My thanks to the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. As he outlined, the uncertainty for local authority staff and water services staff is disappointing. They find themselves in a stressful situation. I welcome the commitment of the Minister of State to hold a referendum and I look forward to an early date for that. The old adage holds that if it is not broken, we should not fix it. That springs to mind in the context of water services provided by local authorities. Having said that, as long as the views…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit arís go dtí an Teach. This is short legislation but as he mentioned, it is very important. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I am delighted to support it, as it brings much-needed regulation to the area of private security operations and their work. It is important that those who are tasked with overseeing security procedures are properly licensed and there should be proper oversight of their activities. We are all familiar with the sight that the Minister of State alluded to ear…

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As our schools are now closed for the summer period, it is an opportune time for us to record a vote of thanks to all those who worked so hard to ensure that our children got through a difficult educational year. Often, the unsung members of schools are those on the boards of management who help to keep both our primary and secondary schools running. It is worth noting that they do this in a totally voluntary capacity. This year has been a particularly difficult one for them because they had to get used to online m…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome this legislation. I compliment the Minister of State on the expeditious manner in which he has moved on this. I raised this issue in the Seanad a week or ten days ago. I voiced my concern about the conflict that might arise if alcohol was served in an unlicensed area, both from the point of view of the licenceholder and the Garda. The Garda Commissioner issued guidelines to members of the force, where he talked about using discretion. In this particular i…

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I want to make a comment on Senator Ward's contribution and that of the Minister of State. During discussions on justice matters in this House, we are privileged to have many eminent brains, as I am sure the Leas-Chathaoirleach will agree. If some of my colleagues who are extremely well qualified in this area are struggling to understand the text in these Bills, God help us poor lesser mortals with fewer qualifications in this regard. It is something I know has been mentioned previously and I commend Senator Ward o…

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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach. I will not delay proceedings but I wish to acknowledge the work put into this by the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, since he came into office. Notwithstanding the delay referred to by Senator Conway, I am delighted that we are in this position today and that this legislation has now passed both Houses. I thank all who contributed to the debate during its passage through this House.

It will not be easy to follow the buzz my two colleagues to my left have created in the Chamber this morning but I will do my best. I thank the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, for taking time out of her busy schedule to be here this morning for this very important debate on the imminent crisis facing the horticultural sector due to the restrictions on agricultural peat harvesting. The mushroom industry is the largest horticultural sector in Ireland with a farm gate value of €119 million, of which approximately …

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response. Again, I emphasise the importance of this industry to County Monaghan and the people involved in it. I have spoken to many people working in this sector and they are concerned about their livelihoods. I welcome the fact that there is dialogue, everyone is keen to do the best they can, everyone is promoting a commonsense attitude to this and a realistic timeframe will be implemented so that businesses can get up to speed with what they must do. Basically,…

Addressing the curse of sexual violence is a priority for every one of us and we must do all we can to stamp it out in all sections of Irish life. With this in mind, I very much welcome the Government initiative undertaken in third level institutions. An action plan has been published to tackle sexual violence and harassment in all our third level institutions. I was shocked and extremely saddened by the results of the survey carried out by the Union of Students in Ireland last year. Its survey of 6,000 young peopl…

I too welcome the Minister of State to the House. Along with my colleague, Senator Kyne, I welcome this legislation's passage through the House. It would be apt to pause for a moment to thank all of our public servants for the great service they have given the State down through the years and particularly during this pandemic. They went over and above the call of duty in many instances. There are many examples of that. We are now entering a period in which there will be new work practices, which are to be welcomed.…

Go raibh maith agat. First, I commend my colleague Senator Lynn Ruane, not just in this Seanad term, but indeed in the last one, on all of her work in this area. This is a proud night for her. I know the term “life changing” can be thrown out occasionally but in this particular instance, it is apt. She and her group should be proud of what they have achieved. This life-changing piece of legislation will have far-reaching consequences, hopefully quickly, for many people. As Senator Ruane outlined, we should encourag…

I move: That Seanad Éireann resolves that sections 2 to 4, 6 to 12, 14 and 17 of the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 (No. 39 of 1998) shall continue in operation for the period beginning on 30th June, 2021 and ending on 29th June, 2022.