Next Monday.

I welcome the Minister to the House to address this important issue. I note that the House is exclusively occupied by women here to speak on this issue. It shows the importance of this subject to female legislators, policymakers and Members of this House. It also demonstrates the importance of showing our solidarity with the women and families affected by the terrible tragedy that is the CervicalCheck scandal. I am sure all of us have been through the CervicalCheck system in the normal way. It saves lives and it is…

Very good.

Now.

Now.

Now.

I move: That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the CervicalCheck Tribunal (Amendment) Bill 2021 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.”

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to move No. 18 before No. 1 on the Order Paper. I wish to bring the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person (Amendment) (Stalking) Bill 2021 to the House today. I have been working on this Bill for the past number of months with Eve McDowell, Una Ring and Catherine O'Sullivan from Stalking Ireland. Ms McDowell and Ms Ring bravely spoke about their personal experiences a number of months ago. Both were victims of what I consider to be an offence of stalking but it does n…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The scheme has been most important.

I was saying something before I was interrupted. I agree that every Member has a mandate, an entitlement and a right to speak on any section of legislation. I am not sure the Senator would follow the rules that she is setting out. Certainly, it is not her place to set rules for others. The EWSS has been important. I appreciate that it cannot be open-ended and there has to be a finishing point. Yet, I am making an appeal on behalf of the hospitality sector. Large cohorts of our society, including people in their 20s…

I will briefly respond to some of the comments.

Perhaps I was a little long-winded. The employment wage subsidy scheme is important. Many people in the county I live in rely on it. This is my only opportunity to speak about it before the recess. On the other matter that Senators have mentioned, I am not in favour of that tax exemption at all but to suggest that by having spoken on another section I was somehow preventing others speaking is not a fair comment.

Last week I brought the attention of the House to the recently published PwC report which made the case for extending the VAT rate of 9% for hospitality up to the end of 2023. Has the Minister of State had the opportunity to read the report? Why did the Government select August 2022 as the end date? Would it consider extending the lower rate to the end of 2023 as recommended by the report? It is reasonable and sensible and would allow businesses to plan beyond this crisis period and let them get back on their feet.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Friday, 9 July, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; and No. 2, Private Security Services (Amendment) Bill 2021 - all Stages, to be taken at 11.45 a.m., and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 12.45 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, with regard to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by …

I thank all Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Senator O'Loughlin raised the orphan drugs Bill that is being launched today by Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan. I pay tribute to former Deputy John Brassill, who initiated this Bill in the previous term. We are now bringing it back again. It is important that we deal with the issue of drugs that combat and treat rare diseases. I was heavily involved in the Spinraza campaign in the previous term. We were lucky to get that over the line after many years of camp…

I move: (1) That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Seanad on its rising on Tuesday, 6th July, 2021, shall adjourn until 9.30 a.m. on Friday, 9th July, 2021, in the Dáil Chamber, and unless otherwise ordered, the following arrangements shall apply: (a) Standing Orders 29 and 30 shall stand suspended; (b) there shall be no Order of Business; (c) the business to be taken shall be confined to the items set out in the Schedule to this paragraph and, accordingly, no other b…

I welcome and agree to the Order of Business. I wish to raise the issue of dementia and Alzheimer's day care centres across the country. It was brought to my attention recently that very few of these centres have reopened. The person who spoke to me wisely put it that we spend a lot of time talking about pubs, bars and restaurants and very little time talking about the essential services families rely upon that have been shut for a year and a half. I have spoken to the Minister of State at the Department of Health,…

I wish to speak in favour of both amendments, Nos. 1 and 92. We are at a critical time of change for agriculture. This Bill is coming through the House as the Common Agricultural Policy negotiations are coming to an end. The new CAP policy will mean significant changes for farmers. Pillar 1 payments will now have a direct link to an eco scheme for 25%, which has not happened previously. That, coupled with this Bill, means farmers will be dealing with a lot. There is a lot of change happening and they must be suppor…

Last week, I had the great pleasure of attending the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP, webinar which focused primarily on women's health issues. One of the topics discussed was endometriosis. Senators will be aware that I have consistently raised this issue in the Seanad. I was very happy to play my part in bringing about an information session to bring to hundreds of GPs from throughout the country the most up-to-date information on this disease from an expert in the UK. The event went very well and I …

I am joining my colleagues, Senators Blaney and Dooley, to represent the people of Mayo, Donegal and Clare on the ongoing issue of pyrite and mica, which has affected the homes of thousands of people in the west and north west. I am here specifically representing the people of County Mayo. This issue mainly affects north Mayo, specifically Belmullet, Killala, Ballina and areas in between. To say people are experiencing significant mental anguish is probably an understatement. I understand the Government has committ…