Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. It is great that we have set aside time in the Chamber to discuss this very important issue, and I appreciate the Minister of State giving it the time. By definition, dyslexia is a general term for difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters or other symbols but it does not affect general intelligence, and it is important to make that clear. As a secondary school teacher for many years, I had many students who struggled with dyslexia, often undiagnosed, even at the …

Tá sé go deas an Cathaoirleach a fheiceáil i mbándearg inniu. I want to highlight the issue raised in local media in Clare, in The Clare Echo. Rent price increases in Clare are among the highest in the country. Clare has seen the second highest increase in rent prices in the entire Republic. According to the Residential Tenancies Board, there has been a 16.1% increase since this time last year. Each quarter, there has been an increase of 5.1%. This is a major issue. I am aware that a great housing initiative was la…

Cuirim fáilte roimh agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as teacht isteach. I thank the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for coming in today and giving us of his time.

When is it proposed to take Report Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to take Fifth Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House today and for this really important work. The programmes are now in their rightful place. The Peter McVerry Trust has stated that failure to complete the junior certificate is a big factor in homelessness. School completion for Travellers, with whom I worked for a number of years doing literacy and numeracy workshops, remains a serious problem. For example, only 13.3% of female Travellers are educated up to upper secondary level or above, compared with 69.1% of the gener…

I move: That the Seanad so agree to the amendment made by the Dáil consequential on its agreement to Seanad amendments No. 3 and 6.

Tá fáilte roimh an Aire. Is lá stairiúil atá ann inniu. Tugann an Bille seo an-bhród dom agus tá mo chroí lán le dóchas ar an lá seo. It is a historic day. My heart is full of hope for the first time in a long time. A lot of work has been done to get us this far. Input has come from every angle and everybody, from green schools to NGOs. Many people have been involved in many ways. There was a citizens' assembly on climate change. Today represents a win for everyone. From my own rural perspective, I see farmers with…

That is not on the record. Railroading is not on the record.

I will give way to the Minister.

I am sharing time with Senator Pauline O'Reilly.

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to the House. This is a very sad issue for me, or any woman, to have to speak about. Over the past few years, I have often sat at home and cried while watching and listening to various people on television and on radio speak about this horrendously bad hand that people were dealt through no fault of their own. I have regular cervical smear checks. During one check irregular cells were detected, but in time to enable them to be removed. Lucky me. Unfortunately, that w…

I welcome the Minister to the House. He has worn a path here. I welcome also the LDA. It is a big improvement on what we had before. We can always talk about what we have done in the past, but it is good to stay in the present. We need to move forward. There is not one Member in the House, of all political parties and none, who does not want to solve the housing crisis. I do not think anybody is motivated in any other way but to try to solve the issue. It is something we are all unified on. The LDA will provide ser…

I congratulate the Minister of State. It is a very proud day. I am proud of her so I hope she is proud of herself. This legislation has been worked on for more than five years but she was the woman to get it over the line with great help from her civil servants, some of whom are in the Chamber. It is a great day for rural Ireland too. We often get accused, as a Government, of being very Dublin-centric, which is obviously not the case. When the Minister of State got into the House, this legislation was a priority fo…

I do not know whether it is a case of hypocrisy or whether I am just confused or what is going on because this Bill is all about helping small businesses yet Sinn Féin is again bringing up the workers' rights issue. It is such a simplistic, polarising message to put across when this Bill is everything about the workers, the employees and the small businesses. I do not know what kinds of small business owners Senator Gavan knows, but all the small business owners I know are workers. They will put their pay last, bef…

I am not talking about Senator Gavan.

On a point of information, I was not referring to the Bill; I was referring to Senator Gavan talking about employees and employers in a really simplistic, polarised way that is not helpful.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome this Bill, or these amendments to an existing Act. The legislation is great. As a coalition Government, we agreed we would introduce it under the programme for Government. A year on, we are delivering on that, which is really positive. Now, as we hope for some sort of post-pandemic Ireland, is an important time to do this. The main objective of the Bill is to provide for a stand-alone rescue framework to help small businesses of up to 50 employees to remain in business d…