I share the objective in ensuring what we do is trans inclusive. It is important, however, we understand the Interpretation Act we are bound by. The legislation must be read in accordance with the provisions of the Interpretation Act. That allows us to read this provision in a way that is trans inclusive. It is particularly the view of the Parliamentary Counsel, from which we have to take advice, that an amendment of this nature is not necessary in light of the Interpretation Act.

I thank Senator Boyhan for giving me an opportunity to speak about the Institutional Burials Act and the preparations under way for an intervention under the legislation at the site of the former mother and baby institution in Tuam, County Galway. The Institutional Burials Act 2022, which came into operation on 15 July 2022, provides the underlying legislative basis for an intervention whereby the remains of those who died in residential institutions, in respect of which a public body has or had a relevant role, an…

It is important to say that we are setting up a separate agency that will undertake the work specifically at Tuam, and important that it is at a clear remove from Government. Obviously, it will be funded through my Vote but the director will take decisions independently. In order to support the director so it does not just become an entirely bureaucratic process, we have this advisory board. The advisory board will have two representatives of either family members or former residents of the institutions and the loc…

I thank Senators Ardagh and Crowe for bringing forward this Private Members’ Bill, which the Government will not be opposing today, thus allowing it to go on to Committee Stage. We all agree discrimination at any stage in employment is unacceptable, and the proposed amendments brought forward here today both to the Employment Equality Act 1998 and of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 seek to improve pay transparency and further prohibit discrimination in employment in Ireland. I very much appreciate the level…

I apologise to Deputies Andrews and Wynne for my not being here to hear their initial speeches. I was at a Cabinet committee meeting. I was delighted that the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O’Brien, was able to speak on the Government side. I know the issue is one that he, like me, feels passionately about. I thank the two Deputies for introducing this important legislative proposal. Both of them, along with Deputies Bacik and Gannon, have spoken about the need to reform and change our laws and broaden our recogniti…

I welcome the opportunity to address the House today on this issue. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity)(Amendment) Act 2022 was signed into law on 17 December 2022. It paves the way for the commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. This legislation will bring about major reform in Irish society. It will have a significant impact on those who lose or have lost capacity to make decisions that impact on their lives. The existing law on capacity will be changed from the status approach of th…

We have had a discussion before about the Deputy's assertion that the Act was rushed. We took longer because of issues Deputy Pringle and other Deputies raised.

The Deputy wanted more time and we gave more time. We tabled amendments and changed the Act. The Deputy said it was not a perfect solution but it was a significant change. That must be recognised. The reason this is behind is that I listened to what Deputies said and took additional time. The Government could have decided to rush it through before the summer recess - it had the numbers - but it did not. We responded and made changes accordingly. It is important that be recognised. We have commenced the provision on…

I also welcome the visitors from Coláiste Mhuire. I was glad they were here for a while because I would have been entirely on my own otherwise. We are here this afternoon on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia's brutal war on Ukraine. More than 70,000 people have fled here and more than 7,000 civilians have been killed. This represents the biggest displacement of people on the Continent since the end of the Second World War. Thousands of people, mostly women, have fled here to seek safety and ensure a future…

I am sorry to interrupt the Senator but I am being called for a vote in the Dáil that I did not anticipate. Can we have a suspension?

I am sorry. I know that is rude of me but I have been given my orders.

I thank all Senators for their contributions. It was a useful opportunity to discuss some of these issues, and to raise and address some of the misconceptions or disagreements that permeate through the Government and State response to the unprecedented crisis we face. I will take it from the start with the numbers and our State's ability to meet the needs of a significant number of arrivals, both from Ukraine and within international protection. I do not doubt for a minute, and neither does the Government, that the…

I think that strengthens the case, though.

For some people who cannot be provided with that, they will use that and it will not be a correct one. That is the reality. It is fair to put what people do to protect themselves in this context.

It is something that is hard for us to understand here in this country. On the issue of racism and hatred, Senator Flynn spoke very vividly about the very real hatred her community and indeed she has experienced in her lifetime. There is within the dialogue and discourse over recent weeks a strand of genuine hatred against people because of their race, because of their ethnicity, because of their colour. That did not just arrive over the last number of weeks. It has been there in certain groups. The State has a dut…

I have already addressed this group of amendments.

I thank the Deputy. I reassure Deputies by reiterating it is the full intention that applications to this payment scheme will be addressed as quickly as possible. While I understand that concern was expressed regarding the absence of specified timelines in the legislation and that this could be interpreted as opening the door to long delays in processing applications, this is absolutely not our intention. We expect that the vast majority of applications will be readily verifiable through the official records and wi…

I move amendment No. 34: In page 22, line 36, to delete “section 13,” and substitute “section 18, and”. Amendments Nos. 34 to 38, inclusive, relate to the effect of an appeal lodged by the chief deciding officer in the High Court to section 24 of the Bill which relates to appeals. Amendment No. 34 also deals with a cross-referencing amendment arising from the changes to section numbers as a consequence of the insertion of new sections. I flagged on Committee Stage that I might bring a technical amendment to the Bil…

In answer to the question Deputy Sherlock asked about the amendments, access to the institutional payments scheme is based on evidence of a person's residence in one of the named institutions. That is primarily proved by the database that was created by the commission of investigation. This House voted to keep that database in 2020, to maintain it and to transfer it to Tusla. The database will be accessible by the independent office set up to oversee the payment scheme. That will be the primary way in which residen…

It is in no way proposed that the making of an affidavit will become the general approach. The legislation has been designed in such a way as to minimise the need for survivors or applicants to have to relive the trauma, to the extent that is possible, and the approach that has been adopted has been to provide for an application to be made, following which the officials will look through the database to establish the records. However, we had to provide an alternative route for cases where that information is not fo…