This is the only opportunity to raise it.

I am just ensuring that Senators know what they can do.

It is too important.

I will not have the time. You all know now that amendment No. 11 will fix this.

Apologies.

I reiterate those points. This is so serious and all of us are aware of the issue. The good news is we have the opportunity to work collectively, put our party hats to one side and accept amendment No. 11. At the very least all of us should agree and act on this now.

I raise an issue of international concern. Last year, I visited Colombia as part of a Justice for Colombia peace monitor delegation. I travelled extensively through the country and witnessed at first hand horrific stories of human rights abuses. I visited a small town called Cajibio in the Cauca region and met a young man, Jayder Quintana, who was just 17 years old when I met him. At the beginning of this month, he was gunned down and murdered. A few minutes before he was murdered, a policeman came to check his ide…

I will be brief. The Minister of State is welcome. I support these sensible amendments. Our party is disgusted at the fact that Committee Stage is being curtailed, and effectively guillotined, today. Was former Senator D'Arcy not right in what he said about investors being way ahead? When I asked the Minister of State about something last time, he promised he would have an answer today. Was a lobbying document from the industry submitted to the Minister of State's Department and was there a refusal to release same?…

To clarify, I am completely at one with my colleague in regard to the fact we should not be prioritising this legislation. I have just come from a meeting where we were told that only essential legislation is being dealt with.

I am sticking to it but I want to make that point clear. The fact this has been prioritised and rushed through is a disgrace. There have been people outside Debenhams for 180 days. Where is their emergency legislation? Where is their priority? Why is it only big finance that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael want to facilitate?

Well said.

I support the amendment to the Order of Business. I wish to put on the record of the House that I am genuinely disturbed by the way in which the House is being used. Every Senator should be disturbed by it. As Senator Warfield stated, having received a commitment just three or four weeks ago that legislation would not be rushed through the House, that is exactly what is being done again today in a way that is entirely inappropriate. It is being done for a Bill that, as was so eloquently explained by Senator McDowel…

I wish to comment briefly on this section because it is crucial in terms of the interactions we have been having with victims and survivors of these institutions. One of the key points survivors continuously make is that their voices are not being heard or listened to. They have been very clear as to why Tusla is not an appropriate place in which to deposit this information. Members who have read the horrifying testimonies that have come in over the last few days know exactly what they are talking about. I wish to …

Sinn Féin will be consistent and will oppose this section. We do not believe that Tusla should be receiving this information and for this reason, we cannot support the idea that it would be acceptable for Tusla to process it. We will oppose the section as the victims of church and State abuse would want us to.

I welcome the Minister. When I was listening to the speech yesterday I was minded of the great philosopher and musician, Noddy Holder, who, in 1973 on "Top of the Pops", screamed through the microphone, "I said Mama but we're all crazy now". It is nice to see the Government move ever so slightly to the left. It is fair to start with some positives on the budget. As the House knows, Sinn Féin likes to give a balanced approach to these matters. I welcome the additional funding for disabilities. I pay tribute to the m…

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that: - the Shannon Group supports over 46,000 jobs and contributes €1.1 billion in tax revenue to the exchequer; - the importance of the Shannon Group to the Midwest region to maintain jobs and to continue economic development of the region, as well as to the national economy; - the need to ensure the continued survival of international air travel from the Midwest region; - that regional balanced economic development must be central to Government planning; and calls on th…

The Senator makes a fair point----

The fact of the matter is that all of the airports outside of Dublin have great challenges right now. The current model, and this is something we have alluded to in the past, of competing airports is fundamentally flawed. In that respect I welcome the additional funding in yesterday’s budget both for Shannon and Cork airports which is a positive measure and needs to be acknowledged. The problem, as the manager of Cork Airport said yesterday, is that it is just a start. Much more is needed. We then have the issue of…

Hear, hear.

I thank all of the contributors to this useful debate. For the most part, contributions on this topic were thoughtful. We must begin by recognising 90% of flights that leave this island leave from the east coast. When we talk about regional balance, we must start where we actually are and recognise there is no regional balance. It must be recognised that the west has been continuously failed in terms of regional balance and proper perspective in transport policy for decades. It must also be recognised, as so many M…