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 sitting of the Seanad on 27th October, 2022: (1) The Seanad shall meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 27th October, 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 …

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding arrangements for the sittings of the House on Tuesday, 25 October, and, Wednesday, 26 October 2022, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, Private Members' business, Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2020 – Second Stage (resumed), to be taken at 1.15 p.m., to conclude after 20 minutes and not withstanding Standing Order 45, the Minister is to be allocated a further contribution of four minutes prior to the resp…

I will do that.

Hear, hear.

I thank the Cathaoirleach and colleagues. Senator Conway wants two debates. One is specific to a small number of Members but it is extremely important because all the Members from his area have raised on numerous occasions the funding for the transfer of the heritage sites to the county council. Clearly, there is no response that is satisfactory to the Members, so I will see if I can organise statements for 60 minutes on it. The Senator is also looking for a debate on flooding. I will talk to the Minister of State …

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 25th and 26th October, 2022: (1) The Seanad shall meet at 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 25th October, 2022, and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) Commencement matters shall be taken at 2.30 p.m. and up to six matters may be selected by the Cathaoirleach for discussion; (b) Standing Order 30 shall stand suspended; (c…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome some guests in the Gallery. The couple who originally came to me many years ago with this issue, Caroline and Martin Smith, are here. It has taken us this long to get a resolution. They are very welcome today. They are accompanied by Anne-Marie Murtagh, Sarah Behan, Georgina Culshaw and Mary Halford. They are all very welcome and I am glad they are here today. I am introducing a Bill the concept of which is the most simple, unoffensive little item of legislation that introduces a non-statutory register fo…

I thank the Acting Chairperson and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for coming to the Chamber today and for his interventions in the Minister's speech. The bizarre nature of the response would probably be okay if this was the first time that the Department and its officials had ever had any sight of this. I spent a privileged four years in the Department and there are very large files of meetings we have had, not just with Martin and Caroline Smith but with all of the officials who attempted to do this, s…

Next Tuesday.

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the summer programme, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to conclude at 6.15 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, time can be shared, and the Minister to be given no less than eight minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, Garda Síochána (Compensation) Bill 2021 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] – Report and Final Stag…

In response to Senator Dolan, it is a really exciting time when one gets such wonderful new educational institutions such as our technological universities. It will be wonderful to watch them grow and develop from their inception. It is really exciting for the areas that have them so I thank the Senator for raising that issue and for acknowledging the €1,000 rebate that will be returned to students, or indeed their mammies and daddies who have paid their fees over the past couple of months. It will be very welcome.…

Next Tuesday.

Today and this week mark baby loss awareness week and it is now in its 20th year. It is a wonderful opportunity to bring people together as a community in a safe and supportive space to support anybody who has been touched by pregnancy and baby loss and to allow people to share their experiences, feel connected and share each others' grief. It is probably a little known fact that one in four pregnancies in Ireland results in the loss of a baby. It is a devastating loss to parents and to the family, and anybody who …

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Civil Registration Act 2004 to establish a non-statutory register called the Certificate of Life to recognise a child that does not conform to World Health Organisation stillbirth standards of less than 500 grammes and a gestational age of less than 24 weeks. I thank colleagues for their initial levels of support. In the coming weeks we will convene in the audiovisual room with the Smiths and families like them so that everybody has an o…

Next Tuesday.

I move: That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

Next Tuesday at 2.30 p.m.

I thank Ambassador Ildefonso Castro for coming to the Seanad and for his service to Ireland; I wish him continued success. The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the report of the Commission of Investigation (IBRC) on the transaction in relation to Siteserv, to be taken at 2 p.m., to conclude at 2.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, all Senators not to exceed seven minutes, on which time may be shared, and the Ministe…

Senators Boyhan and Clonan are proposing an amendment to the Order of Business, which I will be happy to accept and support. I thank them for that. Among other colleagues, Senators Murphy and Currie spoke about the momentous occasion that happened last night with the Irish women's team. Today and yesterday, Labour Party representatives asked for a debate on ongoing and professional funding for our female soccer players, particularly given that the national team will now head off to Australia and New Zealand to repr…