I endorse Senator Fitzpatrick's views entirely, including on those issues about which we should not be speaking. I support this legislation but I do not want to see emergency periods being used, effectively, as an excuse for things not to be done. I have a specific question, for example, regarding why extended periods might be allowed under derelict sites legislation. I have no problem with allowing for extensions to consultation periods, planning permission for developments and so on but where we are dealing with …

I welcome the Minister. In his speech, he very much showed his personal commitment, as well as that of the Government, to reach a resolution on this issue. He has seen the unity in this House around this issue, but I believe the fact he is here tonight reiterates the strength of the Government's view. It is important. Like others, I welcome John Finucane to this Chamber and his family and others who are viewing the debate tonight. It always strikes me when I speak to young people in youth groups and in schools that…

While I agree with much of what Senator Ó Donnghaile said, it should be recalled that for a long period his party shared the views of many of the Brexiteers about trying to pull away from the European Union. I am sure the Leader will join with me in congratulating those Irish scientists who are involved in helping to find a Covid vaccine. It was quite pleasant to hear on the radio yesterday Dr. Teresa Lambe, who is a UCD graduate, and Professor Adrian V.S. Hill, who is a Trinity College Dublin graduate, both of who…

I note the Deputy Leader is not in the House.

I endorse the remarks of my colleague, Senator Chambers, on the actions of the Governments of Hungary and Poland and the continual breaches of the rule of law and the attacks on freedom of the press and on minorities. They are not European values. I certainly support the call for this debate. I welcome the arts and culture recovery task force report that has been published, in particular the recommendation that the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, will champion on the introduction of a universal income scheme for…

I welcome the Minister of State on his weekly visit to the Seanad. I broadly support this legislation. We had quite a strong debate on the Bill I brought forward last week, the purpose of which is to enact the seventh amendment to the Constitution. The legislation before us relates to a broader question on our democracy and what we would like to see happen during the lifetime of this Oireachtas. It will be good if, at the end of this period, we are able to say that we introduced an effective electoral commission an…

I am happy to share time with Senator Dolan. I will take only two or three minutes.

Yes.

I will share time if it will help. I thank the Minister of State. I am glad to hear about the approach, in particular his highlighting of the concerns about climate change. We need to ensure in all our approaches to dealing with flooding that people are educated on the impact of climate change and the effect it is having on our waterways and on erosion. I wish to raise a specific issue, namely, the case of the Ahare river, which is near Castletown, in north Wexford. When the Ahare river floods, a road becomes impas…

We need to start by acknowledging the important role that Ireland plays in the data sector. It is one that I hope will continue to grow. The question today is about how we manage those data and how we ensure citizens' data privacy. I hope that the Minister of State will express the Government's view about the recent judgment in the Schrems II case. Max Schrems and others would have argued that much of this litigation was unnecessary. Had the Data Protection Commission, DPC, made a decision based on the original cas…

Unfortunately, I have a slight problem. While the DPC is independent, the language the Minister of State is using is pretty much the language we heard in the run up to the financial crash, when people were told that the Financial Regulator and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement were independent agencies and the Oireachtas could not interfere. Ireland is potentially facing a significant reputational risk in terms of the misuse of data and in challenges such as the one brought by Mr. Schrems. The Gov…

I formally second the proposal. In doing so, I pay tribute to Senator O'Loughlin for her work on this. She has been a passionate campaigner for the rights of minorities. I particularly commend her on moving forward with the Bill. Even though there is a commitment to address this matter in the programme for Government, I share her frustration that it has not been given the priority it deserves, particularly in light of the fact that 3,800 written submissions were received in the consultation process relating to the …

Shame.

I echo the remarks of Senator Garvey relating to ASD units. I also echo the remarks of Senator Ó Donnghaile. It was telling that US President-elect Biden called just six leaders last night and one of those was the Taoiseach. I hope that is a sign of the continued strong relationship between Ireland and the United States. I raise the question of the fair deal scheme and the long-standing commitment to address the discrimination against farms and small businesses. Members are aware that those who avail of the fair de…

I echo the views of my colleague, Senator O'Loughlin. The Minister will be aware that many local authorities have passed motions and supported this matter because of the interest shown in this House and the other House. I know the Minister is genuinely interested in this but what he is proposing is perhaps not the solution many of us would have sought. I urge the Minister to ask that that investigation begins as quickly as possible, bearing in mind that there are only eight men from that period still alive. While t…

It is good to see Senator Currie in the Chair. I note that I am the first male speaker in this debate, which is a message that needs to be sent out from this House. I encourage more of my male colleagues to come in and speak on this issue. I am particularly happy the Minister of State is in this brief. She has a real interest in and empathy for it. I know she visited a number of centres in County Wexford, particularly St. Aidan's in Gorey, which is close to my own heart. The people there extend their thanks to her …

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber again. An issue arises regarding the essence of our democracy. We have had the opportunity in these Chambers to discuss questions about political funding and outside influences in politics. There are a number of points I want to raise. First, a question has to be asked about the donation of €4.6 million. An issue arises over media probing. I challenge the media in that if in the past a donation had been made to a leader of Fianna Fáil, the likes of Vincent Browne would have bee…

I echo the Leader's praise of RTÉ's coverage of the US presidential election, which exhibited public service broadcasting at its best. I think in particular of the montage piece put together by Jackie Fox, Meabh Kearney and Cliona Higgins. It used some footage of Mr. Biden speaking the words of Seamus Heaney and we are only too well aware of the importance of poetry and the arts in communicating. The President-elect, Mr. Biden, clearly used that to very good effect. While we are on the subject of media coverage, ma…

Like others, I want to pay tribute to Mr. Paul Roche, an amateur genealogist in Wexford, who discovered that Joe Biden's great grandmother, Catherine Roche, emigrated from Taghmon in County Wexford in the 1840s. Today is World Science Day for Peace and Development and we all appreciate the importance of science and evidence-based research in tackling the pandemic and also in dealing with issues like fake news. The biggest challenge that we face, which science shows is happening, is climate change. I seek a debate i…

We are all facing the challenges of living with Covid but it is really important that we give people hope. We are going to overcome this. As the Minister of State has said, there is good news about the vaccine. We must develop a strategy that builds on the community resilience we have had to date and looks at communities coming out of this. This is about our artistic, sporting and community groups coming together. This impacts on all of us but as Senator Clifford-Lee noted, it particularly affects young people and …