I thank the Minister for his responses to the questions but he did not actually deal with anything I asked him with regard to the amendment. It is probably the only one that spoke to the amendment. We had a nice around-the-houses debate in general around fishing and stuff like that but that is not really the nature of what we should be discussing tonight. Yes, I did support 30 days in the previous Bill and I would support 60 days in this Bill. I have no problem about that. I did not propose the removal of 30 days. …

I note the title of the topic day, which is New Decade, New Approach. A new approach is exactly what is needed, because our current approach is not good enough and the cognitive dissonance of most of the Republic of Ireland regarding the North badly needs to be addressed. On Sunday, I, along with thousands of others, walked in remembrance on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. We paid tribute to the 26 who were shot and the 14 killed by the British Army in Derry in 1972. These people were marching for their righ…

On the mica redress scheme, it is seven weeks since I stood here to ask the Tánaiste to explain where the dubious sliding scale came from. On that day the Tánaiste said he reckoned that it was a sensible one. He may still hold to that thinking but he cannot continue to call it a 100% redress scheme and stand over the sliding scale at the same time. It is irrational and completely disingenuous of him. The people of Donegal are not fools and I ask that he stop the spin. I have asked a number of parliamentary question…

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 today. I start by making it absolutely clear that this Bill does not provide unrestricted access to birth certificates for adopted people and I, along with many others, see through the narrative that this Government is trying to push that this is a fantastic Bill that gives adopted people exactly the access they want. This Bill does not give adoptees full and unfettered access and any suggestion that it does is wrong and inten…

I thank the Acting Chairman for his warning in regard to my contribution. While names may be mentioned, no aspersions will be cast on their character in what I say. I will outline facts in relation to the situation.

I cast no aspersions at all. I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue matter; I believe it is very important. I asked that this matter is taken because of the ongoing issues, which I know the Minister of State is heavily involved with, around the Brandon report and the continuing situation in Ard Gréine Court, Ballybofey, County Donegal. The Attorney General came out earlier this week with his view that the Minister of State is not allowed to publish the report, but the HSE can, and should, publi…

I will take the Acting Chairman's views on board. I attempted to contact the head of social care without success. I then raised the matter with the then Minister of State, Finian McGrath - I can say the then Minister of State's name - and provided the same documentation to him.

So I cannot say his name either?

Okay.

He then sent the correspondence to the head of social care and, lo and behold, a flurry of meetings started to happen. There were more than 20 meetings in 2018 alone. What strikes me when I compare the content of the Brandon report with information I have garnered from freedom of information, FOI, requests and my email records is that some things do not add up. The head of social care told me in an email on 4 May 2018 that he had the final draft of the report by look-back review investigation team. Yet the HSE, acc…

I thank the Minister of State for her response, which was very worthwhile. What is stark in respect of the reports of HIQA inspections which were published last week is that every one of them identified management failures as something that have to be dealt with. The reports are actually very complimentary of the staff, most of whom are agency staff. There is something badly wrong with the management in that facility. That really has to be dealt with. The history the HSE has given of its interaction with families i…

I thank my colleague, Deputy Joan Collins, for bringing forward this very important motion on the ownership of the proposed new national maternity hospital. I welcome the fact that the Government will not oppose this motion calling for the compulsory purchase of the site. I take this opportunity, however, to strongly urge the Government to change its position and to acquire the national maternity hospital site by CPO as soon as possible. It is one thing not to oppose a motion; it is another thing to actually do som…

Yes, of course. On the Order of Business for this week, I know it happened prior to the announcement of business, but the Attorney General announced on Monday that he would not recommend the publication of the Brandon report, the full publication of which has been supported by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the relevant Minister. We need to schedule a debate on this matter because it is vitally important that the report be published. I ask that my request be considered.

I will start by extending my sympathy to the family of Ashling Murphy on her tragic murder and to the community of Tullamore and surrounding areas. Sadly, we could have had this debate or discussion on any number of occasions in any year that I have been a Member of the Dáil about any number of the many women who have been killed in this country. That says a lot about the situation of women. Some people will say we have not had this discussion because there are not enough women Members of this House. However, there…

I start by taking a moment to acknowledge and commend those who shared their personal stories and experiences of late-term abortions. I understand that, for many, dedicating so much unnecessary time constantly rediscussing this topic can be incredibly triggering. In reality, that is what this discussion and this Bill are: completely and wholly unnecessary. The best argument for this comes from Deputy Nolan herself. When introducing this Bill, she stated that doctors administer pain relief as a matter of course. She…

The Brandon report was commissioned from the national independent review panel by the HSE. The report that looks at the management, or indeed mismanagement, in a residential centre in Donegal. It outlines the sexual abuse of up to 20 residents by another resident and the inaction of the HSE, the Garda and HIQA on it for many years. It has been reported today that the HSE will publish the executive summary of the report in the coming days. Will the Minister share the calls by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste for the immed…

Yesterday afternoon, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment told the media that it was hoped the Government would be in a position to announce the financial supports for the entertainment sector on Wednesday. He went on to say that it may well be that we will need to use the vehicle of the Seanad to do that in the next couple of days and, if not, we may be able to do it in the new year. I know the Tánaiste believes these new restrictions are peculiar. To be honest, I find his lack of urgency…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Justice pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)( a ) and 178(1).

I will pick up at the point in the report where I left off yesterday: The letter was submitted to a multi-disciplinary meeting of 4th March 2008. However, there are no minutes of this meeting and it is not clear how this letter was received. Two days later on 6th March 2008, psychiatrist (1) wrote to Brandon's GP referencing this meeting, emphasising again the concerns raised by staff in relation to Brandon's behaviour, " An emergency case review was held with nursing staff and care staff from "Abbeyside" ward toge…

It was a real dash to get over here. I was caught at something else. I was waiting for a vote on the last one but it did not happen-----