That would be great because many of us here are on that group and that engagement needs to happen. To the women who took the time to reach out to me, speak to me and share their experiences, their heartbreaking stories, their journeys, words and wisdom, please understand that we hear and we see you. We care and we understand. I promise on the record of the House that in 12 months' time I will resurrect this Bill. Anybody who knows me knows I damn well will. I am really disappointed that the Government has tabled it…

I thank the Minister for his contribution. Before I move on to the first speaker, I welcome the lovely spectators in the Gallery. They are most welcome to the Upper House. I hope they enjoy the debate. The first speaker is Senator Rabbitte. She has ten minutes.

Senator Rabbitte is the first speaker on the list I have here.

Senator Craughwell is the second speaker on my list.

That is no problem. We will suspend the House.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome Leo O'Neill, who is in the Gallery. He is an Irishman who lives in Estonia and is a guest of Senator Aubrey McCarthy. He is most welcome to the House.

The next speaker is Senator Cosgrove. I understand the Senator is looking to share time with Senator Harmon. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I am calling for the Minister for Health to come to the House for a debate on the future of healthcare on our island. We recently launched a proposal that put the case for an Irish national health and care service. In the context of the increasing discussion around a future united Ireland, healthcare will be one of the defining issues for our people, North and South. It is not sustainable, nor does it make sense for an island of just 7 million people, to maintain two fragmented health systems, both struggling under…

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. I rise to speak on the motion concerning the draft regulations under section 60(4) of the Data Protection Act 2018. Sinn Féin will be supporting these regulations, but it is important that we are honest about why they are being introduced and what they represent. These regulations are being brought forward not because of a sudden commitment by Government to strengthen the data rights of our citizens but because the European Commission raised concerns about the comp…

I thank the Minister of State for being here today. There is no doubt that there is good work being done by a lot of people across the board. As we mark the end of the national drugs strategy, we are compelled to ask what has really changed, what progress have we made and, crucially, where have we failed. If this strategy is coming to a close, we owe it to the people affected, those in addiction, the families who are grieving and the workers on the ground to be honest about the state of play. I will begin with some…

I welcome the Minister back to the House. It is good to have him back with us today. We are being asked to debate three significant motions concerning regulations the Government is proposing we opt in to under Article 3 of Protocol No. 21 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This is not a debate about whether we need a fully functioning, fair and efficient migration system. We do, of course, and we all acknowledge that. This debate is actually about sovereignty, scrutiny and whether the Governmen…

Before we start, I welcome Eoghan Clonan and Arjun Santos to the House. It is lovely to see them. It is great to have the Minister of State here. He has ten minutes for his opening statement.

The Minister of State has concluding remarks left.

Before we move on to the group spokespersons, I welcome the Clonakilty women's shed, who are guests with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. They are most welcome to the House. I hope they enjoy their day. We will now move on to the group spokespersons and start with Fianna Fáil's Senator Blaney.

As no other Senators wish to speak, I invite the Minister of State to respond. He has eight minutes.

I thank the Minister of State for being here and all the Senators for their contributions.

I thank the Independent Group for bringing forward this Bill and the Minister for accepting our amendment to put a timeframe around the provision of care. We heard at the health committee about the horrors that occurred in respect of CHI. Many of us are on the committee. We know what has happened. I echo what Senator Clonan said, that the time for action is now. We have done a lot of talking and there are a lot of reviews and reports. I am sure more things will come out, but this is a really welcome step in order t…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “(1B) Where a child is present during the commission of an offence under subsection (1), this shall be considered an aggravating factor for the purposes of sentencing.”.”. It is lovely to have the Minister of State here today to take this. I thank the cross-party group for bringing this Bill forward. Sometimes people forget that before we ever became politicians or got into politics, we have lived lives and had experiences. That sh…

I thank the Minister of State for the update and for accepting the amendment. It is important for many people who may be watching this debate and for the many families who have been through this. Some families in the House may never have spoken out about such things. I also thank him for the update on the plan in the programme for Government because I know what it is like for a child to have to go through the courts system, including preparing to testify and do all of those things. It is one of the most harrowing e…