It is hard to overstate how important GUI is in terms of the scale of research. Interviewing of more than 11,000 people takes place. One group is now 12 years old, the other group is 22 and now there is this new group. This has been able to chart major developments. The first group would have been some of the first children to undertake the ECCE programme after it was introduced in 2008-09. We have been able to chart the difference that has made to them. Particularly during Covid-19, we have been able to do a numbe…

The overall cost of GUI for the next three years is just short of €14 million and €4 million of that will be dedicated towards that new cohort. The information will be publicised through a range of methods. There is an annual conference where research that has been undertaken on foot of the data is discussed. Each of the new reports is publicised widely so we have taken and used this data in a range of very valuable ways, both publicly but also in terms of Government policymaking.

I thank Deputy Higgins for bringing before the Dáil this Private Member's Bill to allow us to debate the important issue of gender balance in the leadership of Irish business and its contribution to good governance on the boards and governing councils of corporate bodies. I acknowledge the work undertaken by the Deputy in conjunction with the National Women's Council and the other individuals with whom the Deputy has worked on the development of this legislation. I welcome the opportunity it gives us to focus on an…

I thank the Senators for facilitating the issue with voting today and I gather it may need to be facilitated again later this evening. I thank the Senators for putting forth this set of amendments. I know we discussed similar amendments in the Seanad on Committee Stage here and in the Dáil, and I am not going to be in a position to accept these amendments. Amendments Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, seek to alter the definition of principal land, as Senator Ruane said, and the conditions for making a Government order to all…

I am not in a position to accept this amendment that seeks to remove the very important concept of safeguarding the public interest from consideration within this legislation. The excavation and recovery of human remains is a complex and sensitive intervention. In making a decision to undertake this, the Government must strike a balance between the need to intervene with the need to respect the long-standing tradition of the sanctity of burials and consider the overall public interest. Consideration of the safeguar…

I am not in a position to support these amendments that seek to amend the criteria under which the Government cannot make an order. The criteria set out are all important factors that need to be considered in decisions on whether an order should be made. There is a strong rationale for excluding official burial grounds, ensuring that appropriately buried human remains are not disturbed unnecessarily, and health and safety considerations are taken into account. Section 44 of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) …

While I appreciate the sincere intent that lies behind amendments Nos. 9 and 10, I am not in a position to support them. As outlined previously, it is vital to recognise excavation is not a desired option in every circumstance. From my discussions with families and survivors, I am aware that for some family members, these sites are the graves of their loved ones and they do not want them to be excavated or the remains to be exhumed in any circumstances. For them, that would be regarded as a violation of the sanctit…

I cannot support the amendments, which would change the membership of the advisory board. The Bill provides for an advisory board that will be established to guide and support the director of an intervention. It will include scientific experts and former residents, family members of the deceased or both, and consultation with the advisory board will be required at regular intervals, including at key decision points in an intervention. The addition of an advisory board responds to a number of recommendations from th…

I hear the Senator's concern and I hope I can reassure her. I am not in a position to accept the amendment because I do not feel it is necessary. I believe there is a protection there and, as we discussed on Committee Stage, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 protects the rights of those making a protected disclosure under that Act. This Bill does not in any way prejudice the rights of those making a protected disclosure under that Act. While under section 30(2) of the Institutional Burials Bill it is an offence in…

I believe we cover all of what the Senator seeks to achieve in the existing provisions on reporting, so I am not in a position to accept the amendment. Section 35 provides for a director to prepare a report following post-recovery analysis, and this report must document the circumstances of the discovery of human remains, the forensic excavation and recovery and the outcomes of activities carried out during post-recovery analysis. A report on the functions carried out under this Part of the Bill is therefore alread…

What happened in Tuam represents a stain on our national conscience. This Bill will allow us at last to offer the children interred at that site in Tuam a dignified and respectful burial. The Government is committed to a full-scale forensic excavation of the site and this legislation is essential to deliver that. My sincere hope is this will finally bring some form of solace and closure to the families and survivors who have been so deeply affected by this abhorrent situation. I have met with many survivors and fam…

I thank Senator Ruane for bringing forward this Bill, which highlights the importance of transparency in addressing discrimination and ensuring cases of harassment and sexual harassment do not remain concealed, thereby protecting and providing cover to those who commit these acts. The Government indicated on Second Stage it would not oppose this Bill but would instead conduct its own research in to the prevalence of the use of non-disclosure agreements, NDAs, in cases such as this. In March of this year, officials …

While I support the principles behind the Bill, as it is currently drafted, it may not capture the broad nature and use of non-disclosure agreements that has come to light in the research carried out by my Department. The proposals, as drafted, may limit the ability of an employee to negotiate a settlement where sexual harassment or discrimination has occurred. For this reason, I will bring forward amendments proposing to amend or substitute sections 1 to 5. I will also bring forward amendments to section 14B(6), a…

I will propose the deletion of section 3(2), as the commencements of any new provisions need to be considered in the context of operational or other considerations.

I am pleased to address the House on Part 2 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 in this Second Stage debate. The purpose of this Part is to provide for a financial contribution of €400 per property for those providing accommodation to temporary protection beneficiaries from Ukraine. It is available whether the accommodation is pledged or provided by private arrangement and whether the accommodation is a vacant property or a room in a shared property. Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, …

In order to ensure that every childcare professional can get a fair wage, we have initiated a joint labour committee, JLC, and an employment regulation order, ERO, process. Two EROs are in negotiation. The first is for an entry rate of €13 per hour, which guarantees the living wage for childcare professionals for the first time in this State. The second is to look at higher levels of pay. All of that is backed up by core funding. We have been very clear that the payment of core funding is contingent on the ERO. If …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which he has done one on one with me on a number of occasions, and he has been a strong advocate for the sector. The Deputy is right that one of my goals as Minister is to reduce costs for parents, but I have always set out two other goals. My second goal is to ensure childcare professionals get properly paid, and we are about to achieve that through an employment regulation order, ERO. My third goal is to protect the sustainability of services. I want to reduce costs for …

I look at the sustainability fund in another way. I do not know many other sectors where the Government provides a safety net for private providers. We are doing that because we recognise the importance of this sector. Where there is a situation where a private provider has a sustainability issue, the Government is ready to step in. There are not many other sectors of private enterprise where the Government provides that safety net. That is how I look at the importance of the sustainability net - it is a final leve…

I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin and colleagues in the Labour Party for bringing forward this Bill to allow us to debate the incredibly important issue of support for persons with autism in Ireland and their families. I welcome the families who are here in the Dáil to witness this debate. Like Deputy Ó Ríordáin, I share that sense of responsibility both as Minister and as a constituency Deputy. In the two years since I have been elected, time and again I have engaged with families struggling with access to education and t…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(e) section 93;”. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I move amendment No. 1 to repeal section 93 of the 2015 Act, which provides for a separate review of Part 8 of the Act I will move a separate amendment to ensure that Part 8, which is related to advanced healthcare directives and designated healthcare representatives, will form part of the overall review of the Act under section 146. This was raised by Deputies Ward and Sherlock o…