I echo Senator O'Loughlin's expression of sympathies to the family of Declan O'Connell. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. It is another loss for all the Defence Forces' community. I was so sorry to hear about this. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 130(9) be taken before No. 1 without debate. This is Senator Keogan's motion on Iran and the repressive measures being taken in that country. In the House today, I wish to raise the issue of the appalling set of circumstances in Ukraine now. We qu…

Hear, hear.

I move: That Seanad Éireann calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop its violent crackdown on protests, human rights defenders and journalists, and calls on the Irish Government to postpone the reopening of the Irish Embassy in Tehran until Iran stops its grave violation of human rights.

I will speak on an aspect of violence against women in Ireland. We have a profound and persistent problem in Ireland with violence against women and children. The area of sexual violence, the darkest area of violence against women, is one in which I have a special interest. In 2000, 23 years ago, as a serving Army officer, I published a doctoral thesis in which I set out, in very great detail, the shockingly high levels of gender-based discrimination and violence against women in our armed forces. There were shocki…

Teachers in school used to call me "Cloonan", as did certain senior officers with whom I was in trouble, but my name is actually "Clonan".

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chathaoirleach.

I refer to the Attorney General's report on the withholding of the disabled persons maintenance allowance from people in State-funded residential settings. I cannot begin to explain how offensive I find the language used in the report. The Irish Times described it as a kind of no-nonsense report. In fact, it is nonsense because what is lawful is not always appropriate or ethical. There is a pattern or strategy of litigation on the part of the State that is becoming ever more apparent. It is designed to suppress and…

The Minister of State and I have had a very brief conversation about trees in general but the principle of afforestation is very close to my heart. Ireland is one of the most biospherically depleted countries in the European Union. It always strikes me when travelling through the country how empty it is of woodlands and trees, particularly native species and the deciduous mix we should have. I wholeheartedly support what Senator Boyhan has proposed. I take great encouragement from the Minister of State's response a…

There is no need to apologise.

I will address the recent nursing home fees scandal and the withdrawal of disability payments to 12,000 people. I have the experience, as a parent and carer, of the day-to-day struggle to accessing citizenship in this Republic. It is very difficult. We are an outlier in European terms. This country is one of the worst places in the EU in which to have a disability or to be elderly, frail or vulnerable. I do not stand back from using those words. I have had the experience of lifting my adult son in the morning and l…

I am conscious that not all the information is there so I was hoping that in due course we can-----

I hope it is the case that there is not that co-ordinated attempt to target-----

Then you hear this and you think, well, that is the reason why.

Merba ila Irlanda . Merba ila Dublin. I speak as an Independent Senator representing the graduates of Trinity College Dublin. I also speak as a veteran of Ireland's Armed Forces and a veteran of conflict in the Middle East, a person who has witnessed at first hand the squalor and indiscriminate savagery of war in the Middle East. War such as that in Ukraine today kills innocent men and women and murders children. I commend the support our European Union has given to Ukraine, including the moral support, financial s…

Merba ila Irlanda. Merba ila Dublin. I speak as an Independent Senator representing the graduates of Trinity College Dublin. I also speak as a veteran of Ireland's Armed Forces and a veteran of conflict in the Middle East, a person who has witnessed at first hand the squalor and indiscriminate savagery of war in the Middle East. War such as that in Ukraine today kills innocent men and women and murders children. I commend the support our European Union has given to Ukraine, including the moral support, financial su…

Beannachtaí Lá Fhéile Bríde oraibh ar fad. On the day we celebrate St. Brigid and Irish women in general, I draw the House's attention to the book just launched by Company Quartermaster Sergeant Karina Molloy, entitled A Woman in Defence . She was on "The Late Late Show" on Friday night and has been on all the major media platforms over recent days describing her time in the Defence Forces. The period spanned 30 years and 278 days. I was asked to review the book for The Irish Times and was struck by the systemic an…

Yes, a dhuine uasail.

It is great to see the father of the House here this morning. I take this opportunity to wish him and everybody else in the House, and all of our guests, a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the new year. Before I second Senator Victor Boyhan I wish to remark on the embarrassment of riches in terms of Senators. I endorse everything that has been said about Senator Buttimer. In the short time that I have been here, I have found him to be a man of the utmost integrity, a thorough gentleman and a great mentor. I…

I second Senator Boyhan. I first met him 22 years ago outside the Old Punch Bowl on the Rock Road, Booterstown, County Dublin. We had just bought a house on Trimleston Avenue and Victor approached me as I pushed a buggy containing my two-month-old baby. Victor said to me, "You are new to the area, aren't you?" and I said, "That is right." I told him that we lived on Trimleston Avenue and Victor asked me, "Which side of Trimleston Avenue because that is where the boundary is?" So, once he was assured that I lived in…

-----and in this State. Senator Boyhan is somebody who despite challenges has overcome, not alone in the political realm but also in the realm of landscape gardening. He still has to call over and has not followed through on his promise that he would take a look at my garden.