I move amendment No. 10c: In page 13, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: " Amendment of section 31 of Principal Act 17 . Section 31 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3): “(3) In an action for damages for defamation— (a) general damage shall not be presumed, and (b) when making an award (if any) of general damages, regard shall be had to all of the circumstances of the case.".".

My Labour Party colleagues in the Dáil introduced a motion today calling for the State to urgently adopt a well-overdue compassionate and health-led public approach to drug use. While the Government has promised over the years to pursue a health-led approach, it has failed to put this into effect. All over our country, in small villages, small towns and cities, people are struggling with problem drug use and addiction. They need support and not to be cast into the throws of the criminal justice system. We all know …

I welcome the Minister of State. Many Senators have raised this issue as members of the foreign affairs committee. I ask for a straight answer about the timeline for the occupied territories Bill and the advice of the Attorney General. My Labour Party colleague and my party's spokesperson on foreign affairs, Deputy Duncan Smith, has asked the Tánaiste if we would get an answer in October and was told it will probably be in November. From talking to Senator Black, I understand a meeting had been scheduled for last w…

We do not really have a response yet and do not have a timeline. The danger is that, because of the presidential election and then we are going to be coming up to Christmas, this issue will be kicked down the road again. The Minister of State mentioned the fragile ceasefire. It is very fragile, but surely the ceasefire would be kept in place if Israel knew that there would be some sanctions or that it could not get away with this. Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli aggression on Palestine has resulted in 69,215 peop…

Many speakers, on both the Opposition and Government sides, have spoken passionately about this Bill. I completely agree with Senator Ruane that there is an opportunity for the Government to step back and take out the amendment. As Senator Nicole Ryan said, the proposal is for only three months of free travel. Senator Ruane noted that when she first read the Bill, she thought it would surely pass. When we found out today there would be a timed amendment, none of us could believe it. The Bill proposes a very simple …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I will talk briefly about apprenticeships. The Minister said in his opening address that it is great to see much more investment in apprenticeships and further education and training, in particular. I worked for a time in Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board, MSLETB, in a training centre so I can see the level of support that students are getting. My first Bill as a Senator relates to the inclusion of apprenticeships under the minimum wage. The Minister said in his openi…

We will split the time.

I welcome the Sinn Féin motion and I thank the party for bringing it forward. We all know very well the concerns about the cost of childcare and, as a parent of three children, I know they are very real. Childcare is an expensive business, and it should be. After all, we have highly qualified professional staff caring for our children, who are the most precious members of our society. This is not a service that can be delivered on the cheap and yet the system has been designed to deliver just that, a quality system…

That is fine.

Low pay is cited by 86% of early years educators as being the main reason for leaving the sector. Experienced early years educators, managers and even providers continue to leave the sector. Many choose to become special needs assistants, where the starting salary is €16.83 per hour - €1.30 above the base rate for an early years educator and €2.68 above the minimum wage. On the other hand, qualified national school teachers receive €44.67 per hour, almost three times the hourly rate of an early years educator. Is i…

I will speak about the amended scheme for remediation of defective blocks. Reliance is upon the standard IS 465 of 2018 which is unfit for purpose. It assesses superficial damage, not structural stability, and needs revision based on the best scientific evidence available on pyrrhotite sulfate attack. Engineers have downgraded recommendations for the full demolition of properties to partial demolition or remediation. We have heard from experts who say that partial demolition is a long-term disaster. We have seen on…

I thank the Minister of State for displaying a real interest in this. The non-demolition option is not working because, as I said earlier, if there is a defective block the deterioration can go into healthy blocks without people knowing. As such, demolition is the only option and this is what people want. Deputy Charles Ward got elected based on this, as did county councillors, because people feel they are not being listened to. I appreciate there is going to be a review. We have a model that works and that is what…

Anyone who was listening to Claire Byrne yesterday would have been struck by the very sad but uplifting story of Claire Colum from Strokestown in Roscommon. Ms Colum spoke about her daughter Kate, who was five years old when she died following a severe strep A infection on 31 March 2023. Kate had been admitted to Sligo University Hospital on the Wednesday of that week after she became very ill. Kate had Down's syndrome. She was a very robust little girl and it was unusual for her to be ill. Kate's parents knew some…

I welcome the Minister of State. His being here again is a reflection of the interest we have in rail in the west. He knows this well himself. For once, I am not going to be talking about the western rail corridor. I will refer to it only at the very end. I have a picture to hand to show the significant rail gaps referred to in the all-Ireland rail review. The document recognises there are significant gaps in rail network coverage. There was never a truer word. Nothing grabs attention like a map. A picture paints a…

That is all right. I know the feeling well. I second the amendment to the Order of Business by Senator Stephenson. I request that the Minister for education, Deputy McEntee, provide a breakdown of the €8 million allocated for youth work in the budget. As a former youth worker who worked for many years in the youth sector, I know first-hand how youth work changes lives. It has to be recognised that there is an €8 million increase on last year's budget, but it is only 13% of the increase the youth services being deli…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank her for providing her opening address. We all saw on "Prime Time" last night some of the real-life stories of some of the families impacted by this budget. Some are saying they are worse off. Today, I will talk about the minimum wage and the failure of the Government to move to a living wage. The delay in replacing the national minimum wage with a living wage will cost the country's lowest paid workers €600 a year. People who are struggling as it is will be less well-off b…

I will not speak about the budget as I will wait until the statements later today. I want to put a different issue before the Leader. The long-awaited occupied territories Bill will be coming before the Dáil for a vote soon. We know the foreign affairs joint committee strongly recommends progressing the Bill and that the prohibition of imports from the Palestinian occupied territories should be extended to include trade in services, in line with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and the res…

This is my first year as an elected representative in the Houses of the Oireachtas and it is my first time hearing the budget. All that kept going through my head when I was sitting in the Dáil listening to the budget was the song “Here we go again". This budget is yet another in a long list of missed opportunities by the Government and its predecessors of recent years. We are over a decade into an unprecedented spell of uninterrupted growth, yet we have chronic deficits in infrastructure, transport, health, educat…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I thank the Minister for coming in. The Taoiseach has been quoted as saying child poverty will be prioritised in the forthcoming budget. This is so welcome. We are all looking forward to hearing the budget. It has been widely reported that the latest ESRI report said that in 2025 Irish children are suffering the highest income poverty rates of all age groups. I do not need to tell the Minister that child poverty and homelessness affects all aspects of life - health, well-being, educatio…

It is welcome to hear there will be targeted measures. It is unfortunate there will not be a second tier of child benefit in this budget. It comes back to the real issue about homelessness. We know it from all around the country. A ban on evicting could be introduced quickly and easily which would stop the eviction of a family who has received a notice to quit until social housing is built. I acknowledge the commitment to build more social housing but, in the meantime, children are being evicted into homelessness a…