I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business: The Seanad shall meet in the Dáil Chamber at 10.30 a.m. on Friday, 23rd October, 2020 and 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 business shall be taken unless the Seanad shall otherwise order on motion ma…

Next Tuesday.

I move: That Seanad Éireann resolves that the amendments to and other modifications of the Mental Health Act 2001 (No. 25 of 2001) effected by Part 5 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 (No. 2 of 2020) shall continue in operation for the period beginning on the 9th day of November, 2020 and ending on the 9th day of June, 2021.”

The Order of Business is No. 1, Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020 – Second Stage, postponed division, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business and Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken at 12 noon, or 15 minutes after the conclusion of No. 4, whichever is the later; No. 24, motion 5, re the Shannon Group, postponed division, to be taken on the conclusion of the postponed division on No. 1; No. 2, motion re the fif…

Yes.

In response to some of the contributions that have been made, as a colleague and pal of mine for many years and an adversary, and a lot of those years on different issues, Senator Sharon Keogan is an absolute lady. She is one of the hardest working ladies both in her home as a foster parent and in our community for all of the years I have known her. A number of debates have been asked for today. The issue was raised of maternity care and the co-operation of these hospitals, in recognising that there are two parents…

Today, following the sos.

I move: That the report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on the amendment of Standing Orders 16, 22 and the deletion of Standing Order 31 be adopted, laid before the House and printed.

I move: That notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders: (1) Seanad Éireann appoints a Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (‘the Committee’) to – (i) monitor Ireland’s preparedness for all possible outcomes following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, (ii) examine the impact of the withdrawal on trade connectivity to the rest of Europe, in particular,from potential blockages to the landbridge, (iii) analyse the impact of the wit…

I propose that we suspend for 15 minutes.

At 10.30 a.m. next Thursday.

The Order of Business today is No. 1 on the Supplementary Order Paper, motion re the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Thursday, 8 October 2020 and Wednesday, 14 October 2020, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2 on the Order Paper, the appointment of members to the Joint Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and Irish-speaking Community, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 1, without debate; No. 3 on the Order Paper, the appointment of members to the Joint C…

The Cathaoirleach caught me on the hop. I thought that there was another half an hour to go. In the first instance, I will address the proposed amendment to the Order of Business. Whenever Senator Flynn stands in the Chamber, I am struck by how honest, thoughtful and thought-provoking her contributions are, not least of which was her contribution today. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I cannot accept the amendment. I have no way of getting the Minister or a Minister of State from the Department of Housing,…

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business: (1) the Seanad shall meet in the Seanad Chamber at 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 8th October, 2020, and the following arrangements shall apply: ( a ) Commencement matters shall be taken in accordance with Standing Order 29; ( b ) Standing Order 30 shall stand suspended; (c) There shall be no Order of Business; ( d ) The business to be taken shall be confined to the items set out in the Schedule to this paragraph and, accordingly, n…

I move: That, in pursuance of Standing Order No. 105 of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the following members be appointed to the Joint Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community: Senators Lorraine Clifford Lee, Seán Kyne, Rónán Mullen, Niall Ó Donnghaile, Barry Ward.”

I move: That, in pursuance of Standing Order No. 108 of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the following members be appointed to the Joint Committee on Public Petitions: Senators Jerry Buttimer, Gerard Craughwell, Eugene Murphy, Fintan Warfield.”

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

The Order of Business today is No. 1 on the Supplementary Order Paper, motion re the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Thursday, 1 October 2020, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2 on the Order Paper, the Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. today and to adjourn at 2.50 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 3 on the Order Paper, Private Members' business, National Screening Advisory Committee Bill 2…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and colleagues. I will answer the questions in reverse order and I note Senators Boylan and Cassells raised this issue earlier. It is a glaring omission that people with experience and knowledge of local news, national news, digital news and all the new forms that we have are missing from the committee. To that end, when the commission was established yesterday, I sought the Minister's time for a debate on the issue. I have secured a debate and I hope to schedule it for next week. In respo…

Yes, my former constituency colleague. I will request that she would talk to us about this sharing of information because I do not believe anybody understands how vital big data is to those 900 people who are paying their hot dollars to get our information. I apologise, particularly to Senator Keogan, for the inconvenience caused by having to reschedule the debate on the Moorhead report. She has raised it here a number of times because she cares, understands and appreciates the value of councillors, as we all do. L…