Go raibh míle maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Teastaíonn uaim go dtabharfaidh an Treoraí cuireadh don Aire Oideachais teacht isteach agus labhairt linn faoi theagasc na Gaeilge inár mbunscoileanna. Tagraím ach go háirithe don fhadhb atá ann leis an gcreat curaclaim nua ina ngearrtar siar ar an méid ama atá le caitheamh ar theagasc na Gaeilge, toisc go bhfuil siad ag iarraidh – agus an ceart acu – díriú ar theangacha iasachta. Ach gan aon am á thabhairt do theangacha san iomlán, beidh laghdú ar an méid ama a chaitear a…

I congratulate the Minister on her return and on the joy that led to her absence. I want to quote something for the Minister: "I believe my new Hate Crime and Hate Speech Bill will contribute in a very real way to allowing everybody in Ireland to live without fear, to live the most authentic version of themselves." That is something the Minister tweeted on the day she introduced this Bill in the Dáil. I do not believe she tweeted it today. It would be very strange if she did because, in a very real way, her Bill ha…

No, I certainly will not. The Minister said the Bill is about tackling extreme forms of hate. Her officials seek to reassure the public. It is not. The Bill is about tackling anything understood as hate, be it mild or extreme. On pages five and six of the Minister's speech she seeks to reassure us by reiterating that the Bill has been drafted to criminalise only the extreme form. The term "extreme" is deliberately not mentioned in the Bill. The Minister's speech refers to "incite or stir up", something that is not …

The Senator will not be cancelled until she has spoken for at least a minute.

It was getting good.

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Tiocfaidh mé ar ais tar éis an sos, ach I would like to get a debate with the Minister for Education on the proposed reduction in the draft new curriculum for primary schools in the allocation of time to the teaching of Irish. There is great concern about that. There is more which needs to be said about it, but I wanted to get my ask in ahead of our break in order that the Acting Leader might get an ask in that we might return to that issue very soon. I want to draw attent…

Tá fáilte romhaibh.

Do they still do homework in schools?

There would be no sceptic tanks if they were-----

I received a communication from Ms Stella O'Malley of Genspect, an organisation that advocates for an evidence-based approach to gender distress. The organisation is concerned about the recent announcement from the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, that he will bring to Cabinet in June conversion therapy legislation which includes gender identity and not only sexual orientation in its purview. Its particular concern is this will put clinicians working with patients with gender identity issues in an impossible situation wh…

Go raibh míle maith agat a Chathaoirligh agus a Threoraí.  Over the past few weeks we have been drip-fed plans by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, to hold a series of public consultations in June on neutrality and joint security arrangements, but, we are assured, not on joining NATO. However, I think reasonable people have a right to be suspicious about Government talk about consultations with the public these days. The consultation prior to aspects of the new well-being curriculum in s…

Senator O’Reilly has not given us any reason to suspect it so far today.

The embarrassment suffered by The Irish Times after publishing a hoax opinion piece about the evils of cultural appropriation involved in using fake tan suggests that the more debate we engage in on truth and falsehood in the mainstream media and on social media, the better. Where do we get the truth from and who do we trust to tell us the truth? Three months ago, I challenged the new disinformation strategy group set up by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to show maximum transpa…

-----that it cannot tell the difference anymore between a stateable argument and a piece of ideological insanity. That should certainly concern us.

I welcome our guests in the Gallery. The much anticipated report from the three-year review into Ireland's abortion legislation was released on 25 April. Before its official release a series of leaks to The Irish Times indicated that the report would recommend sweeping changes to abortion law. These leaked reports seemed to confirm what many people feared, which is that the eventual recommendations would be radical and entirely one-sided. From the word go, all signs suggested the review would be anything but indepe…

A pro-repeal chairperson, with pro-repeal activist research also cited by the Minister of State, relying on a study based on a very small sample from a group of pro-abortion doctors rather than relying on HSE data provided in reply to questions in the Dáil, does not sound like wide-ranging independent research. The report chairperson was quick to cite evidence internationally in favour of removing the waiting period but ignored other countries that have waiting periods. For example, Belgium, which is hardly a conse…

And grandad's ring is not scrap metal.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take my Commencement matter. I know it is not directly within his brief; it has more to do with ethanol reform than electoral reform. To the extent that vintage, classic and veteran cars might be affected, maybe it comes in some way under the heading of heritage. I have spoken on many occasions about the fact that successive Governments have often taken what I think is a self-defeating approach to new measures aimed combating climate change. Measures often al…

I do not blame the Minister of State for having to deliver this answer. It is very unsatisfactory. The Government is persisting in echoing what I believe was the erroneous statement of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that vehicles would not be affected. Is there an element of spin in saying it is safe to use E10? Nobody is saying the cars that do not take E10 are going to blow up but the additional ethanol would destroy aluminium and rubber fuel lines. To say it is simply a matter more frequent maint…

That was not part of the Minister of State's official answer, though.