I move amendment No. 44: In page 23, after line 36, to insert the following: “Guiding principles to apply in respect of persons with dual diagnosis 11. Services shall provide integrated care pathways for individuals with a dual diagnosis and the range of services including home, community and inpatient care as appropriate.”.

Yesterday, Senator Davitt made a contribution in which he called for a debate on pregnancy loss. I commend him on that and echo his call for a proper debate on this issue. Commencement matters will no longer do. We are now the only country among our near neighbours in Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland that does not offer a pregnancy loss certificate under 24 weeks, or 23 weeks here in Ireland. This is quite shameful because what we have here is partition between the North and the South. In the North, pe…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I welcome Deputy Neville, his guests and all of our other guests. I hope they enjoy their afternoon. Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

As no other Senators have indicated a wish to speak, I call the Minister to respond.

Yes.

I welcome the Minister and thank them for being here. It is no surprise to him or to the House that Sinn Féin will vote against the Finance Bill today, given that we have stringently opposed it at every opportunity on its passage through the Dáil and the Seanad. The Finance Bill is not about helping ordinary people, it is not designed to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis, and it will not put money in the pockets of the workers of the State. It will not deliver on housing, certainly not at the scale required or cl…

I welcome the Minister. He probably knows at this point where I will be going with this.

Sinn Féin supports mutual legal assistance. Crime does not respect borders. Effective co-operation between states is essential in tackling organised crime, trafficking, financial crime and, of course, terrorism. However, support for co-operation does not mean automatic agreement to every justice-related EU measure placed before us under Protocol 21 nor does it mean that Ireland should sign up without proper scrutiny where issues of sovereignty, democratic oversight and civil liberties are clearly engaged. Protocol …

I welcome the Minister of State and am pleased to contribute to the debate on the Bill, the annual legislation that renews and adjusts the risk equalisation scheme which underpins our community-rated private healthcare insurance market. Sinn Féin will support the Bill, as in previous years, and we do so while restating serious concerns about the direction of our healthcare system and the continuing reliance for so many families on private healthcare. As the Minister of State mentioned, almost half the population no…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “Report on profits, rising costs, and potential impact of removal of private practice from public hospitals 3. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 33: “Report on profits, rising costs, and potential impact of removal of private care from public hospitals 33A. (1) The Authority shall, before and by 31 July 2026, prepare and submit a report to the Minister for Health having— (a) undert…

I welcome the Minister of State. The last time I raised this matter, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, was here. The question was around Leap cards and it was specific to Millstreet and Banteer stations in north Cork. While I received an answer, it had nothing to do with the question I asked. It talked about Kent and Midleton stations, neither of which is a concern for me or my constituents, to be honest. I raised the issue of the accessibility and use of Leap cards from Millstreet Station to Cork city as wel…

I thank the Minister of State. It is not her remit and it is not her Department but we are back to the exact same scenario where I am not getting the answers I am looking for. I do not need to know how Leap cards work. Everybody knows how Leap cards work. The issue is that students who get on at Millstreet station cannot use the Leap card. They know what Leap cards are. We are talking about Mallow to Cork, Midleton and Cobh but again, I do not need to know about those train stations. I am looking for the train to b…

I thank the Minister of State for her time.

I welcome the Minister of State.

Before we move on to the next matter, I welcome our lovely guests, the fourth, fifth and sixth class pupils from Ballyvolane National School, Rusheen National School and Ballinagree National School, who are in the Gallery. It is lovely to see them. It is a long-standing tradition in the Seanad that they will have no homework tonight. I hope they enjoy that.

Before we move to the Minister of State I would like to welcome guests of Senator Eileen Flynn. They and their teachers are most welcome to the Gallery. As is the long-standing tradition, they will have no homework tonight and we hope they enjoy their day at Leinster House.

I second the motion.

Today, as we debate this vision and a practical way towards a united Ireland, I want to bring this conversation to a place where it is important - into the lived experiences of families, parents and women whose voices have been silenced for far too long. Yesterday, in the North, the Assembly passed the final stage of the baby loss certificate scheme. It is a compassionate, voluntary, non-legal certificate that simply says to bereaved parents:, "Your loss mattered and we see you." In the North, they have taken that …

I move amendment No. 9: In page 16, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: " "dual diagnosis" means the term used when a person experiences both a substance abuse problem and a mental health issue such as depression or an anxiety disorder. Treatment options must address both;". I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. At the outset, I want to say that we are legislators and our sole job here is to scrutinise the Bill that is before us. It is in no way an attack on the Minister of State personally. I…

It is very specific.