I move amendment No. 23: In page 19, line 18, to delete “Minister” and substitute “Government”.

I move amendment No. 24: In page 19, line 19, to delete “Minister” and substitute “Government”.

I move amendment No. 25: In page 19, line 20, to delete “Minister” and substitute “Government”.

I move amendment No. 26: In page 22, line 20, to delete “Minister” and substitute “Government”.

I move amendment No. 27: In page 22, to delete lines 25 to 30. Amendment No. 27 seeks to remove the part, as I have mentioned, that allows the Minister to appoint the first CEO and for them to have a full five-year term. I do not agree with that and I have said it before. I do not think it provides good governance. I do not think it provides the correct independence from the Department as is needed. If someone is the direct line manager, effectively, in appointing someone who is supposed to provide guidance but als…

I move amendment No. 29: In page 22, line 34, to delete “Minister” and substitute “Government”.

I move amendment No. 30: In page 22, line 37, to delete “Minister” and substitute “Government”.

I move amendment No. 31: In page 22, line 41, to delete “Minister” and substitute “Government”.

I move amendment No. 32: In page 24, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following: “(d) the Chief Executive Officer has, in the view of the Board, a conflict of interest of such significance that the Chief Executive Officer should cease to hold office.”.

I move amendment No. 33: In page 24, line 28, to delete “Minister” and substitute “Government”.

I move amendment No. 34: In page 24, lines 37 to 39, to delete all words from and including “furnish” in line 37 down to and including line 39 and substitute the following: “ensure that the statement is laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable.”.

I agree with Senator Ruane. Under the current provisions, the Government has created a system where the CEO cannot comment on Government policy in the public accounts committee or in any other committee. They are effectively curtailed from doing their job, which is to regulate and to challenge the Government. That is why the independence piece we have been banging on about for the duration of this debate is so important. They have to be able to challenge the Government. We have a right, a responsibility and a const…

Yes, policy development rests with Ministers, but it is normal for State bodies to come in and present their opinion on policy and how it impacts their ability to do their jobs. That is linked. They are not separate things. I do not get it. What the Minister of State said about going to PAC and talking about the accounting, budgeting and books is fine. However, poor policy often leads to wasteful spending. We often hear those discussions coming out in PAC in various areas because, again, they are inextricably linke…

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, comes in. It is an independent State body. It comes in all the time. Again, I do not see why it is different for one State body versus the other. That is the point. It feels like we are creating a complete distinction in process specifically for this AI office.

The Minister of State said that it is an independent body. She said she previously experienced being a committee chair and Ministers coming in and speaking about their Department because that it is their brief. At the same time, she is telling us that this other body is independent but it cannot speak for itself. Does this body sit under the Department? I know it is housed within, but will it be independent? What the Minister of State has just presented is that the Minister will come into committees and speak for i…

We will pick it up next week.

No one is disputing that states - any state or this State - can establish criteria for social housing but I think it is important that when we are legislating in an area that directly affects the right to adequate housing, we have a duty to ensure that those criteria are fair, proportionate and fully consistent with human rights and equality obligations. Housing is more than bricks and mortar. It is about safety and dignity. It is about whether a child has somewhere to sleep, whether a woman escaping abuse can rebu…

I cannot stand here and congratulate the Government on finally catching up with the rest of the country. The Minister said that people think the Bill does not go far enough. It is not that people think the Bill does not go far enough; international law states that the Bill does not go far enough. The Government has been dragged into taking action by the public rather than showing real active and proactive leadership. I commend Senator Black on the Bill and I commend Mr. Conor O'Neill for all the work they have done…

The Government's handling of this legislation has been appalling. Not only is it preposterous that a Bill that will see almost €1 billion being invested in fossil fuel infrastructure is being rammed through the legislative process with little opportunity for proper scrutiny; it is also ludicrous that we are even debating such investment in fossil fuels in view of the scale of the climate calamity we are facing. This is not a future problem; it is a problem of today. The climate crisis and climate breakdown are very…

I welcome the survivors and their supporters to the Chamber. They have been following this through the Dáil and the Seanad and will, I am sure, continue to follow this issue closely. The Labour amendment that was brought in last week and co-developed with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre was a compromise but the Minister would not meet survivors and front-line response services halfway with that amendment. For that reason, I am supporting amendment No. 27 and the other amendments calling for an all-out ban. The Govern…