I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: "Report on introducing a pay-related carers benefit payment 4. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on introducing a pay-related carers benefit payment for those people who have to give up work to care for someone. This would ensure that a carer does not see their income fall off a cliff edge and that they see their income protected and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas …

I move amendment No. 3: In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Report on introducing the proposed changes to carers allowance means test thresholds from 1 January 2025 4 . The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on introducing the changes to the income disregards from 1 January 2025 as opposed to July 2025.”.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Report on abolishing the means test for carers allowance 4 . The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on abolishing the means test for carers allowance and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within 1 month of the passing of this Act.”

I move amendment No. 5: In page 4, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “Report on extending parent’s leave and benefit 8 . The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on extending the full duration of parent’s leave and benefit by 4 weeks and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within 1 month of the passing of this Act.” This amendment calls for a report on extending parent's leave and benefit. We are asking that…

I thank the Minister for the response. To be clear, the Sinn Féin proposal includes the awful situation of stillbirth but goes way beyond that. It would benefit parents who lose a child under the age of 18 years, including following a stillbirth and during pregnancy, irrespective of the length of their current employment. We all know people who have lost children, one of the most awful things to happen to anyone. It is entirely unreasonable to expect a parent to go back to work the same week. It is not right in any…

I acknowledge that. The broader point we made in our pre-budget submission for the past three years is that there should be parental bereavement leave for parents who lose a child under the age of 18 and it should consist of two weeks' pay. We think it has tremendous merit and we ask the officials and whoever comes after the Minister to consider this strongly as a proposal.

I move amendment No. 6: In page 4, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “Report on introducing a parental bereavement leave and benefit scheme 8. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on introducing a parental bereavement leave and benefit scheme to those parents who experience a stillbirth, set at the weekly rate in line with current maternity and paternity rates for a period of 2 weeks.”.

I move amendment No. 7: In page 8, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following: “Report on extending fuel allowance eligibility to working family payment recipients 14. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on introducing eligibility of the fuel allowance payment to recipients of the working family payment and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within 1 month of the passing of this Act.”. In this amendment, we ask …

Sinn Féin supports the two amendments from Senator Higgins. There are issues of fundamental equality and fairness here. Senator Higgins explained it very well and they are worthy of support.

I move amendment No. 11: In page 10, after line 35, to insert the following: “Report to ensure people aged 65 years of age have the right to retire on a State pension contributory 19. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on restoring the option on the right to retire for those aged 65 years of age on a State pension contributory and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within 1 month of the passing of this Act.”. As the …

Well said.

I move amendment No. 12: In page 10, after line 35, to insert the following: “Report on establishing a social welfare adequacy commission 19. The Minister shall carry out a review on establishing a social welfare adequacy commission in order to ensure social welfare rates meet a Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) to study the effect that adequacy of social welfare rates could have on addressing poverty levels and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection ahea…

No worries. I am always on the left. The Minister of State is very welcome. Last Sunday, thousands of protesters across Diyarbakır in Türkiye defied police restrictions and gathered to demand the release of imprisoned Kurdish leader, Abdullah Öcalan, and a democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue. The protestors mobilised in different areas of the city, resisting a ban imposed on the rally by the authorities. They chanted slogans and called for an end to Öcalan's isolation and the oppressive policies of the state…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I acknowledge the many good responses in it. I also wish to acknowledge the work of our team at the Council of Europe and at PACE in particular. There is a fair degree of frustration among my colleagues from the Kurdish community regarding the recent decision of the committee of ministers to postpone any action on the 2014 court decision which condemned Türkiye for abolishing the right to hope for Mr. Öcalan, especially after it was decided to put it off another 12 mo…

I will flag at the beginning that I will oppose Nos. 2 and No. 3 on the Order of Business, simply because I believe both of those items need further debate. It is a pity that we seem to be compressing everything at the moment. We all know there is an election on the way very shortly but these issues are very important and we need to debate them. I flag this to the Deputy Leader. I see SIPTU has stepped up its campaign of protests against the HSE's pay and numbers strategy. I am not surprised. I had a Commencement m…

Well said.

Not agreed.

It is good to see the Minister of State again. As he is aware, we will not be opposing the Bill. The changes being made here to the registration regime for approved housing bodies are necessary. We accept that they need to be introduced as a matter of urgency. I understand it is on that basis that pre-legislative scrutiny was waived. My colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, has asked me to thank the officials for facilitating the briefing at last week's committee meeting. When we look at what the approved housing bodies were …

Last night at 5.20 p.m. I received a telephone call confirming that the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, would not be taking this Commencement matter. I am not surprised by that, but I want to express my appreciation that the Minister of State has come into the House to deal with the matter this morning. Last week, I listened to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, general secretary, Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha, on "Morning Ireland". She was speaking after attending the Joint Committee on Health the prev…

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate why she said it was a script she had been handed. I will repeat what she said a few moments ago. She said the INMO claims there are nursing shortages. Any Minister should accept there are nursing shortages and, further on in the statement, the Minister of State effectively did so. The INMO has been trying to make progress through the HSE. It has asked for a Workplace Relations Commission meeting. The HSE has been offered four dates and has refused all of them. The INMO is…