The Cathaoirleach is a mine of information. I did not even know that there were GAA clubs or a branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Luxembourg.

It is indeed a beautiful country and capital city.

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the eleventh report of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight, to be taken at the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 – Second Stage, to be taken at 1.30 p.m., and notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders, to adjourn at 3.30 p.m. or immediately before the Minister is called upon to close the debate, whichever is earlier, with the opening contribution of the …

Hear, hear.

I could not add anything to the very eloquent contribution made by Senator Currie and the demand that she correctly made. The island belongs to all of us and all of our identities should be respected. I thank Senator McGreehan for the information she provided on the Sickle Cell Society Ireland and the sickle cell disease. I have learned something this morning. While I do not wish to speak on others' behalf, people must deal with many things that most of us are not even aware of. I thank the Senator for raising the …

I move: "That the report be adopted, laid before the House and printed."

The Order of Business is No.1, motion regarding the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Friday, 18 June 2021, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; and No. 2, Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Bill 2018 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] – Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 12.45 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government.

That is a lovely suggestion from Senator Ward. I am not sure whether we should just send a letter to the Department. I will try to arrange a debate but collectively we might initially send a letter to the relevant Minister to ask him for his opinion on the suggestion. We can wait for his response and see what comes back. Senator Chambers, among others who I will name as I come to them on the list, mentioned the thousands of people we expect to see on the streets outside the convention centre and the Dáil who are fi…

I move: (1) That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Seanad on its rising on Tuesday, 15th June, 2021, shall adjourn until 9.30 a.m. on Friday, 18th June, 2021, in the Dáil Chamber, and unless otherwise ordered, 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 paragraph and, accordingly, no…

The Order of Business is No. 1, Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019 - Second Stage, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to conclude at 3.45 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, 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; No. 2, Public Service Pay Bill 2020 - Second Stage, to be taken at 4 p.m. or 15 minutes after the conclusion of No. 1 and to conclude…

I thank my colleagues and join them in expressing good wishes to Ann and Mary. I thank them for all of their service and wish them a healthy and happy retirement, which will hopefully be very long. Senator Paddy Burke asked me to ask the Taoiseach to come in. I will certainly make the request but I suggest it would probably be more appropriate if the Minister comes to talk to us today. I welcome the announcement of the Taoiseach on Saturday or his utterances. He wants to find a solution to this. I think we all know…

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 Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. My family tells me that we are of Norman descent from Denmark and that we arrived in the 8th century. Very many happy returns today. The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Friday, 4 June 2021, to be taken on completion of the Order of Business, without debate; and No. 2, Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 11.45 a.m., and to conclude at 12.45 p.m., by the putting of one question from th…

I am happy to accept the amendment to the Order of Business to take No. 19 before No. 1. I thank the two Senators and wish them every success. I hope they receive a widespread support and get their legislation passed. Other colleagues have asked me to organise statements on the national economic development plan, which includes the recovery and resilience strategy's financing from the European Union. I will do so and I will also organise a debate on the fishing industry. Senator Crowe spoke about something that mos…

I move: (1) That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Seanad on its rising on Tuesday, 1st June, 2021, shall adjourn until 9.30 a.m. on Friday, 4th June, 2021, in the Dáil Chamber, and unless otherwise ordered, 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 paragraph and, accordingly, no other b…

The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Friday, 28 May 2021, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; and No. 2, Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and to conclude at 12.45 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, in respect of amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government.

I thank colleagues. I do not know how we can support Senator Ó Donnghaile. The provision of an Irish language Act is incredibly important in the whole island of Ireland and, indeed, to our diaspora. If there is anything that he specifically thinks we can do to help in this House, or as a Government, I would be very willing to help and hear him. The Irish language has beautiful words and we do not use them enough. Some of us use them a hell of a lot more than others and we should certainly promote the Irish language…

I move: (1) That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Seanad on its rising on Tuesday, 25th May, 2021, shall adjourn until 9.30 a.m. on Friday, 28th May, 2021, in the Dáil Chamber, and unless otherwise ordered, 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 paragraph and, accordingly, no o…

The Order of Business is No. 1, the Criminal Procedure Bill 2021 - Committee Stage (resumed) and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. and concluded at 12.45 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government.

It is a really good idea to write a letter on behalf of all Senators on this side of the pond to congratulate and thank our colleagues in the US Senate and to support the call for a special envoy. I will do that today and send all Senators a copy of the letter. Senator Dolan raised an issue that has been raised on a number of occasions in recent days. It is interesting that what women consider to be normal life events are almost taboo topics that are never raised. We might suffer in silence and never talk about the…