I thank the Minister for his response but I have absolutely no interest in being involved in negotiations and I am sure nobody else here does. We are certainly not going to do so in this House, in the Dáil or in a committee room. However, I do acknowledge that there are workers who do not think what is being offered to them is fair. We also have three farmers who absolutely refute the contention that they have been treated fairly. I totally understand that the statutory redundancy legislation ties the Minister's ha…

At 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 8 March.

A chairde, at the end of the Order of Business I will ask you to join me in passing a motion for the expression of sympathy on the death of our former colleague, John A. Murphy.

The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, including the recent report of Amnesty International, to be taken today at 4.45 p.m. and to conclude at 6.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and the contributions of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and with the Minister not to be g…

Senator Dolan was right to highlight the welcome business funding that was announced today and the Skillnet expansion, which is welcome and timely. I thank Senator Ward for bringing to the attention of the House that the Minister for Health met representatives of the Irish Thalidomide Association yesterday. The Senator said it better than I can when he said that this issue has gone on for far too long and I really do hope that there is a speedy resolution. Senator Buttimer touched on the issue of Ukraine and I will…

I am here and I am free. It is a question of whatever is acceptable. Thursday is probably the earliest day on which we could bring the motion before the House. We will go ahead this evening and have our statements and let people express their views with the intention then to have a joint and, it is to be hoped, a unanimously agreed motion the day after tomorrow. Senator Seery Kearney is not in the Chamber at present but her contribution was probably one of the most impassioned and personal statements I have heard a…

I move: That Seanad Éireann – - expresses its deep sadness on the death of Professor John A. Murphy; - conveys its sincere condolences to his family; and - expresses its gratitude for his notable contribution, as a member of Seanad Éireann, to Irish public life and for his dedicated service to the people of Ireland.

I join with the Cathaoirleach in extending a very warm welcome to the ambassador and I wish her a very happy Estonia day. Before I outline the Order of Business, I must say this is one of the most surreal of times, and I am half a century old. It is incredible that we are watching in real-time, potentially, the destruction of tens if not hundreds of thousands of people's lives in an action which is very obvious to me but very difficult to understand. I put on record that our hearts and our thoughts are with the peo…

I actually had a request in with the Minister with regard to the employment opportunities and potentially, perhaps, the lack of supply of workers for the construction versus the retrofitting of houses. As soon as I have a date, I will come back to Senator Burke on that. I acknowledge Senator Currie’s discussion on the British-Irish Parliament Assembly. I wish all of our colleagues who are attending this weekend a good and constructive weekend. I have no doubt the events will be consumed by what is going on in the w…

I move: That Seanad Éireann agrees with the recommendation of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight that, in accordance with Standing Order 57(2) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, Ms. Linda Ervine be invited to address Seanad Éireann on Thursday, 3rd March, 2022 and, unless otherwise ordered, the following arrangements shall apply. The proceedings in respect of the address shall commence at 1.30 p.m., shall not exceed one hour, and shall consist of – ( a ) a speech of welcome by …

I move: That the Eleventh Report of the Committee of Selection be laid before Seanad Éireann.

The Order of Business is No.1, Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to adjourn at 7 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the opening contribution 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 ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 2, Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency …

I join the Cathaoirleach in expressing my sympathy on the loss of Christopher Stalford. When I heard the news at the weekend, I genuinely realised how fragile life is. A 39-year-old gentleman with an incredibly promising political future ahead of him has died. We all have no doubt he would have been leadership material in probably the not-too-distant future. It is an awful tragedy. On my behalf, and on behalf of all the Members, I extend condolences to Laura and his four children, to all his constituents, to party …

I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

I find myself in the very unusual position of agreeing with Senator Gavan, even though we both know our ideologies are very different. I am a former Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. This is a Government Bill and I very much support and welcome it, but I find myself recently being at odds with the Government over what is absent from the Bill. What we are attempting to offer people whose jobs we are taking away is an absolute disgrace. I totally understand, agree and concur that nobody should be…

The section in itself is entirely based on recompensing the people whose businesses we are closing, but I am far more worried about the 35 or 36 people who are losing their jobs because the State is intervening. We have a responsibility to make sure those people are compensated for the jobs we are closing down. We also have an absolute obligation to make sure we reskill and retrain them, and put them back into a workplace market that is crying out for new skills. I am genuinely asking the Minister of State to recon…

I ask the Minister of State to confirm, because I am not sure if I heard her correctly, that she intends to come back with an amendment relating to the statutory redundancy but that she does not intend to bring it to the Seanad. She intends to bring it to the Dáil in a couple of months. Is that what she said?

I am glad I clarified that. Can I confirm that the Department is considering tabling its own amendment with regard to statutory redundancy and the Minister of State will bring it back, either on Committee Stage the next time we resume or on Report Stage before the completion of this legislation in the Seanad?

On the basis that the Minister of State has agreed with some of the suggestions that have been made tonight and given that we will finish in a few minutes anyway, it would be better if we did not let section 4 stand part of the Bill. That would give the Minister of State and Members the opportunity to put amendments down to section 4 when we resume on Committee Stage either next week or the week after.

I propose that we adjourn early or that somebody talks for the next five minutes until we get to 7.30 p.m.