I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, to the Chamber and thank him for his work to date in the OPW. I acknowledge the professionalism and work ethic of the OPW in a very important area of defence - a quite technical area in terms of the modelling that is required, which needs to be updated. If one makes an impact on one area, one must model how it will affect another. I acknowledge the work relating to CFRAM. From some of the Minister of State's visits to some parts of the country, I know the frustrati…

The development of two vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna is certainly welcome news, particularly with such high efficacy rates being reported. Others are in development. We also need to recognise the sacrifices of the majority of Irish people during this crisis. Of course, we cannot let our guard down over the next two weeks. I also acknowledge front-line staff in our health services for their hard work and sacrifice. It has been a horrendous year for retail and hospitality, which are part of the fabric of all our tow…

I welcome the Minister of State and I compliment those involved with this Bill, particularly Senator O'Loughlin, as lead speaker. I welcome the debate on this important matter. One never knows from one day to the next who might be impacted upon by hate crime or hate speech. Any attempt to impose heavier penalties is to be welcomed. The Bill has been put together quite well. It encompasses a number of different areas, including issues relating to an individual's asylum or refugee status, race, colour, religion, nati…

Every Member of the House has experience of dealing with parents and families of users of day care services. We see their frustration, tiredness and desperation. Their first priority is looking after their loved one. A common refrain I hear, especially from parents on behalf of their children, is: "I am fighting all my life." They are fighting all their lives on behalf of their loved ones. That is a difficult place to be with regard to a service that is absolutely necessary. Often one sees family members doing the …

I listened with interest to Senator McDowell's contribution and it will be worth listening to it again or reading the transcript. We all follow US politics and have been doing so for the past while. We know the cost that a politician incurs in US politics in terms of fundraising requirements and all that. I would assume that US business people are very well versed in being asked to donate to a political party. Sinn Féin has the great advantage of being able to fly a nationalist flag and paint a picture of an old Ir…

I would like to raise the issue of a survey that was carried out that showed, for the first time ever, that a majority of retail purchases by Irish customers were made online. Research by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, from 2019, shows that clothes or sports goods were the most popular online purchases, followed by holiday accommodation and other travel arrangements such as travel tickets and car hire. That is obviously a different world. While the impact of the pandemic on shopping habits is not fully known, …

I welcome this Bill. I also welcome the Minister of State and thank the three Fianna Fáil Senators for proposing the legislation. I will be supporting the Bill, first, on the basis of equality among third level graduates. I would have received correspondence in the past from graduates of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, GMIT, or DCU who would be very affronted that they do not have a vote in a Seanad election. On that basis, this Bill regularises that. It changes that system and that is to be commended. On the …

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to the Chamber and I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter. It is an issue that has grown in prominence on account of Covid-19, and it was raised with me by the family of a woman who spent more than six weeks in intensive care in a Dublin hospital battling Covid-19 and its significant after-effects. The woman in question underwent a cancer operation, which, thankfully, was successful, but she contracted pneumonia in hospital and spent almost eigh…

I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive reply. The most important point is that the lady in question received excellent care in the hospital in question and there is no question about that. The second most important point is that the lady in question has made a full recovery. The issue at stake here is with regard to her making a decision, or the family being informed and consulted, which they were not in this case. The nurse in question made the very welcome call to the family and stated that there wa…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber to discuss this issue. As he has said, this is a technical tidy up due to an error and it is right and proper that we provide every safeguard and where mistakes are made that they are rectified and come to the Houses. I acknowledge that in his speech the Minister of State said the Data Protection Commission has identified no matter of significant concern in the proposed regulations and that the Minister for Justice has acknowledged her agreement with the proposed regul…

I with to raise the issue of BusConnects. I commend all those working in public transport companies who have kept services operating throughout the pandemic, although there have been issues with some services in Galway city that negatively impacted on communities. It appears that the BusConnects plans for Dublin have been significantly changed following the rounds of public consultation that have taken place. I understand another round of public consultation is set to begin shortly on the revised plans. The substan…

Is it possible to extend the time?

Can we agree to change the order of the House and extend the debate by half an hour?

Of course I will share but I had a few things worked out to say. I welcome the Minister of State. This is a very important area. I am a former REPS planner and I know the important role farmers have played in environmental programmes over the years. The Minister of State will be developing a new REPS scheme. As the original REPS programme transitioned into the agri-environment options scheme and GLAS, it switched from a whole farm approach to more targeted measures. We saw that farmers recognise the value of stone …

I propose that notwithstanding the Order of the House, we extend the time for this debate to 5.45 p.m.

I have argued before that farmers would appreciate Natura and protected areas if they are compensated as they were under the rural environment protection scheme, REPS. As the Minister of State will know, there are excellent schemes that are targeted at geographical areas such as Burren Life, Aran Life and the hen harrier project. These schemes provide financial support and compensation for targeted works and measures. REPS has taught farmers the value of stone walls and hedgerows. Thankfully, we have many thousands…

I welcome the Minister and congratulate him on his appointment. This is important legislation in affording protection to tenants. Being a tenant can be stressful at the best of times, particularly where the supply of accommodation is limited, but at this time we also have a health crisis. These protections are important, as are those enacted for tenants by the previous Government. As previous speakers stated, there are rogue landlords and rogue tenants. Thankfully, the majority are good landlords and law abiding te…

Hear, hear.

I would like to thank Senators Ruane, Higgins and others for bringing this Bill forward. I also welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad. I note the contributions made and support for the Bill from the ICLL, which represents numerous organisations. Its view is that section 22 of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended in 2001, is having a detrimental impact on the important and legitimate work of civil society organisations. It speaks of operational challenges, and also legal uncertainty in the sector. It is not good…

I would not, but one would suspect-----