If we are lucky.

It is a real pleasure to be back here today. I thank the Seanad for the invitation. As most Senators know, I have spent a lot of my political life in this building, whether it was in the Dáil in government or in the Seanad. For the last two years - it is hard to imagine it is two years - I have had the real honour of representing Dublin in the European Parliament. I was struck when I was coming here by the thought that even though the world has intrinsically changed in the last couple of years, our job is still ver…

It is a bit like speed dating, so I do not know whether I am going to get to everybody's questions. I very much acknowledge the thanks and the welcome because it really does feel nice. On housing, I hope Senator Fitzpatrick can see what we are trying to achieve from a European perspective. I believe we will get there. The frustration some of us feel concerns the speed at which we are getting there. We could be doing things much faster. An example initiative is one the UK Government is currently working on. It is to…

The housing first approach is something we absolutely have to adopt. The Senator is right to say that, across the EU, Ireland is building far more houses than any other country. That is sometimes why it is difficult to hear foreign colleagues coming here and criticising us when their own record is not great, to be honest. I just wanted to acknowledge that. I would love to work on European sports policy, so maybe we should have more regular contact by email. I will take that on board. To answer Senator Clonan’s ques…

Me?

To follow on from what Mr. Andrews said on the MFF negotiations and international aid, we have seen how the actions of the US Government have nearly given permission to other European countries to do something similar. Mr. Andrews spoke about how values make up one of the pillars of our Presidency. It is in here where we have an opportunity to show what we really do value. We recognise how many children are still dying from malnutrition in Africa alone and it is on our watch. I understand that CAP, cohesion and def…

I thank the Acting Chair. I thank my colleague, Senator Ahearn, for allowing me to go ahead of him. I say "well done" to the Minister of State on this Bill because it is a long time in the making and I know how much work and effort he has put into it in the past number of years. I want to say at the outset that it will certainly be a very positive legacy once it is passed. I very much support this Bill. I am probably in the lucky position in that I do not know very many people who have had gambling addictions, desp…

I wish to raise a revision that was made by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, to the appointment of the power of attorney process. A year ago, when the power of attorney legislation was transferred from the Department of Justice to the Department of disability and inclusion, the amendment that we made on behalf of the State made the current process entirely complicated and actually exclusionary. It is putting people off employing powers of attorney, par…

I want to speak today about cash. In recent weeks we have seen major inroads in announcements of policies by the European Commission and the European Parliament to introduce a digital euro and immediate transfer payments to try to commercialise and digitalise how people interact and do their business in society. While that is all very welcome and most of us have probably easily transitioned to the likes of Revolut and online banking in recent years, a tremendous number of people in our population still go to the ba…

Next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Christopher Norris is a 53-year-old gentleman who has been living in a nursing home for the past 13 years, since he had an operation that went desperately wrong and resulted in a brain injury. The nursing home he is living in is absolutely gorgeous. I know that because my dad was there for 18 months. My dad shared a corridor with Chris and lived two bedrooms up. They look after him incredibly well, as they do with everybody. However, the environment is entirely unsuitable for a man of 53 years of age with a brain i…

I thank the Chair. First, I thank Senators Black and Higgins, not just for this particular motion and for the opportunity to debate yesterday. We have had multiple debates over the past number of years and if I was to be asked by anybody on the road tomorrow what the most important issue to Senator Black is, this is the one I associate most with her and that she has raised so often in this House. Her commitment to people, human dignity and social justice, as well as Senator Higgins, is absolutely unquestionable and…

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the orders of reference of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying, extension of reporting deadline, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 3.15 p.m. and to adjourn at 4.30 p.m. if not previously concluded; No. 3, statements on the situation in the Middle East, to be taken at 4.30 p.m. and to conclude at 6 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the open…

Absolutely.

First, I thank everyone for their kind wishes. They are greatly appreciated. I could not agree with Senator Gallagher more. There is a race to digitalise society, which is grand, because it is much more efficient, less costly and much easier to manage but there is a whole cohort of people who cannot even send a text message. That should not be a judgmental kind of thing. It should be a recognition that there are people in society who we need to cater for. There are needs right across the spectrum. I commend the Let…

I move: That the Orders of Reference of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying, as agreed by Order of the Seanad of 2nd February, 2023, be amended in paragraph (4), by the deletion of ‘within nine months of the first public meeting of the Joint Committee’ and the substitution therefor of ‘not later than 27th March, 2024’.

Next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, it is proposed that the business will not be taken today, and expressions of sympathy on the passing of former Taoiseach John Bruton will be heard now. On the conclusion of expressions of sympathy, the Seanad will adjourn to 9.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Quite rightly, there will be many tributes paid to John Bruton today, as a politician, our EU ambassador, a former Taoiseach, a public representative and one of the youngest people ever elected to Dáil Éireann. He was all of that and more to me and to many of us here. He was a role model and, for me, a supporter as I began my political career. My earliest memory of him is from when I was a nine-year-old child at the party Ard-Fheis with my little autograph book, running around trying to get everybody I thought was …

The Order of Business is No. 1, Finance (State Guarantees, International Financial Institution Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023 – Second Stage, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 1.15 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and time may be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 2, Coroners (Amendment)…