I move amendment No. 36: In page 12, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(1C) A contractor who is in receipt of State subsidies must publish an annual profit and loss account, an auditor’s report, and a balance sheet in order to qualify for funding.”,”.

I move amendment No. 37: In page 12, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(1C) In line with a use it or lose it principle, development must begin construction within a specified timeframe after receiving planning permission, and penalties for non-compliance will include the withdrawal of permission for the development.”,”.

I move amendment No. 38: In page 12, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(1C) Where a person has made an application under subsection (1) in respect of a permission that has been granted that has not commenced, that person shall not be entitled to make any further applications under subsection (1) in respect of other permissions that have been granted to that person that have not commenced until the authority is satisfied that substantial works were carried out pursuant to the permission concerned in…

I move amendment No. 39: In page 12, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(1C) Where a permission has been extended under subsection (1A), if substantial works have not commenced 2 years from the point the permission was granted, the permission shall expire.”,”.

I move amendment No. 40: In page 12, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(1C) (a) In line with a use it or lose it principle, development must begin construction within a specified timeframe after receiving planning permission. (b) Penalties for non-compliance will include ineligibility for any extension or alteration of planning permission provided for in this Act.”,”.

I move amendment No. 42: In page 13, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “(g) by the insertion of the following subsection: (7B) (a) Notwithstanding anything elsewhere in this section, a planning authority shall not grant an extension to the duration of a permission under this section, unless such an extension is for a minimal period only. (b) Notwithstanding anything elsewhere in this Act, this subsection will commence on enactment.”,”.

I move amendment No. 44: In page 13, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “(g) by the insertion of the following subsection: “(7B) (a) Notwithstanding anything elsewhere in this section, a planning authority shall not grant an extension to the duration of a permission under this section, except where— (i) the effect of this section in extending the duration of the permission consequent on this section will result in an alteration of a minimal period only, or (ii) in circumstances where the development …

I also pay my respects to the victims of Srebrenica and their families. It is particularly difficult to stand for a minute's silence when we know there is also a genocide happening in Gaza. While standing I was asking myself what day we will be standing to commemorate all the Palestinians who have been slaughtered. This week, The Journal investigates team published figures after analysing the wait time for people who had been diagnosed with cancer from diagnosis to the start of their treatment. The target of the na…

That is a hard act to follow. We know public transport outside our major urban centres is, to one degree or another, poor or practically non-existent. I want to raise serious concerns about the issue of rural transport, particularly in Carlow and Kilkenny, where families are being let down time and again by a system that is underfunded, pretty complicated and failing in many cases to realise its basic purpose. In April this year, a private provider, JJ Kavanagh and Sons, removed stops at Castlecomer, Crettyard and …

I am really concerned about the latest amendments to the Planning and Development Act, which further entrench a developer and investor-first approach to our already incredibly shambolic and failed planning system. The 2024 Act has still not been fundamentally implemented and yet here we are pushing through amendments to that Act without any pre-legislative scrutiny. I find that really troubling. The same thing happened with the 2024 Act. That Act's errors are obvious here and I am quite sure there will be many more…

In 2024, the Government made a commitment to bring 30 seriously ill children from Gaza to Ireland for lifesaving treatment. This was a scheme many of us welcomed. However, so far only 12 of those children have arrived here. What is happening to the other children? We have heard there is an issue with their visas. There seems to be some sort of spat between the Department of Health and the Department of justice. How is it that two of our own Departments cannot manage to process emergency visas for siblings of extrem…

Yes. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Defamation (Amendment) Bill. The Bill is both necessary and overdue and I welcome steps being taken to modernise our defamation laws and rebalance the rights of freedom of expression and the right to a good name and to respond to the rapidly evolving digital environment. However, while I welcome elements of the Bill, it is a missed opportunity in some key respects, particularly in how it protects or fails to protect democratic speech and public interest journalism. I w…

I thank the Sinn Féin Senators and particularly Senator Ryan for introducing this legislation. I speak in full support of it. It is important to note the bravery Senator Ryan has consistently shown when she has tabled amendments and legislation, and particularly today in sharing her story, because it is not easy and I know it will not be easy for any other Senator here who may be doing the same. This is a Bill that recognises the very deep emotional, physical and psychological impact of pregnancy loss and the traum…

I thank the Minister of State. I think it is the first time I have had the chance to have a discussion with her in the Chamber. It is good to see her here. We are obviously having this debate in the context of the new national strategy on drugs, and it is within that framework that the Government's approach to the drugs policy is at a bit of a crossroads. I do not believe we can continue with strategies that punish instead of support and that stigmatise instead of heal. The Social Democrats believe it requires a co…

I want to confirm that we are just speaking on the amendment.

I commend Senator Ryan on her bravery and honesty. It is very difficult to speak about personal issues in the Chamber. It takes incredible strength so well done and thank you. It is important that people do because it adds so much colour and weight to what we are talking about. So often we talk about these things in legalese terms and it loses the meaning in many ways. As Senator Ryan stated, intergenerational trauma is real. People can find themselves in recurring patterns of abusive relationships when they have w…

I appreciate the intervention of Senator Comyn, but the legal age for children is 18 for a reason. We deem anyone under 18 as a child and it is not appropriate for us to make a distinction between a younger or older child when they are witnessing domestic abuse. A boy of 17, an example the Senator gave, watching his mother being abused will suffer long-term psychological trauma. We spoke about hypervigilance, coercive control and a child perhaps being abused but there being no evidence that can be brought forward i…

As we heard already, domestic violence and violence against women continues to be an epidemic across the island and that is why we need this Bill. Since 2020, 37 women have been killed in the South and 27 women have been killed in the North of the country. The vast majority of those women were killed in their own home. I also want to mark the latest tragic killing of Sarah Montgomery, who was killed in Donaghadee. She was a pregnant mother of two. I remember her today, her friends, her family and especially her two…

Why does violence against women happen? It is because of the patriarchy. It is because we have had decades of decades, hundreds of years, where it has been acceptable to be violent towards women. We cannot just call on individual men, although allies are always welcome. It is great to have strong voices of men in the Seanad calling this out, of course, but we need a really strong response at primary school level whereby we model good behaviours. There are some amazing male mentorship programmes out there where men …

I thank the Minister of State and the other contributors. We were all appalled and disgusted by the "RTÉ Investigates" programme, which made for really disturbing viewing. It showed how older people in our communities are being neglected and failed by those responsible for their care. I worry about the reactionary response we take when we see a documentary or TV show that precipitates discussion. It makes us take action and have statements. While I understand the drive for that, my concern is that it means we are r…