I welcome the Minister of State. The Labour Party believes in three central tenets of an Ireland that works for all when it comes to housing. First is to secure affordable housing. Second is security of tenure for renters. Third is a more ambitious public housing programme. I will start with some good news from this Government. The schemes that Government trumpets are helping. I use them. I tell people to apply for help to buy or if they want to move outside, to look at the shared equity scheme. We have broken the …

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to take this Bill, which is welcome, today. I do not need to tell him that in addition to the once-off energy payments we are making, there is a fundamental need for a change in our energy sector due to what we have seen in terms of the inflationary impact of the war in Ukraine and gas prices in the past year. Elevated gas prices have resulted in a stark increase in revenues from the electricity market, which has left more and more families and households crippled by the…

The images we see coming from Gaza this week are horrific. It is difficult to know how to respond to the humanitarian disaster unfolding before our eyes. While we watch in horror, hospitals in Gaza are running out of food, water and electricity are running out and the health system has effectively collapsed. One area in which Ireland can have influence is by using our influence at an EU level to try to negotiate that anybody who requires urgent medical assistance, including pregnant women and premature babies, gets…

It is against the backdrop of an unfolding humanitarian horror in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories that we are here today. Ireland was among the first to clearly come out to say that Israel could not act and respond outside of the remit of international law, when the initial response from the EU was to cut off aid to Palestine and the misjudged and outrageous visit of Ursula von der Leyen, giving licence to Israel to effectively respond however it wanted to. The motions presented by the Government in…

I move that motion No. 127(7) not be taken today. That is the motion on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Senator Flynn is going to second my amendment to the Order of Business. I do not wish to do this to be contrarian. The House should discuss this issue and the motion. However, the time slot allocated is too short and we have not had enough time to consider the amended motion since receiving it last night. I see that a supplementary motion has been added which refers to the hospital attacks yester…

We have all been watching in horror as events have been unfolding in the Middle East since last Saturday week. Ireland can play, and has played, a constructive role on the international stage. There was potential for us to speak with one voice across all parties in condemning the horror attacks on innocent civilians by Hamas and the brutal response by the Israeli Government, which has signalled that it plans to break international law with collective punishment, spun under the guise of terrorists using civilians an…

I wish to raise the issue of the strike by section 39, section 56 and section 10 workers that is happening on Tuesday. Calling people section 39, section 56 and section 10 workers does not explain what they do. We are talking about people who provide essential services in the areas of health and disability, services to children and homeless services. They are going on what will be an indefinite strike on Tuesday following the breakdown of their talks at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. Why are they doing it…

I second that.

I thank the Minister of State for joining us. I compliment the Minister, Deputy Harris, who is continually expanding university places and pathways to higher education. Coming from a further education background myself, he is the first Minister to recognise seriously the sector’s potential and the alternative pathways it provides many people into third level. We are here to discuss the major crisis in student accommodation. A student march on the crisis took place today. It was organised by the Union of Students in…

I will follow on the theme raised by the Senator. Last week, providers closed their crèches for the day and took part in a campaign outside the gates of Leinster House. The previous week, however, the NWCI held the Purple for Public campaign. A significant amount of work has been done on this issue by the NWCI and SIPTU’s Big Start campaign. The childcare crisis is not new. It has been going on for many years. We know thousands of places throughout Dublin are closing down. Why is that the case? It is because childc…

I wish to pass on my condolences to my Fianna Fáil colleagues on the death of Councillor Damien O'Reilly. It was unusual to see the outpouring of sympathy and grief last week from way across the political spectrum, particularly from colleagues in County Meath who worked very closely with him. Everybody who worked with him spoke so warmly of him. I want to pass on my condolences to his fiancée and his young baby. I also want to pass on my condolences to the family of Flor O'Mahony, a former Senator and Member of the…

On behalf of the Labour Party group, I welcome Senator Buttimer to his position as Cathaoirleach. As Senator Chambers said, it is a very special day and a very special honour for someone like Senator Buttimer, who has played such a long role in public service. I welcome Conchobar, Mary, John, William watching at home and the Cathaoirleach's nieces and nephew, because it is not just the Cathaoirleach who is taking this role; it is part of his family. Quoting both Judy Garland and Joni Mitchell is quite the departure…

I will probably not be back for a while.

Like others, I will be brief because I am conscious this has been a much longer session than we all expected. I spoke earlier about the incoming and outgoing Cathaoirligh and the Leaders of the House. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Senator Joe O'Reilly as our outgoing Leas-Chathaoirleach. Joe always approached the job with openness and humour. In doing the very unglamorous job of guiding through important legislation - whether in the depths of the night or the middle of a rainy afternoon - Joe has always…

I have a few questions that have been passed on to me by councillors around the country but I will first make a point about other women who do not get access to maternity leave because I sometimes feel this debate can be very focused on politicians. When I tell people I am going on maternity leave they say that, as a politician, I do not get access to maternity leave and support. The reality is that I will get paid support for 26 weeks and access to my full salary. There are many women in this country who do not ha…

I wish to speak to the grouping as a whole, and specifically to the so-called social housing amendment that was passed by the Dáil last night. Last week, we were told that this Bill needed to be fast-tracked through because we were in a housing emergency. The reality is that the social housing amendment has not been effectively looked at by the Department. In the briefing we received on Monday morning, I asked the Department whether it had a list of projects where the suspension of Part 8 might apply, or Part 11 as…

I thank the Cathaoirleach, the Taoiseach, Ministers, former Members and distinguished guests. Seanad Éireann in the past 100 years has seen remarkable displays of resilience, activism and passion from politicians across the divide. I am proud to be here as a representative of Ireland's oldest political party. As many have said, this House was founded in the shadow of a bitter civil war and my party sought to bring a different perspective to the national Parliament. In the shadow of a turbulent war, emerging from th…

It is important that the Seanad continues to push the boundaries and to deepen the debate around our island, our European Union and our world.

It is essentially a sunset clause on the Bill, so the Bill can be in effect for 18 months. I have tabled previous amendments similar to this and they have never been ruled out of order.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 5, after line 26, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 102 of Act of 2000 3. Section 103 of the Act of 2000 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2): “(2) (a) The Board shall perform the functions assigned to it by this Act. (b) The Board and every member and officer of the Board shall be independent in the performance of his, her or its functions.”.”. This amendment is fairly self-explanatory. There is a concern that this Bill is a mini…