The amendments relate to two different sections, section 75 and section 76. I do not know why they are being discussed together.

I do not mind amendments Nos. a 4a and b 4a being grouped together. I am wondering why amendment No. b 4a is not two amendments as opposed to one because there are two distinct and separate items in it.

My amendment No. b 4 a is more in line with what is being sought by licenceholders and those responsible for the industry. While I do not disagree with the Minister of State's statement that she engaged, much of the engagement in the Oireachtas for many months was to try to persuade all of us that what was being asked for on behalf of the industry was not necessary in the first place. It is probably obvious to everybody that because of the length and duration of the debate, we find ourselves with an amendment from …

I thank the Minister of State for her acceptance of certain parts of the amendment but I want to ask some questions about the opposition she has. The Minister of State has rhymed off a very long list of stakeholders there and we could potentially have anything up to 100 people sitting around a large table in a large room, except we might not because we will not compel anybody to come and we will not tell them how many times per year that they possibly should come. I accept that the Minister of State might put that …

I am confused because I do not think the Minister of State answered the question I asked. I can see why she wants to have a stakeholders forum and I see some merit in getting everybody involved in the entire industry to meet on a regular basis to share whatever they think would improve the industry. However, I do not see how it will work to create a licenceholders charter from that very large body. Will she explain how she envisages it working, including at the first meeting, with 50 different representation bodies…

With respect to the Minister of State, I got a very vague answer that everybody at the table has some input into safety. We are talking about licenceholders and the IAA is the State agency responsible for regulating them. I cannot for the life of me see how many of the categories of persons the Minister of State listed, with huge respect to them and the role they carry out in the industry, will play any role whatsoever in the forum. In fact, they will serve only to confuse the discussions that will be had at the on…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for indulging me. The reason I want to speak to the section is that I did not know that amendments Nos. a4a, c4a and d4a were contingent on one another, that is, if one if was passed, another could not be pressed. Having said that, I acknowledge and accept that the Minister of State has moved to include some of the provisions of my amendments in her own amendments on Report Stage. I want to talk about the section in respect of peer support. I am very concerned about the amendment that has …

Everything the Minister of State said is true, except that was not what I asked, to be fair. The Minister of State is aware that the FOI request submitted by IALPA during the summer specifically looked for the interactions between the Department and experts with regard to responding to amendments and the drafting of this Bill. The FOI reply shows the extensive interactions between five officials in the Department, officials in the IAA and experts in the agency or organisation the Department seconded to do the work …

We are dancing on the head of a pin here because in previous debates the Minister of State told us the IAA is independent. If it is independent, why was it not included in the response to the FOI? To my mind, the IAA is not independent but is an arm of the State, and the purpose of this legislation is to give governance of the aviation industry to the IAA. We have had this discussion previously, when the Minister of State stated in the Chamber that she had relied on the experts in the IAA to draft legislation for t…

For the record, the FOI stated that we would like to be provided with all correspondence, meetings, minutes and notes between the Department of Transport and independent technical experts retained by the Department to advise on the Air Navigation and Transport Bill and all amendments. The IAA is either independent or it is not. It cannot be both to suit the purposes of different debates.

The FOI request does not mention "outside" at all. I do not know what "outside" means. We asked for information on the independent experts. The Minister of State has stated on a number of occasions that the IAA, and all the staff we have listed off here, are independent. I will have to go back to the person who submitted the FOI request with me and resubmit it.

On Friday, 7 October, an unspeakable tragedy occurred in Creeslough, County Donegal, which took the lives of ten beautiful souls and devastated a small tight-knit community. Shauna Flanagan Garwe and her daddy, Robert Garwe, Catherine O'Donnell and her son, James Monaghan, Leona Harper, Jessica Gallagher, James O'Flaherty, Martin McGill, Martina Martin and Hugh Kelly all had their lives cut short by the most random of cruel events. On behalf of Seanad Éireann, I extend our deepest sympathies to the families and the…

The Order of Business is No. 1, Consumer Rights Bill 2022 – Second Stage, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to adjourn no later than 6.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to 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, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate, and No. 114(4) Private Members’ business, motion regarding Iran, to be taken at 7 p.m. w…

Of all of the things that I managed to do during the four years that I was lucky enough to sit at the Cabinet table, the one that probably fills me with the most joy is the hot school meals programme. I got to meet all of the five- and six-year-olds and they cannot help but make one feel delighted that they are getting hot food, as opposed to cold ham sandwiches, which they warmly welcomed. It makes no sense to have the funding there if the cost per head is not sufficient for people to be able to apply for the tend…

We will see what we can do and we will push the matter on a little. Senator Wall also mentioned the debate in the Dáil Chamber tomorrow evening on section 38 and section 39 agencies. I wish him well with that. Senator Ó Donnghaile spoke about Creeslough. Senator Boyhan expressed his sympathies to those affected. I had never before heard that poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay", but it was absolutely beautiful, so I thank the Senator. Senator Conway welcomed Iryna Tekuchova, who is not here any more, to the Chamber. She i…

I will ask a question because I have been fascinated while listening. I can see the points that both the Minister and the Senator are making. The Minister has stated that before 12 weeks it is not considered an abortion but thereafter, there is a presumption that the life of the child will be preserved. There is a whole legal quagmire there that may exist. The Minister stated some minutes ago that we did not want to hive pregnant women off to be distinctly different to other women making their advance healthcare di…

The Minister is saying the AHD is silent and the current law after 12 weeks would allow the interventions to protect the life of the child distinctly, differently and separately to the life of the mother. What has legally changed since we felt the need and the Attorney General in 2015 would have felt the requirement to put in the exact clause that we are now taking out, which specifically gives the protection to the baby as distinctly different to the mam? If the AHD is silent and the Minister is saying that the cu…

The Minister is saying the reason that it is not required is that we now have primary legislation that determines how healthcare services will treat babies older than 12 weeks and, therefore, it is implied by other legislation that a baby that has been in gestation for longer than 12 weeks will be protected regardless of whether it is silent in the AHD or of specific requests by the mother in the AHD. If that is true, then what is the harm in putting it into this legislation that the AHD does not stand if the woman…

The reason Members have had such disastrous examples to reference is that doctors, hospitals and clinicians have been allowed to follow clinical policy and the ambiguity of different interpretations of that policy has resulted in women and babies suffering. I do not see the problem with inserting specific wording in an AHD to the effect that if the person concerned is pregnant at the time of a heart attack or whatever else is being determined or listed, then the current law of the land would apply to the clinicians…

What is the Minister's purpose in changing the language from previously specifying that healthcare professionals would intervene to protect or save the life of the unborn, to moving towards changing the language so that healthcare providers would intervene to protect the pregnancy? Are we trying to determine that the word "pregnancy" actually relates to the life of the baby in the womb of the women? A pregnancy is an event, and a long period of growing and lots of other warm, fuzzy stuff women talk about, but it is…