The Minister is very welcome to the House. I welcome this Bill. It is prudent that we examine our financial status in the wake of Covid-19 and seek to "put the debt ratio on a downward path", as the Minister told the Dáil last week. The Bill comprises a number of assorted financial measures and tweaks. A miscellaneous Bill always affords a useful opportunity to deal with multiple issues at once. I would like to discuss a few of those with the Minister. As president of the Eurogroup, can the Minister update us on wh…

Hear, hear. I am calling for a debate on the World Health Organization pandemic treaty and its implications for Ireland's future freedoms and autonomy in responding to a health crisis, as well as the European Parliament's attitude towards a joint armed force and its implications for our time-honoured neutrality. We need to be talking about the big-picture stuff in this Chamber. We do help local councillors in liaising with the Government and aid them in their service of the people of Ireland. We are happy to do tha…

I suppose there are many greats in Irish sport but there is none greater than Katie Taylor, and there is no greater achievement than hers last weekend. Our hearty congratulations go to her from this House. I wish to voice a concern shared by many others. It relates to the decision to use student accommodation to house Ukrainian refugees during the summer months. I understand the difficulties faced by the Government in housing and providing for the people we have taken in, and how it would not sit well to have bedsi…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I am glad we have the opportunity today to talk about this and hopefully make some headway. I welcome the Cabinet's decision yesterday to create a new sub-committee to oversee assistance being given to people fleeing Ukraine. I trust this will provide a level of oversight which has so far been lacking. A committee is for discussion and debate, however, and what we truly need here and now is a leader in this regard. I have called for it before and do so now again. We need one w…

I welcome the members of the public who are with us today, particularly Rachel and Emma. I thank the drafters and proposers of this Bill. It touches on an important, raw area of our justice system. The persons who have to engage with that part of the justice system must be treated with the utmost care and respect. We have known for some time that there is much room for improvement when it comes to the mechanics of prosecuting sexual offences in our courts. The courts system, based on the discovery of truth through …

On two occasions in the past two months, the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, has taken it upon himself to voice Ireland's support for the international pandemic treaty put forward by the World Health Organization, WHO. This is a legally and politically binding convention that would dictate signatories' response to future pandemics. While we are all eager for the lessons learned over the past two years to be consolidated and critically examined, it does not behove the Minister to speak for the people o…

Could I just-----

May I finish?

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I appreciate it. The Irish citizen has no say in the governance of the WHO and so any handing over of power and responsibility to this body by our own directly-elected representatives must be thoroughly scrutinised. The treaty is built on the premise that while the technical expertise on how to govern and end a pandemic exists, the political will to do so is missing. Once again an incorrect assertion is being made that the science is settled and that it must be enforced absolutely. This w…

I too call for a day to be set aside to discuss Ireland’s response to the Ukrainians coming here. The Ministers for education, social protection, health, housing, local government and heritage, children, equality, disability, integration and youth, transport and justice should be required to update us on the measures implemented within their Departments. What safeguards are being put in place for those living in temporary accommodation provided by families or friends? Many have contacted me in recent days about lon…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: “(2) The indoor area of a building within the safe access zone, other than a building described in subsection (1)(a) or (b) , is not considered to be part of the safe access zone for the purposes of this Act.”.

This amendment seeks to avoid a scenario whereby discussing abortions in a coffee shop which happens to be in a safe access zone becomes a criminal act. As it stands, if two people were in a café within 100 m of a service provider and person A said to person B that he or she has been thinking about birth control bills and person B gives him or her any advice on such, either for or against, then person B has committed an offence under this Bill. One might respond that this is ridiculous. It is but that is what this …

Hear, hear.

May I speak?

May I speak now?

I am a little bit flabbergasted. I do not think anybody has read the amendment. It does prevent people protesting within the confines of the hospital or GP setting. This is about within 100 m of that zone. This is about the coffee shop that might be within that 100 m. It is about facilities outside of the hospital or GP setting. Under this Bill, anybody who brings up a conversation in regard to birth control or abortion outside the hospital setting but within that 100 m zone can be prosecuted. This is what it means…

Yes.

Vótáil.

I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, line 19, to delete “, prayer or counselling”.

This amendment removes prayer and counselling from the list of prohibited actions the Bill prescribes as advising, persuading or informing behaviour. This is to enable the continuation of peaceful, non-confrontational prayer vigils in the vicinity of hospitals, which harm no one and are an important part of free expression for some people in this country. The Bill intends to prevent harassment, but it actually bans peaceful and respectful citizens from praying silently for pre-born children. The architects of the B…