I thank the Cathaoirleach. I assure Senator Flynn that if I were planning to veer into the issues and the controversies around trans matters, I would be saying an awful lot more than I have been saying on this point. I merely give it as an example as to how human rights bodies have feet of clay,and how they propose ideas as though they are holy writ when, in fact, they are certain people's views of the world. In the same way, there is considerable reason to think that aspects of the European Court of Human Rights j…

To a UNESCO-type site.

We would be sitting in the convention centre.

Does that mean the Senator is not happy here?

Gabhaim buíochas le mo chomhghleacaithe. I commend Senator McDowell on leading us forward with this very good proposal. I note what my good friend and colleague Senator Murphy said, that any proposal to amend the Constitution should be approached with precision and care. I could not agree with him more. Somebody should have told the previous Government about that because it presented two referendum proposals that were certainly not approached or served up with precision and care, unless they were caring precisely t…

Would the Minister of State like to join us?

I would like to say two things. First, I endorse what my friend and colleague, Senator McCarthy, has just said about the drugs strategy and the need, in particular, to ensure that people who use drugs are also heard in this conversation. What we must never lose sight of, though, is that as a society and a collective, and I do not think people will disagree with this, the message should always be that drugs are bad for people and bad for society. I sometimes worry that in our effort to meet people where they are, as…

I support Senator Boyhan on this amendment. The more one engages with this, no matter what side of the various proposed amendments one is on, the more one sees that we are dealing with legislation that is unusually concerned with, quite frankly, human misery on many levels. It is difficult for any government to try to strike the balance, to use a phrase the Minister has used several times over the past few hours as we have debated this. One thing for sure is that even when one cannot guarantee the type of life for …

Never admit it.

I echo what Senator McDowell, the Minister and no doubt others have said, which is that nobody would ever want to make any moral judgment on people who seek to come to this country, often in the most difficult of circumstances. The issue is, of course, that we have to keep a structure, a cohesiveness and a reasonableness to our asylum and migration system, for the sake of fairness to those who cannot come to this country and for the sake of our economic and social cohesion, and also keeping in mind our humanitarian…

As Members will be aware, the Scottish Parliament has voted by 69 votes to 57 to defeat a Bill that would have introduced assisted suicide in Scotland. This means assisted suicide will be kept out of Scotland. If that Bill had passed in the Scottish Parliament and gone on to become law, it would have ushered in an irrevocable change that would have put vulnerable people at risk and seen the ending of thousands of lives through assisted suicide in Scotland. It is interesting, after two years of debate and intense sc…

They both timed it well.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Mr. Hanniffy is also welcome. I wish all the very best for Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. I do not believe anybody doubts but that we have a very talented and dedicated team working not just for the country's best interest in ensuring that we have a successful Presidency but also doing the best for the European Union at what is an increasingly challenging time. There is limited time and there are many issues one could reference. From my own personal perspective, as somebody…

I move amendment No. 1: After the third paragraph under “agrees that:”, to insert the following paragraphs: “- such benefits as may exist for children in the use of social media are now clearly seen to be outweighed by the negative impact on children’s learning ability, mental health and general welfare of early and excessive exposure to online social media; - the widespread availability of pornography in particular poses dangers to society, and especially to children and vulnerable persons, and that it must be rec…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome this motion in general terms. There is lot that is good in it and a lot that I support. I am of the view that it does not go far enough. It clearly nods in the direction that online safety is something that has to be a priority in the context of pursuing the economic potential that big tech and AI in particular offer. Where we might differ is that there is a difference between something being a priority and something being the priority. There are a number of issues in pl…

Do not worry as word will get to him.

Tá fáilte romhat.

‘Twas the closing of it was the problem.

I move amendment No. 2: After the fourth paragraph under “agrees that:”, to insert the following paragraph: “- recent controversies around the use of deep-fake technologies to demean, abuse and exploit people sexually reveal the lack of an enforcement culture and the inadequacy of regulatory structures where stricter legal prohibitions are required;”

I move amendment No. 3: After the fifth paragraph under “agrees that:”, to insert the following paragraph: “- while the harmonisation of European policy and law is a desirable objective, the Government and Oireachtas must not fail to introduce domestic civil and criminal legislation where this is necessary to secure the safety and welfare of children and vulnerable persons;”