Today I rise to speak for the voiceless, those 200,000 Irish citizens, many of them in their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, who were sold out by their own Government and financial institutions. These are not reckless borrowers; these are neighbours, pensioners and parents trapped in a nightmare of missold mortgages and are now preyed upon by vulture funds operating in the shadows of our financial system. Let us call it what it is: a systemic betrayal. The Central Bank, tasked with protecting consumers, instead played both …

We have to wait for the Minister of State.

As a member of the industrial and commercial panel, I wish to speak about a total farce and affront to democracy and the business community that took place earlier this week. I am speaking about the national economic dialogue. I do not need to remind anyone that our country is currently trapped in a state of total policy inertia. It is not the inertia of a broken down car stuck on the road but that of a car rolling down a hill with the brakes off and no driver at the wheel. If there is any forum that captures this,…

I second the amendment.

I rise today in support of the motion and in defence of our small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the lifeblood of our communities. The SME test, as outlined in the programme for Government, is a tool meant to protect these businesses from the unintended consequences of legislation. Tools are only as good as the hands that wield them, however. Right now, I fear we are not wielding this one with the care and precision it demands. Let us be honest; SMEs are not just economic units. They are family-run shops, …

Open one in Taiwan, please.

I second the amendment.

I also extend my sympathies to the Fitzgerald family, and indeed the Fianna Fáil family, on the loss of Liam Fitzgerald. I welcome to the Gallery Councillor Jason Murphy from Waterford and his fiancée, Nicola. They recently got engaged. They are welcome as guests of Senator Ollie Crowe. I rise to highlight two stories from the United Kingdom that are of relevance to us in Ireland. They are connected by the common theme that we must be very wary of certain ideas of Irish exceptionalism and must stop thinking it will…

I support what the Senator said 100%. Gender ideology should be kept out of education, particularly primary and post-primary education. There is only one thing I want to raise and that is the education of children in foster care and the disadvantage they face. Many children who go into foster care may not go into an emergency placement within their own jurisdiction. Very often, they are moved out of the county. Believe it or not, some of those children end up not going back into the education system for one or two …

Please do.

What about the ideology in Bí Cineálta?

I want to ask the Minister of State-----

Hear, hear.

I rise today to call for the end of prohibition, a prohibition on the free and open discussion of one of the most vital questions of our time – sex, gender and gender ideology. In a place so deeply personal to so many people’s lives, instead of a fact-based discussion in which we have recognised that each of us has spoken in good faith, we have been treated to a decade of suppression and silence. In that silence, we have allowed a single worldview to shape our laws and society, often without scrutiny, democratic co…

Is the Senator going to speak on the amendment?

No.

I will speak on the amendment. I rise to speak in strong support for this amendment and to commend the Senators who have brought forward this Bill today and the amendment for its improvement. The work here of Senators Flynn, Higgins, Ruane and Black is not just legislative. It is moral, principled and necessary. For too long our laws have used the term “child pornography”, a term that frankly sanitises the horror of what is being done to children. It is a term that implies consensual actors creating content of thei…

I support the amendment. Shockingly, a report released today by Missing Children Europe tells us a child disappears in Europe every two minutes. We need to think about that. There are many reasons children disappear, including that they run away, there is parent abduction or as a result of child migration. Indeed, Europe has seen 50,000 unaccompanied minors over the past year. There could be criminal abductions or children may be lost or injured. There are various reasons for children going missing but some of them…

I welcome my Independent colleague from Cork City Council, Councillor Albert Deasy, and his wife, Anne, this afternoon. To tell the God's honest truth, I am a little bit sick of Members coming in here asking for debates with the housing Minister when Sinn Féin Members' colleagues around the country are voting against housing developments. We had that this morning for 79 houses in Ashbourne in County Meath. I am sick of it. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Members can take the smiles off their faces because they also voted…

I seek permission to share my time with Senators McCarthy and Clonan.