It is a great day and we have a lot to celebrate, but it is a day when we should be aiming to achieve more and set the standards to create a society where everybody is included. As Senator Clifford-Lee and other speakers have said, we do not want to be here bringing this legislation through the House. It is the last thing in the world any Minister or any of us as Oireachtas Members want to do but, unfortunately, it is necessary in order to protect the public health of the citizens of this country. Mandatory hotel q…

As the Acting Chairperson and Minister of State know, this is disability week and tomorrow is International Day of People with Disability. It is an opportunity to celebrate how far we have come in the world in terms of people with disabilities and what has been achieved, as well as to celebrate their successes and the massive contribution they make to society. It is also an opportunity to reflect on how much more needs to be done. Some 10% of our population have disabilities and they and their families make a huge …

I thank the Acting Chair for his very kind comments and I thank the Minister of State for her very kind comments and good wishes. Important legislation to facilitate the implementation of the protocol is to be passed by June. The key message is that the necessary legislation will be passed in 2022, which then means that we can implement the protocol in that year, which will be a good day's work. On this day, which is the day that recognises people with disabilities internationally, we have to recommit ourselves to …

I welcome the announcement of the new mica scheme the Cabinet approved on Tuesday. It is appropriate that people would be 100% compensated. However, I have concern that County Clare has not yet been included in that scheme. I understand that there is ongoing engagement between departmental officials and officials from Clare County Council, but it is very frustrating that Clare has still not been approved for inclusion in that scheme. The people with defective homes in County Clare through no fault of their own are …

I second the amendment.

As always, Senator Ruane presents a compelling case with her knowledge and expertise in this area. If the Minister of State can facilitate accepting even some of the amendments, it would be a good day’s work. That is what we are here for; we are here to improve legislation. I commend Senator Ruane for the effort she makes in that regard.

Could the Minister of State engage with Senator Ruane because she requested that he and his officials engage with her and her office? That would be appropriate.

I felt it was in order to say that.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I acknowledge the phenomenal work he is doing in his brief on overseas aid. We are all very proud of the work he does and I encourage him to keep doing it. He is representing our country magnificently. I thank Senator McDowell and his colleagues for tabling this motion. It is a matter that has troubled me considerably, particularly in recent times. We have seen how China is treating Taiwan by encroaching on its airspace in a very dictatorial and threatening manner. Sena…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. Nobody here envies the very difficult job the Minister has to do and the recommendations from public health the Minister must implement. We are 18 months into the pandemic and still firefighting to a large extent in dealing with it. I think there is significant public buy-in. The fact that 95% of the public have opted to get the vaccine is a great news story and puts us above and beyond most other countries in the world, certainly within Europe. That has saved thousands of…

The vaccination programme has been a success; of that there is no doubt. Almost 95% of our population is now fully vaccinated. Great credit is due to all the staff who have worked in the various vaccination centres, to the HSE and to the public, who bought into the factual situation that vaccines save lives and reduce the risk of contracting Covid-19. However, I was disappointed to read a report in today's edition of the Irish Examiner that staff have been let go from the vaccination centres in recent months. Those…

I thank the Leader.

It is very appropriate that Senator Boyhan is chairing this very sensitive and important discussion. I welcome the Minister to the House. I acknowledge his sensitivity, kindness, hard work and determination to bring this matter to a conclusion. There will never be a satisfactory conclusion because no matter what money is paid or what compensation is given, it will never make up for the trauma and absolute depravity with which some of these women have been treated. The reality is that this trauma lives with them unt…

I, too, would like to be associated with the comments that were made on the retirement of our colleague Mr. Christy Kelly. He gave great service here for four decades and was always fantastic to deal with. He is very amenable and very accommodating, which is not easy at times. I wish him and his wife Paula all the very best. We have been very successful in this country with our vaccination programme. Ireland has one of the highest rates of vaccination in the world with nearly 95% of our population vaccinated. This …

I do not know about that. My wife would not agree.

It is appropriate that you are chairing this debate, Acting Chairperson, given your history and advocacy work. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is very welcome to the House. I listened to the contribution of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. I believe that the whole-of-government response is very important. While the children brief is a senior Ministry, the issue of children transcends all Departments. The thinking needs to be that each Department takes its responsibilities for children in its area seriously. I…

It is good to see the Minister of State back in the House. I know he had a difficult couple of weeks. He had all our best then and we are genuinely delighted to see him back. He is a colleague who served with us and who has public service at the forefront of everything he does. He is here this evening for a difficult debate. I do not disagree with anything said by Senator Boyhan because he is correct. It should not take a child - not the parents but the child - having to go on the media at budget time to speak abou…

A sort of one-stop shop.

I welcome the appointment of Kieran Mulvey to help in resolving the dispute in the Doolin Coast Guard unit. As my colleagues will be aware, that unit was stood down two weeks ago, primarily due to HR issues and the resignation of several members. Now that Kieran Mulvey has been appointed, I call on all parties to engage meaningfully with him with the objective of getting the Doolin Coast Guard unit back up and running to allow it to continue doing the vital work it has been doing for many years off the coast of Cla…

I totally agree with Senator McGreehan. I thank Senator Hoey very much. She is just amazing. There is no other word to describe it. This report that has been commissioned by the Committee on Justice is very welcome. The recommendations should be implemented in full. Whatever legislation is required to implement them can be initiated in the Seanad. We will have no problem making time available urgently to implement these recommendations. I do not even think it needs to be done incrementally. The recommendations need…