Ba mhaith liom fáilte is fiche a chur roimh an Seanadóir nuathofa, an Seanadóir Clonan, agus é anseo linn inniu. I look forward to working with Senator Clonan and learning from him. He gave us a great insight into his character, his experience and his intentions in the Seanad, and all of them are admirable. I hope people will not judge me disrespectful if I say I found myself a bit more invested in and enthralled by the election count for the Trinity College by-election than I did for my own count. I can only imagi…

Well, you never know. Is there any such thing? I wish Senator Clonan well agus go n-éirí go geal leis. First, I wish to note the remarks of the Minister of State with responsibility for overseas development aid and the diaspora published in the Irish Independent today. It might surprise people that I read the Irish Independent , but there you go. The Minister of State said the Government will commit to holding the referendum on presidential election voting rights before 2024. While I welcome the assertion, I would …

He is looking to start wars everywhere.

Hear, hear.

I condemn last week's bomb alert in Belfast that saw the Minister, Deputy Coveney, having to be evacuated from an event that was organised by the Hume Foundation at the Houben Centre in north Belfast. A funeral that was taking place at the nearby Holy Cross Church was disrupted as well. Indeed, the alert caused a great deal of fear and unsettlement in the local community not least to the van driver who was caught up in it all. The alert comes as a small merry band of mostly unelected and unrepresentative people con…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, roimh an rún seo agus roimh an díospóireacht a bheidh againn anocht. Gabhaim mo leithscéal le moltóirí an rúin as tús na díospóireachta a chailleadh. Bhí mé ag cruinniú de Chomhchoiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge. I welcome the motion and this important discussion. I apologise to Senator Seery Kearney for missing her initial remarks as I was at the Joint Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community. People have been cle…

Ba mhaith liom ábhar iontach tábhachtach a ardú ar maidin. As Senator O'Loughlin has referred to, last night, the British House of Commons voted to effectively introduce a hard border for some people travelling from the South into the North of Ireland. The Deputy Leader will know that this is an issue I have been raising concerns about in the Seanad for a period of weeks, if not months. I have been highlighting the very real dangers of this particular legislation. From a political perspective, I find the intent beh…

Hear, hear.

Exactly.

Hear, hear. Well said.

Hear, hear.

That would be welcome.

I hope the Minister of State will forgive me in the first instance. Sometimes I have to read my notes off my phone. I hate doing it and I hope the Minister of State does not think me ignorant. It is me and the relationship I have with the printer in my office. Sometimes it is not good. As several of my colleagues pointed out in the debate in the Dáil, this is a very important Bill. Colleagues in the Seanad have acknowledged this also. It transfers responsibility for specialist community-based disability services fr…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom mo leithscéal a ghabháil leis agus lena chomhghleacaithe as a bheith mall. Bhí mé ag an gcomhchoiste Gaeilge roimhe seo. I apologise to the Minister of State and my colleagues, in particular to my Labour Party colleagues, as I was at committee and held up for the earlier part of this debate. I am looking forward to the rest of it and, indeed, seeing this legislation progress. Many people enjoy gambling and they do so responsibly. However, for some peo…

I have raised in the House before a number of anomalies that exist around broadcasting issues across the island. While the issue is multifaceted and appears quite complex on the surface, when you actually delve into it with a view to resolving it, it is quite easily done, between technology and a will, if it is there. I will elaborate slightly. I raised the issue a number of times in the last Seanad, but this is the first opportunity I have had to raise it in this one. I refer, for example, to the current bar on au…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Ar dtús báire, at the beginning, I have to apologise. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, is before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence to discuss the situation in Ukraine and, once I deliver my brief remarks, I am going to attend that meeting, so I apologise for not being here to hear the Minister's response. I always find it really enlightening when people lay out potential scenarios in respect of the likes of this. They have the freedom to come in and talk about it. There is…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus roimh an Aire Stáit. Tá cuma mhaith ar an Aire Stáit sa suíochán sin agus an bearradh gruaige aige fosta. Is minic a bhím istigh anseo ag gearáin faoi chúrsaí Gaeilge agus tá a lán gearán agam fós. Díreoidh mé isteach anocht ar an ngné de Sheachtain na Gaeilge atá ina cheiliúradh, áfach, mar is ceiliúradh í Seachtain na Gaeilge, mar is eol dúinn. Guím beannachtaí ar gach duine ach go háirithe na daoine óga atá ag foghlaim trí mheán na Gaeilge sna Gaelscoileanna fud fad na tíre. Tá s…

I want to join with colleagues in noting that today is International Women's Day. We have a very proud record in the Seanad, not just of having very fine and capable current female Members of the Seanad but in the past as well. The Seanad also has a proud record, as the Leas-Chathaoirleach will know, of progressing important legislation that impacts on women's lives and, hopefully, makes a difference. We saw the passage through this House recently of the stalking Bill and in the last term we worked very well on the…

Hear, hear.

I second the amendment.