I also raise the issue of St. John Ambulance and the failure to implement the report. Deputy Pringle has laid out the facts. All I would add is that the Government is now funding a safeguarding officer for St. John Ambulance, partly because of the organisation's inability to fund it itself and partly because of the absolute necessity for such a role. When similar concerns about child sexual abuse emerged in respect of Scouting Ireland, the then Minister, Katherine Zappone, cut off its funding until it implemented c…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 to provide for swifter access to divorce proceedings. This legislation will further modernise our laws around divorce. Divorce was prohibited in the State until the 1995 referendum, which allowed divorce where people had been separated for four of the previous five years. The introduction of divorce was an important modernisation of our Constitution and a progressive move. In 2019, the Government held a furt…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Recently the Policing Authority produced its report, Oversight of Policing Response to Child Sexual Abuse 2023. To quote the report, "The area of interagency working is a key area where continuing challenges present." The report highlights the need for enhancing multi-agency collaboration at a strategic level and at an operational level. The most straightforward way of doing this is co-locating duty social workers from Tusla into Garda divisional protective services units, DPSUs. These units are rolled out across e…

A minor frustration in relation to this Bill is that it is yet another amendment of an Act that has been amended and amended. It would have been in everybody's interests to produce a consolidated version of the various amended Defence Acts and produce a clear piece of legislation instead of one needing six or seven Acts to try to understand what is going on. We certainly have a habit in this House of producing amendment after amendment instead of neat consolidated Bills which would allow people to understand the le…

It was confirmed to me in recent weeks that the progression unit within Mountjoy Prison has been closed and that it is being used to deal with excessive numbers of sex offenders. My concern is for the inmates who were in the progression unit, which is an important part of the incentivised regime policy within prisons. There are basic, standard and enhanced regimes for prisoners and it incentivises them to engage in positive behaviours and education, for which they are rewarded. The progression unit was the top of t…

The challenge is that the tangible incentives the Minister for Justice referred to in her prepared response are gone. Moving out of the progression unit means moving from an environment with no drug use to one with significant issues with drug use, and moving from an environment where education is available to one where educational options are frequently closed, with fewer teachers and fewer subject options. That is the reality of the education provided for the general prison population. Contrary to what was said, …

I rise to underline some of the elements from the pre-legislative scrutiny report that would strengthen the Bill but are not strong enough in the legislation as written. When considering the matter, the committee highlighted important things in relation to the governance framework, sustainability, environmental, social and governance factors, divestment from fossil fuels, prohibition of fossil fuels and requirements to invest in sustainability, renewable energy and Irish wind. I look at things like section 74, in w…

The issues surrounding apartment and fire defects have highlighted in some instances the deficiencies in the Multi-Unit Developments Act. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to review this legislation. Given the Government's time is drawing to a close, will this review start and, more important, finish before the programme for Government finishes?

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide and guarantee that administrative decision makers operating under Article 37 of Bunreacht na hÉireann are obligated to dispense of their quasi-judicial functions in accordance with due process and fair procedures, to give the Minister power to designate such bodies and to give the Minister power to issue regulations in relation to procedures to ensure that quasi-judicial determinations are subject to the guarantee of certain adequate fair …

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Gaza is on the edge of famine. It is man-made starvation caused by the deliberate actions of the Israeli Government. This comes on top of the horror and the brutality we have already seen. The European Council meeting is coming up at the end of this week. What actions will the Taoiseach be asking for from our European colleagues on this? We need a strong European response. In the absence of one, will the Taoiseach commit to Ireland acting alone, which we have a moral imperative to do here? We can do things like pas…

I wish to raise a serious issue relating to Cherry Orchard Hospital and the impact it is having on families. A briefing paper from the multidisciplinary team last August highlighted the significant clinical risk relating to a move, including the potential for high mortality rates. Will the Minister of State meet with families and residents to address their concerns before any move takes place? We have seen the horrendous impact on the people who are resident in the facility and are having to move.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for third party rights in relation to enforcement and performance of contracts; to provide for orderly consequences of discharge of a contract due to frustration; and to provide for related matters. At the outset, I should give great credit to the Law Reform Commission report on the reform of contract law, which has been quite an inspiration. If anyone reads the text of my Bill next to the text of the commission's Bill, they will see quite…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

My question is for the Minister with responsibility for disabilities. Will the Minister commit to ratifying the optional protocol of the UNCRPD in the lifetime of the Government? There is not much time left.

Yes.

I thank my colleague Deputy Farrell for generously sharing his time. I thank the Minister for coming in for this debate. I was on my feet last week to address a Topical Issue debate. I spoke a lot about my concerns in this area. I will start with one thing I did not raise at that point, which is that there are a lot of very positive things happening. Where new people have come into communities, many of these communities have come together in very positive and supportive ways. New friendships, new organisations and …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, for her time. I am delighted to bring forward the Bill to Second Stage. It is almost a year to the day since I introduced it, and the past year has certainly been interesting for broadcasting. It has perhaps shown the need for the Bill and made the need for it even more pertinent. The Bill is simple. It will take some of the responsibilities of the director of the National Archives and apply them to the director genera…

I welcome the Government's decision not to oppose the Bill. I welcome the commentary and feedback. For me, one of the clear things here is this is already done in many other countries. I appreciate what is being offered as concerns about the Bill. I highlighted some of these. However, it would be a tragedy if we allowed them to become roadblocks. Other countries have overcome them. They are real issues and I do not mean to dismiss them but other countries have overcome them and built these kinds of archives. Other …