I support Senator O’Loughlin’s contribution on the condemnation of Hungary Pride. It would be fantastic to have a debate on this issue. I have already raised it at the Council of Europe and will continue to do so. It is a big issue. I ask for a discussion on further action that we can take regarding Gaza, and particularly what the Minister could do to work with member states to invoke the “uniting for peace” UN General Assembly resolution, Resolution 377(V), to convene an emergency special session of the General As…

I am down to share time. The others might turn up while I am speaking.

Thank you. When the State brought forward a scheme that focused on managing legal liability rather than the human rights needs of survivors, we had limits, delays and exclusions. It forced survivors to prove themselves again, to plead and to be retraumatised. This Government has had multiple opportunities to do the right thing regarding survivors, and every time it seems to choose the narrow the scope in order to avoid legal obligations. More survivors become retraumatised through the system, the hoops involved and…

I support Senator Flynn's Bill. I know she has been working on it for a long time. It is a really important issue that brings us in line with things like the Luxembourg guidelines. Obviously, words matter. The power of words in legislation reflects our society, which is why the change she is introducing is so important. It is long overdue. It confronts language that we have tolerated relating to the abuse of children and it demands that we confront the truth. We need to acknowledge the horrific abuse that is happen…

This amendment inserts new section 33A to address a critical gap in offender monitoring. Without the provision, individuals currently subject to notification requirements under the Sex Offenders Act might challenge their obligations on technical grounds when terminology changes. This amendment ensures continuous monitoring of all registered offenders without interruption, maintaining public safety while the legislative framework updates.

I acknowledge the Minister of State's comment that there are legal drafting concerns rather than constitutional issues, which is welcome. I wish to reinforce the following: amendment No. 24 maintains exiting monitoring requirements under updated terminology. There is not an added cost in respect of enforcement agencies or the State. The amendment prevents offenders from seeking relief on technical grounds and some of the measures have been effective in other legislative updates that perhaps we can look to as well. …

This is the first time I have had a chance to have a discussion with the Minister of State in the Chamber. I welcome him to the House. We are being asked to consider whether to support the entrance of Ireland's negotiation to the Council decision on the readmission agreement with Kazakhstan. I recognise the important role readmission agreements play when it comes to the overall migration system. There are many questions and uncertainties because we do not have the specifics. The Government is asking us to approve a…

I will share time with Senator Cosgrove. I thank the Minister of State for coming in. In his opening remarks, Senator Ahearn commented that he thinks the Opposition are just playing politics with this and that we do not really believe the Government has not done enough. I take great umbrage at that comment. As someone who grew up in post-conflict Belfast and who has worked for years in peace building and human rights activism, I really do not believe the Government has done enough. I am not trying to say that the O…

I did not actually say that.

I thank the Minister for coming in. I apologise for missing his introduction. I know we are all trying to split ourselves in two at the moment. I will also miss his response as I am going to a committee but I will watch it back afterwards. I read the Minister's opening statement and as he said, along with most of the other Senators here, we are obviously facing unprecedented challenges and a lot of global instability. We had more remarks last week from Trump about the imposition and threat of tariffs. We all know t…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. The wind was slightly taken from my sails by the vote, so I hope I can find my place and what I was thinking about saying. I welcome Senator Noonan and the Green Party bringing forward this Bill. It existed in a previous iteration during the previous government, which is why it is particularly disappointing that the Government has tabled an amendment to postpone it for 12 months, given that the former variation of this Bill was already in place. I disagree with the ratio…

This is Traveller Pride Week. In recognition of this, I request that we have a debate on Traveller rights in Ireland. Traveller rights are human rights. As a result, this is an issue we should all be speaking about across the Oireachtas. The Traveller community has a rich and resilient culture that has endured and contributed a great amount to Irish life, despite generations of exclusion, discrimination and erasure. On Monday, I attended the launch of a photography exhibition called "Unfiltered" in Kilkenny by Gyps…

Other Opposition Senators and I have come together today to bear witness to the human catastrophe that is going on in Gaza as we speak. We are putting on the record of the Seanad the names of some of the children who did not reach their first birthday. As well as the names of journalists, including reporters, writers, photographers and video directors, who were killed trying to show the world a livestreamed genocide, you will hear the names of healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, paramedics, dentists and pharmacist…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. We are all aware of the mental health crisis we are seeing. The second annual survey by Aware in 2024 indicated that little has changed in the past year, with more than half of respondents reporting depression and four in every ten respondents experiencing anxiety. The one in four adults living with a chronic illness are most likely to experience moderate depression. Three in five said anxiety makes work and attending to responsibilities very difficult. Additionally, 56%…

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. It is great to hear how willing he is to have a meaningful debate and discussion on the Bill. I thank Senator Ruane and her team for bringing it forward. I will echo a lot of the words that we have already heard today around what justice and democracy are and how, to have a democratic society, we must have fair justice. A major part of a just society is recourse for everyone to understand why a State institution has taken action against them and to provide recourse for …

Last weekend, Dr. Mike Ryan of the WHO said that if you are not angry, you are not paying attention; if you are not doing something about it, you are complicit in genocide. Last weekend, the Tánaiste said that the world is not doing enough. We have known that the world is not doing enough for the past 20 months and for many years before that. I welcome the well-intentioned and sincere words of the Tánaiste. They are welcome, and I welcome that our Government has acknowledged we are not doing enough. Ireland has not…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today. A few weeks ago, during a discussion on women's health in this Chamber, I spoke about women not being believed in the healthcare system. Following that, I received hundreds of messages from women speaking about their own experiences of medical gaslighting. Reading those experiences that women chose to openly share on social media was particularly difficult, as I know the scale of those impacted by medical gaslighting is in fact much higher. I am requestin…

Women in Ireland deserve better. They deserve to be heard. In addition, they deserve to be believed and treated with dignity in the healthcare system. That is not happening right now.

I appreciate all of the different actions and steps and I know that women’s health is coming along in Ireland. I have questions around things like gender sensitivity training. Are all staff receiving that in the new systems and units that we are opening up? Will there be a subsequent plan? This might not be something the Minister of State can answer today but the Minister for Health can come back to me on it. How will the learnings from this plan be integrated into that? How are we measuring the real-world impact o…

I am sharing time with Senator Harmon.