I ask the Acting Chairperson to indulge me for a moment, because I was not here on Second Stage. I wish to talk about the merits of the Bill very briefly. The purpose of this Bill arose from a directive from the European Union on the basis that our regulatory system was combined with the part of the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, that looks after the regulatory standards and the regulations that all of our licence holders have to work under, and the commercial division which its revenue sources were derived from. I…

Okay, sorry. The issue of peer support is perhaps even more important than that of the licence holder forum. At one of the meetings we had with the Minister, we were given a glimpse of hope that peer support would be addressed. The recognition of how important who the peer actually is, and who she or he is chosen by, is paramount to the success of this programme. In order for any issues in this industry to be brought to bear so that they can be assisted, helped, alleviated and dealt with, peer support and the progr…

I am still speaking to amendment No. 1. I will get to the rest of it in a second.

We all own this legislation, to be fair. When it is passed, it will be passed in all our names.

If it is passed unamended, we will all take the blame for this legislation.

That is not a problem. I cannot overestimate the impact of ignoring this plea. I will give the floor to my colleagues with a view to contributing again. If we establish a support programme that has no trust, it will be as good as having no support programme at all.

I wish to be clear. I apologise but, without telling the Acting Chairperson how to do his job, the Leader would never propose an amendment to the order. He or she would accept an amendment to it. The amendment would need to be proposed by a Member to me. I would then either accept it or not accept it.

Really?

Has it happened that the Leader has amended his or her own order?

Okay.

May I take guidance?

May I clarify what the request is?

As the Bill is on Committee Stage in the Seanad, it cannot be sent to the select committee. It must complete this Stage before it goes anywhere. The committee has the power to recall the Bill if it wishes. The very most on offer with regard to my power today is a suspension of the debate to allow the hearings that are taking place to finish. We can come back and pick up proceedings from there. The Bill is currently on Committee Stage here in the Seanad and will stay at that point until it is completed.

I can hear the Minister of State's frustration and she has spoken about the extensive engagement that has occurred between officials in the Department, the Irish Aviation Authority and all of us in respect of IALPA. The biggest problem is that although there might have been ten Zoom meetings, there is no listening going on. There is not one iota of an acceptance of what is being asked for by the people who own the licences and operate the planes and the aviation industry with regard to the safety and security of al…

I propose, notwithstanding the order of the House today, the debate on No. 2 be now adjourned.

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

I thank Senator Ahern for sharing his time because I am an interloper today. I thank the Tánaiste for introducing this Bill. I was involved in it when I was Minister. The Tánaiste is well aware that when Governments fall, priorities are not always the same for the following Minister, who may have a different agenda. I am grateful that he followed through on this. The past couple of years have been horrendous for the hospitality and service industries. The timing is very appropriate. There is an old saying that all …

The Order of Business is No. 1, Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021 - Second Stage, to be taken at 1 p.m. and to adjourn at 2 p.m., with the opening contribution of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed seven minutes, and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes; No. 2, Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person (Amendment) (Stalking) Bill 2021 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 2 p.m. and the proceedings thereon shall if not previously concluded, be brought…

It will conclude when it concludes. It will be taken at 3 p.m. with the opening contribution of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, the contribution of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

It is obvious from some of the engagement that most Members had their Weetabix this morning. It was lovely that the "C" word was mentioned only once in the five pages of notes I made this morning. It is great to be back to normal. I hope by next week we will be back to normal in the Chamber, sitting close to each other and working collectively as we normally do. I thank Senator McGreehan for raising the issue of dog attacks on sheep. I welcome the statements this morning by the Ministers, Deputies McConalogue and H…