CC
2024-02-27 · Seanad
Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Committee Stage
We are discussing the amendment not individual-----
On prevailing side: this member voted with the winning side in 535 of 539 decisive votes (0 abstentions excluded). Read it as a government-or-opposition indicator rather than a measure of influence — the figure is near 100% for members supporting the government of the day and near 0% for those opposing it.
This is the point of the site: contributions keep the party held on the day, not the one held now.
| Party | Recorded as | Contributions | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| CC | Ceann Comhairle / Chair | 219 | 2023-01-25 – 2024-10-01 |
| FF | Fianna Fáil | 204 | 2020-06-29 – 2026-09-23 |
Membership spells on record: FF 2016-04-25–2020-03-29 · FF 2020-03-30–2025-01-29 · FF 2025-01-29–present
We are discussing the amendment not individual-----
The Senator is here longer than I am and knows the rules better than I do. We are discussing the amendment.
We are dealing with amendment No. 1.
The rules are the rules.
This is of no relevance to the amendment we are discussing.
Please do not ignore the Chair, Senator.
Senator.
Do not ignore the Chair, Senator Keogan.
It has been defeated now. If you had withdrawn it with a view to-----
We will move on to amendment No. 2.
How stands the amendment?
Amendments Nos. 3, 4 and 7 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Seanadóir-----
As the time permitted for today's debate on Committee Stage of this Bill has been reached, the debate must now be adjourned in accordance with the order of the House today. I ask Senator Mullen to report progress.
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne. I thank him for his attendance. I know he is taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It took a little while for me to track down where I needed to go with this request because, while this is an agricultural practice and an environmental issue, it is actually the responsibility of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It comes under the re…
I appreciate the answer the Minister of State was provided with. He mentioned limited exceptions, which I know includes roadside safety. If there is a safety issue, hedges can be trimmed during the off-season. He also mentioned, and it is in the Wildlife Act, that one of the limited exceptions is "in the ordinary course of agriculture". I ask the Minister of State to get back to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and ask that the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, come back to me and clarify if…
I also welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber this afternoon. I raise an issue today with regard to the warmer homes scheme. As she is no doubt aware, the Government's climate action plan was published in November 2021. Among many other very welcome schemes, it included the warmer homes scheme. I have been contacted by a constituent. I would like to put on record the correspondence the person received from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, which, through the warmer homes scheme, provides free…
I welcome the Minister of State’s response and I welcome and appreciate the facts she mentioned with regard to the increased spend and the reduction of six months. However, the reduction of six months to 20 months is still unacceptable. I also welcome the fact that new staff are being recruited. This needs to happen. The bottom line on this is we can all say we are delighted about the large uptake. However, even with the large uptake, we knew setting out that the target was 500,000. Even with the keen interest, we …
Before the Minister of State commences, I welcome the chargé d'affaires of Iraq, who is in the Gallery with our colleague, Senator Ahearn.
The next Commencement matter is in the name of Senator Conway. Before we move to it, I welcome to the Gallery Ms Maggie Malone and her four children, Niall, Gavin, Seán and Micheál, who are here today as guests of Senator Conway.