It is good to hear that consultations are ongoing. The IVF system currently, even the public one, is not up to where it needs to be. Equally, Melanie is under no illusion that she has to wait 12 months. She knows all of this stuff. The problem is that the consultation has not started. There is no legislation around this. As someone who has a low egg count, she does not have the time to be waiting until the Government decides to start this process. Women's reproductive health, and all reproductive health, should be …

I want to take a moment to address the horrific scenes we witnessed in Liverpool yesterday. What unfolded on the streets was utterly disgraceful, violent chaos that left innocent people injured and a city shaken. There is absolutely no place for such behaviour in any democratic society and we stand in full solidarity with all those affected - the injured, their families and the wider Liverpool community, who will be reeling in the aftermath from hereon in. I turn to an issue that speaks to the kind of society we do…

Sinn Féin supports this legislation. It is practical and welcome for the hospitality sector and is in response to a very real need of business and communities that adapted innovatively during the pandemic and have continued to operate successfully under this arrangement. Like Senator Keogan pointed out, however, this is emergency legislation. It was introduced under extraordinary public health circumstances. Four years later, we are still relying on emergency laws to govern what is now an everyday practice, and tha…

I am taking this opportunity to highlight a matter of public safety that simply cannot wait. There was a serious accident in my constituency two weeks ago at Barrett's Cross, known locally as Kerryman's Table, in Mushera near Aubane. A passenger was left in a coma. Thankfully, it was non-fatal, but we are seriously dangerously close to a tragedy and the community knows it. They have been sounding alarms for years. I commend Senator Lynch, who has been working closely on this issue. The junction has been a scene of …

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after “on 14th May, 2025”: “: provided that future financial contributions under Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) Scheme shall only be paid after the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 has been amended to provide for the following: - existing recipients with respect to the beneficiaries of temporary protection currently benefitting from the scheme where those beneficiaries of temporary protection have satisfied a means test similar to those applicabl…

I wish to share time with Senator McCormack.

Having spoken on this a while back, I acknowledge and commend all the people who offered their homes and their generosity when people were fleeing from war in Ukraine. The solidarity was, and continues to be to this day, an expression of the very best of Irish hospitality and kindness. However, good intentions cannot hide the policy failures that have emerged. The Government is now seeking to reduce the ARP from €800 to €600 and claims this move is to mitigate any unintended impact on the private rental sector. Thi…

I wholeheartedly commend Senator Andrews on bringing this Bill forward. We are so delighted to support him. Socioeconomic background is something that is not factored into the grounds of discrimination. We know so many people in both our society and our community, who are living in socioeconomic deprivation. I have been a victim of that too. I am in rural Ireland but come from a council house, so there has been discrimination around that. It is something people cannot control. I echo what Senator Boyhan said, that …

I support everything that my Opposition colleagues have said on Gaza. Words do not stop wars but actions do. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 8 be taken before No. 1.

I move: Bill entitled an Act to provide for a period of paid leave consequent upon the loss of a pregnancy and for that purpose to amend the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, to extend the protection against unfair dismissals conferred by the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015, and to provide for the consequential amendment of certain other Acts. Furthermore, an Act to provide for matters including the establishment of a register relating to the record of pregnancy loss and the maintenance of this opt-in regi…

Next Tuesday.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill which addresses the growing and deeply concerning issue of catfishing. Sinn Féin welcomes the debate on this Bill and believes this conversation is welcome. It is not just timely but also necessary. I thank Senator O'Loughlin for bringing it to this House today. Catfishing, at its core, is deception. It is when someone steals another person's images or identity to create a fake persona online, often to trick, exploit or defraud others. While it begins with a messaging…

I welcome the Minister of State. It is lovely to see her in the Chamber. I am here today to honour the memory of the people we have lost to suicide, and to mention some of them. David and Hazel Byrne, aged 52 and 51, were found in their home in County Kerry. Milly Tuomey was a vibrant 11-year-old whose tragic loss shines a harsh light on the gaps in our child mental health services. Her brave mother set up HUGG, a bereavement support group. Rían de Brún, from Ballineen in west Cork, was described as one of the happ…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the stimulant and energy drinks Bill tabled by Senator Keogan and colleagues. I acknowledge the intent behind this legislation, which is clearly driven by a genuine concern for the health and well-being of young people and which I think is a concern we all equally share. While we are not opposing the Bill, further work needs to be put into it. There is undoubtedly merit in examining the growing consumption of high-caffeine and high-sugar drinks by children and teenagers and the…

It is great to see the Minister in the Seanad Chamber again. I thank Senator Ruane for bringing this Bill to the floor of the House today. The Bill seeks to address the imbalance in our parole system whereby information can be withheld from parole applicants and their legal teams under the guise of exceptional circumstances. This is a barrier in our justice system and the proposal for the appointment of special advocates in such cases is a reasonable step forward. The reality is that the parole system can only work…

Melanie is a constituent of mine. She has bravely shared her heartbreaking story following the loss of her husband, Dylan, to cancer earlier this year, and he was only 32 years old. Before Dylan began chemotherapy, they followed the best medical advice and arranged to freeze his sperm. With full consent, Dylan signed the necessary forms, clearly stating that Melanie could use the samples in the event of his death. Yet when Melanie attended her consultation this year, those critical forms were missing from the digit…

As noted, this is a technical update. As it does not affect the types of insolvency proceedings or practitioners recognised in Ireland, Sinn Féin will support it. When we talk about insolvency, we talk about debt. We are talking about people's homes, lives and futures, as the Minister knows, so while this measure may be administrative in nature, we cannot ignore the debate in the broader context of how insolvency plays out in our State. Right now across the country, there are families who are struggling, as the Min…

It is lovely to see the Minister of State here. I wish to raise a very serious issue for the people of Kanturk and the wider north Cork area, that is, the ongoing delay and uncertainty surrounding the delivery of the Kanturk primary healthcare centre. This project has been promised for the community for a long time - years, in fact. The closure of SouthDoc in Kanturk in 2023 was justified explicitly on the basis that the community would get a healthcare facility. The closure forced patients - older people, vulnerab…

The news is welcome that Kanturk will eventually get a primary care centre. The issue, however, is that the people of Kanturk still have no out-of-hours service or primary care centre. A building in the middle of Kanturk that could be used as an interim centre for out-of-hours care has been identified. Equally, I have been contacted by a developer who is interested in this kind of project. I would really welcome the opportunity to work with the Department to see how we can progress this and to engage with the commu…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I thank Fianna Fáil for bringing this Bill forward. Sinn Féin supports the principle behind this Bill. It is right that we send a clear message that abuse, threats and assault against workers will not be tolerated. However, we have to be honest with people that this Bill on its own will not address the real problem. The crux of the issue is simply not the absence of the specific offences but the absence of gardaí, which a few other Senators have also mentioned…