They are relevant to my two amendments. The first letter is from Catherine Monaghan from Ashford, County Wicklow, who states: Sir, – I will be voting No in the upcoming referendum. I do not want the very small acknowledgement of my role and my work in the home to be removed from our Constitution. The article in question is symbolic, a token, at best; we all know that the State does not actually do much to enable women who would like to give up work outside the home in order to raise their children. In the current e…

I, too, wish to add to the comments made about Senator Norris and wish him every good health as he leaves the House today. For me, it is about kindness. That does not get mentioned very often in this House but you have shown me tremendous kindness, Senator. You have always had something positive to say to me any time you met me, and I value that. It was lovely to hear the story Senator Wilson told about his daughter, that people remember your kindness in life. That is something I will cherish. Senator Norris is a v…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I note the Electoral Commission states the following on its official website: The Government has announced its intention to hold two Constitutional Referendums on 8 March, 2024. Legislation to confirm the wording of each referendum is now being considered by both Houses of the Oireachtas. It is like the Government is ready to press the "send" button from these Houses tomorrow evening and this debate and tomorrow evening's debate are not worth the salt that is going to be t…

It is no secret that many people think this Bill and the referendums that will be held on foot of it are a gigantic waste of money and time. I am sick to the teeth of this Government frittering away its time and resources on complete non-issues while continuing policies that inflame the actual problems of this country that people want to see fixed. The Government is putting these dual referendums to the people to see what they want. I wonder what would happen if we asked members of the public what they actually wan…

I wish to convey my thanks to Tom Hickey for his contribution over the last number of years in the Houses. He is an absolute gentleman. I also want to praise our Seanad staff and all the staff in the Houses of the Oireachtas for the contribution that they make every day. I attended a peace convention on Monday in Tipperary town, and Sabina Higgins was one of the guest speakers. It was lovely to hear Senator Higgins calling for peace here this morning. Sabina Higgins also called for peace at the convention. Both are…

I have serious concerns about this Bill. I believe its inevitable outcome will be to deny women the option of availing of lifesaving supports when they need them most. This criminalisation is far too sweeping, particularly when considering the sheer number of safe access zones that this law would create, covering every GP clinic, hospital and family planning centre, irrespective of whether they provide abortions. In England and other jurisdictions where similar laws exist, we have seen cases of people who have been…

I would like to have a debate in this House after the Christmas recess on the two forthcoming referendums that the Government announced on the proposed constitutional change to the definition of a "family" and on the manner in which women and the role of women in society are represented in Bunreacht na hÉireann. Personally, I cannot believe we are wasting time and money on this. I have often said that when the Government is either unable or unwilling to solve the real problems of this country it instead spends its …

Good.

I second that.

I thank the Minister for her patience. It is great to get a Minister into a House at any time to discuss legislation, and she has been very patient listening to what she has had to listen to here for almost three and a half hours. I thank her for her patience. On the capital plan, will that include the building of prisons, as well as building or improving Garda stations? Does it include a provision for building prisons?

Hear, hear.

The Cathaoirleach has given some time to Senator McGahon. I ask for just one minute. I see the AILG chair down there. What has happened here this evening is absolutely terrible. We will have an opportunity to amend the Order of Business tomorrow morning. We will come back next week. We can come back next week. Let us get this done.

We will do that tomorrow morning.

I raise the issue of Ireland's future and what the Government’s plans for it are. Two areas of importance relate to the brain drain and birthrates. It is no secret that many Irish people and foreign nationals are educated in Ireland at the taxpayers' expense only to move abroad and take their education, experience and social capital elsewhere. While, of course, the free legal movement of people can be of benefit and Ireland has a long history of emigration, it does somewhat amount to money out of our pockets and in…

I hope it goes great.

Sorry-----

I thank Senator Chambers for poking us all on this particular issue. The Garda Reserve is a very valuable resource in this country that is absolutely not tapped into. I thank Senator Boyhan for his contribution. This is an issue that Senator McDowell has been raising for the last number of years and nothing has been done - absolutely nothing has been done on this. The Garda Commissioner has done nothing on it. That is the reality of it. It is now a depleted force. There are approximately 300 people in our Garda Res…

I appreciate the difficulty the Minister has had in getting trainees on board. It is hard. When it comes to trainees, we must make being a garda a job worth applying for. In this regard, the remuneration is very important, but so is having a proper pension. These new gardaí are on the post-2013 pension provision. Those joining the Garda now, compared with those who joined the force in 2012, are not getting the same pension provision. There is an inequality here for new gardaí. I would like the Minister to look at t…

I welcome the Minister of State. I am looking for an update on what assessment of need has been carried out by the Department of Education with regard to a new secondary school for the Duleek area. More than a year and a half ago I laid out a case for a new secondary school in a Commencement matter which was answered by Deputy English. Figures from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, clearly show that our population has increased by more than 14% in recent years. The development of new houses along with the grantin…

This is totally disappointing for the people of Duleek and the surrounding area, unless we consider putting a Gaelscoil there. According to what the Minister of State said, the figures we have and the downward population trend will not allow for the provision of a post-primary school in the area. The schools being provided in the Drogheda area include the Educate Together school over in Mornington. These are going to be the options for children of our area. There is no hope whatsoever of the Government ever deliver…