I move: (1) That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Seanad on its rising on Wednesday, 8th March, 2023, shall adjourn until 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 9th March, 2023, and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) Commencement matters shall be taken in accordance with Standing Order 29; (b) Standing Order 30 shall stand suspended; (c) there shall be no Order of Business; (d) the business to be taken shall be confined to the items set out in the Schedule to this paragraph…

It is great to be able to speak on International Women's Day and to be here with so many colleagues. It would be nice to have more colleagues in the room, not just the female Senators, but it is great that we are all here together. I want to focus my comments on Afghanistan and Iran. While today is a very happy International Women's Day for all of us, I am keenly aware of and grateful for the huge freedoms I have as a woman in Ireland, in a first-world country where we aspire to full equality. We may not always get…

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion and giving us an opportunity to discuss the Windsor Framework and the Good Friday Agreement. Like other Members, I am conscious that it will be the 25th anniversary of the agreement next month. That will be a key milestone to have achieved but it is not without its challenges, particularly in the context of the years since Brexit happened in 2016. It has been a long road, one that we will still be on for many years to come. It i…

I welcome to the Bulgarian ambassador, and I wish Bulgaria well on its national day. I also welcome the British ambassador and his team. It is great to have them here as always, particularly in light of what we is happening this week. It is particularly good to have him with us. I commend and congratulate Senator Keogan on organising the coffee morning in aid of the UNICEF appeal relating to the earthquake in Syria and Turkey. It is very important, and it was lovely to be there to participate. I am sure substantial…

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on Project Ireland 2040, to be taken at 1.15 p.m. and to conclude at 2.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated for the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, for the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and for those of all other Senator not to exceed five minutes, and time may be shared, and with the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to debate; No. 2, Historic and Archaeological He…

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Senator Conway raised the Windsor agreement in the context of Northern Ireland institutions. He has called for the political parties in Northern Ireland to get around the table and get back up and running. He also acknowledged the work of Clare GAA in some of its recent projects. Senator Malcolm Byrne acknowledged that it was St. David's Day for our friends across the water and noted that on a clear day you can see Wales from Wexford, which was something…

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures, to be taken without debate on conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, motion regarding proposed agreement by Seanad Éireann of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for A…

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Senator Joe O'Reilly, who started the Order of Business, welcomed the Windsor agreement and the move forward on the Northern Ireland protocol, as did Senators O'Loughlin, Craughwell, Ó Donnghaile, Ahearn, Carrigy, Seery Kearney, Kyne and Maria Byrne. Many Members spoke on that same issue. Senator Joe O'Reilly also spoke about the Croí Cónaithe scheme and wants it extended to rental properties. I am unsure if the scheme would be suited to such an extensio…

Do the Senators want me to respond?

This is not an exchange. I am entitled to respond as I see fit. The point I am making is that if we start taking pops at one another, it will probably lower the tone of the House. It was only one Member who made a remark that I felt was a little bit unfair to the other Member. That is the point I am making. We should acknowledge there was work done by multiple people and many civil servants. There was collective Cabinet responsibility and involvement from former Ministers. I acknowledge the work of the Tánaiste, wh…

Everyone is great; is that not the point we are making? Certain language is unhelpful and unnecessary in my view as Leader of the House.

Senator O'Loughlin spoke about Rare Disease Day, as did Senators Conway and Pauline O'Reilly. They all acknowledged the work of former Deputy, John Brassil, who as a pharmacist did a lot of work on that issue during the last term, and Deputy Lahart. Senator Conway asked for a debate on rare diseases, which I will request with the Minister for Health at the earliest opportunity. It is an important issue that affects a small number of citizens in a severe way. Great strides have been made in terms of amyloidosis and …

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition of criminal offences and penalti…

I move: That the proposal that Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to accept the following measure: Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regu…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Fianna Fáil welcomes the Bill to strengthen the monitoring and management of sex offenders. The Bill includes a number of amendments to the sex offenders register notification requirements. It also provides for electronic tagging and a prohibition on convicted sex offenders engaging in certain jobs. While such bans on working with children and vulnerable groups have been made by the courts in the past the Bill will provide an explicit power of prohibition and this is ve…

Next Tuesday.

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on accommodation for international protection applicants, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and to conclude at 2.15 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, all Senators not to exceed six minutes, and time may be shared, and with the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023 – Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, t…

Yes, at 2.15 p.m.

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Senators Conway and Murphy spoke about the cost-of-living measures announced by the Government yesterday. There was a general welcome for what was a broad suite of measures totalling €1.2 billion. Many of them are targeted at the most vulnerable but there were some universal measures as well. The extension for a short period of the 9% VAT rate for hospitality was also broadly welcomed. Senator Conway raised an important issue of bulk gas not being includ…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I commend him on the work he has done in the past year. It has been an incredibly difficult situation for our country, our people and our Government to try to get a handle on and deal with. I have heard questions over the past year asking why had we not planned better for this and why could we not have done more. It is not a situation we could have planned for. No country could have planned for this level of influx of refugees into our country. Our people deserve great credit …