Yesterday, we saw a disgraceful act by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Department withdrew from a 20-year salary scale agreement with county childcare committees across the country - not because it wanted to give childcare autonomy but because it decided it was not going to meet the terms of a Workplace Relations Commission from September that had ruled on an increase regarding pay grades for the staff. It asked how it would extract itself from this and said that it woul…

It is great to have this debate this morning, when so much hope and positivity abounds and people are generally in better form because certainty has been brought to their lives. I am not sure whether the positive feelings go as far as to help me deal with the picture on the front of the Irish Daily Mirror this morning that greeted me in Centra on Westland Row when I went in to get my newspaper, which showed the Tánaiste and Micheál Martin smiling at me with the headline "Copper Face Vaccs", and the Tánaiste talked …

I raise two justice-related issues. First, I welcome the publication yesterday by the Minister for Justice, Deputy Heather Humphreys, of the general scheme of the Garda Síochána (digital recording) Bill. This legislation will provide the legal basis for the use of body cameras by An Garda Síochána. We have seen people shove mobile devices in the faces of members of An Garda Síochána during hostile protests. I am glad gardaí will now have devices which will record events in real time and give a full sense of what is…

As spokesperson for sport for Fianna Fáil in the Seanad it is sad to hear the confirmation this morning, which we were expecting, that the UEFA European Championship games scheduled for Dublin will now not take place and instead will move to St. Petersburg and Wembley instead. On that theme of sport, we were engulfed in a furore this week with the proposals for a super league in soccer which, by all accounts, was just another play thing for a few American and Italian billionaires and a Russian oligarch, with some A…

I am glad the Minister of State is here today for this discussion on gambling regulations. I am hopeful that he will act swiftly to take on the issues in this regard. It is a sector that, unfortunately, has free rein at this time. Without stringent protocols in place, it is wrecking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, male and female, in this country. The industry will be interested in what the Minister of State says here today. He should not kid himself that the companies involved will not…

I ask the Senator to address his remarks through the Chair.

Where living with Covid is concerned, I thank the Minister of State for the sterling work she has done in her sphere of responsibility, in particular for children with disabilities.

As we know, last week was a fantastic week for the Irish horse racing industry with the success at Cheltenham of so many trainers, with Rachael Blackmore becoming champion jockey and with Jack Kennedy landing the Gold Cup. Last week was also a bumper week for the bookmaker industry. Unlike other industries, which are despondent that their shops are shut, this was a godsend for the bookmaker industry because it got even more people online gambling on their phones. Last month, I raised the issue of the pending legisl…

I thank the Minister for coming here today to set out in detail what she has done right from the get-go, aided by her officials and Department, in helping the vital tourism and hospitality sector. The work of the tourism recovery task force, which addressed the Oireachtas committee, has been substantial and the interventions over the course of these horrific 12 months have been exceptional, which is only right when we consider how the sector has been immensely affected like no other due to Covid-19 and the large nu…

Broad-ranging issues have been discussed in the Chamber to mark International Women's Day, but one matter that is of particular importance to me from my previous job as a sports journalist is that of inequality in funding for women's sport. The disparity between women's and men's sport remains as large as ever and the efforts to address it are painfully slow. I pay tribute to Mary O'Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, for her work in this regard. I pay tribute also to the various sporting organisations th…

I second the amendment from Senator Byrne to the Order of Business. I welcome the announcement by the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, that we are participating in the feasibility study with the UK Government on the bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030 with the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Taoiseach rightly said, it is very exciting. It is also good we have Wales and Scotland on board, given what happened the last time we bid for a major tournament - the Rugby …

I second the proposal.

I welcome the Minister of State. I welcome this Labour Party Bill, which was introduced by Senator Wall. Like him, I pay tribute to Senators Byrne and Cummins on their work. I welcome the thrust of the Bill and what is being proposed. The issue must be tackled across a range of areas. It is important that we be able to use technology to ensure successful convictions. We have discussed the right to privacy versus the public good. That matter was raised by Senator Black and others elsewhere, but if no one engaged in …

Tomorrow we have a truly historic event taking place in the sporting and cultural history of this country. For the first time in 137 years of the GAA, an overseas candidate will become president with the elevation of Larry McCarthy from New York. It will be a unique day in many respects. First, like everything in this country, the GAA congress, which convened this morning, is taking place remotely. The conference room in the Hogan Stand will not have the usual hustle and bustle of delegates from all over Ireland, L…

I thank the Minister for attending this debate. I also thank all of the front-line workers in the transport sector who have played a pivotal role. In particular, I thank the taxi drivers in our cities and towns, many of whom have delivered food to the most vulnerable. I thank the bus drivers who have maintained the operation of bus fleets and train drivers who have done the same with the train service. I will raise with the Minister the issue of trains and rail transport. If Covid has shown us anything, it has been…

I welcome the debate and I welcome the Minister of State. I commend him on all the work he is doing for local government, not just in regard to this issue but to a range of issues that he has tackled from the get-go. I was a member of a local authority for 17 years. I have a deep passion for this subject and it is evident that the Minister of State shares that passion. He is driving this issue forward. I have in front of me two newspaper articles. The headline of one states that councillors are in line for a pay bu…

I want to touch on the Land Development Agency Bill which came before the Houses of the Oireachtas this week. Coming from a county with such a huge population as Meath, the pressure of providing homes is something we deal with on a daily basis, whether through social housing waiting lists or private developments. I back the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, 100% in his remark that this is about delivering homes, not dogma. During the debate, several Deputies from rural are…

I wish to raise the issue of the forthcoming legislation regarding the gambling industry and pay tribute to my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, who is preparing to tackle this issue. The speed at which gambling addiction has risen in this country is frightening. Some years ago there was a move to put a casino in Tipperary and they thought the place would be turned into Las Vegas. Now every teenager and, indeed, adult, is walking around with a casino in his or her pocket. Worse, that device is …

I thank the Minister of State for being here and listening to so many contributions and for leading the charge in this area under her portfolio. Over the past three hours, plenty of people have come in here to tell her what to do. I want to thank her for what she and her team have done. I also thank all of the agencies throughout Ireland with which she interacts for what they do on a daily basis. As this debate is going on they are going about their work. It is not as if people are not aware that we are facing a ma…

Deputy Kelly wanted to open the pubs.