I begin by welcoming the Minister of State. Senator Bacik made an important point. Having a facility like this is important. I know that concerns have been raised with the Minister this morning and previously in the Dáil. Inasmuch as having a facility and resource is welcome and a step forward, we must be careful that we do not think for one second that it absolves the Prison Service of its responsibilities because not every mental health or psychological issue warrants a move to a facility like this. For this reas…

I welcome the Minister and congratulate her on her recent personal news. I am sure the Minister will concede that it is very unusual for us to debate an amendment to legislation, especially such a significant and substantial amendment, on Second Stage. I do not question the Minister's personal bona fides on this issue for one second. However, like other colleagues I think that engaging with the proposers of this Bill and allowing it to progress to the next Stage would have been a much more positive and collaborativ…

Today is a positive, welcome and good day for us. The vaccine has arrived and roll-out has begun in Ireland. When one thinks of where we were three or six months ago and considers what people have endured and suffered over the course of the pandemic, even the fact that we are able to say that is really uplifting. We did say that we should never lose hope and this morning, in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, Sister Joanna Sloan received the Pfizer vaccine. She is a nurse who has worked on the front line and w…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I will not prolong the discussion any longer than is necessary. I agree with a lot of what Senators Bacik and Wall have said on the Government amendment. As the Minister of State will know, the overarching themes and issues involved were debated on Committee Stage. We had our own amendment which, unfortunately, did not make the cut in the end but the Labour Party amendment represented a reasonable position to adopt and it is worthy of consideration. I do not know why the Governmen…

I will be brief because I know that the Minister will want to come in and deal with many of the points that have been raised. I am somewhat torn over these sections because I have a great deal of sympathy and solidarity for what Senator Higgins has outlined but I am also very conscious of the live implications of Brexit and the necessity to get this legislation through. I wish we were debating legislation pertaining solely to the issues of migration. We need that conversation and to look at this much more broadly. …

Two years ago, the collaborative forum recommended that health and well-being supports be put in place for survivors of institutional abuse and their families. The Government finally committed to rolling out these supports from the beginning of this year. However, no supports were delivered. Only after the recent records debacle did it announce survivors can avail of counselling through the national counselling service. This is not good enough. Time and again, survivors and families have said they need a dedicated …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cheannaire as ucht an tOrd Gnó a leagan os ár gcomhair. As the Leader knows, last week the Taoiseach met Pat Finucane's wife Geraldine and their son John and unequivocally supported the family's demand for a public inquiry into the murder of Pat. In this Chamber, the Minister for Foreign Affairs endorsed that Government support and the Seanad unanimously supported the family's call for a public inquiry. John attended the Seanad debate and he spoke personally at last week's Good Friday Agree…

Tá fáilte roimh an Aire don phlé seo. Mar atá ráite cheana, tá an Bille seo thar a bheith tábhachtach. I thank the Minister for outlining the key aspects of the Bill for us. Like other colleagues have said, Sinn Féin has also rightly committed to working with a cross-party approach on this Bill. It is vitally important to ensure that Irish interests across our entire island are protected throughout the Brexit process and we must continue to work in unity of purpose to protect the people, North and South, to protect…

I move: That Seanad Éireann: - recalls the brutal murder of solicitor, Patrick Finucane, at his home in Belfast on 12th February, 1989; - notes the evidence of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries, the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the murder of Mr. Finucane; - recalls the commitments made at the Weston Park talks in July, 2001, by the British Government to hold a public inquiry into the Finucane case, if so recommended by the Honourable Judge Peter Cory, it being clearly understood that su…

I concur with many Members' remarks on the unanimous agreement in this House. Such unanimity always makes for a much more pleasant evening for me. Given the experience of recent weeks, I thank colleagues for that. Returning to the more serious element of tonight’s motion and the purpose of it, I begin by recognising and noting the significance and importance of the remarks made by the Taoiseach after his meeting with the Finucane family, and indeed again in the Dáil Chamber yesterday in response to my party leader,…

On Friday Sinn Féin published a discussion paper entitled Economic Benefits of a United Ireland. The debate on unity has been turbocharged by Britain’s decision in 2016 to leave the European Union, a decision that has exposed the democratic deficit at the heart of the union. Despite the majority of the electorate in the North, including me, choosing to remain in the EU, we have been dragged out against our will. That is a decision that will have long-term consequences for the northern economy, for workers, for busi…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith linn agus tá mé i gcónaí sásta an t-ábhar seo a phlé. We know that the bulk of parties in the State, as their stated party policy, support the extension of the franchise in presidential elections to citizens who are resident outside the State. In September 2013 the Constitutional Convention voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposal to extend that vote. In March 2017, the then Taoiseach, at an announcement in Philadelphia over the course of St. Patrick's Day celeb…

While I thank the Minister of State for the review of where this issue has come from and its journey to date, I am disappointed. I appreciate that he is relatively new in his post. This is something that he may wish to take some time to navigate through. I appreciate that we are in a serious period with the double threat to society of Brexit and Covid-19 looming large. This issue may not be at the very top of the political agenda now but, as the Minister of State has acknowledged, it is one of deep political and so…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus aontaím leis an méid atá ráite ag an Seanadóir Ardagh. I would like to second Senator Gavan's proposed amendment to the Order of Business if it has not been seconded.

That is fair enough. A Leas-Cheannaire, ba mhaith liom tosú le hiarraidh ort am a chur ar leataobh fá choinne díospóireachta leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Jack Chambers, maidir le cúrsaí Gaeilge ag an am práinneach seo ina bhfuilimid. Sílim go bhfuil sé thar a bheith tábhachtach nuair a bhíonn muid ag plé faoi chúrsaí agus grúpaí pobail amuigh ansin go stadaimid agus go smaoinímid ar phobal labhartha na Gaeilge agus go háirithe ar an bpobal i measc ár gcuid Gaeltachtaí ar fud na tíre chomh maith. I ask that, befor…

That is gracious. It is all I will need. I welcome the Minister of State and thank Senator Flynn for ensuring that the House had the opportunity to have statements on such an important issue. It has been raised with the Minister previously. My colleague, Senator Warfield, was keen to have this matter discussed, but he has missed out on it. I was following the debate in my office. I wish to take this opportunity to discuss something that has not been mentioned so far. In June 2019, the Irish Human Rights and Equalit…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, and cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Cuirim fáilte freisin roimh an mBille agus an deis é a phlé. Molaim iad siúd a leag an Bille os ár gcomhair. I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge those who have tabled this legislation. What tonight shows is how effective it is when Members adhere to proper, timely parliamentary processes and give themselves the space to debate, help and inform legislation of this and other kinds that come through this House. What I always find …

Yesterday in the House, I encouraged Members to remember and to remain steadfast in encouraging support from the new US Administration for the Good Friday Agreement, for the peace process and for progress more generally here in Ireland against the impending reckless threat posed to us by Brexit. I was very encouraged to see reported in the media last night that President-elect Biden had a phone call with the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, where he referenced those commitments to the Good Friday Agreement an…

Some of it might depend on what comes next. I had to shake myself there because for wee second I thought I was at a Traditional Unionist Voice party conference as opposed to in the Oireachtas listening to some of the previous contributions but there you go and here we are. This is without question the strangest use of Private Members' time I have witnessed since being elected to the Seanad in 2016. The motion before us surely represents the first time a political party is being criticised for adhering to its legal …

I understand that the proposer will have an opportunity to conclude at the end of this debate.