I second the amendment. I thank the Minister of State for coming in. Sinn Féin has roundly condemned the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. It was an illegal act of military aggression and a flagrant violation of sovereignty and international law. It has caused devastating human suffering. Nothing in what we say today diminishes that truth. The people of Ireland have rightly had immense pride in our support for and solidarity with the people of Ukraine since Russia invaded, but the people of Ireland are equa…

I welcome the Aire Stáit to the House. I welcome this motion and the opportunity to talk to it. If someone is fortunate enough to be able to buy a home in today's market, we all agree that the process is far from fair and transparent. It is nice to hear that we are all aligned across the House that more needs to be done. For many buyers the process is stressful, drawn out and deeply uncertain from start to finish. The motion refers to specific legislative proposals that have come before the Oireachtas in the past. …

I thank an tAire Stáit for coming in to talk about this. This is a decision I find deeply troubling, not just as a Senator but also as a pharmacy technician. I worked for more than ten years in pharmacy preparing these blister packs. I know exactly all the standard operating procedures that go on behind the scenes in preparing a blister pack. I also understand exactly the people who get the blister packs and rely on them. What I cannot get my head around is that the guidelines changed in 2017. I was working in phar…

The phased dispensing fees are being changed, whether a pharmacy chooses to put them in a blister pack for the patient's convenience or compliance and whether the State ever agreed to pay for it or not. It paid for phased dispensing and pharmacies' blister pack medication. Some charge and others do not. The changes to the phased dispensing fees are where the pharmacies will lose out. They will no longer be able to pack medication for that because the list of medications now covered under phased dispensing is the is…

I wish to talk about the most incredible 15-year-old, Ms Cara Darmody, who is here with us today in the Gallery with her dad. She is doing the job that this Government still refuses to do. Yesterday, Cara Darmody and her dad Mark, while Storm Bram battered this country with dangerous winds and weather warnings, spent the night outside the gates of Leinster House, beginning her 50-hour sleep-out to once again expose the ongoing scandal with assessments of need delays. She is only 15 years old but she is carrying a f…

On a point of order, is this debate not due to finish at 10.30 p.m.?

The Cathaoirleach said 10.20 p.m.

I thank the Minister for coming in. I have some points to make respectfully, as we differ on some issues. I am hoping we can work collaboratively on them. "A recipe for austerity" and "a devastating setback for disabled people" were the words of Social Justice Ireland and the Disability Federation of Ireland, respectively, in response to the budget I am very conscious that this budget did not even keep in line with welfare payments from 2020 values. I am not interested in playing politics with people's livelihoods.…

I wish to talk about the inclusion and leadership role Sinn Féin has taken in this. I wanted to talk about the benefits of an all-island healthcare system, one that is not based on a two-tier system. It is really important, listening to the contributions to the debate, that I outline some of the steps our party has taken and the work we have been doing. Sinn Féin has been in dialogue and negotiating but also sharing power at Stormont with unionist parties for 20-plus years. We are listening to and engaged with civi…

Three weeks ago on 10 November a 51-day hunger strike ended. The Taoiseach wrote directly to four hunger strikers, survivors of industrial and reformatory schools. The letter promised mediation, delivery, recognition and urgency and asked them to end their hunger strike on the basis that solutions were being progressed. They took him at his word. They trusted the Head of Government, and after 51 days without food, with their health deteriorating, they ended their hunger strike in good faith. Yet, 21 days later, not…

I commend Senator Clonan on his work on safeguarding legislation and he will have our full support on that. Safeguarding legislation has never been more relevant. Today is an immensely important day, as other Senators have said. It is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a day when we stand together and say that women and girls deserve safety, dignity and justice. Orange is the colour that represents this worldwide. Today, my party colleague, Deputy Matt Carthy, will bring forward for de…

I am sharing time with Senator Collins. I will speak about two different matters. The first relates to flood defences for water, particularly in my county of Laois, which has been left behind. With Storm Claudia last week, we saw flooding seriously affecting businesses and homes. This is a recurring problem for Mountmellick and Portarlington. OPW projects and planning are moving at a dangerously slow pace. Every time we have a storm, homes and businesses are put at risk. We really have to look at the systems and at…

Deputy Matt Carthy.

This issue has been raised in the Chamber by numerous Members over recent weeks, but today is really different. The situation has become critical. The health of the people to whom this issue relates is failing and their lives are at risk. I am talking about day 47 of the hunger strike. It is 47 days since this group of survivors of industrial and reformatory schools started their protest at the gates of Leinster House. They are desperate to be heard. Their health has really deteriorated. I visited them last night a…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I am delighted for the chance to speak on national parks and wildlife and the importance of protecting them. We have heard about where all the main national parks are, namely, Connemara, Glenveagh, Killarney, Kerry, the Wicklow mountains and the Burren. However, I live in County Laois. When you are in the midlands, we are a little bit left behind, so I do not have a national park to talk about. However, it is also important to talk about the other biodiversity and conser…

I thank the Minister of State. I really appreciate him coming in. This is really an urgent matter. I am going to explain to him a little bit about the fire station in Rathdowney and a little bit about the history of it and where it is at now so he can understand how urgent this situation is. Rathdowney fire station is one of the oldest fire stations in the country. It was built in 1954, so that is about 70 years ago now. The site for a new modern station was purchased in 2009, yet 16 years later, it is still idle, …

I thank the Minister of State and appreciate his in-depth response. Rathdowney would have been the number one priority and then things changed and Stradbally became our priority. Stradbally is very much a done deal now, as the Minister of State said, with approvals having been granted in 2022 and 2023. We are very much waiting for that process to happen. In the meantime, however, Rathdowney has remained a health and safety risk for the workers there and for the women in the station, which has one changing area of 3…

I wish to give a special mention to the Ukrainian choir that has been set up locally in Portlaoise. It is fantastic and brings so much love and light to our community. Like other Senators have said, with the mixture in our schools and so on, it has been such a positive experience for us. For all the Ukrainians coming over here, it is at a time when they are in dire distress, but they can bring so much light to our communities. However, it is our job as a neutral country to protect where we can. I welcome the ambass…

I second the amendment.

On behalf of the Sinn Féin, I welcome back our comrade Senator Andrews and say how proud of him we all are. It is really important that we keep the focus on Gaza and the peace deal that it is hoped will happen. We remember the ongoing mission and the five other Irish citizens who are in an Israeli prison. I will address endometriosis today. Over the past few months, there has been an unbelievable turnout at public meetings on endometriosis we held across the country. Women have been coming out in their hundreds to …