The problem happens with "persistently". Something that is deemed not persistent, in terms of it happening daily and weekly, undermines seriousness because it seems that something has to be persistent to be serious. Leaving the word "serious" and looking at the work "persistent", persistence could be even setting the bar too high in terms of people thinking that it has to be daily and nightly, and not concentrated on different times of the year. If it is not deemed persistent, it is not deemed serious. If, for inst…

I move amendment No. 27: In page 7, to delete lines 21 and 22 and substitute the following: “(1) The Minister shall, not later than three years after the commencement of this Act, carry out a review of the operation of this Act. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Minister, as part of the review, shall: (a) concurrently review all enactments relating to harassment and related offences, (b) the extent to which such enactments comprehensively address the relevant issues, (c) the extent to wh…

I thank the Minister for being in the Chamber this afternoon. I support the Deportation Moratorium (Covid-19) Bill 2020. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this important emergency legislation in the midst of a global pandemic. Our call is simple. We seek to amend our immigration and asylum laws so that, as long as the Government restricts travel and movement into, within and out of the State to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus, there will be consistency in how the State treats vulnerable migrants and refugees…

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 4 be taken before No. 1. On behalf of the Civil Engagement Group, I am today introducing the Deportation Moratorium (Covid-19) Bill 2020. This will be taken in our Private Members' time next week and I call on all Senators to support it. The Bill is very straightforward. It would implement an emergency moratorium on the deportation of refugees and migrants from the State for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic and for as long as general measures restrictin…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to prohibit the deportation of persons from the State during the public health emergency posed by the spread of Covid-19 and to provide for related matters.

Next Tuesday.

Most speakers have covered the logistics within the legislation, the statistics, the referendum and so on. In the couple of minutes I have available, I will try to outline how I feel about this issue. Approximately two years ago, I attended several court hearings in regard to a deportation. As I sat in the courthouse, I was struck by the accents and Irishness of the people around me. As mentioned by Senator Flynn, we do not need to measure Irishness because people bring their own culture and heritage and we appreci…

I wish to raise reports in the media yesterday in relation to some prisoners in Coverhill Prison who are mentally unwell. In its latest report on Ireland, the Council of Europe's European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment revealed some shocking conditions relating to some male prisoners in Cloverhill Prison, one of whom was left in an observation cell for two weeks, naked and in his own faeces. The prisoner had not received so much as a shower, and the only ti…

We need to be very careful about our language. They are not late-term abortions. I am sure people will read the report very differently and with a different lens. I just wanted to refer to the language used of "late-term abortions".

I thank the Minister for being in the Seanad. I welcome the fact that we have been given the opportunity to debate the motion, an opportunity unfortunately denied to our colleagues in the Dáil. I imagine that the denial of such an opportunity was the impetus for the motion on the greyhound racing industry brought before the Dáil this morning by Deputy Cairns and the Social Democrats, an extremely important and worthwhile initiative that I wholeheartedly support. The motion before us is straightforward. It authorise…

I thank the Minister of State for being in the Seanad and I congratulate her on her appointment to this crucially important role. I welcome the establishment by the Oireachtas of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, which shall have within its remit the monitoring of the implementation by Ireland of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. However, I hope that this commitment will be matched as soon as possible with the ratification of the optional protocol to that convention to a…

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.