I join the Senator in thanking the late Mary Raftery for all her work.

She died at 54 after giving such service to the State in exposing the wrongdoing. We say the State, but it is that of everyone from the church to the politicians who accepted the status quo . She exposed those who led the institutional abuse, systemised it and made it part of the institutions of the State. I thank Ms Raftery for that work. Like Senator Boyhan, I hope that the amendments to make the legislation more inclusive and able to deal with all of those affected by this issue will be included on Committee Sta…

Is that agreed? It is not agreed?

The amendments need to be debated and the Minister of State will respond on it. However, the Senator might want to see what the Minister of State says before she withdraws it.

The debate is in here. Items are discussed, debated and agreed in the House. If the Senator moves and withdraws the amendment, then she will have to resubmit it on Report Stage.

But if the Senator withdraws the amendment, it cannot be made.

Yes.

I will bring in Senator Boyhan and then we will hear what the Minister of State has to say.

For the benefit of Members, if there has not been substantial discussion on the amendments, and this is not often, that there can be an issue on Report Stage. We had this discussion during a previous Bill where an amendment was moved and withdrawn, but because there was no substantial discussion, there was a danger that it could not be brought in on Report Stage. It had been discussed on previous sections in the amendment. Does the Senator wish to wait until the end of the debate to decide what to do with the amend…

We are dealing with amendment No. 1 to section 1 on its own.

I welcome guests of the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, from Laois and Offaly to the Gallery. I believe you are not in the same constituency any more but it is nice to seem you all travelling together. I also welcome guests of Eileen Lynch from Macroom in County Cork.

Amendments Nos. 2, 4, 22, 27, 28, 30, 32, 34, 37 and 43 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I have received notice from the following Senators that they propose to raise the following matters: Senator Paul Daly - The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to undertake a review of water connections policy to ensure that farmers with multiple land parcels pay a single customer charge. Senator Robbie Gallagher - The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make a statement on the timeline for a remediation scheme for fire safety defects in apartments and d…

A vote has been called in the Dáil. Members may want to start and we will come back. Whichever you want to do, Minister

We have approximately six minutes. We can proceed with the opening part or we can-----

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, to the Chamber.

Before we take the next Commencement matter, I welcome the people from Praxis Care in Mulhuddart, who are guests of Emer Currie, who used to be a Member of this House. I also welcome the group who are here at the invitation of the Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy. I thank them for being here.

I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery the ambassador from Portugal, H.E. Bernardo Lucena. He is most welcome to Seanad Éireann today on the occasion of the national day of Portugal. I thank him for taking a break from his celebrations to come and visit Seanad Éireann. I know he will not be able to stay with us for long as the celebrations continue, as they should, on this national day on which one of the great heroes and poets of Portugal is being celebrated. Luís de Camões wrote the epic poem, "Os Lusíad…

Before I call the next speaker, I welcome Emily Hunt, who is on an internship with Senator Craughwell. I hope she enjoys her time in Leinster House. I thank her for being here today.

Before I call Senator Andrews, I welcome Marlin Schmidt and Jolene Cusack from the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I also welcome family members of Deputy Joanna Byrne, as well as guests of Deputies Emer Higgins, Barry Ward and Emer Currie. They are also most welcome to Seanad Éireann. If they were all school groups, I would give them homework off for the week. I do not know what to give them. I hope they are all brought to the bar, anyway. I welcome them all to Seanad Éire…