I am sorry, I did not mean to mislead the Minister of State. To clarify, the Minister for Health only gave me a commitment that he would engage with me and others.

I am sorry about that.

"Thoroughly and officially”, but no mention of independence. In everything said by the Minister of State, there was not a single concession to the idea I referred to. It was all about consulting first with service providers and those who avail of the service. No mention was made of medical people who have a conscientious objection or of scientific and other experts who have concerns about the impact of this legislation in respect of rising numbers of abortions, issues around pain relief and questions concerning pro…

By the way, it was not mandated by the people. It was permitted by the people.

We are approaching the season of peace and goodwill. "Pax" is the Latin word for peace. All I want for Christmas is a packet of Paxlovid. I know that Senators Warfield and Keogan are good people and people of goodwill, and I believe much more unites than divides them. However, this is what I would like to see. Criticisms may perhaps be made regarding what is sometimes now put across in our schools. We can all unite about making our schools cold houses for bullying of any kind and promote the self-esteem and identit…

Human rights for slow learners.

As have I.

Yesterday I raised my concerns about the apparent lack of interest on the part of the Government and the Minister for Health in having a genuinely independent chair of the committee that is to review the operation of the abortion legislation. Senator Pauline O'Reilly, whom I greatly esteem and respect, reminded me the people had spoken in the referendum. As I said, they did indeed but they left it open to these Houses to determine precisely what law we have on this troubling area, however extreme, restrictive or ex…

It was a fix.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

No party in the Taoiseach's office.

Most of these regulations are uncontroversial. It would be stroke of the pen stuff. What is being asked for is that where something serious is involved, such as a curtailment of civil liberties, the House would make a decision that it wanted to have a vote.

Whichever we decide.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The context of the matter I raise today is that Ireland pays more than €300 million per annum towards the cost of running the United Nations. Within that framework of the United Nations, special rapporteurs are regularly appointed and given a remit to examine and report on a specific human rights matter of broad concern worldwide or a matter specific to a particular country. Examples might include child poverty internationally or specific human rights abuses in a particular countr…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and, of course, I agree with much of what he has said about the need for such special rapporteurs to receive adequate funding and the importance of their role. I question whether they can be as independent as he says when it is a matter of public record, for example, that the Open Society Foundation donated $137,000 to Amnesty International to fund a pro-abortion campaign. Should we not be concerned when organisations that campaign on such issues are making huge paymen…

I was a rapporteur for a report for a parliamentary assembly. It is a very different matter.

I do not have the same code of objectivity, independence, freedom etc. from all parties. I am a parliamentarian. It is a very different matter. We are political.

An independent special rapporteur cannot be political in that way.

I was not concurrently funded by any private body. My only salary was my parliamentarian's salary.