I second the amendment.

I welcome the Minister of State. It is appropriate that she is here because I know she has a great understanding of this area, particularly when we talk about habitats, biodiversity, research, etc. It is apt that she is here to preside over this Bill. I want to thank Senator Martin in particular for his enthusiasm. From day one, he has been talking about the bee. We have certainly had lovely gifts of honey from him. He is a great ambassador for the native Irish bee and I want to acknowledge that. He has engaged and…

I warmly welcome the Portuguese ambassador to our Chamber. I also join my colleagues in extending my sympathy on the death of former Senator Mary Jackman. I knew her well personally. She engaged with me in respect of her own election to the Seanad. She was a Member of this House for two terms and, of course, spent 30 years as a county councillor in Limerick. Ms Jackman was the first female cathaoirleach, or mayor, of Limerick County Council and she was very proud of that. How things have changed and how we have pro…

To be clear, there is a report and the Minister has confirmed that to me. It is not an alleged report and I will not allow anyone to say it is an alleged report.

Absolutely. The report is about alleged planning irregularities in Donegal.

The report is complete. We will know exactly what is in the report, if it is alleged or not and whether it is substantiated or not, when it is published. I am calling for a report that was commissioned, and then undertaken by senior counsel Rory Mulcahy. The report is sitting on the Minister's desk and I want it to be published.

The Senator has made a very good rationale for the logic of this amendment. I will not repeat what she said, but given what the committee recommended, I fully support and endorse it. I hope the Minister will see fit to support the amendment.

I understand exactly where Senator Ruane is coming from regarding the amendment. Again, we have to manage people's expectations in a responsible manner. We know that for many years there has simply been no information. That is not to say there was not information originally. Much of the information has been destroyed. Many of the people involved in these illegal acts are in the wrong or the people responsible for them, their sponsors and supporters have run away from the things that were done. The easiest thing was…

This is one of the biggest and most contentious issues. Senator Ruane suggested that this is one of the red line issues and I agree. In terms of the needs and wishes of the survivors, their families and advocates, this matter has been raised with me constantly. It has been a consistent concern. I took the time to read the committee engagement in relation to this and it was interesting to note that the committee was supportive of the idea of the registered letter. Indeed, Senator Seery Kearney has just explained som…

I move amendment No. 108: In page 50, after line 33, to insert the following: “Process and complaints procedure 52. (1) The Minister shall create an appeals process and complaints procedure. The appeals and complaints procedure shall take into account concerns in relation to compliance, problems arising from limited definitions and issues arising regarding institutions not listed in this Act. The appointees shall also be responsible for documenting recurring issues and shall issue a report to the Minister. (2) Notw…

I do not say I am disappointed because it is beyond disappointment for me at this stage. However, I do think it needs to happen and it should happen. The Minister started off mentioning trust, and that is very important but, sadly, many of these people have had a long drawn out experience of trying to ascertain information. They are not trusting too many people at this point and there have been many promises. The Minister said there is no need for an appeals process. If people have issues with this process, however…

I hear what the Minister is saying. I am left with no option, really. I either disagree with him or I do not disagree with him. I can call a vote and they all bounce up here and we play the numbers game, the old numbers game, again. They all pop into these benches, they are all under a whip and they all vote for the Government. That, unfortunately, is how parliamentary democracy is operated under this arrangement. It is a numbers game and that is the way it is.

I am speaking. It may be democracy but it is not the true spirit of parliamentary democracy. It does not always quite happen like that. That has triggered me to now call a vote. I thank the Senator because when I get a remark like that across the Chamber then it forces me to put it to people and let us bounce them into the chairs here. I do not accept it, I will call a vote and at least I will be able to go back on the hustings when I have to and do a name check on the people who did not support it. Talking through…

I second the motion. I thank Senator Dooley and Fianna Fáil for using their Private Members' time for this motion. It is commendable. I will not repeat the various aspects of the motion. I believe in it. I do not think we need to rehearse all of this because are all well versed in it. I will use my time to share a few thoughts. I was prompted to think about this before I came here today. I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Ceann Comhairle who went to Ukraine and represented our Houses. It was very moving and it sent …

We will learn more from that sharing and that common humanity. I thank Members for bringing this motion to the House.

I echo the Senator on the issue of counselling. Nine months is crazy. It is not sufficient. When someone is in desperation or suicidal, with recurring anxiety, or is feeling threatened - that may be internalised and is not necessarily external - nine months is an unsatisfactory wait. We have a scandalous arrangement where people are waiting anyway in the HSE. I spoke to a man a few weeks ago who was abused within this State. He is well known and has reported it to the authorities. He is initiating legal proceedings…

We are coming to the end of the amendments and, therefore, I will take this opportunity to say that Senator Higgins makes a very good point, which touches on what I said earlier in my own amendment, No. 108. I will not go back there because we have been there, done that and made a decision. We will ultimately account for that as we go out from here in the next few weeks. It is right that we need to engage. We have talked about the business of trust and about engagement. Many of us have come in here and engaged thro…

I would not like the Minister to leave feeling disappointed. I say that genuinely. I want to put it on the record of the House that, as I have said all along, I believe he is absolutely committed to reform on this issue. There is no question about that. It is my intention to support the Bill. I made up my mind to do so because it represents major progress on what we had before. We can all be critical and we all can go outside the Chamber and suggest A, B and C. The Minister has a job to do and he takes advice on do…

I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is staying with us for the rest of the Commencement matters. I thank her for that.

I thank the Minister of State. We appreciate her taking time out of her busy schedule to be with us in the Seanad. It is always appreciated and always valued.