I join Senator McDowell in thanking all the people we should thank for the efficient and smooth running of these Houses. He ran through them all. Even if we have had a few ding-dongs over rulings on amendments and stuff, other than that, things have moved well, as they always do. I thank the staff across both Houses. Senator Fitzpatrick mentioned the drugs report. It is important. Ireland is in a unique position. We have had requests to have that report translated into languages like Ukrainian and others, because p…

I move amendment No. 38: In page 30, line 4, to delete “and submit to the Minister”.

I move amendment No. 39: In page 30, to delete lines 13 and 14 and substitute the following: “(3) A strategy statement shall be prepared in the form and manner that the Office sees fit.”.

I move amendment No. 40: In page 30, to delete lines 17 to 22 and substitute the following: “(5) The Commission shall as soon as may be after the preparation of a strategy statement under subsection (1) cause copies of it to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. (6) The Commission shall ensure that, as soon as practicable after copies of a strategy statement are laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with subsection (4) , the strategy statement is published in such manner as the Commission c…

I move amendment No. 41: In page 30, to delete lines 38 to 40, and in page 31, to delete lines 1 and 2.

I move amendment No. 42: In page 31, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “ Annual report 40. (1) The Office shall not later than 6 months after the end of each financial year of the Office prepare a report on its activities during that year, and the Office shall as soon as may be after preparing the report, cause copies to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) , if, but for this subsection, the first annual report would relate to a period of less than 6 months, …

I move amendment No. 43: In page 32, line 3, after “a” to insert “publicly accessible”. Amendment No. 43 relates to the AI register and seeks to make that register publicly accessible. The Minister of State has stated the AI register is not currently intended to operate as a public-facing register. She also stated the AI office may in time consider making elements publicly accessible in a way that protects confidentiality and commercial and data protection interests. It is important to note what the AI register wil…

Hear, hear.

We oppose section 6 as it contains some consequential amendments for section 7, which introduces residency requirements for the provision of accommodation to homeless persons. It amends section 10 of the Housing Act 1988, which provides for accommodation supports for people experiencing homelessness to provide reference to the newly created section 10A, which is inserted by section 7. We are opposing that section and the consequential amendments in this section. The section also contains some concerning provisions …

Often, what we deem reasonable can look very different from where a person is looking at it. When one has privilege, access to healthcare, and his or her needs met fully, he or she can judge what is reasonable in a very different way than somebody who is in a very vulnerable situation. Reasonable for him or her can look very different. When a local authority offers somebody accommodation, like the example I used of an autistic young person and the fear around a high-rise building, that was seen as a refusal. That w…

If I am reading the provision right, somebody can be removed from emergency accommodation or have their emergency supports removed because they have refused social housing. The Minister said nobody would be put out on the street. Where do they go then? The provision says there is a removal of emergency supports if you refuse accommodation. What happens if emergency supports are removed? What if someone applies this legislation and has a right to remove those supports? I do not understand what happens in that instan…

The impact of night-to-night accommodation on people's health is unbelievable. We have built a structure in some of the country's most vulnerable hostels with doctors, nurses, addiction specialists and key workers on site. To have a model that is night to night or 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. completely undermines and undoes the creation of a structure for a person in their everyday life. Are we going to do night to night with a family? If a family refuses what the State deems a reasonable offer, will that family be on the str…

The Bill is set out as a threat and coercion.

That is what I am hearing now. I am hearing that, legislatively, the Minister can remove emergency supports and a single person or a person with children may be put in night to night because that person has been offered reasonable accommodation and, for whatever reason, does not want to take it. Nobody likes staying in emergency accommodation. People have their own reasons that not everybody can understand. This will not force people onto the street, rather, the Minister sees it as forcing people out of emergency a…

The legislation is.

The Senator is welcome to come to Tallaght.

I do not care.

They did not write the legislation.

The Senator is bringing the housing departments' allocations people into this.

They did not write the legislation, but they will have to apply it.