I would love to have about 20 minutes on this. I welcome this debate very much. I hope Minister of State is listening to the suggestions because this is a big bugbear of mine. Good suggestions have been made here today, but I do not see anybody taking notes and that bugs me too. We have harsh planning restrictions that have been a plague on rural communities, so I am delighted to see that the Government is finally listening to what we have been saying for years. We need to be careful about the rules, particularly l…

-----a brilliant idea on the edge of towns. I have loads more-----

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, and I thank Senator Stephenson for bringing it to the House. I support and agree with this Bill. It is sensible legislation that addresses a clear gap in our law. It is not radical or complicated. All it states is that if Ireland has rules governing what can pass through our airspace, then we should have the means to enforce those rules. At the moment, this is not the case. The law requires permissions for weapons of war to be carried through Irish airports or Irish …

I said nothing wrong.

This is not about Deputy Buttimer.

It is about the Minister, who very rarely stands in this House. He has been requested to stand in this House but has not. It is not about Deputy Buttimer. What I have said is factual. It is not insulting to anybody.

It is factual and I will not withdraw anything. It is happening again. This Bill deserves a response from the line Minister.

In 2024, before I was a Member of this House, many TDs and Senators raised concerns about the EU migration pact. It was passed by a slim majority of seven votes in the Dáil Chamber. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has repeatedly stated that a large number of asylum seekers enter the State via the North of Ireland. When challenged on how this issue could be addressed, the Minister stated the only way to stop it completely would be to impose a hard border. If that is the Minister's assessment of the challenge w…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 4, to delete lines 14 to 19 and substitute the following: “(3) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that an award made by a body empowered to make awards pursuant to an international agreement to which this section applies is not, and never was, enforceable in the State if enforcing the award would— (a) conflict with the constitutional order of the State, (b) conflict with the autonomy of the legal order of the European Union, or (c) materially impair the capacity of the…

I am speaking to amendment No. 4. I will start by saying that I was disappointed by the response of the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, during the previous debate. Rather than engaging with the substance of the amendment, he sought to portray those in opposition as somehow being anti-trade. No one is arguing against trade with Canada. No one is arguing against Irish business exporting, creating jobs or accessing new markets. The issue is the investor courts and the lack of protection for the State should this legi…

I have only been here for the very short time of a year but I am trying to get to grips with things. Sometimes, when people are talking, I ask myself what did they actually say. There were an awful lot of words there but I do not think the Minister of State addressed what we are looking for here today. On the capacity of the State being materially impaired to legislate or regulate in the public interest, we have really been trying to stress our point on that over and over and in different ways to get the Minister o…

That is-----

I second the amendment.

Irish households are being asked once again to carry the burden of rising electricity costs while some of the wealthiest corporations in the world continue to expand their energy demand across this country. A new report warns that households could pay up to an additional €644 on electricity bills over the next decade because of the growth of data centres. Collectively, that could amount to well over €1 billion taken from ordinary families due to higher energy costs. Data centres now consume 22% of Ireland's electri…

Before I address amendment No. 12, I want to respond briefly to comments made by the Minister of State during the previous debate. He accused me, and only me among all of those who spoke, of presenting information that was factually incorrect regarding CETA. I was not given an opportunity to reply at the time. He quoted from Article 8.9(2) but conveniently omitted the exception in the agreement to which I was explicitly referring. The agreement states: When applying the above fair and equitable treatment obligation…

They are all grouped.

On a point of order-----

I move amendment No. 12: In page 4, to delete lines 14 to 19 and substitute the following: "(3) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that an award made by a body empowered to make awards pursuant to an international agreement to which this section applies is not, and never was, enforceable in the State if enforcing the award would— (a) conflict with the constitutional order of the State, (b) conflict with the autonomy of the legal order of the European Union, or (c) materially impair the capacity of th…

I move amendment No. 16: In page 4, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: "(4) No award shall be enforceable under this section where the award arises from a measure adopted by the State in the exercise of its legislative, regulatory or administrative powers for a public policy objective including public health, environmental protection, climate action, housing policy, labour protection or the protection of public services.". This amendment is necessary because it provides a clear and explicit protectio…

I would like to group amendment No. 16 with two other amendments. Can I?