The Judicial Appointments Bill.

I congratulate Senator Byrne on her election to the job of Leas-Chathaoirleach. I hope she enjoys it. It is well deserved. I particularly want to thank the Minister. We know each other for a long time and I know his extended family for a long time. It is great to see him in the chair as Minister for justice and home affairs. Clearly, he has vast experience and knowledge. It is great that we have someone from Dublin in the role, particularly given the enormous challenges in our city. We have challenges everywhere bu…

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his election for another term. I wish him well. I also want to take this opportunity to wish the Leader well and thank him for his work and his vast experience in here. More importantly, I want to welcome everyone to the House. It is a unique place and we are unique people. We are individuals who bring our life experiences to the House. Be we on the university panels, Taoiseach's nominees or on the vocational panels, we all have a legitimate and valid seat and a place in the Cham…

We are speaking on the Order of Business. That is our primary function now. I will touch on two matters. We will later debate the Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024. I have two amendments to it and I will be pressing them if the Minister decides he is not prepared to support them. Out of courtesy, I am informing Members there may be votes on that. There may also be votes on the next item of business, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Bill 2024. While we are talking about thanking people, I thank th…

It would be great.

We can give them tutorials.

I welcome the Minister. We are dealing with the Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024. The Minister will be aware that I have tabled two amendments. If it is helpful, I will touch on them now in order not to elongate this process by repeating myself on Committee Stage. There is no point in getting up and saying the same thing twice. The Minister has made up his mind. I am conscious that we are now at the end of the Government processes so I understand he is very limited, even if he wanted to do so, in accep…

He has every confidence.

The next Attorney General.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: “(c) the person shall not attempt to purchase an alcohol product or a National Lottery ticket (as defined in the National Lottery Act 2013) at the same time as attempting to purchase a tobacco product in the same premises.”,”. I thank the Minister and the diligent officials behind him who have been following all the bits here. I acknowledge the importance of that, and their significant contribution in assisting him here. As I said …

I move amendment No. 2: In page 6, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Report on illicit trade 11. The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas, including an assessment of the potential implications of the increase in the minimum age of sale of tobacco products to 21 in terms of illicit trade of cigarettes and tobacco products; and recommendation on actions to address such implications.”. I engaged with the Minister on this earlier…

To clarify, will the Chair outline to the House the amount of time that was allotted to the entire Bill on the agreed Order of Business?

I thank the Chair for the clarity.

I welcome the Minister. I, too, welcome the Bill. I recognise we are operating a large parliamentary process. I am on the Oireachtas audit committee. We have intense scrutiny of all expenditure here. I acknowledge that group of people because many people do not know who they are. They include outside bodies and people who do that and work closely with Mr. Peter Finnegan, Clerk of the Dáil, in terms of the overall. They are an exercised group of people. We have external experts in that regard. The group audits the s…

Before we go, I thank the Minister of State for spending her time with us. I know she is busy so I thank her for giving us her time to deal with the four Commencement matters here today. As this will be my last day in the Chair in this term and given that the Minister of State is here, I acknowledge her very significant work. It would be a challenge for anyone but it is particularly challenging for a Minister of State who is also a Senator. We in the House are very proud to have had a Minister of State with us. We …

There is going to be a general election called within the next day or two. I have three asks: three recurring themes that I have worked on for many years in my time here in Seanad Éireann. The political parties are now going about their manifestos and making promises and commitments. Not all of them will enter into the new or eventual programme for Government. It has always been a source of disappointment to me that the majority of Members in this House could not see the way to supporting the inclusion of children …

You might do it for me.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for coming here to engage with us on Second Stage of the Finance Bill 2024. I thank the officials. This is the first time I have seen the anteroom very full with officials and advisers. I thank the official behind the Minister of State, in particular. Clearly there is massive co-ordination, which I respect and understand. We live in a society, environment and economy, and we cannot forget that. Ultimately, the Government has to use its resources and channel…

They have a responsibility.

Those in Fianna Fáil are responsible, are they?