We did not get the answers we wanted and I will demonstrate this now by moving the conversation on. I will repeat exactly what the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, said on the previous occasion with regard to compensation for the workers. He said the legislation provides for statutory redundancy. That is what the law of the State provides for. He then went on to say there is capacity in the regulations to reflect other costs and the impact on employees. Here is the problem. This says absolutely nothing. One of the maj…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I have a couple of queries to try to tease things out a little further. The Minister of State spoke about "extra payments" and funds for retraining and reskilling. I do not think I am misquoting him. First of all, I want to acknowledge that he is trying to be constructive. I am not trying to be difficult, but "extra payments" can mean absolutely anything. This happens less and less these days, unfortunately, but what normally happens when people lose their jobs is tha…

I apologise to the Minister of State. Unfortunately, I had to take an urgent family call. I was not here when he responded. It is for that reason I need to ask the question again. He may very well have answered it. The clarity I am seeking is in respect of his confirming that there will be an enhanced redundancy package for the workers and that it will be based on additional weeks' pay per year of service. To explain that, statutory redundancy, as the Minister of State will know, is two weeks' pay per year of servi…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and his understanding that I had to step out. I am disappointed, however, because I am making a clear distinction. I am not asking the Minister of State to negotiate here in the Chamber; I am asking him to agree principles of negotiation. A long-established principle of negotiation in industrial relations is that the allocation of an enhanced redundancy package is agreed based on years of service. For example, some years ago I negotiated a package for a group of worker…

I want to come back to the Minister of State on this again because I can understand why people are so worried. To be clear, I do not think I am splitting hairs. The difficulty is that, over many years when the State let people go, it established and respected the principle of an enhanced redundancy package. One example is what has happened regarding the terrible job losses in Shannon Airport in recent years. That always happened on the basis of an enhanced package. To be clear, if the Minister of State cannot give …

I will raise two issues today. The first refers back to yesterday's Order of Business and the fur farming Bill. All of us want to see an end to fur farms as soon as possible. It would be helpful, now that we have a break for the next week or two, if the Minister would engage directly with the affected farmers and workers. I still have a real concern, which I know is a cross-party one, to ensure that these workers are properly looked after. The implication I see, having reread the Minister's speech from last week, i…

I had the pleasure of attending the original London Irish soccer club, Tottenham Hotspur, on Monday evening. It was very moving to see the ceremony beforehand in support of Ukraine. There was a fantastic song from local schoolchildren and huge solidarity from supporters of both clubs. However, the topic of conversation before and during the match was the appalling stance of the British Government in terms of visas for Ukrainian refugees. Conservative ministers made appalling comments the previous week that they cou…

Well said.

It is good to see the Minister of State. She is always welcome. I will begin by acknowledging the good work she has done in this area. According to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, there are more than 64,000 people living with dementia in Ireland. The estimate is that 141,000 people will be living with dementia by 2050. These are stark figures. Research tells us that not all dementia can be prevented, and while not all the research and evidence is exactly clear on what dementia prevention works, many evidence revi…

As I so often have the pleasure of doing, I support every word said by Senator Black in regard to Yemen. I attended that meeting on Tuesday as well. The situation is truly shocking. The figures which have come from the United Nations are horrific: a minium of 10,000 children have died since 2015, 377,000 Yemenis have died since 2015 and 4 million Yemenis have been displaced. It is worth bearing in mind as well that the bombs that are dropping on Yemen are dropped with the full support of Britain and the US. The US …

The Minister is very welcome. I acknowledge the fact we have people from the industry here in the Chamber this afternoon. We have Michael from west Kerry, who has worked in the industry for 37 years. We have Una from Stradbally as well. It is important to note they have taken the time to come up here again today. Let me be clear, my concern, as Senator Lombard has said, and he made a very strong point on it on the previous day, is for a just transition for these workers. That is the issue at heart here. I am surpri…

Well said.

Well said.

I thank the Minister for his response. It would be helpful if the Minister was to give a commitment to sit down with the farmers and the workers next week. We are back in here to debate again next week and it would just give substance to the debate. Chatting to colleagues from the industry, I am hearing the concern that there is nothing tangible here at the moment. The Bill is not adequate on the compensation, and in fairness, the Minister has acknowledged that. I want to acknowledge that the Minister has acknowled…

It is always good to see the Minister of State; I thank him for coming in. The credit union sector is one which we associate with local communities across Ireland. Indeed, it is very important to recognise at the outset what they are. They are financial co-operatives. I think there is a bigger conversation to be had regarding how we develop the co-operative sector. In that regard, I recommend that the Minister of State takes some time to look at the Sinn Féin policy document, Ownership Matters, that we produced a f…

I extend my sympathy to the Murphy family on the passing of John A. Murphy and to Senator Paul Daly and his family on the passing of his father. I am looking forward to the statements on Ukraine this evening. It is surreal to see what is unfolding across the world at the moment. I hope that we can be constructive in what we can do with sanctions. I put on record my praise for my colleague, Deputy Mairéad Farrell, in the Dáil. She has highlighted again the issue of section 110, and the €118 billion of Russian oligar…

On a point of order, where can I get a copy of the Minister of State's speech, please?

I thank the Minister of State.

Well said.

I am sharing my time with Senator Lynn Boylan. I welcome the Palestinian ambassador, who is in the Gallery, as are my comrades Mr. Frank Connolly from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Mr. Tim Hanley from Amnesty International. It is great to have them here today. I thank them for coming. I have a prepared speech but am not sure how much of it I will use. I want to stress how important this Amnesty International report is. As others have said, it is very detailed, amounting to 300 pages. It is so conclusive be…