It is a different context.

That is different legislation.

I thank all the Deputies for their very valuable contributions to our discussion this afternoon. An amendment to the Constitution is not something to be taken lightly and any amendment can and will have an impact. The amendment proposed here will have the effect of granting the protections currently available to marital families to a wider cohort of family arrangements such as single parents and their children and unmarried cohabiting couples. It will mean the Constitution of the State will no longer draw an outdat…

There is that term "durable" in European law but Irish constitutional law can have a different meaning. Most importantly, the wording in the citizenship directive only refers to cohabitee relationships. We are very clear, when we are amending our Constitution to include durable relationships, that we are talking about cohabitee relationships and one-parent family relationships as well. We are very clear on that. Looking at the term "the family" in other constitutional articles, particularly Article 42, which is the…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and would appreciate his latitude so that I can end on one point. A number of speakers spoke about the issue of stakeholders and that there is a wide range of interest in this. After I spoke with Deputies in terms of the Government announcement I engaged with stakeholders and let them know of the proposals being made. I committed very openly to further engagement. I have engaged with one organisation already. I understand it is taking this language away to consider it. I think that is va…

Tairgim: "Go léifear an Bille an Dara hUair anois." I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to be able to introduce the second element of the Government’s proposal for these referendums - the Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution (Care) Bill 2023. In the years following independence in Ireland, women steadily found their right to equal citizenship and equal opportunities eroded. The right to employment in education on the same terms as men was taken from them. They lost the right to infor…

I thank the Chair and all the Deputies for the detailed consideration they have given to the two amendments before us. It is important at the start to restate the overarching aim of the proposed constitutional amendment, which is to update the Constitution so that it reflects our values as regards equality and the recognition of the valuable role both women and men play in all spheres of public and private life. That is done through removing the references to the woman's life and duties in the home and recognising …

I recognise the Deputy’s engagement with me in recent weeks on this issue. I appreciate it and know he and other Cork East Deputies are committed to finding a solution. He has described clearly the dual catastrophe so many families are facing in terms of the loss of the home and now the loss of childcare facilities. I am aware the Cork childcare committee has been engaging with the impacted services to ensure all assistance is in place to support the families and the services affected by the flooding. The childcare…

I thank the Deputy. We should be able to find a way to address this issue and bring in some more capacity, recognising that any premises put forward must meet the requirements of Tusla. The latter has a process and I will ask it to expedite that process in terms of the early years inspectorate. I am willing to help as much as I can but we cannot break the relevant criteria in respect of child safety. I acknowledge that neither the Deputy nor any of the childcare providers that are stepping up are suggesting we do s…

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue and outlining in detail the implications for this family of the incorrect and wrong allegations that were made against them. I also thank him for recognising that Tusla has made an apology and that staff in Tusla - which is a big organisation with a lot of very good people and we all recognise that - has done its best to make reparations here in this particular situation. The details of this individual were brought to my Department's attention yesterday so …

I am pleased that the Deputy said that William is in a different and better place now. That is something positive to be taken from this. The Deputy is right to accept mistakes are made everywhere across Departments and agencies, and in every aspect of life. However, when a mistake is made, it needs to be quickly owned, responded to and resolved. What the Deputy has outlined does not show that. It shows that the mistake was resisted and potentially there were even attempts to cover over what happened. That is not ac…

The electricity sector is absolutely fundamental to achieving our national climate objectives and as such, Climate Action Plan 2023 sets a highly ambitious target of having renewable sources meet 80% of electricity demand by 2030. The plan also includes a comprehensive suite of actions through which we will realise the full potential of Ireland’s onshore and offshore renewable energy resources and continue to be an international leader in the development and generation of renewable energy, setting us on a course fo…

Very real progress is being made in decarbonising the electricity sector. We are currently on track to reach approximately 6 GW of grid-connected renewables by the end of this year, with more than 300 onshore wind farms now generating clean energy across the country. Ireland is in the top five globally for both installed wind power capacity per capita and the contribution of wind energy to electricity demand, making us a world leader in the integration of variable renewable electricity into the grid. Climate Action…

I am taking it jointly with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. It is my understanding she will take the initial reply and I will take the conclusion.

I do not want to delay the Deputies in their contributions.

I will do my best. There is no attempt to silence debate on the issue of migration in this country. I have engaged in countless debates and discussions in this House and the other House. I have engaged in countless discussions around the country with individual groups, speaking to them not only about proposals in their areas but also about how they fit into the State's wider migration policy. As for this attempt to cloak themselves in victimhood and to claim they are being silenced, the Deputies should go and talk …

We have discussed migration.

I did.

When the Government was formed, our programme for Government clearly stated that Ireland was facing an epidemic of domestic sexual and gender-based violence and over the past three and a half years, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has been absolutely emphatic in her response to this prioritising the issue like no Minister before her. She is providing leadership in tackling violence against women, a topic that was left unaddressed by successive Governments for too long. She has unveiled an ambitious new five-year zero…

That is a suggestion based fundamentally on misogyny. Domestic violence is a crime. It is a crime deserving the commitment, dedication and effectiveness shown by the Minister, Deputy McEntee. It is a crime that this Government is determined to continue to address. I am grateful to the Minister for her leadership in tackling this issue, as I am for so much else she has advanced across her brief. She has my full confidence and I will support her this evening.