I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank her for coming in. Over the recent months, I have received many representations from parents in south Kildare who are exhausted trying to get any level of assessment and help for their children. Their loved ones are being put on waiting lists that are getting out of control while the development and needs of these same children are not being addressed. It would seem that, on the back of prolonged…

I thank the Minister of State for outlining that. However, the issue at hand is the length of waiting times. The Minister of State said that investment has been made, and that is most welcome. She mentioned colleagues. I am sure her colleagues in this House today and throughout County Kildare and the State will be aware of the issues being raised in our offices and the problems people are facing. People are at the end of their tether. Aileen and her family have mentioned sleep deprivation. That issue is replicated …

Well done. We all look forward to seeing the Bill. I thank both Senators for bringing up the matter today. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education, Deputy Josepha Madigan, to the House.

I welcome the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee.

I thank Senator Keogan for placing this very important matter on the agenda today. We all wish the Minister the very best in the coming weeks.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 13 be taken before No. 1. I refer to the Gambling (Prohibition of Advertising) Bill 2021 on the Order Paper. The purpose of this Bill is to prohibit in the public interest the advertising of gambling subject to some limited exceptions. I acknowledge that the Leader has arranged a debate with the Minister on the forthcoming gambling legislation on Friday next. I also acknowledge that colleagues on every side of this House have spoken previously of the urgent n…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to regulate in the public interest advertising and sponsorship of gambling; and to provide for related matters.

Next Monday.

I raise today the issue of the continuing problems families in south Kildare are having in accessing specialist treatment for their loved ones. On the back of prolonged delays with regard to assessment of need for families in the area, the HSE decided to redeploy a number of staff to this much-needed resource but this has resulted in unacceptable delays for families whose children were dependent on and seeing these specialists or, in the case of some of the families with whom I am dealing, whose children have moved…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I again put on record my thanks to him for the considerable work he has done on all the details of the complex Brexit issue. I take the opportunity to thank the Chair of the Seanad Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, Senator Chambers - although she covered my entire speech in her latest contribution - for the varied and detailed engagements on all matters related to Brexit, mainly the challenges and problems. Perhaps we could concent…

I too welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth. I also thank Senators Higgins, Ruane, Black and Flynn for bringing this important and timely Bill to the Seanad. The Labour Party is very pleased to support the Bill. There is an onus on us all in this House to ensure the Government operates best practice, given that the State is the largest procurer of services and goods. The onus must always be on best practice in labour and environmental standards while achieving the best quality standards. The need to ex…

I thank the Minister of State for her time today. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to the Chamber.

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Martin, to the House today. The Irish tourism industry is facing its biggest ever crisis. The headline figures the industry is suffering at this moment are mind blowing. I will quote two of those figures. There has been a loss of €5.7 billion in earnings from overseas visitors and upwards of 160,000 jobs have been lost, with several hundred businesses facing permanent closure. The tourism and hospitality industry employed more than 265,000 people throughout the State. It was the large…

I join with the Leader and previous speakers in thanking Sinead, the artist, for the magnificent portrait in front of us. Let the message be that we will no longer stand for the airbrushing of women out of history. This is a message that needs to go out loud and clear. I wish the Leader and all my female colleagues in the Oireachtas, and all the female officials and staff who assist us so professionally every day, mná na hÉireann indeed, a happy International Women's Day. I raise a number of ongoing matters with th…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I also welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank my Labour Party colleagues for agreeing to use our Private Members' time to bring the Bill to Second Stage. I acknowledge the support of all Members of the House on this important matter, particularly those on the Government benches with whom I have discussed the need for and content of the Bill. I am aware of the work of Senator Byrne in the area and thank him for discussing the Bill. I also thank Senator …

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. This Bill is an attempt by the Labour Party to address the issues that concern local authorities, and our councillors and local representatives in particular. As I said in my opening remarks, a large number of local representatives in the Labour Party and local representatives around the country have raised this issue with us. Indeed, other Senators have asked for the issue to be addressed. The Bill is a genuine attempt by the Labour Party to ensure we can …

Next Monday.

I second the amendment to our business proposed by my colleague, Senator Hoey. I wish to raise the recent RTÉ "Prime Time" programme, which aired last week and featured three men who were part of the so-called State boarding-out system. While the programme acknowledged that many of the children placed with foster families through the system had positive experiences, others were grossly exploited, badly fed and basically used as slave labour. My colleague and cathaoirleach of Athy Town Council at the time, municipal…

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House. There is no doubt that all public representatives in the Oireachtas have been hearing from workers in the aviation industry. Their communications to us have all been about their deep concern about their industry and jobs and the knock-on effect on their families and loved ones. The aviation sector has been one of the sectors hardest hit by Covid, and all supports for the industry need to be kept in place. There is no doubt that we need to protect air routes during…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also thank Senators Craughwell, Boyhan and Keogan for tabling this very important matter during Private Members' time. Having had the honour of being elected to Kildare County Council for the first time in 2009, I have seen the role of local authority members change quite considerably each year since then. The increase in the areas to be covered and the increase in population size after 2014 have totally changed the way councillors are expected to work. There is no do…