On amendment No. 1 and the holistic nature of care, the ageing population, especially in respect of methadone, is a very relevant general point about addiction services. I do not know whether access to capital funding comes under the Department historically but not only is the population ageing, access to appropriate community drug services that people avail of is becoming much more difficult. These are not accessible and do not have lifts. This may not be the case in primary care services, if someone is going dire…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 11, line 23, after “ailments,” to insert “or in response to the need for urgent or life-saving medicinal care,” The amendment relates to ailments and seeks to insert “or in response to the need for urgent or life-saving medicinal care”. We have legislation that was amended in the past to allow for the likes of access to EpiPens. There is legislation that allows for lifesaving treatment in that regard but it does not currently involve access to naloxone. The pharmacist has to be the o…

I am happy to accept the comments and intentions of the Minister to continue to explore policy options going forward. I apologise because I have to leave to attend a meeting of the Joint Committee on Drugs Use that is starting in two minutes.

The Minister of State is very welcome. I know this is in the realm of justice, but it also very much intersects with mental health and well-being. Cultural and social activity at night in Ireland has been teetering on the precipice of extinction for the past two decades. Access to dance spaces in Ireland is at an all-time low. We have the earliest closing times in Europe and some of the most archaic licensing laws. The number of nightclubs in the country has dropped by more than 80%, from 522 in 2001 to an estimate…

What is the nature of the delays? We are moving very quickly through this year and approaching the end of the lifetime of the Government. Are there specifics as to why the delays have occurred. Is there a timeline whereby we can see this progress? Public health and addiction are extremely important. I would like to draw attention to a bottleneck in the context of the time when people go out. Some people are night-time individuals. If they had the option to go out at 11 p.m. and return at 6 a.m., they would do so. W…

I will not take too much time. I want to outline a couple of things I may seek amendments on when the Bill gets to Committee Stage. Some of them are probably for this Bill and some not, but I would like the Minister to comment on how they fit into the Bill. The amendment to the Irish Medicines Board Act could probably also include the expansion of nurse prescribing in respect of opioid substitute treatment, OST. When we look at the role of pharmacists, we consider the role they can play given their high level of ed…

Does the pharmacist decide that it is uncomplicated?

They are all congregating outside and are plainly visible.

It is the previous section, which is gone, so there will be no more amendments in it.

I did not intend to speak today, but listening to some of the comments has raised new queries for me that are related to the section, notwithstanding the piece around ensuring no one is on the sexual offences register, which to me seems obvious. I am concerned, regarding how the section is worded, where that leads if we are looking at what the regulatory authority actually looks at. Is it looking at the sex offenders register alone or is it actually using Garda vetting, which then places offences into different cat…

Is it okay to have a dad who is a rapist, because the woman is forced to carry it and bear it-----

Oh my God.

In fact, the Minister has mischaracterised what was said. Senator Mullen did say two men should not be parents. He referred to there being no mother. The Minister's initial comment was an accurate representation.

We all have televisions in our rooms.

Today is a good day; there you go.

I am firmly opposed to the renewal of the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009. My colleagues in the Civil Engagement Group echo that view. I reiterate the concerns that we have expressed on each previous occasion on which motions for renewal have been considered. Those concerns are well founded and have been raised regularly by many other legal and political representatives, civil and human rights groups, such as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, …

The Minister is very welcome. I have been listening to some of the comments. I would obviously like to add my voice to that of Senator Higgins in the context of how well she captured some of the larger problems at play with regard to seeing where we stand. Especially since things have escalated in Palestine, I found myself going back to read Hegel in order to try to understand how progress can be so obvious in many ways but yet history keeps repeating itself. I am reminded of a Hegel quote about when people are tal…

The Minister has made a few unfair comments. It is unfair because we have hardly had the opportunity to engage in-----

It is an unfair accusation. There are plenty of bodies that have tried to put forward a solution.

It is an unfair comment and patronising.