I move: That: - in respect of the Report of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders (Private Business), dated 8th December, 2022, the annexed Draft Standing Orders to the Report be adopted as the Standing Orders relative to Private Business, and the 1939 Standing Orders relative to Private Business, as amended, be repealed; - any pending application for a Private Bill shall be deemed to have been made under the new Standing Orders relative to Private Business and shall proceed in accordance with those new Standing O…

I second the motion.

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business: The Seanad shall meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday, 8th December, 2022, and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) Standing Orders 29 and 30 shall stand suspended; (b) there shall be no Order of Business; (c) the business to be taken shall be confined to the items set out in the Schedule to this paragraph and, accordingly, no other business shall be taken unless the Seanad shall otherwise order on motion made by the Leader of t…

I move: (1) That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Seanad on its rising on Thursday, 8th December, 2022, shall adjourn until 12.15 p.m. on Monday, 12th December, 2022, in the Dáil Chamber, to commemorate the centenary of the first sitting of Seanad Éireann, and An Taoiseach, Mr. Micheál Martin, TD, shall be invited to address the ceremonial sitting. (2) The following arrangements shall apply: (a) Standing Orders 29 and 30 shall stand suspended; (b) There shall be no O…

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Sustainable Energy Act 2002 (section 8(2)) (Conferral of Additional Functions - Energy Efficiency) Order 2022, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 27th September, 2022.

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders: (1) a Select Committee consisting of 11 members of Seanad Éireann be appointed, to form the Seanad Select Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments (‘the Committee’); (2) the quorum of the Committee shall be 3; (3) the Committee may examine proposals for any Statutory Instrument being made under section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 for the transposition of EU Directives; (4) the Committee shall have the power to receive a lis…

On behalf of my colleagues in the Fine Gael group, I welcome the family of Aileen and Terry Brennan to the Seanad. It is fair to say that Terry was one of those Fine Gael people who ate, slept and drank politics. It was his whole life and he really loved it. Other colleagues have spoken about his long dedicated and illustrious career at local government level, at the European Council of Representatives, which I know he loved, and here in the Seanad and their plaudits are so well deserved. Often on occasions like th…

The ambassador is very welcome. I wish a happy national day to him and all the Finnish citizens living in Ireland. The ambassador knows this already but we continually look with envy on the social agenda and how well it has progressed in Finland. We continue to keep learning from its example. I thank him for being with us today. We have a long Order of Business today. The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 (Appointment of Regi…

It would be remiss of me not to give Councillor Sweeny the same good welcome everybody else has given him. I thank him for being here. Senator Carrigy spoke about the SMA test and sought a review to include it in the process relating to the heel prick test. He has raised it on a number of occasions and, given the relatively small charge and the significant impact it can have in the intervention of the disease, it is worthwhile. I raised it with the Minister the last time the Senator brought it up here but will do i…

It is what it is. The Senator welcomed the announcements of joint ventures made yesterday. He mentioned the €2 million funding for the Irish language, which is nice. I probably do not pay enough attention but I was not aware of Sinn Féin's Explore More policy and it is a lovely name for a policy.

Senator Clonan captured everybody's attention because he spoke so poignantly about a community that both he and I come from. It is not just Finglas, Ballymun, Clondalkin or Cherry Orchard but any other community. We have a growing and deeply disturbing rise in the use of guns in this country. What is equally as worrying is the growing acceptance by people when they hear about shootings, as we did last night on the radio. We think it is only those gangland people killing themselves and we just carry on as if it is n…

I move: That the proposal that Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 (Appointment of Registration Body) Order 2022, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 18 November, 2022, be referred to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in accordance with Standing Order 71(2)( b ), which, not later than 8 December, 2022, shall send a message to the Seanad in the manner prescri…

I thank the Acting Chairperson. I welcome both ambassadors, Mr. McGarry and Mr. Stefan. They are very welcome and I wish them a happy national day. For my tuppence worth, I have been to Romania twice this year. Once was with the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs to see the enormous work the Romanians have done in welcoming refugees from Ukraine. The second time was for pleasure to bring my 16-year-old daughter, who does not want to go on holidays with us anymore, to see Dracula. We had an absolute ball and …

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding arrangements for the sittings of the House on Tuesday, 6 December 2022 and Wednesday, 7 December 2022, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, motion of referral to committee regarding the Sustainable Energy Act 2002 (section 8(2)) (Conferral of Additional Functions - Energy Efficiency) Order 2022, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 1 without debate; and No. 3, Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2022 - Committee and Remaining St…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I think my reaction to what Senator McGahon has said probably says a lot about how we all feel. I had not heard that story. I am shocked, but, in another way, not shocked at all. My husband is a cyclist and cycles to and from work, from where we live into town, which is a decent journey. He has a camera on both the front and back of his bike simply because it is not safe and he needs the evidence to be able to go to the gardaí should something actually happen to him. It happens at l…

I look forward to when it is absolutely ratified because the more screening we do, the better, not just with BreastCheck but for any conditions for females and males. People should be brought in as quickly and early as they possibly can so that we can improve their outcomes. Senator Dolan also raised the supports for regional radio stations this morning, which is very welcome. Senator Currie spoke about the Phoenix Park racecourse development and complex being added to the tens of thousands of homeowners who are lo…

Senator Kyne spoke this morning about the investigation, which he welcomed, into issues he has raised consistently for months regarding irregularities in Inland Fisheries Ireland. Senator Murphy opened today's Order of Business by welcoming the agricultural and food supply chain Bill, which we will debate in this House after Christmas. That will be very welcome. We all know there have been some disingenuous practices with regard to pricing and transparency in the food supply chain over a long number of years. We wi…

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, unless otherwise ordered, the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the sittings of the Seanad on 6th and 7th December, 2022: (1) The Seanad shall meet at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 6th December, 2022, and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) Commencement matters shall be taken at 11 a.m. and up to six matters may be selected by the Cathaoirleach for discussion; (b) Standing Order 30 shall stand suspended; (c) The…

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Sustainable Energy Act 2002 (section 8(2)) (Conferral of Additional Functions — Energy Efficiency) Order 2022, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 27th September, 2022, be referred to the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, in accordance with Standing Order 71(2)(b), which, not later than 6th December, 2022, shall send a message to the Seanad in the manner prescribed in Standing Order 75, and Standing Order…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 4, lines 8 to 14, to delete all words from and including “purpose—” in line 8, down to and including line 14 and substitute the following: “purpose the complainant and the prosecution may, on application to the court, seek further information in relation to the evidence that is to be adduced, and”. I wish to put on the record of the House that following the Second Stage of this Bill which, thankfully, everybody thought was a good idea, I met with the Minister of State and the officia…