Now.

I welcome the Minister back to the House. This is the first opportunity I have had to congratulate her on the recent addition to her clan. I wish her well in that regard. From a Fianna Fáil perspective, I welcome the Bill and what it seeks to address. The one thing we all have in common in this House, regardless of which side of the argument we come down on, is our belief in the need to have legislation on hate crime and hate speech. It is sad we have to go there but unfortunately that is the world we live in today…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He will be aware that pharmacies are essential providers of healthcare in our communities and have the potential to do much more than they are currently doing in the context of a health system that is under pressure. However, community pharmacists feel they have been asked to provide more services on behalf of the State while receiving less money for doing so. They feel the viability of pharmacies is now being impacted. Since the introduction of the Financial Emergency …

I thank the Minister of State for his response to me. I welcome the fact that both bodies, namely, the Department of Health and the IPU, are meeting today. Hopefully, we will see some progress in that regard. It is estimated that on average there are 70 million patient-care interactions per annum with community pharmacies. This just shows how important they are within our communities. As the Minister of State outlined in his contribution, they are open seven days a week. At a time when it is difficult to get access…

I, too, echo the Cathaoirleach's contribution and that of Senator Lombard in relation to former Senator Paul Coghlan. Paul was an out-and-out gentleman. He was a super character. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, I pass on our deepest sympathies to the Coghlan family at this sad and difficult time. I also raise the issue of the leaving certificate higher maths paper, which students sat last Friday. As we all know, the leaving certificate is a very stressful time, not just for students but for their entire family.…

To be continued.

Yesterday, I referred to the difficulties that firefighters who are attached to our local authorities are having and the impending strike action they announced. I hope that the resolution to their difficulties will be found. Today, I want to talk about the concerns of other local authority employees who are being transferred to Irish Water. I raised this issue a number of months ago when there were concerns about the terms and conditions of those workers who are working on behalf of Irish Water and who are attached…

I welcome the Minister back to the House. I thank him again for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit County Monaghan last Monday to lend his support to the crew that is digging for the remains of young Columba McVeigh. The McVeigh family were also present last Monday as they continue on their heart-breaking journey to try to locate the remains of their beloved Columba. It was difficult to reconcile the beauty of the day, with the sun shining high in the sky, and the beauty of Bragan Mountain with the activ…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also extend a welcome to Councillor Patrick Murphy and his friends on their day in Leinster House. I recently attended an event commemorating the brave service of members of Monaghan Auxiliary Fire Service in the immediate aftermath of the terrible events of the Monaghan bombing on 17 May 1974. The immediate response of those members to a very dangerous, precarious and unknown situation cannot be underestimated. In the past 50 years, firefighters across the length and…

I appreciate the latitude shown by the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I thank the Minister of State for his response. He mentioned the review. I very much welcome the review and its findings have been accepted and endorsed by the relevant parties. I attended a demonstration in Dublin six months ago by fire service personnel from all over the country, including County Monaghan. Six months have passed and unfortunately we seem to be at an impasse. I spoke to some firefighters yesterday who told me that training courses the…

I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the ambassador to the House. I hope he enjoys his visit. The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the arrangements for the address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Annita Demetriou, President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus, on Tuesday, 13 June 2023, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, motion regarding the agreement establishing the EU-LAC International Foundation - referral to committee, to be taken without debate on conclusio…

I thank all Senators who contributed. Senator Martin Conway raised the current plight of firefighters. As he outlined, Senator O'Donovan and I had a Commencement debate on the matter earlier this afternoon. It is very worrying that firefighters, whom we depend on in our time of greatest need, feel the need to initiate industrial action in order that their plight be recognised. That is very unfortunate. The whole fire service model was discussed earlier. The retainer paid to firefighters works out at 99 cent per hou…

I move: That Seanad Éireann agrees with the recommendation of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight that, in accordance with the provisions for the address to Seanad Éireann by Distinguished Persons, Ms. Annita Demetriou, President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus, be invited to address Seanad Éireann on Tuesday, 13th June, 2023, and, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, unless otherwise ordered, the following arrangements shall apply: The proceedings in respect of the address sha…

I move: That the proposal that Seanad Éireann approves the terms of the Agreement Establishing the EU-LAC International Foundation, signed at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on 25th October, 2016, a copy of which was laid before Seanad Éireann on 30th March, 2023, be referred to the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs, in accordance with Standing Order 71(2)(b), which, not later than 31st May, 2023, shall send a message to the Seanad in the manner prescribed in Standing Order 75, and Standing Order 77(2) s…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. The Acting Leader is welcome to the seat this morning. Following on from comments by my good friend, Senator Gavan, on kites, I have decided to locate myself at the rear of the Chamber and will remain here until the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, gets to his feet to announce the budget in order to avoid being struck by one of the kites from my good colleagues from Fine Gael. On a more serious note, in times of emergency we depend on our emergency service workers. They are al…

I too welcome the Minister back to the House to discuss this important legislation. I very much welcome the proposals contained within this Bill. I would like to take this opportunity to give credit here to my colleague, Senator Chambers, who along with Eve McDowell and Una Ring, campaigned very hard for this. As Senator Chambers mentioned, it sometimes felt as if the door was not just closed but firmly locked, but she persisted. I am delighted that her fingerprints are all over this legislation, which on a broader…

Next Tuesday.

I welcome the Minister of back to the House. I commend Senator Warfield and his party colleagues on bringing forward this very worthwhile motion. I extend a céad míle fáilte to the guests we have in the Chamber this afternoon for this very important discussion. Fianna Fáil fully supports this motion. I welcome this very important discussion. I am very proud that my party has a long and proud history of campaigning for LGBTQI+ rights, from the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993 by the then Minister for Justi…

I welcome the Minister and I thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. It is appreciated. The purpose of my Criminal Justice (Public Order) (Amendment) Bill 2019 is to achieve one simple goal, namely, to ensure that sufficient measures are in place to protect nurses, gardaí, firefighters and ambulance personnel. On a daily basis, these workers put their lives at risk in doing their work. We are privileged to live in a civilised country, confident in the knowledge that the services we call on fo…

I thank the Minister again for his engagement, and I am very heartened by and delighted with the news that he is after relaying to us this afternoon. I look forward to this legislation being put in place, hopefully before the summer recess. That is excellent news, and I think it is only but right that we protect those who protect us. On a separate issue, tomorrow marks the 49th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Those families still have questions, and they still seek justice. The developments across …