want of better words, but also as there are many queries raised by Deputy O…

I am not sure if there is a time limit on this Stage. There is an overall limit of 90 minutes, so perhaps Deputy Sherlock would not take the full 90 minutes.