-----Mr. Séamus Woulfe on it, five other judges on a separate list and pages of other lists, and within minutes she decided, and the only person she consulted, or spoke to, before that was the Tánaiste-----

-----who told her that the person she appointed would make a fine judge.

Is it not the case that the Minister needs to clarify the position that she explained to the Dáil here?

She attempted to.

Táim sásta labhairt ar an mBille seo tráthnóna inniu. Mar a dúirt mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Mairéad Farrell, tá an reachtaíocht seo de dhíth mar gheall ar an mBunreacht. Tugann sé cead don riail cheithre cúigiú, sé sin, go bhfuil cead ag Ranna Stáit ceithre chúigiú den chaiteachas a vótáladh sa bhliain a chuaigh roimhe sin a chaitheamh sa bhliain atá amach romhainn. Along with the four fifths rule, this legislation also allows for the carryover of capital, whereby Departments can carry over up to 10% of their al…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important matter. I have put it down for the lottery five or six times. Spina bifida affects about one in every 1,000 children born in Ireland. For reasons still unknown, Ireland has one of the world's highest rates of spina bifida. As a result, there are children who are waiting for complicated surgeries and procedures for some time. They are waiting for life-changing surgeries, often in pain. They often need surgery to ease their suffering and to make their daily lif…

I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to take a personal interest in Oisín's case and to review the issues I have raised within his Department. In a reply to me in November, the Minister acknowledged that waiting times are often unacceptably long and that this places a burden on parents and families. It is a huge burden and people are at their wits' end. It is not just Oisín's family but many others as well. The Minister told me in his response to my parliamentary question that he had asked the HSE to invest…

Ag an uair mhall seo den oíche, ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá fá dtaobh den Bhile fíortheicniúil seo, atá á phlé ag an earnáil seo le tamall maith. Cuireann sé iontas orm go bhfuil an reachtaíocht seo istigh i gclár oibre an Rialtais - ní hamháin an Rialtas seo, ach an Rialtas a chuaigh thart fosta. Tá a fhios againn gur tháinig an Bille seo os comhair na dTithe seo in 2019, agus thug an Rialtas úr an Bille isteach arís i mbliana. Caithfear a rá go bhfuil go leor conspóide fá dtaobh den reachtaíocht seo. Nuair a …

In recent days the Taoiseach has sought to pit nurses against nurses by claiming that student nurses are being exploited by other nurses on hospital wards. That statement is simply not true. The reality is that student nurses are plugging the gaps in a health system that is under severe pressure. Student nurses do amazing work. The Tánaiste has worked in hospitals and I am sure he has seen that at first hand. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, is crystal clear on the issue. It notes that it is no use…

It is politics that have left student nurses unpaid. The Tánaiste's coalition party in government put out a statement on its Facebook page suggesting that student nurses are not involved in real work. It was very hurtful. Many student nurses have contacted Deputies across the Chamber, particularly those in opposition, to outline the real work that they do in hospital wards. Other staff nurses have also contacted us, along with doctors and consultants, as I raised with the Tánaiste last week, and they acknowledge th…

Ardóidh mé ceist an Bhreatimeachta leis an Tánaiste agus muid ag díriú isteach ag an deireadh seachtaine agus an t-am ag éirí gairid. Dúirt an Tánaiste féin go gcreideann sé go déanfaidh Boris Johnson an géilleadh atá riachtanach leis an socrú a aontú. An gcreideann an Tánaiste é sin fós? With regard to Brexit, the Taoiseach is today attending the European summit. We are at a very crucial time. The news with regard to the Irish protocol in the last 48 hours is very welcome. We should not have been forced into that …

Táim iontach buíoch as an deis chun labhairt ar an mBille seo. Tuigimid uilig trasna na bpáirtithe an tábhacht a bhaineann leis na comhair chreidmheasa agus an obair atá á déanamh acu ar fud an oileáin. Tá sé sin cloiste agam na céadta uair. Tá tacaíocht faighte acu ó Shinn Féin agus ó Theachtaí trasna na bpáirtithe agus Teachtaí Neamhspleácha le fada go leor. Caithfimid níos mó a dhéanamh ó thaobh na gcomhar creidmheasa agus tá deiseanna ann iad a láidriú agus a neartú chun go mbeidh ról níos lárnaí á imirt acu i …

As I said, we support the legislation. There has been engagement in the House but there has also been engagement with the Department regarding the concern about proxy voting. It goes against the stated intention of the movement. There are issues with Covid and the facilitation of online AGMs, but I will take that out of the equation because we are not concerned about that. There will be support for this legislation across the House, so I am sure we will be able to conclude it in due course. There are only two or th…

That clarification is very important. The Minister of State is saying that according to the knowledge of the Department and the Minister, none of the credit unions currently has this in the rules. As I said, many are opposed to this. Therefore, there will be no AGM this year that will allow for proxy voting. There may be an AGM that would have a motion to change the rules to allow for proxy voting in future years, but that would be done by the membership. That is an important clarification. The second point on this…

I mentioned this issue on Second Stage. Amendment No. 3 relates to a matter Deputy Nash and I have raised concerning pre-voting. The legislation does not refer to post but rather to electronic means. I wish to focus on one core part of the issue. The amendment is to delete the words ",whether before or", which would not allow for pre-voting. I know the Minister of State may say this is about enabling the credit unions to decide for themselves but if there is a belief that we should allow credit unions or banks to m…

I move amendment No. 7: In page 11, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: “(4) A proxy shall not be entitled to act as a proxy on behalf of more than one person.”. This amendment is in connection with the issue of proxy votes. The Minister of State heard my comments earlier about concerns raised by some sections of the credit union movement. Proxy voting is a feature in the election of representatives to different parliaments, as is postal voting. We do not have proxy voting in this jurisdiction but in …

I hear what the Minister of State is saying and the position he has outlined is reasonable. There is, however, an issue with regard to human nature. We see this in different organisations. In most organisations, it is difficult to get someone to stand forward and take on a role, such as the role of director. There are other rare occasions on which someone is trying to get somebody elected for whatever reason. In an extended family there may be seven, eight or nine individuals who have votes at an AGM but no interes…

On section 11, I want to talk about consecutive terms of appointment to the IFAC. This should not be happening. The members of the council have done an excellent job, including the reports they give to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, of which I am a member. We differ on some issues and agree with others; that is the nature of it. The council gives independent advice to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. It published its report …

Okay.

May I make my final point so that we can save time on this issue?