I welcome the Tánaiste to the House today. It is fair to say that we have a unique command of our Defence Forces when compared to other defence forces around the world. My colleague, Deputy Howlin, went into the history of that in the Dáil and I know the Tánaiste expressed an interest in it as well. I do not intend to go back as far as to how that command and control structure came about. As has been said, we feel it is wrong that senior civil servants may have more operational powers than the Chief of Staff. That …

I thank the Tánaiste for the reply. I have two questions. He mentioned that this is a direct result of the commission report. Can he confirm today that there are no changes from what the commission report outlined in the command and control structure that was discussed at Cabinet yesterday or whether there are changes from the commission report? The second issue relates to timeframes. This is very important given everything that is going on in the Defence Forces at the moment. When does the Tánaiste expect that the…

There has been much talk about gagging of representative associations and individuals by means of this Bill. Every young person I meet who has joined the Defence Forces tells me that one of the reasons they did so was because they have a representative association, whether it is RACO or PDFORRA. They want the same rights as other young careerists, with someone who is there to represent them at all times. That is an important point to make. I am sure that the Minister will agree that RACO and PDFORRA have always toe…

I just want to take up that last point. I thank the Tánaiste again but that is the point we are all trying to make here. The Tánaiste mentioned that the 1954 Act includes the phrase "political matters". The phrase "Government policy matters" is a new one that has been introduced here, although the Tánaiste can correct me if I am wrong. That is an issue because the definition of same is causing a lot of problems for a lot of people. As Senator Craughwell said, if we can remove that phrase we can move on with what wa…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 9, lines 12 and 13, to delete “in relation to a political matter or matter of Government policy” and substitute “in relation to a matter of political controversy”.

Section 321(3) states, "The External Oversight Body shall be independent in the performance of its functions." The Labour Party has a problem, as pointed out to the Minister in the Dáil, with the Secretary General, whoever that may be at the time, being an ex officio member of this external oversight body. The simple reason for our objection is we are looking for an independent oversight body for the issues being discussed daily in the media throughout this State in respect of the Defence Forces and what we need to…

I welcome the Bill and I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As my two colleagues have said, this Bill is very timely given what occurred during the Covid pandemic. It is also very timely for those who have experienced a stillbirth. I have dealt with several families that have unfortunately gone through this process. It is very welcome that such people will no longer have to make the declaration in person and will be able to do so online. A stillbirth represents a very difficult time for families, as has be…

I, too, welcome the Minister of State. I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter. It is always important in debates such as this to put on the record the very proud history of St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy. It can trace its history back to the opening of the Athy workhouse on 9 January 1844, an event that came just in time to relieve some of the harshest effects of the Famine in and around the area of south Kildare. The Sisters of Mercy arrived there as nursing sisters in 1873. In 1898, the building became…

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. The middle of the reply tells us that it is anticipated that the project could commence on site in quarter 1 of 2025, which is the news that the people of south Kildare really wanted to hear. I note that this is dependent on the final decision and the review of the tender process, which is standard enough practice for all major construction projects that the Government may look at. The Minister of State might confirm that in his reply. I stress the urgent n…

I welcome the Minister to the House this evening. The Labour Party welcomes the introduction of a pay-related benefit for jobseekers. It is after all a good workers' rights issue. As a party, we have long called for such a measure to be introduced and we anticipate strong support from various stakeholders, not least from those workers themselves. As my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, did in the Dáil, I want to pay tribute to colleagues in the trade union movement who have really led the charge on getting this on th…

I congratulate Senator Kyne and wish him the very best of luck in his new role in the remaining term of the Seanad. I wish Senator O'Hara well in the upcoming election. Yesterday, I chaired much of the debate on surrogacy in this country. I congratulate all those who took part in it, particularly Senator Seery Kearney, who is with us this morning and who did considerable work on surrogacy. I was contacted last night by so many families who are so happy with the outcome of the debate on the Bill yesterday. I congrat…

That is covered in a different section which we will come to.

I ask the Senator to speak to the section. We are on section 54.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. There are a number of sections which he has outlined in his initial speech which I would like to discuss with him here. A very helpful note was sent out to us by the Library and Research Service, which informed us that this Bill amends a number of Acts to facilitate the following changes. First, it is to allow an increase in the number of ordinary judges in the Court of Appeal by one to 18, which is something I am sure we all welcome, as all Members contributing this ev…

I too wish to be associated with congratulating Senators Doherty and Boylan. I congratulate Senators Blaney, Chambers and Gavan for putting their names forward as well. I wish to take up the last point made by my colleague with regard to spoiled votes. The issue I wish to raise is those ballots that were not stamped, which is a huge issue for us. Those people did the right thing. When I was in, I saw those spoiled votes being debated. They had a correct number one, two, three and four, but they were spoiled because…

I welcome the Minister of State with responsibility for defence into the House today. I believe it is her first debate here on defence. It is very important that she is here. I welcome the comments made by the Tánaiste earlier before he left the House. Not for the first time in this House I will raise the issue of recruitment and retention. Indeed, it has been raised by colleagues in previous speeches. We all know the figures by now but it is important to state them again. Currently, we are operating with approxima…

I thank the Senator. Senator John Cummins is next. The Senator has six minutes.

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank the Sinn Féin Senators for bringing forward this very important motion. I brought up this issue under the Order of Business last week when the report of the commission was published and I asked for a debate on it. The Labour Party is very glad to speak on it tonight. There can be no doubt, as has been said already by people on this side of the House, that the Housing Commission's report is a damning indictment of the Government's failure to address the hou…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter and welcome the Minister of State to the House. We are all familiar with the magnificent meals-on-wheels services throughout the country and I am particularly acquainted with the service in my own area of south Kildare. The service is operated by a list of great operators including Rathangan Daycare Centre, St. Conleth's Daycare Centre, Newbridge Daycare Centre, Monasterevin Daycare Centre, Kilcullen meals on wheels and meals on wheels from St. Vincen…

I thank the Minister of State for that positive reply. I note her passion about this great service. It is something I share with her. The day care centre in Monasterevin is a new one that the Minister of State would be familiar with. It has capacity and I spoke to people there yesterday. They would love to talk to someone. I will take that up and get them to write in to the HSE services. I am sure that will form part of the new services in Monasterevin. The issue with Athy is that it is probably at capacity. Most p…