Now.

I move amendment No. 14: In page 74, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “Gambling activities 91. (1) Notwithstanding section 65 , a person may provide a game or lottery without a gambling licence where— (a) the game or lottery is a broadcast competition in accordance with subsection (6) , (b) persons are not required to make a payment to participate in the game or lottery, (c) there is no additional payment required only of the winner to obtain the winnings, and (d) the winnings are paid out within a p…

I have spoken on this Bill on a number of occasions and like everyone else, I am concerned about problem gambling. Where this Bill tackles that issue, it is welcome. I have commended the Minister of State and his officials on that initiative. However, in my view the Bill has gone past problem gambling and has overreached on other issues. Nowhere is this more evident than in relation to radio phone-in competitions. Nobody in this House has ever had anyone come to them to say they have a problem with radio bingo, rad…

Like others, I wish to refer to the provision of appropriate infrastructure to assist in the development of our housing targets. I am deeply disturbed by the lack of progress on a number of sewerage schemes that were set up as part of a pilot project in Clare. The Minister fought the battles within his Department to get the schemes at Broadford and Cooraclare moving. I and others drafted the policy position behind it but it received a level of negative interest from departmental officials. The Minister pushed it th…

Last week, I called for a debate in this House to address the crises in the mid-west region, with a particular focus on the hospital in Limerick in light of the continued reporting of the Aoife Johnston case. I am conscious we may be nearing the end of our time here under this mandate. If it is not possible to organise a debate with the Minister that is obviously somewhat understandable. I add my voice to the voice of Aoife Johnston's family in calling for a public inquiry. I am around the Oireachtas for almost 20 …

It would help them in bringing about closure from their perspective. The wider community would benefit in terms of addressing all the issues that need to be addressed.

I move amendment No. 148: In page 73, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “91. (1) Notwithstanding section 65 , a person may provide a game or lottery without a gambling licence where— (a) the game or lottery is a broadcast competition in accordance with subsection (3) , (b) there is no additional payment required only of the winner to obtain the winnings, (c) the winnings are paid out within a period of 6 months from the first date on which persons are invited to participate in the game or lottery co…

I listened to what the Minister of State said regarding Senator Ward's amendment. Since there is a similarity, I chose to withdraw my amendment but we can look at it again on Report Stage. I have previously recognised the importance of this Bill and we all recognise the necessity to address the issue of problem gambling. The intended purpose of the amendment, and indeed what Senator Ward discussed, was to address what can only be considered an overreach in this Bill as it relates to the Irish radio sector. The prop…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I know that this issue is also close to the Acting Chairperson's heart. I refer to the development or effective reopening of a train station at Crusheen in County Clare. It is on the line between Ennis and Galway and it was, in a bygone era, a very busy station. Efforts have been made by a group in the locality who were lone voices for a long time, particularly back in the noughties when everybody travelled by car and some even travelled by helicopter from those areas t…

I thank the Minister for setting out the overall constraints from a policy perspective. We need to look at this again. I ask that consideration be given to the following. While the criteria refer to a population of 10,000, there are 6,000 people living in close proximity. There was a station in the area previously. If I was arguing for a brand-new station where no infrastructure ever existed, I would be more inclined to accept the response. Where a station is in place, the principle has been accepted and access is …

Like the previous speaker, I would like to have a debate arranged in this House with the Minister for Health to discuss the ongoing issues at University Hospital Limerick, with particular focus on the deaths of a number of people in recent times. A report was issued recently by the former Chief Justice. It is a harrowing read into the death of Aoife Johnston. It must be harrowing for her family, friends and community. The troubling thing that came out of the report is that there is still the potential for this to h…

I am conscious that this is the last Order of Business of this session. However, we are also heading into the budgetary cycle and it is vital that in September we have a debate on the requirements of the budget. I raise the matter of the money that will be made available for the recruitment and appointment of gardaí. We have become desensitised to what are often considered minor breaches of the peace in certain areas. For example, Ennis is one of the finest county towns in the country. Last week, in one particular …

I concur fully with what Senator McDowell has identified. He is being fair-minded in his approach by asking the Minister of State to look at this before Report Stage. I believe we should. He has set out a situation many of us are aware of with regard to the politics and constituents we regularly deal with. From his sound legal mind, he does not see an opportunity for somebody who has already paid a significant amount of money for some undertaking to sue the person from whom they bought that property and this will n…

I welcome the Minister to the House and wish the Minister who was previously here, Deputy O'Gorman, well in his leadership of the Green Party. I compliment and congratulate him for the work he has done over recent years in a really difficult brief. When he became Minister for children, he would not have expected the kinds of challenges he has faced to be foisted upon him. I am sure he has come under enormous stress and strain as a result of the vile and despicable approach that has been taken to his work by those w…

I join the expressions of sympathy to the family of the late John O'Mahony. I had the pleasure of serving with him in the other House. I served with him in close quarters on the transport and tourism committee. While John was mild mannered and was not always the person you heard first, when it came to detail, the progression of legislation and addressing serious issues, John O'Mahony was to the fore. He was a serious politician. While he did not shout from the rooftops, he worked assiduously and diligently behind t…

I want to conclude; it is important that background checks are made on all people who are employed in this House. It is quite serious.

We talk about the necessity to protect politicians-----

-----outside this House, I think it is important they are protected within this House.

I want to raise a couple of issues. I recognise the appointment of Senator Seán Kyne as Deputy Leader. I wish him well and look forward to working with him in the Seanad. Last Saturday, an individual collapsed at the Cliffs of Moher. My understanding is that the individual passed away. It took over an hour for an ambulance to arrive at the scene. We often talk in this House about metrics for how services are delivered and the standard time for an ambulance to arrive, usually in populated, built-up areas, of eight, …

We have had a number of discussions in this House about migration and its implications for this country, but it would be timely that we have another discussion, particularly about some of the accommodation issues. A situation has developed in Shannon where an old office building was converted and upgraded during the height of the Ukrainian crisis to accommodate up to 100 Ukrainians, mainly women and children. The Department has now decided not to renew that contract and move those families from Shannon to Lisdoonva…