I thank the Acting Chairperson. I concur with what Senator Blaney said. We welcome that some progress is being made and that all avenues are being explored. Contributions from industry are crucial because, ultimately, it has a role to play. I urge the Minister of State to ensure that the process is concluded as quickly as possible. Homeowners have been fighting for many years and people are extremely distressed and upset at what has happened. Urgency is the order of the day. There must be a resolution to this in th…

I wish to raise a number of issues. Once again, I will raise that relating to restrictions at our maternity hospitals. I am sure many people will have listened to the harrowing recounting of events by a man named John on Newstalk, who tweeted the previous day that his wife had suffered a miscarriage. My condolences go out to them and their family. John was stopped at the door of the hospital and was not allowed to go in with his wife. I am not sure how he managed to speak on the radio the next day. It is a credit t…

I will share time with Senator Gallagher and we will have three minutes each.

I will be taking a slightly a different tone from that taken by the previous speaker in that I am excited to be in the Seanad as a member of the Oireachtas and of a Government party that is bringing through the climate Bill. It is an exciting moment. It is a game changer and a pivotal point for Ireland as we continue on our climate action journey. I listened with intent in particular to Senators Pauline O'Reilly and Garvey. What Senator Garvey said really struck me. She referred to the green schools programme. In r…

I very much welcome the Bill. We have engaged extensively with local authority representative groups, the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, and the Local Authority Members Association, LAMA, and with local authority members in the Fianna Fáil party over many months on this issue. That this change is coming about is testament to the Minister, his Department and all of our councillors because it has been sought for a very long few months. Many Members have articulated very well the difficulty in doing a co…

I raise the protest that will take place outside the convention centre from 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. with the mica and pyrite groups from Donegal, Mayo and along the western seaboard. It is an extremely serious situation. It is positive we have a scheme up and running but there are challenges and difficulties with the scheme. It only allows for 90% redress of the cost of replacing the home and, even at that, it is capped at €275,000 and based on a house of 1,950 sq. ft. The vast majority of the homes implicated in th…

Senator Moynihan's amendment addresses a particular issue with access to affordable housing by single people, single-parent households and households in which only one individual is working. It is more difficult for such households. All of us know from our own local areas that quite lengthy housing lists are being dealt with. We prioritise families with children. It is extremely difficult for a single person without children to get a local authority house or to get onto the property ladder and there is an issue to …

I thank the Senator for proposing this amendment. It shows a very diligent approach to the legislation. I attended Second Stage yesterday when the Minister of State indicated the Government is willing to look at this to try to incorporate it on the next Stage. I thank Senator Higgins for the very fair manner with which she is approaching this. To be fair to Senators, if an amendment is worthwhile we should try, at best, to facilitate it coming through the Seanad. It is very fair on Senator Higgins's part that she i…

The Order of Business is No. 1, Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021 – Order for Second Stage and Second Stage to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to conclude at 2.45 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed six minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed four minutes, and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, motion re continuation of Health (Amendment) Act 2021 (N…

My County Mayo colleague, Senator Burke, raised the very important issue of the scarcity of broadband in many rural areas. Mayo is a perfect example of a county where in some pockets broadband is very good and in others there is none, and there is no sign of it coming any time soon. It is great that the connected hubs network was launched in Swinford this morning. It is fantastic and it will give people the option to work remotely but have somewhere to go where they can have reliable broadband so their broadband do…

My colleague, Councillor Deirdre Conroy, is contesting the election as well so I wish her and all the other candidates in Dublin Bay South the very best in the upcoming election. We would be very sad to lose Senator Bacik if she is to leave the House but we wish her the very best nonetheless. Senator Martin raised the question of the UK's defence and foreign policy around nuclear non-proliferation. It is not an issue that is on the radar too much in this House but it is an important topic. The UK is a very close ne…

I move: "That Second Stage be taken today."

It is welcome we are finally consolidating all the legislation in this area into one Bill. As a young law student working at the Bar for my instructor at the Law Society of Ireland, I distinctly remember being asked to do some work on the law of the sea. I had to go to the bottom of the back shelves, dust off old books and try to make head or tail of what was in them. It is a very complex area of law that very few practitioners go into. However, it is really important for us as an island nation to know where our ju…

Tomorrow.

Yesterday, Oireachtas Members from the west and north west met the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, to discuss the progression of the application of the institutes of technology in Galway-Mayo, Leitrim-Sligo and Donegal to merge to form the Connacht-Ulster Alliance, a technological university for the north west. It was a huge moment for the region when on Tuesday the three campuses submitted their formal application to join forces and become a university fo…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and congratulate him on his opening remarks. I join with him in celebrating Croatia's national day and I extend a warm word to all our Croatian friends here in Ireland and abroad. The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding early signature of the Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021, to be taken on completion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, motion regarding the Tenth Report of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight: Amendm…

I thank all of the Members who contributed to the Order of Business. Senator O'Donovan kicked off with a very personal story of his diagnosis of epilepsy and his journey to reach the point he is at today. I congratulate him for speaking so eloquently about a really important issue. I have no doubt that his words will help many others. He raised additional awareness of the condition today at the beginning of National Epilepsy Week. I note that Senator McGreehan raised a similar issue. Certainly, consideration should…

I can see that the Senator is here. It is great to see it happening. We are not too far behind. I wish all the businesses well and I hope it goes well. I imagine it will. The Senator raised the issue about the Northern Ireland Minister of Health awaiting confirmation from the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, about a meeting. I do not know the ins and outs of that particular correspondence. I have no doubt the Minister is probably up to his eyes with the cyberattack but that the meeting will happen at the earli…

Out of courtesy and to reply to the Senator, it was not a personalised attack. She used the word "butchering" and accused the Irish Government of butchering 4,000 jobs.

I merely reminded the Senator of her own words-----