To pick up on some of that, I do not think everything in the world of online safety needs to be attached to any sort of accreditation. Again, that is placing it in a particular framework in terms of people accessing education and training and having awareness of online digital safety. That does not bring it right down to a community level where people are not engaging in gaining accreditation or undertaking a curriculum in this stuff. They might only be involved in a local centre, an old folks' home or any of these…

Does the Minister want to come back in briefly on that?

I wish to add my voice to the amendment. In the context of our discussions on the use of recommender systems and so on, they very much tie in with the banning of gambling advertising and with ensuring the advertising is not as targeted as it tends to be, with the profiling and microtargeting people. The issues are related. I will support the amendment but we need to strengthen the provisions elsewhere to prevent the profiling of people.

I will be aiming to make it a triple now.

A Chathaoirligh-----

I formally second Senator Higgins's amendment. Senator Clonan is no longer present; however, as the only woman left on the Trinity panel, I welcome him. He mentioned matriarchs, so I will now claim to be the matriarch of the Trinity panel. The real travesty is that there has only ever been one Senator from Killinarden in the Chamber, never mind Blackrock. I wish to speak to a very sad and important case. I do not know specifically how to have a debate on it but it is obviously part of a wider discussion on mental h…

I move: That Seanad Éireann: notes with concern that: - the cost of renting in the State has approximately doubled in the last decade; - the cost of rent and mortgage repayments are having a significant impact on people’s financial security, with approximately 20% of the population being at risk of poverty when rent and mortgage payments are deducted from disposable income, with this figure rising to 55% in the case of those in receipt of a housing assistance payment; - rising rent prices and no-fault evictions are…

Hear, hear.

I thank the Minister of State. What strikes me is that we all have a common goal but what frightens me is how long we attach ourselves to how we do that. We talk about working together and then we listen to Senator Higgins talking about those tension points and how things work when so many people have different ideas. Up until this point, we have not got it right. When do we admit that we have not got it right and have to change direction? That is what scares me. What struck me about what Senator Higgins said was t…

I welcome our MEPs to the Chamber. I was following the debate from my office and I picked up on one or two points in Senator Higgins's contribution, which, owing to time constraints, were not addressed in the responses. I will reiterate some of those points. On the proposed EU legislation on business and human rights, which includes due diligence on supply chains, I ask that the MEPs speak directly to what this would mean in regard to goods from illegal settlements, scope 3 emissions, responsibility for the managem…

I thank the Minister of State for being here this afternoon. I am finding it very difficult to contribute on this issue lately - more and more so trying to hold my emotion together and trying to hold the reality of lives together. I just need a minute.

Just in case I cannot keep myself together later, I support the two amendments in the first instance. This Chamber has proven more harmful to my mental health than my drug use ever did. I apologise for finding this very hard. There are many policies we can all speak about. The likes of the drugs policy has many threads. Decriminalisation is one of them. Blood-borne viruses, family support, suicide, dual diagnosis, imprisonment, and women and family are others. Every single Department is affected by drug use. Every …

I move amendment No. 2: In paragraph (2), to delete “a Citizens’ Assembly, to be known as the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly, with a total of 80 members, including an independent Chairperson, 67 randomly-selected members of the public living in Dublin City and County, and 12 Councillors selected from across the four local authorities, to consider the type of directly elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin,” and substitute the following: - “a Citizens’ Assembly, to be known as the Dublin Cit…

I move amendment No. 3: (a) In the lead-in to the motion, to delete “the calling of two Citizens’ Assemblies” and substitute “the calling of three Citizens’ Assemblies”. (b) To insert a new paragraph after paragraph (2): “(3) a Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs, with a total of 100 members, including an independent Chairperson and 99 randomly-selected members of the public, to examine how the State can improve its response to the issue of drug use and abuse, and to bring forward proposals in that regard; the Assembly sha…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for being in the Chamber. I wanted to speak with the Minister today about the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 and the progress made so far in addressing the serious delays in processing times for young people interacting with the courts and youth justice systems. For context, an article was published in The Irish Times a number of weeks ago which highlighted the stark reality for many young people engaging with the criminal justice system. It spoke of an "endless ser…

I thank the Minister of State. Even though I am always happy to see her here in the Chamber, I was unaware that the Minister would not be here today. It is not the Minister of State's fault but, historically, I have always looked to withdraw my Commencement matters in such instances in order to ensure that nuanced questions, such as those around the JLO and timing out of the system, can be answered on the spot by the Minister. I just want to put that on the record. That is not a criticism directed at the Minister o…

I have come to the Chamber disheartened. I am not yet defeated but I am feeling quite defeated in a sense because of the lack of a date for the citizens' assembly on drug use in Ireland. Of course, the issues that will next be considered by citizens' assemblies are important but the issue of a directly elected mayor does not come with the same urgency as the issue on drugs. To give some context, someone will die of an overdose every day this year. It will happen every day. The citizens' assemblies that are to be se…

There has to be a hierarchy.

There has to be a hierarchy.

Before I get into my speech, I wish to say how disappointed I am with the amendment put forward by the Government. We need to acknowledge that often official relationships, and working within officialdom, in a sense, can be compromised when it comes to holding states to account. People's tribunals have provided a voice to the voiceless to advocate for legal and institutional reform. They have the potential to contribute to substantial rule of law and they should not be seen as something separate from or outside of,…