I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 7 be taken before No. 1. I refer to putting the Local Government (Use of CCTV in Prosecution of Offences) Bill 2021 on the Order Paper. The Bill seeks to confer a statutory footing similar to that conferred on the Garda Síochána by section 38 of the 2005 Act on the use by local authorities of CCTV in cases where the prosecution of offences is a function vested in them. I hope colleagues can support this proposal to amend the Order of Business. Given that subm…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to make provision in relation to the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution by local authorities of certain offences; to provide for the use of closed circuit television in public places by local authorities for the purposes of those functions; and to provide for related matters.

Next Friday.

I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank my friend and colleague, Senator Hoey, for introducing this Bill. It was the Leader who christened Senator Hoey the Senator for students. It is a very appropriate title given the continuing work she does on behalf of all students. As somebody whose wife is a nurse and midwife and whose sister is a nurse, I am acutely aware of what is involved in this great profession. The dedication of those who choose nursing and midwifery as a career can never, and should never, be que…

I plead with the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, ASTI, to return to the table. I can only use my experience, which is that the best place to discuss any issue is at the table. I echo the calls in the Chamber for the ASTI to return to the discussions. I will use my experience as the parent of a leaving certificate student and as a public representative. The mental stress on these young people was increased last night. The announcements are not helping, no matter what anyone says. When a leaving certifi…

I wish everyone a happy St. Brigid's Day. I thank the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, for coming to the House to discuss this important matter. Notwithstanding the dreadful pandemic that our country continues to face, one issue continues to dominate the work of public representatives from every corner of our country, namely, illegal dumping. The problem is not confined to our remote beautiful countryside, although the problem there is at its worst. This problem can be found on the main streets of our cities, the main …

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. Unfortunately, according to the evidence I have received, illegal dumping is on the increase. I am sure he too is hearing that from all local representatives. I have spoken to many of them in recent weeks. I would appreciate if the Minister's Department could liaise with local authorities. In Kildare, for example, we face 40 or 50 incidents per week. I also wish to raise the issue of data protection. It seems to be a problem for local authorities, and it has been me…

I welcome the Minister back to the House and, along with colleagues, congratulate her on her very good news. It is great to hear good news like that in these times. I also want to record my thanks to the Minister's Department for the considerable amount of work it has completed since the beginning of this pandemic. As I said here previously, it has been a tremendous effort by everybody involved in the Department. I have never considered myself to be a populist politician but I want to raise again an issue that the …

I wish to raise two issues today, the first of which is a call for an urgent decision on the 2021 leaving certificate. Like many Senators, I have been contacted by a large number of students and parents alike who continue to seek certainty for themselves and their loved ones. Across the House, we have all carried out our own surveys to gauge the feeling among students in particular about what they would like to see happening in respect of their leaving certificate. The survey I conducted showed an overwhelming wish…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. There are a number of items I want to bring up with her. Some of my colleagues have already asked about them but from my own experience and from the representations I have received, I would like to put them to her today as well. We need the promised data on the roll-out of the vaccination programme on a daily basis, as has been mentioned. It is simply not good enough that we must rely on tweets from the Minister for Health to get this information. I am sure that like al…

I thank Senator Craughwell for tabling his amendment. As other Senators have stated, it is important that we discuss this issue. I note that the Senator has continuously raised this issue in this Chamber. I have read a report he made in February 2016 to the Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection, which is not the current committee. Today, I would like to concentrate on a potential barrier that prevents people from entering public life. Every political party and group encourages young people to …

I wish to discuss two issues, the first of which is one my colleague, Councillor Níall McNelis, has asked me to raise. It relates to something that he and other public representatives in Galway have been facing recently, namely, giant trawlers fishing in Galway Bay and offloading their catch of tiny juvenile fish. We have all seen clips of these trawlers sweeping thousands of tonnes of sprat up in large nets from Galway to Clare. These young fish are crucial to the food chain's ecosystem, but it seems that they hav…

I have received notice from Senator Jerry Buttimer that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for Finance to provide an update on the payment of annual dividends by credit unions to their members. I have also received notice from Senator Annie Hoey of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to address the removal of Higher Education Authority funding from …

Is that agreed? Agreed. I welcome the Minister of State to the House.

The Rotunda Hospital is also very important to me as my two sons were born there and my wife trained as a midwife there. It is very important.

I thank the Minister of State for her engagement with Senators.

I thank Senator Hoey for sharing her time with me. I welcome the Minister of State into the House and join in the tributes to the Cathaoirleach for his work on this legislation. As a councillor receiving his many letters on ISL over previous years, it was excellent. Today we see the fruits of that labour and it is important we acknowledge the Cathaoirleach as the person who has driven this through the Houses of the Oireachtas. I congratulate him on that. I will mention a couple of people and groups the Cathaoirleac…

I welcome the Minister to the House I thank her for the considerable work she and the Department have done, particularly in recent months. The Labour Party will be supporting the Bill, as we have done previously. There is an important inclusion in this Bill, which repeals the section on the pension age, as other Members have said. I thank all those involved in the Stop 67 campaign. They ensured that this important issue for so many of our fellow citizens was centre stage on the political agenda and received the amo…

I would like to raise two issues with the Leader with a view to having a debate on them and getting answers from the relevant Ministers. The first concerns homeowners who are facing increasing and mounting bills from their management companies for retrospective work being done on their homes and apartments. For example, in one building in Newbridge, over 30 homeowners have to pay for fire upgrade and compartment wall safety. The initial bill is running at around €3,500 per homeowner, and now they have been told tha…

Absolutely on the amendment. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish to confirm our total support for the overall Brexit Bill. Members have spoken about how important Brexit is to the country and we all hope we can get a deal. I again acknowledge - for the fourth time, I think - the work the Minister, Deputy Coveney, the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, and their officials have done in getting us to where we are. The Labour Party totally supports that work. We all hope we will get the deal which this c…