I am going to speak on my amendment in this grouping, which is amendment No. 21. It is the first time I have spoken on this legislation. I echo all the concerns raised in the last few hours regarding the amendments and the process itself. Regarding this proposed amendment to section 3 of the Bill, it is similar to amendments Nos. 19 and 20. There is a proposal to delete an important part of the Agricultural Appeals Act 2001 which allows for decisions of the forestry appeals committee to be appealed to the High Cour…

I move amendment No. 21: In page 5, to delete lines 7 and 8.

I move amendment No. 54: In page 8, lines 15 to 26, to delete all words from and including “(1) The” in line 15 down to and including line 26. This amendment would delete the proposed section 14D, which allows the Minister to direct the forestry appeals committee as to how to prioritise different appeals or classes of appeals over others. I cannot see how the claim can be made that the appeals committee is meant to be independent in its functions, in how it organises its own work and in dealing with the appeals if …

This seems an inappropriate political interference from a Minister with the independence of the committee and unfortunately in circumstances where a directive was made under this section, I believe it would call the integrity of the process into question. If the whole point of this Bill is to restore confidence in an overloaded forestry appeals process, anything which might delegitimise its decisions or the processes it uses is a cause for concern. The Bill would be strengthened by not having this section in it, wh…

Senator Higgins has covered it.

Our amendments Nos. 82 to 86, inclusive, all relate to the power the Minister of State intends to give herself to set new fees for making appeals. It is a new power and centres on the part of the Bill which is a cause of real concerns among the citizens and environmental groups.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. The concern is that any new fees will be set at a level that will discourage the making of appeals. Based on the Minister of State's own admission that the appeals system is overloaded, this is a concern for individual citizens who may be on low incomes or for groups with an interest in the environment or forestry who may make multiple appeals at the same time and who may struggle with the cumulative cost attached to such appeals. Our concern, therefore, is that the cost of the appeals wi…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, for being in the Seanad this afternoon. I thank him, the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the officials in the Department for all the work they have undertaken to prepare a safe reopening of the higher and further education sector this term. I wish to echo much of what my colleague, Senator Hoey, said in her contribution. She gave a great snapshot of all of the different issues that face students that might not necessarily have made it onto the radar for many of us. …

I call on the Leader to bring the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Feighan, to the Chamber to discuss the national drugs strategy, with particular reference to Covid-19. During the first lockdown, addiction services were not necessarily seen as essential services with the result that many of them had to close their doors. Many residential aftercare services sent home people who were in the middle of their recovery journey because some of these services, for example, the Keltoi rehabilitation un…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: "(2) This Act shall not apply to a residential unit within a licensed premises or a residential unit in the same building occupied by a specified person.". This amendment would prevent gardaí from entering a residence in which someone who manages, owns or works in a pub or nightclub lives. It makes a clear distinction between someone's home and a licensed premises. It is important that there is a clear legal protection for those who …

I move amendment No. 8: In page 6, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “(d) his or her having received a Notice to Quit from their landlord the execution of which is likely to result in the tenant(s) presenting as homeless.”.

I move amendment No. 12: In page 7, to delete lines 2 to 4. I thank the Minister of State for being in the House today. I welcome the Bill, but I am extremely disappointed by the watering down of protections for tenants contained in it. It represents an unfortunate weakening of the social solidarity we saw during the Covid-19 lockdown, when we introduced strong emergency measures to support vulnerable people, the unemployed and tenants in the private rental market. It is extremely depressing to see this Government …

This amendment does not concern people who are unable to pay. The issue is that people have been living in their homes and paying rent for a certain period but this time does not count where their legal rights are concerned. This is not a protection concerning tenants' ability to pay. It addresses the fact that the period for which tenants reside in their homes does not entitle them to legal rights. It does not make any sense. I do not understand the relevance of the Minister of State's response to the amendment I …

I struggle to see the connection between bad tenants who are not paying rent or breaking contracts in other ways and the intent of this amendment. This amendment is about protecting people and allowing the months for which they are living in a given accommodation to accrue towards giving them protection rights. It does not, in any way, shape or form, allow such tenants to live rent-free or to break any other contractual obligations. All the amendment does is protect tenants living in houses and allows the months fo…

The emergency legislation passed in March clearly carved out a scenario whereby people would not accrue credit towards their rights for the period of the Covid-19 measures. That legislation seems to contradict what is being said today.

I move amendment No. 22: In page 8, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(a) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b): “(c) notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), on the grounds specified in paragraph 3 or 4 in the Table to this section, only if the emergency period specified in section 3 of the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020 has expired.”,”. The amendment would insert a provision into the 2004 Act to make it clear that landlords would not be able to evict a tenant …

I second Senator Higgins's proposed amendment to the Order of Business in respect of the Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020. I would also like to join Senator Fitzpatrick in her condolences to several people living in homelessness who lost their lives in the last week. Unfortunately, in the past few months a lot more people have lost their lives. It is not making it into the news that many of those who took their own lives were moved out of treatment so that the beds in the treatment centres could be u…

I welcome the Minister. I have three more questions that I hope will be answered. On people who need to undertake essential travel to countries that are not on the green list, such as the UK, I have had a number of representations in the past couple of days from very concerned women who need to travel to countries that are not on the green list for a termination of pregnancy that is not allowed in this country. They are worried about how they have to report this, how they can protect their privacy and what they nee…

I might recommend that if someone has missed-----

I will not add a great deal because Senator Higgins has touched on many of the points I had intended raising, notably the back-to-education issue. It is very welcome that the Department has indicated the pandemic unemployment payment can be part of a social welfare payment that can lead back to education. However, the fear is that we are moving into a space where many of the deadlines have already passed for people who may have decided to review their lives. These people may be rethinking how they work, as they may…