I agree with the Minister that this legislation is about far more than one particular group of people. Anyone who is subjected to the ward of court system desperately needs this Bill to pass. From that perspective, I am fully behind the legislation. However, the fact is that there is a community of people in our State who are being left behind and left without a voice. The threshold between voluntary and involuntary is not as clean as we would like to think. Even within the scope of "involuntary", I have had enough…

We have not spoken on amendment No. 4 and there are things to say on that amendment. The Minister made his reply and Senator Warfield spoke on amendment No. 5 but I did not speak on this amendment because of the content of both of those speakers. I would like to speak on amendment No. 4, and I thought there was a complete misunderstanding, or perhaps that I was suddenly out of my depth in not understanding what was going on.

For some of the reasons the Minister outlined, I do not support the amendment but I know and agree with what the Senators are getting at. Maybe the best way I could address the issue would be to ask how we will supervise the use of the functional test. A very strong recommendation of the committee following the pre-legislative scrutiny was that the functional test be removed. This is because it speaks of a medical model rather than a social model or a model that is absolutely person centred. I understand the need f…

I absolutely agree. Carol Coulter's work on family law was fantastic and constructive. This raises another issue, which is the training of the Judiciary following this and making sure its members are absolutely conversant with the person-centred model and the interpretation of capacity, particularly when we are keeping a functional capacity test. The Judiciary must be sensitised and there must be cultural change. I know in the context of other situations there has been a lot of training of legal professionals. It i…

It is not for us to tell the Judiciary what to do, but when something has been so entrenched for decades it means there is a system of thinking that goes with it and it is reasonable that we comment.

I support anything that will put in place a mechanism to ensure the investment and remote direction of any moneys belonging to a ward of court or given to a ward of court, awarded following instances of negligence that appallingly are all too often reported in the news. The idea that a person is given an award and that would be dissipated or lost, as has happened and as we have seen reported, is outrageous and appalling. There is a small cohort of people who deserve a mechanism to reimburse them for the money that …

I accept that the Minister is just making a point but, for clarification, we should not confuse the two. Yes, it is very important an individual is entitled to make whatever decisions he or she wishes to make and that he or she should be supported in making those decisions. There is an enormous difference between someone making an imprudent decision for themselves and an imprudent decision being made by another person who is entrusted with decision-making and the individual having to live with the consequences of t…

We need to refer back to our discussions earlier today regarding the engagement that will happen before Report Stage in the context of enduring power of attorney and the mental health effect of the competition, so to speak, between those two powers, or those two documents and preferences that are put forward. We need to come back to this on Report Stage and make sure that the recommendations of the committee have been fully satisfied, particularly in the context of mental health. I reserve the right to give more co…

Senator Clonan's speech has established a very important point, with which I agree, namely, that there is nothing like keeping lived experience at the heart of politics and reminding Members of both Houses that when we make decisions in here it impacts people's lives. It is important with regard to decisions around disabilities and students that there is accountability. I claim the same place, although obviously to a much smaller extent, when it comes to surrogacy and the failure to act or move. Having people with …

We do.

Hear, hear.

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

There are many issues on which I would like to address the House; I am spoiled for choice. I thank Senator Ruane. What is needed in the incidents that hit the news last week is a conversation regarding the entirety of the community and the safety of young people in the community as well as the intergenerational trauma and the effects of that happening. I welcome the cost-of-living budget. It is fantastic. There is loads of good news within it. We will have statements on the budget twice later and I will speak in bo…

Today has been a good news day for those in a family, including those in a lower-income or middle-income family. We saw the announcement of both universal and targeted measures to assist families as they face into this cost-of-living crisis. This crisis can be supported by reasonable and prudent measures. We still have a reserve in case the situation gets worse and that is important. Putting in place a cap and writing blank cheques to energy companies outside the State does not give certainty. It empties our coffer…

I congratulate the Minister of State for arguing for the increased budget for the Data Protection Commission. The increased provisions are very good. We are the supervisory authority for many multinational companies and it is very important that we are on our game in the Data Protection Commission. I love this budget because those with babies in arms have provision for childcare and childcare access. We are promoting equality for children in their development through opportunities in a childcare setting and through…

I thank the Minister. I appreciate her coming here in person. It shows her commitment, the response that she has made all week and the commitment that is there for the community in Cherry Orchard. We have seen the videos online of what happened and they are horrific. I want to begin by condemning the actions against the two gardaí who went in there. They were treated in the most disgraceful and dangerous way and that is appalling. I express concern for them. I have been working with community groups in the Cherry O…

We will get my name right one of these days. I thank the Minister for that response. With the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, I visited the youth justice programme there which was extraordinarily creative through Covid when it had to go out to meet young people. It had to change how it engaged with young people who were used to either visiting the centre and then did not want people coming to their homes. The programme was creative in working with the youth. Certainly, putting considerable resources into that wou…

I ask the Leader to arrange a special debate on the experience of children and their families when they are in hospital. This morning on “Morning Ireland” we heard the experience of a woman whose child was in hospital with a long-term illness. She spoke of the cost of car parking and the costs when the child was being treated, for cancer in this instance. If the child felt sick when the food came around then food had to be purchased later or some special treat obtained to induce a child to eat at a time when the ch…

We will commence with statements on new innovations for people with disabilities - digital assistive technology. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, back to the House.

I thank the Senator for his kind words and well done to him for his persistent campaigning.