Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome this legislation. I slightly disagree with Senator Pauline O'Reilly who stated that the top issue on the doorsteps is dumping. The top issue on the doorsteps is the cost of living. This legislation will actually contribute towards saving people money. In fact, it is estimated that if we can boost Ireland's circularity by eliminating wasteful practices and making better use of the resources that we have, we can save up to €2.3 billion per year. Thinking about the amount o…

I propose that the House suspend.

I join with colleagues in welcoming our parliamentary colleagues and friends from Ukraine. I also welcome all of our distinguished visitors and friends. I acknowledge in particular that we have with us here today the Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Larysa Gerasko, who has been a wonderful friend to those of us in the Seanad. The ambassador has done enormously positive work in Ireland and she has been an extraordinary ambassador for her country. We are very appreciative of her work and that of her team. I have…

In the next couple of days, well over 1,000 politicians and political delegates will arrive in Dublin for the congress of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, the political family to which my party, Fianna Fáil, belongs. I am sure the Acting Leader will join me in welcoming the delegates and I am sure they will have a good time and a very productive congress in Dublin. Our affiliation with European political parties is important, especially given Ireland's continued desire to be at the heart of the Eur…

The Minister of State is fortunate because she is from Waterford, where there are many fine beaches, just as we have in Wexford. We are coming into the summer season. Many more people are availing of our beaches and swimming is becoming more popular year round. However, the problem continues to arise around jet skis and small motorised vehicles. I am aware that legislation is in place that will allow local authorities to put by-laws in place. Those by-laws are supposed to be enforced, but one of the difficulties is…

I recognise the Minister of State is taking this on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. The response is quite clear nonetheless and my concern is the length of time this may take. There are incidents every summer and we hope none are too serious. There are certainly concerns that jet skiers come too close to swimmers, for example, and others cause a nuisance in some of our harbours. As the Minister of State said, I want people to be able to use the water and jet skis but they should do it in a way whe…

I welcome the ambassador of Sweden on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group. Sweden is a most beautiful country. I have managed to complete the Stockholm marathon twice-----

I have also taken part in a unique Swedish political event, Almedalen Week, which takes place every summer and brings all the political parties in Sweden together to try to reach consensus around political issues. Some of the debate in Sweden around foreign policy and human rights is something useful that we could share. In this House, we have talked about how we should work more closely with non-aligned countries who are members of the European Union. I look forward to the reopening of the embassy. With regard to …

I am looking forward to seeing the record of this and reading this later.

It is blockchain awareness week.

I move amendment No. 191: In page 87, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “139QA. (1) Where an offence under any of the relevant statutory provisions has been committed by an undertaking and the doing of the acts that constituted the offence has been authorised, or consented to by, or is attributable to connivance or neglect on the part of, a person, being a director, manager or other similar officer of the undertaking, or a person who purports to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the u…

I entirely understand there are legal difficulties and accept that the level of proof required in a criminal case to prove something beyond reasonable doubt is always going to be the case with regard to any criminal charge. I am afraid I have to respectfully dispute the Minister's assertion that this would be a matter of choice. There is not a barrier, as I read the legislation, that would prevent an coimisiún from pursuing its standard case and expecting somebody to be able to co-operate with its direction and cod…

The Minister and her officials have engaged on all the other areas. It would be useful if some of the advice could be made available to us. I do not know what is possible. It would be good to discuss that advice with officials and see if there is a way around this. From some of the discussions we have had, amendments along these lines will be possible. Rather than getting into legal debate on the floor, since we have had useful engagement with the Minister's officials, Senator Cassells and I are in agreement that w…

On the basis of the very positive engagement we have had with the Minister and her officials, I am happy to withdraw the amendment.

Next Tuesday.

I thank the Minister and her officials again. By the end of today, the Minister will have been in the Chamber for 16 hours dealing with many aspects of this Bill. We agreed not to subject it to a guillotine because of its importance and that we would go through the Bill. I would hope that during today's discussion brevity and concise contributions would help. However, if we debate many issues in depth at this Stage, I would ask that when we come to Report Stage, we do not re-debate all the issues. The Minister has …

I have some sympathy for what Senator Warfield has outlined. What is important in this legislation is that, in as far as possible, it is technology-neutral because who knows what kind of technology the new media commission will be regulating in the years ahead. In terms of some of the challenges and opportunities that are presented within the metaverse, we already see children and young people avoiding some of the rules around age identification and verification. I accept it is not primarily a piece of responsibili…

Amendment No. 170 is a fairly simple amendment to ensure that in the maintenance of the register, unless somebody is deemed to be responsible for online safety at a named service, questions must arise. We are requiring a company to set out very clearly its address, the nature of its business and so on for designation purposes. This amendment proposes that the company must also give clear information regarding the individual within that company, organisation or platform who is responsible for online safety. This wou…

I move amendment No. 170: "In page 81, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “(c) contact details of the person or persons designated as responsible for online safety at the named service.”."

First, I apologise for the absence of our party’s spokesperson, Senator Crowe, for whom I am deputising. We are very happy to support this Bill, which is part of the Minister of State's legislative programme and an area of priority. It speaks to the fact that we believe that where there is fair competition, it will benefit the consumer. Fianna Fáil, as a pro-business party and party in government, believes it is important to support business while at the same time ensuring a level playing field for everyone competi…