I move amendment No. 10: In page 15, to delete lines 31 to 34.

I move amendment No. 13: In page 22, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “(b) a member having expertise in transitional justice,”.

The amendment specifies that at least one member of the advisory board should have knowledge of and experience in transitional justice. Transitional justice is a response to systemic or widespread violations of human rights that seeks recognition for victims and the promotion of possibilities for peace, reconciliation and democracy. It is justice adapted to a society transforming itself after a period of pervasive human rights abuses. We must ensure we take on board the available expertise in this field in order th…

I move amendment No. 14: In page 22, to delete lines 12 to 13, and substitute the following: “(b) a member having expertise in transitional justice,”.

I move amendment No. 15: In page 33, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following: “(6) Nothing in this section shall prejudice the rights of those who wish to make a protected disclosure under the Protected Disclosures Acts 2014 to 2022.”.

The amendment seeks to ensure that nothing in the Bill will prevent someone from making a protected disclosure with regard to wrongdoing in the process of excavating a burial site or in the sharing of information of significant public interest relating to a burial site. It is a small addition to section 30, which prohibits the disclosure of confidential information by specified persons, including the staff of the director. “Confidential information” is defined quite loosely in section 30(5) and seems to include any…

I move amendment No. 16: In page 35, line 31, to delete “or unnatural circumstances” and substitute “, unnatural, suspicious or undetermined circumstances”.

I move amendment No. 17: In page 37, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “Review of operation of forensic examination and recovery and post-recovery analysis of human remains 40 . Following the expiration of the period of operation of an Office of Director of Authorised Intervention, the Minister shall cause a report to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas on the carrying out of the functions under this Part, including the performance by the coroner of their specific functions, in respect of t…

This amendment addresses the operation of forensic examination and recovery and the post-recovery analysis of human remains. More specifically, it calls for a review to be undertaken and a report to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas regarding the functions of an authorised office under this Part of the Bill, once the examination of a site has concluded and the office has ceased operation. As the Minister will be aware, the role and involvement of the coroner was a point of significant deliberation during…

On a point of order, I do not think this should be done after an hour. It is to conclude, regardless, after one hour.

We will have to move quickly because it is agreed to conclude.

I do not intend to speak on every single section, when it is not required. It is important to pick up on some of the points the Minister has just made. I thank him and his officials. Sometimes when you bring legislation and a Department says it will look at it or a Minister says he or she will look at it, you hope and want to believe that will happen. I have to say that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and his officials acted very swiftly on carrying out that research, which has been very beneficial, not only to me i…

I am happy enough to continue to engage on those amendments between now and Report Stage.

That was a simple enough suggestion, which is great. I could be more efficient in passing the Bill by shutting up and sitting down but believe-----

The Acting Chairperson knows what I mean.

It could be a long time between now and then for me. I note how important this legislation is. It intersects with some of the other areas on which we work, such as protected disclosures and burials. There are so many areas on which this Bill impacts. Over the past year, the matter has come to light more and more and the media are picking up on it. Older women have travelled the country to meet me on this. One woman in her 60s or 70s travelled here on a train to hand-deliver NDAs to me out of fear of the consequence…

Next Tuesday.

I want to raise some concerns about the ordering of business this week and last week. I refer to the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022. We have the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022 coming up this week as well as the Electoral Reform Bill 2022. Those two Bills are once in a lifetime pieces of legislation in their importance, their reach and potential for change in a number of sectors. Our group is concerned about the Electoral Reform Bill this week. It …

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. In speaking to this grouping, which deals with his amendments, I wish to outline my opposition to the way in which the amendments have been brought forward. The guillotining of this debate is in my view disrespectful to our roles as Senators and legislators. The changes being made are significant and were not subjected to scrutiny by the members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action who conducted pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill. The…

I will be brief because we have many amendments to get through. If we do not get some of them on the record, we may not have the opportunity on Report Stage to table similar amendments. Our amendment in this group, amendment No. 36, would allow the Minister to make regulations to exclude an environmental levy charge on customers for certain single-use items where those items are required by that person due to disability. In 2018, Greenpeace, the environmental NGO, stated: As we move to rid our oceans, beaches, and …