I welcome the Minister of State. I am glad he is here to take this matter. I am convinced that every week the Government meets and decides what fresh hell it can inflict on people and how it can undermine the most vulnerable in our society. The Minister of State is no stranger to the issue of SNAs. A pause was put on, but that pause does not mean a stop. A couple of weeks ago, many autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classes were open. It was fantastic that they were open, and nobody is disputing that. This is the way t…

I thank the Minister of State. I hear what he is saying, but when the Taoiseach himself says that schools are used to appealing, it should not have to get to that point. Schools should not have to appeal these decisions. What happens to those appeals now while it is paused? Are they going to go through? Are those SNAs still going to be in the schools in the mainstream classes? That is the issue. The schools need SNAs. They need SNAs in the ASD classes, but also in the mainstream classes. It should not get to this p…

Before we move on to our next speaker, I welcome to the Public Gallery, Miriam Fletcher, David Murphy, Maureen Murphy, Angela Murphy, Jennifer Murphy, Karen Wilds and Kaye O'Loughlin who are guests of Brigid McGlynn from the Office of the Secretary General. They are most welcome to the House and I hope they enjoy their evening.

As we have no indication from other speakers-----

This is Committee Stage.

-----and there is no time limit on Senators' contributions. I remind Senator Flaherty of the Standing Orders of the House. As no other Senators are indicating, I call the Minister of State.

Senator-----

I want to raise a very serious issue regarding special needs assistants, SNAs, and the reality unfolding in our schools across the country. The new opening of special classes is needed and is very welcome. Families have fought long and hard for appropriate school places and additional provisions. What is currently happening, however, is deeply concerning. While Government Members pat themselves on the back for announcing new special classes, mainstream classrooms are being quietly stripped away. In my constituency,…

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank Senator Cosgrove and the Cross-Party Group for bringing forward this motion. Anything to talk about women's health is mo ghrá. We are here to discuss postnatal mental health but we cannot do that honestly without recognising that for many women, mental health challenges do not begin at birth. They begin much earlier, often after loss, trauma and complicated pregnancies. Irish and international research consistently shows that prior history of mental ill health is one of the …

I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.” I wish to share time with Senator McCormack. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley. This Bill exists because at one of the most devastating moments imaginable, our system failed a mother. The Bill was not born out of theory or abstract policy discussion. It is not something dreamed up in an office or drafted in isolation. It exists because of a real woman, a real family and a loss are so profound that no parent should have to endure it. I worked closely with t…

I thank the Acting Chair and everybody for contributing to the debate. It is great that we are having debates on these topics in the Seanad. This Bill has highlighted two fundamental gaps in our legislation and really highlighted the problem whereby we do not have statutory bereavement leave. It is very evident. I recognise the Minister said that there were all these issues. This Bill was never perfect. If I brought in perfect legislation, I probably would not be here, to be honest. That is what Committee Stage is …

I welcome the Minister. We in Sinn Féin support this Bill. We support it because digital health records are not optional, they are fundamental to patient safety, accountability and the delivery of a modern health service. Accessible, integrated patient records are at the core of enabling better healthcare outcomes. However, supporting the Bill does not mean ignoring the context in which it arrived, because it is now 2026 and the Government is only reaching the starting gate for a digital transformation of the healt…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Senator Conway not only spoke; he was really fantastic. We thank him for bringing this motion forward because Sinn Féin supports it. We know shingles is not a rare condition. It affects one in three people during their lifetime. For many adults, especially older adults with a weakened immune system, it is not a short-term illness. It has a lot of side-effects that continue as they age. Despite this, we have been told, as Senator Conway pointed out, that the cost of the …

I want to raise the issue of flooding and the State’s response to it. What we have seen in Enniscorthy and the surrounding areas in recent days has been horrific. People’s homes have been destroyed, their livelihoods wiped out and families left traumatised. I genuinely hope the Government steps in quickly and meaningfully to support those affected because people cannot be left to pick up the pieces on their own. However, this disaster opens a much wider and more uncomfortable conversation about how the State respon…

Sinn Féin recognises the importance of this legislation. The Bill seeks to codify Garda powers of stop and search, arrest, detention, searches and seizures, which is something that should have been done many years ago. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland made this recommendation back in 2018, yet we are only debating this legislation eight years later. This delay speaks volumes about how slowly justice reform moves in this State. Clarity in policing powers is not a luxury, but essential. Clear, tran…

I welcome the Minister. It is good to see her here. I welcome this motion and thank the Senators who brought it forward. Sinn Féin supports this motion because genomics is not some abstract or future-facing concept. It is already central to modernised healthcare from diagnostics to personalised medicine to population health planning. If we are serious about delivering better outcomes for patients, genomics and genetic testing must move from the margins of our system to the mainstream. Ireland sends approximately 20…

I press the amendment. We have already spoken to it.

I move amendment No. 319: In page 124, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “ “community mental health services” means a mental health service which provides either urgent or routine care and treatment in a place other than a registered acute mental health centre or registered community mental health centre, including such services as crisis intervention teams.”. This amendment clarifies the definition of "community mental health services" so that it explicitly includes services providing "urgent or ro…

I move amendment No. 330: In page 139, line 36, to delete “a consultant psychiatrist” and substitute “a qualified mental health professional”.

I move amendment No. 331: In page 140, line 1, to delete “a consultant psychiatrist” and substitute “a qualified mental health professional”.