I agree with the Minister of State. I am asking why-----

No guillotine.

It is a priority for the guillotine.

Therefore the guillotine-----

Rubbish.

I welcome the Minister of State. Clearly this is a complex issue. It is complicated by European law and by the points that have just been made about adults, children and the like. It is complicated by the concept that, while tobacco consumption as a way of getting nicotine is manifestly worse for health than vaping is, nobody knows really what the long-term consequences of vaping actually are. As a general point, there is confusion in this society on the part of those people who want to legalise cannabis on the one…

I welcome the Minister and thank him for his contribution. I agree with nearly everything he said and with Senator Fitzpatrick's contribution. Sending someone to prison should be a last resort. That is a view I have always held at all points - when I was a barrister prosecuting, when I was a Minister and when I was Attorney General. I still hold that view. Mark Kelly, Inspector of Prisons, has reported to the justice committee of these Houses. In February he stated that the circumstances in Cloverhill Prison were d…

Hear, hear.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate her on her appointment. Following on from the last contribution, undoubtedly the 2015 Act was well intentioned, modernising and getting rid of the stigma of lunacy and the like that existed under Victorian wards of court legislation. I understand all of that. I also understand that it introduced a tiered approach to incapacity and that it purported to be rights-based. Having said all that, I do have to tell the Minister of State a couple of things. First…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(a) in subsection (2) by substituting “4 years” for “3 years”,”. The amendment proposes to amend section 54(2) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 by substituting "four years" for "three years". I want to emphasise that the amendment is proposed by the Law Society. I have had the assistance of Áine Hynes, chair of the Law Society task force on mental health and capacity, and Dr. Brian Hunt, one of the policy direct…

I am very glad to hear that. This is a bit of a legal stampede that we are creating. If the Courts Service says it can manage it, so be it. However, there will be a lot of additional expenditure for the wards, committees and practitioners involved. Being part of that stampede is not a welcome development. From what I hear from the Minister of State, she is not prepared to accept the amendment. If that is the case, I will press it but will not put it to a vote.

I agree with Senators Conway and Byrne in relation to this matter. I thank the Minister of State and her officials for bringing this legislation before the House. To echo what Senator Tully said, the emergency aspect of this could have been foreseen. The problems which are there with enduring powers of attorney are real. The result of those problems is that enduring power of attorney arrangements are not being entered into. Solicitors are simply saying, "No, Thanks. I am not doing that work.", or "Sorry, it is €3,0…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 19, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “(4) The Minister shall not later than 12 months following the enactment of this Act provide a report which shall review the functioning of this Act and which shall be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with standing orders of the Dáil and Seanad.”. This amendment is in my name and the names of Senators Boyhan and Craughwell.

I want to say two things by way of preliminary observation. We are on Report Stage of a Bill which runs to 299 sections at present. The debate on the Bill in Dáil Éireann was guillotined. It was then brought to this House by the Government in circumstances where it requires further extensive amendment. Members of this House might be interested to know that the guillotine that was used on Committee Stage in this House had the effect of making a further 188 amendments to the Bill, some of them involving new sections …

I agree completely with the Cathaoirleach's remarks about the Bills Office. The fact that this document was produced effectively within 24 hours of the conclusion of Committee Stage is a tribute to the hard work, dedication and patriotism of the staff of these Houses. When we in this House complain about the absence of notice on anything, it is always at the back of my mind that there are literally people working until the early hours of the morning to provide us with whatever notice circumstances afford. I fully a…

I move amendment No. 6: In page 20, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “ “Common Travel Area” means the area consisting of the State, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and those dependencies in respect of which the nationals of either jurisdiction generally have freedom to travel from one jurisdiction to the other and to reside there without any visa or residence permit;”.

It is fairly evident what this is. It provides for a definition of the "common travel area" because the phrase is used in subsequent amendments of mine and of other Members and it should be defined.

I am not a great fan of grouping of amendments but it is not grouped with the subsequent amendment and therefore I am trying to save time. I do not expect the Minister will accept it.

I do not agree with Senator Stephenson to some extent and I agree with her in other respects. The joint statement the Minister signed with a number of other countries was designed to bring some degree of common sense and reality to a situation in which overreach by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had led to major difficulties for individual states in trying to balance national interests, including the right to deport somebody, with other entitlements of the proposed deportees. While Senator Stephen…

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: - conscious of the provisions of Article 46.2 of the Constitution which require that any Bill to amend the Constitution must be initiated in Dáil Éireann; - conscious of the present constitutional requirement that Dáil Éireann should be comprised of at least one member for every 30,000 in the State’s population, as distinct from citizens; - aware that the current population of the State is 5.458 million persons; - conscious that the population of the State is projected to grow to more …