The Order of Business is No. 1, Private Members' business, Companies (Emission Reporting) Bill 2021 - Second Stage, to be taken at 1 p.m. with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed 90 minutes; No. 2, Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2021 - Committee Stage (resumed), to be taken at 2.30 p.m. and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion by 4.30 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, in relation to amendments, include only t…

I thank Members for their contributions on the Order of Business. Senator Malcolm Byrne started the debate by raising the funding of higher education into the future and, in particular, the Cassells report. I have made a request for that debate to the Minister, Deputy Harris, at the earliest opportunity. I concur with the Senator's remarks about third level examinations and the clarity regarding what institutions are doing for their students in that regard. That clarity is certainly needed as quickly as possible. W…

They are not just doing secretarial work. They are doing research, drafting policy, helping with legislation and doing everything a parliamentary assistant does. They are doing even more because they are also doing the secretarial work. Their work is much larger, and that issue must be resolved. I look forward to the briefing being held by Ms Samantha Long and all those working on the issue. I am sure many of us will attend and support as best as we can. I will raise the issue again with the Minister, Deputy Michae…

That is their job. It is a part of the responsibility and burden of being in Cabinet, although it is a privilege to be there. These are the kinds of issues that if Ministers can get around the table, and it sounds like they are doing that, hopefully they can bring this to a resolution that is long overdue. It brought the issue home when the Senator said this all kicked off in the year 2000. That is a long time ago and it has been a long time coming. Senator Buttimer raised the issue of a debate on Covid, as he has …

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice entitled Report on Victim’s Testimony in cases of rape and sexual assault, to be taken at 1 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours and, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, the contribution of the proposer of the motion shall not exceed five minutes, the Chair of the committee being a Member of Dáil Éireann, or another Member of Dáil Éireann in the Chair's stead, may attend and …

I thank all of the Members who contributed on the Order of Business this morning. Senator Malcolm Byrne kicked off the debate this morning. He spoke about the work the Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU has been doing to build trust between the EU and the UK and between Ireland and the UK throughout the Brexit process. It is incumbent on all of us to build that trust. He also spoke about the need for greater co-operation. I fully endorse his comments and agree with him on that. …

I move: That Seanad Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Justice entitled 'Report on Victim’s Testimony in cases of rape and sexual assault', copies of which were laid before Seanad Éireann on 11th June, 2021." I welcome Deputy Lawless who is the Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and thank him for giving of his time. I thank the Cathaoirleach for initiating this process within the Seanad and it is very timely. It is a good use of Seanad time because as the Cathaoirleac…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. It is a timely debate while this issue continues to move on and change all of the time. The Minister has very correctly pointed to the engagement we have recently had at the Seanad Brexit committee with Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič on Monday of this week. It was a very interesting debate and exchange of views between members of our committee and with the Commissioner. Commission Vice-President Šefčovič was very diplomatic in his answers to us, and he very openly an…

I thank my colleague, Senator Gallagher, for bringing this Bill to the House. I know he has been working on it for a number of years and that it has been amended and improved a number of times. I will speak to the section. Throughout the past year and a half of the pandemic, we have found a new appreciation for and understanding of the invaluable work our front-line workers do and how much we rely on them. Where would we have been for the last year and a half were it not for our front-line health workers, those wor…

I so do.

I agree with the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader of the House. I raise the ongoing issue at the Belarusian-Polish border and reports that, on Monday, a young Syrian man was buried who had died in October because of the situation there. The situation is escalating. New sanctions have been imposed on the Lukashenko regime, those linked with that regime and those who are actively participating in the events at the border, with asset freezes, travel bans and so on, but it does not seem as if it is going far…

I join the Cathaoirleach in his words of sympathy and condolence to the Currie family, our colleague, Emer, all of his community and his colleagues and friends in the SDLP, Fine Gael and the Parliaments on this island. He led an extremely interesting life and made a significant contribution to public life. He has left a fantastic legacy. May he rest in peace. The Order of Business today is No. 1, Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2020 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 1 p.m. and to adjourn at 2.15 p.m., if not prev…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. Given that every colleague who contributed paid their respects and expressed sympathy to the Currie family on the passing of Austin Currie, I propose that we have a minute's silence to honour his passing.

I thank everybody for their contributions to the Order of Business. Senator Daly started by raising the issue of the Passport Office and the continuing backlog while acknowledging that some improvements have been made with the direct line but also highlighting the ridiculous situation that a person was posted their passport when it was not possible to reach them. Generally when people come to anyone in public life looking for help with a passport, it is always at the eleventh hour, if not beyond that. That is why t…

I thank the Sinn Féin group for introducing this legislation and giving us an opportunity to discuss the issue. I commend Together For Safety on its work in putting this legislation together, bringing the issue to the floor of the House and making sure that we do not forget our obligations as legislators to deal with it. Senator Clifford-Lee mentioned our recent trip to Poland on behalf of the all-party Oireachtas group on sexual and reproductive rights. It was a surreal experience. One almost forgets how fraught a…

That is the wrong place to go. This is just my opinion and I appreciate that others will disagree. This is an important matter. I know from speaking to the Minister about it numerous times that he is fully committed to delivering the legislation. I hope I am not taking liberties, but I believe we were under the impression that the legislation was further along before he took office. That impression was certainly given by the previous Minister. In reality, the current Minister was effectively starting from scratch w…

-----and the Department has been extremely busy, but that is not to say that there is not full support for the legislation. It is in the process of being drafted, which is important. The situation would be very different if the legislation was not being advanced, but the Government is committed to doing so and will do it. That is important. Ultimately, it does not matter how we get there as long as we get there. There is a sense of urgency around this matter. Senator Moynihan highlighted the challenges being experi…

The Order of Business is No. 1, Defence (Amendment) Bill 2021 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 1 p.m. and to adjourn at 2 p.m., if not previously concluded; No. 2 Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2021 - Second Stage, to be taken at 2.15 p.m. or 15 minutes after the conclusion of No. 1, whichever is later, to conclude at 3.30 p.m. with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and all other Senators not to exceed fiv…

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business this morning for their comments. Senator Dooley started the day by bringing up the issue of the Doolin Coast Guard, which has been brought up by a number of colleagues this morning, including Senators Garvey, Conway and others. I join with colleagues in sharing their frustration and concern over the standing down of that very busy Coast Guard. My current information is that the Department of Transport is working with local stakeholders and the community t…

I move: That Seanad Éireann resolves that the Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020 (No. 14 of 2020) shall continue in operation for the period beginning on the 10th day of November, 2021 and ending on the 9th day of February, 2022.”