The amendments are of critical importance. As I and others have noted during the course of the debate, both inside and outside Houses, the Bill has a deeply totalitarian undercurrent. Its enactment would severely damage and limit legitimate constitutional rights, including the right to protest and freedom of expression. In the past, some have attempted to portray the Bill, like the hate speech Bill, as an effort to address the extremities of freedom of expression. There is a debate to be had on where the limits of …

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

To tell the truth I am a little disappointed. I thank my colleague, Senator Rónán Mullen, and all the Independent colleagues in the Dáil who put down amendments to this legislation. I would like to see the Minister being a Minister for young pregnant girls and women who find themselves pregnant, to encourage them to have their children, and to put in place policies that will make their lives better. I would like the Minister to be that champion for those girls and for those young women as well. Perhaps the Minister…

I wish to raise my concerns regarding the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. I struggle to have confidence in the Minister and her Department. On her watch, a breakdown in British-Irish relations on the most serious matter of foreign policy is under way. The Minister was due to meet the UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, yesterday to discuss strengthening the common travel area. The postponement of this meeting was an unmitigated disaster. Last week, the Joint Committee on Justice discussed the many issues aroun…

A few weeks ago, I hosted an information afternoon in Leinster House on the World Health Organization, WHO, pandemic treaty. Attendees included an international panel of speakers comprising doctors, lawyers and politicians, some of whom have given evidence before the US Congress and Senate regarding the WHO's rule in the last pandemic. This treaty will have a significant impact on future governmental approaches to health emergencies, containing as it does both legally binding and non-binding provisions that dictate…

Today I address the EU migration pact, which comprises five separate regulations. The Eurodac regulation aims to create a central database for biometric data to help member states determine responsibility for asylum applications and to aid law enforcement in preventing criminal activities. However, concerns about potential expansion of surveillance on all citizens should be noted. Second, the screening regulation seeks to enhances border control by screening third-country nationals for asylum procedures. This may i…

I welcome the Minister of State. The junior cycle book scheme was published on 5 March 2024. It provides free books to second level students up to junior certificate, excluding fee-paying schools. Under Article 42.4 of the Constitution, the State has a duty to supplement and give reasonable aid to private and corporate educational initiatives. To the extent that reasonable aid is provided, it must be applied universally, equally and without discrimination. However, this scheme by its nature is discriminating agains…

I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive answer. While parents send their children to private schools, they continue to pay taxes that support the overall education system. No child should be discriminated against, as far as I am concerned. The allocation of public funds for education reflects the Government's priorities, societal values and the need to balance the complete demand for resources. These are parents and children are equal stakeholders in the education sector. As policymakers, we need to eva…

This morning, the national conservatism event in Brussels resumes after a tumultuous attempt to cancel it yesterday. It is deplorable that the mayors of several districts in Brussels cancelled the event, citing concerns over what they pathetically deemed public safety. Today, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the Hungarian President, Viktor Orbán, are expected to speak. Is being the head of a democratic European nation now a safety concern in the EU’s home city? Cancel culture is re-emerging as a dest…

I thought I had three minutes.

The EU migration pact will have a paltry two and a half weeks of debate in this House in the coming week. The public concern is that we are losing control of our borders, our checks and balances and our safety. A set of legislative instruments such as a pact should rightly be a matter for a referendum to the people but we will not get that because we do not have a Government or a leadership with a vision fixed on the electorate. Instead, our Government leaders have their visions set on Europe, on appeasing the unel…

The events in Brussels yesterday were an attack on free and peaceful assembly. It is a bad look for a city proud of its role in the European project. If the EU was a proper democratic institution, we would call it hypercritical, but it is not democratic in its law-making. The hate speech Bill and the EU migration pact show us the threat it poses when it does not act on its democratic mandate.

This is the document.

The Minister is very welcome. I congratulate him on his elevation to the office.

I welcome this timely opportunity to make statements on the cost of doing business. This is a year in which the costs across the nation are increasing. Businesses in particular suffer not just as a result of increased business costs, but also due to the costs imposed and initiatives created by this Government. The Government's increased cost of business grant offers €257 million for small and medium-sized businesses. Given that there are 143,000 rateable businesses in Ireland, when this fund is divided out, just un…

I call on the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, to create a formal public consultation process on emergency refugee accommodation across the country. Recent national and international documentaries have addressed the ongoing issue of migration in Ireland and its impact on local communities. Our Government fails to cope with our growing international protection population and it fails to accommodate the needs of people living in this country as well as new a…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I am fine.

Amendment No. 6 would ensure that silent prayer is protected. In England, several people were interrogated, arrested and fined for simply standing in the vicinity of abortion providers' premises and silently praying without holding any signs or making any statements. One man, Mr. Adam Smith-Connor, was asked by a police officer "What is the nature of your prayer?" When Mr. Smith-Connor said he was praying for the unborn child and in memory of his son who was aborted, he was arrested. This is Orwellian, and it breac…

I welcome Senator O'Hara. I am really glad to hear that he has a sense of humour because he will certainly need it in here over the next couple of months. I ask the Leader to write to the Minister for Health regarding the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024, which came into effect on 28 February 2024. The opt-out register is still not in place. This oversight is not just an administrative delay. It is a matter of fundamental rights and individual autonomy …