I do not think I am going to change the Minister's mind. I understand the Minister is saying that changing the language means there will be interventions which will protect the woman's pregnancy or the person's pregnancy. By association, we are supposed to assume or come to the conclusion that this means we would be intervening to protect the life of the baby. Have we become so politically sensitive, if that is the right way to put it, that we do not talk about babies in the womb anymore? It is bizarre. The healthc…

It should say both. The words "pregnancy" and "foetus" should be included.

We are scheduled to complete this Bill next Wednesday. We have an hour and 15 minutes scheduled with a finish time and early signature order of 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Does the Minister propose to come back on sections 73 and 74 before or on Wednesday? How does he propose to address the concerns that were raised today before we resume on Wednesday?

Next Tuesday at 2.30 p.m.

I welcome the Lord Speaker to our Upper House. As he said, it is an awful lot smaller and more intimate than the House of Lords but he is very welcome. It was mentioned that we held a minute's silence in the presence of the British ambassador, H.E. Mr. Paul Johnston, a number of weeks ago. I think we can all agree the outpouring of sorrow throughout the world demonstrated the enormous regard in which the British Queen was held through her 70-year reign. The nicest comment I heard came from Emmanuel Macron, when he …

Next Tuesday.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 3) Regulations 2022 and the Planning and Development (Solar Safeguarding Zone) Regulations 2022 back from joint committee, to be taken without debate on conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, statements on the high level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to conclude at 6.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the opening contributi…

A wide range of topics were raised. Senator Burke talked about his views on the deregulation of the energy market. While I am not sure I fully agree with him, the fact several companies are competing against one another is certainly not giving the consumer better choice. The mind boggles at some of the reports in recent weeks that are an attempt to educate us as to how we could save money. One article says something is a good idea and another says it is bad. It is a minefield, and we probably need a State-sponsored…

Not everything is a label and while I appreciate the examples she gave us today are labels, "Traveller" is not a label. Travellers are a race of people who have a rich history, language and traditions. I think we need to be careful. Senator Kyne spoke about school transport. Senator Flynn spoke about her real disappointment at some of the language that was used in the past week. I think she is right to continuously bring it up. Senator Wall spoke about the 20% discount on public transport for students and sought a …

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 3) Regulations 2022, and Planning and Development (Solar Safeguarding Zone) Regulations 2022, copies of which were laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 19th September, 2022.

The ambassador is very welcome. The Cathaoirleach always tells incredibly interesting stories, particularly when he talks about national days. This morning is no less impressive than any other day. One of the 18,000 Irish people who call themselves residents of Germany is my son. It broke my heart when he left but he is living his best life in Berlin. My connection with Germany is far greater in the last number of years than it has ever been. I wish the ambassador a great day tomorrow and look forward to celebratin…

The Order of Business is No. 1, the Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment) Bill 2022 - Second Stage, to be taken at 1.15 p.m., with the time allocated for the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given no less than six minutes to reply to the debate.

The matter raised by Senator Maria Byrne is a fantastic idea. Do people have to live in Limerick to get a kit from a library there or could anyone else get one? What she has sought is that the kits would be rolled out to the rest of the country. It is a super initiative. I will find out more information and come back to the Senator with a response on the expansion of the programme. Senator Maria Byrne also spoke about the welcome business supports, in particular from an energy perspective. We listened to coffee sho…

It strikes me as odd that it was only just during Covid, but I do not see why we would need security then and not during normal times. It is bizarre. I will contact the Minister in that regard today. Senator Conway, who has brought the HPV catch-up programme to our attention on many occasions in the Seanad, raised the fact that constituents of his have told him they have been charged for the HPV vaccine. That runs completely contrary to the intentions of the Department of Health's previous announcements. I will fol…

I tabled amendment No. 44 because concerns have been expressed at meetings of anaesthesiologists with regard to the Act perhaps being too restrictive compared with similar legislation in the UK, namely, the Mental Health Capacity Act 2005. It is in the context of doctors in emergency situations having to make what they consider to be pragmatic decisions. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland gave me an example of a scenario wherein three teenagers over the age of 18 would sign an advance directive not to be resu…

I thank the Minister for his willingness to engage with us. I will certainly come back with evidence that bears out the request for what looks, on the face of it, like opposition to what we are trying to do in the Bill. For the record, I refer to the Wooltorton case in the UK, which occurred in 2007. Doctors in an emergency setting carried out the advance healthcare directive and the wishes of the patient and the coroner found against them thereafter because the conditions were not as directed in the advance health…

I move amendment No. 44: In page 61, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (7): “(8) Nothing in this Act shall prevent a Registered Medical Practitioner from exercising clinical judgment in a life-threatening emergency to disregard an Advance Healthcare Directive, where they reasonably believe it should not apply, or that the patient would not wish it to apply, in those particular circumstances.”.”.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 3) Regulations 2022 and the Planning and Development (Solar Safeguarding Zone) Regulations 2022 - referral to joint committee, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, statements on budget 2023 from the Department of Finance, to be taken at 5 p.m. and to conclude at 7 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the Minster’s opening speech not to exce…

I thank colleagues. I thank Senator McDowell for his contribution. I do not think the matter he raised is one people consider until it is put foursquare in front of them, but it is definitely worth exploring. I will write to the Minister and maybe then I will send the Senator back copies of the correspondence and we will see in what forum the matter should be discussed. It might be kind of lost in this Chamber, but I will come back to the Senator once I make the response. Senator Burke welcomed the cost-of-living b…

I move: That the proposal that Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 3) Regulations 2022, and Planning and Development (Solar Safeguarding Zone) Regulations 2022, copies of which were laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 19th September, 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 4th October, 2022, shall send a message to…