I very much welcome the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, to the House today in recognition of his enormous contribution to delivering the deal that was the Good Friday Agreement. I thank him for the account he has given on that process today. Much has been said over recent weeks and months about the agreement. While first and foremost the agreement was about being the instrument to end decades of conflict and bloodshed, the standout element for me is that this was a deal upon which to do future deals. It was an agre…

It is an absolute shame for our country that those seeking asylum and refuge in our country were subjected to appalling acts of hate over the weekend in Sandwith Street. Indeed, we see very disturbing scenes again today with the blockade in Clare. There is responsibility on us all to call out the hate and the bile which is being directed towards very vulnerable persons right now. We must also call out some within Government who, I believe, are inflaming matters. We had the Taoiseach this morning blaming a lack of g…

The Minister has sat through many hours of debates in the Dáil and the Seanad at this stage and, of course, countless other hours in internal meetings. Therefore, he knows the strongly-held views of many of us in this House, those of many of his colleagues in Government, the survivor groups, and even the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. We have to ask how we are still in this place after many months now of the Bill going through its various stages where we are still debating the exclusion of children and…

I have swapped speaking slots with Senator Higgins.

Yesterday, a meeting took place between the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and the retail forum. It was held in the context of an increase in food prices of more than 10% in just ten months. Even though the war in Ukraine kicked off in February last year, there was a delayed impact on food prices, which began to increase in May 2022. The 10% increase in ten months has happened alongside the holding artificially high of energy prices, notwithstanding that wholesale prices were lower in January this year than th…

Today is our first sitting since May Day on Monday and since the Workers' Memorial Day last Friday. Of course, while May Day is a great celebration of the achievements by the trade union movement and by workers, it is also a time to reflect on the enormous challenges for workers. A group of workers who were fired from the company Murphy International in Limerick came to Leinster House some weeks ago. They are now known as the Murphy Four. They were fired because of their trade union activity. This is a reflection o…

I move: “That Second Stage be taken today.”

I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.” I wish to share time with Senator Mark Wall.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, for his attendance. Right across the House, most of us accept there is a massive and urgent need to build homes. There are over 12,000 homeless women, men and children out there, with thousands more living from week to week and month to month, not knowing where they are going to live next. That puts pressure on us all to ensure that homes are built. Right across this Chamber, there is also a recognition of the enormous importance of apprenticeships within our educatio…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I thank all the Senators for contributing. The reason we brought the Bill forward now is there is an urgent situation with regard to construction labour, in addition to a cost-of-living crisis, which the Minister of State acknowledged. While there was defensiveness on the Government side with regard to figures last year and the year before, there has been very little engagement, to be frank, from that side of the House on why we have seen a decline in apprentices and why we hear…

The key point is the Government does not have the figures for this year, there was a dramatic drop last year, and it has not provided any evidence-----

-----as to what happened last year.

The key point is that a modest request is on the table, which is that we ensure every worker in this country is paid the minimum wage and that if somebody is doing an apprenticeship that involves work and education, he or she will be paid the minimum wage. To go back to what I said at the start of the debate, it is to get away from that misty-eyed notion that it is young lads of 16 and 17 doing apprenticeships. People go into apprenticeships when they are much older. People want to make career changes. We are not f…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement Matter today. It is timely, particularly in the context of the memorandum to Cabinet yesterday regarding the demand management strategy regarding traffic and managing congestion in the biggest urban centres in this country. It is particularly timely because one of the effects of SI 475 of 2022, which was set down by the Department of Transport, is at odds with the ambition and intention of that memo to Cabinet and the strategy referred to yesterday. SI 475 …

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. We still do not have a technical explanation as to why there is a requirement for a drive through. I ask the Minister of State to ask the RSA and the Department for that technical explanation. Jobs will be lost because of this. We will have a crazy situation whereby commercial vehicles will be in use for longer periods and will release more carbon emissions in order to get tested. Where is the consistency between the ambition of the Department to reduce emissions and wha…

I very much welcome the fact we are debating Second Stage of the Bill and will for a moment focus on its many positives. I am conscious, as many of us are, of the significant work the Minister has undertaken to get it to where it is. My good friend Mags McKinney is with us in the Gallery today. Her mother, Rose, was a resident in the Tuam mother and baby home on two separate occasions. Even though Rose is now getting on in years and would have liked to be here today, she feels she is beginning to be recognised for …

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his warm tribute to former Labour Senator Pat Magner. He was a Corkonian but he very much made Dublin his home. He was a three-time Senator and made an enormous contribution to the Labour Party. It is certainly a huge loss for the party, with the years of commitment he brought to it. I offer our sincere sympathies to Mr. Magner's wife Anne and their children, family and wide and extensive circle of friends. I follow Senator Ó Donnghaile's comments about the Cathaoirleach's contribution…

A fortnight ago we all learned about the 58 schools that are having construction projects effectively put on hold. We have never had a full list or a precise set of criteria for why those projects have been put on hold. In recent days we learned some schools are being told they are no longer on the list, while others have got no phone call at all, save the original call to say a particular school construction project is not happening for now. If the truth be told, we are seeing a political game being played out bet…

I wish everybody a happy International Women’s Day. Ba mhaith liom mo dhlúthpháirtíocht a chur in iúl do mhná na hÉireann agus trasna an domhain. Is Seachtain na Gaeilge, nó coicís na Gaeilge, é chomh maith agus is mór an tábhacht a bhaineann lenár gcuid Gaeilge a úsáid agus ár dteanga dhúchais a cheiliúradh. On foot of the announcement about the eviction ban by the Government last Monday, I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to come in here to explain in precise detail how he is go…

I will be brief.