I move amendment No. 2: In page 109, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: "Amendment of section 28 of Act of 2014 31. Section 28 of the Act of 2014 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1): "(1A) When considering the appointment of staff to the Commission, the Minister may give consideration to the additional powers the Commission may have undertaken, or been provided with, in a given year, and the increased workload the Commission may have incurred as a result.".".

Senator Buttimer might give the Senator some of his time if she remembers her point.

Teamwork makes the dream work. The Minister is very welcome. Before I get into the content of the annual transition statement, I would like the record to reflect why we are here in 2022 discussing the statement from 2020. There are legal obligations upon the Minister compelling him to be here under the Climate and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. According to section 14(1), an annual transition statement shall be presented to each House of the Oireachtas not later than each anniversary of the passing of the Act. Th…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire maidir leis an rún tábhachtach atá os ár gcomhair anocht. I begin by welcoming the Minister and join colleagues in congratulating her and her family on her personal news. On International Women's Day this year the EU Commission published a proposal for a directive to combat violence against women and domestic violence through criminalisation of and sanctions for relevant offences, protection of victims, access to justice, victim support, prevention, co-ordination and co-operation. The Co…

I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire agus táim ag súil go mór leis an bplé agus le ráiteas agus freagraí an Aire anocht. The Minister is very welcome. I want to begin by speaking briefly about my personal experience in campaigning and fighting elections in the North and the issue of proxy voting. I understand anything new or different may present people with some concerns by definition of its newness. I always find anything that strengthens and furthers people's ability to take part in the democ…

I agree fully with Senator Clonan's remarks and especially his closing ones. I assure him of my own support for his work in the House in highlighting, and I hope addressing, those issues. I want to again ask the Government to move the Bill on holding a referendum that would extend the vote to Irish citizens outside the State in presidential elections. Members will know this is a long-term call that has been made since well before my time in the Oireachtas, and it has been led by civic society in the North but also …

Do not speak too soon, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I welcome the Minister of State. I will not be as brief as the two previous speakers-----

I appreciate that, but I assure colleagues that I will be brief, maybe just not as brief. I will touch on the amendment I have tabled, which, hopefully, will save us time when we get to that point. The Bill is designed to protect in principle and in law a very important and long-standing function carried out in District Court sittings by members of the Garda, known as Garda court presenters. When a case comes before the District Court, it is handled by a court presenter — for the most part by a local sergeant. The …

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, line 17, after "member" where it secondly occurs to insert "not below the rank of Sergeant". I have referred to this in my earlier remarks. I am sure the Minister is familiar with the rationale given that the same amendment was moved in the Dáil yesterday.

I shall begin my remarks with a quote by a very famous and well-known Dubliner. In 1921, Edward Carson said: What a fool I was. I was only a puppet, and so was Ulster, and so was Ireland, in the political game that was to get the Conservative Party into power. Replace 1921 with 2022 and replace the words "to get the Conservative Party into power" with "to keep the Conservative Party and, probably in particular, Boris Johnson in power" and we can see the very dangerous and retrograde antics play out in London. I ref…

At dtús, ba maith liom fearadh na fáilte a chur roimh ár gcuairteoirí inniu. Táim iontach sásta agus bródúil go bhfuil seal agam ár ndlúthpháirtíocht agus tacaíocht a léiriú dóibh agus do mhuintir na hÚcráine. I welcome our Ukrainian visitors to the Seanad and thank them, in particular, for all their respectful and impressive use of our own language. Senator Clifford-Lee and I said we suspected the hand of Senator Ward in that regard but we certainly thank them for acknowledging and using their cúpla focal. I know …

Dé a beatha chuig an Aire Stáit. Tá mé chomh sásta go bhfuil an seal agam labhairt ar son na reachtaíochta tábhachtaí seo ar an mbeach meala dúchasaí Éireannaí. The Minister of State is very welcome to today's debate on this important legislation. I am very proud and privileged along with my colleague, Senator Boylan, to be able to support the Bill. I am very keen to see it progress through these Houses speedily, efficiently and, most important, effectively in terms of outcomes. It is amazing what this issue can ga…

It nearly does but I will move on to my notes. As the Minister of State knows, the scientific argument for this Bill is impressive, but I am not a scientist or an ecologist. I have left it to other colleagues to address the scientific merits. All I will say is that, from my lay person's perspective, the threat of hybridisation to the native Irish honeybee warrants this legislative protection. That is why the Bill is most welcome. I will instead look at some of the legal questions around the Bill. It has incredible …

I welcome the ambassador to the Gallery. On behalf of the Sinn Féin group, I extend my sympathies to the Fine Gael Party on the loss of former Senator Jackman. I begin by welcoming the significant step forward in the Belfast High Court yesterday relating to the redevelopment of Casement Park, which has been wasted for far too long. It has the potential to be a transformative economic driver for west Belfast, Belfast as a whole and indeed the wider province. It is a great shame that a number of generations of Gaels …

I know Senator Buttimer will. I turn to the issue of passports. I will make a number of political points and observations but I assure the Acting Leader that they are not directed at him. They are more for his colleagues at the Cabinet table. I welcome the growing cross-party support and recognition of the need for additional passport offices to try to help to deal with the issues, which we are all aware of, especially a new, dedicated office in the Six Counties. Derry City and Strabane District Council recently pa…

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus roimh an rún atáimid á phlé anocht. Tá ardmholadh tuillte ag an Seanadóir Dooley as an rún a chur os ár gcomhair. Is rún tábhachtach agus suntasach é agus, mar atá ráite ag comhghleacaithe eile, gheobhaidh sé tacaíocht ar fud an tSeanaid anocht. Russia's full-frontal and declared invasion of Ukraine has entered its third month. More than 4,000 people - men, women and children - have been deliberately killed by the Russian military in the carpet bombing of cities, towns, villages and…

Hear, hear.

Ba mhaith liom ar dtús báire fáilte a chur roimh an reachtaíocht teanga a cuireadh chun tosaigh ó Thuaidh inné, agus ardmholadh a thabhairt dóibh siúd go léir a bhí i mbun stocaireachta agus feachtasaíochta ar son Achta na Gaeilge a bhaint amach. Is tús maith é seo agus céim thábhachtach agus shuntasach chun tosaigh maidir le comhionannas agus cearta na nGael. It is reported in today's media that a number of Members of the Oireachtas, including the Leader, attended an event paid for and attended by a gambling body.…