At the heart of our considerations as legislators dealing with this issue, we must be mindful of the Constitution, or Bunreacht na hÉireann, a written document in which certain fundamental rights are set out in black and white. A number of those rights relate to the home. The dwelling is inviolable. Superior courts, again and again in their rulings and in their jurisprudence, have deemed the home to hold a pre-eminent position in our Constitution to be a place of repose from the cares of the world and pressures. In…

Single elections naturally attract significant and prominent media attention and we only have to reflect on previous presidential elections in this country. These, however, went beyond the point of proper examination and scrutiny and turned out to be unnecessarily bruising affairs. One would only have to ask the father of this House, Senator Norris, for his personal experience. These elections intruded into people’s private lives. That is not good because it will disincentivise people from getting involved in polit…

-----as has each and every one of them. I sense the camaraderie when one canvasses. We are all in politics together and there has been a mutual respect among everyone. They know that it is a tough business. I am glad it has not been a bruising business on this occasion. The European Commission has stated that there has been an alarming decline in pollinator species with 10% of bee and butterfly species nearing extinction. The loss of wild pollinators is a cause of concern because 80% of crops depend in part on poll…

On behalf of the Green Party I welcome this legislative initiative. It is meaningful and it matters. It is because Irish people, including the Irish sporting and music-following public really care. They are seeking a step towards fairness. Like other speakers, I welcome all those who had anything to do with this, including the current Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the former Deputy, Noel Rock, who is probably at home watching this. He should be proud of his contribution. Several speakers have me…

It is something for when we are next talking about sporting events, as we must not undermine their integrity. It is something in respect of which I will liaise directly with the appropriate Department. For today I am keen to say, like everyone else, that it is great to have unanimity in the House. It is a good day for legislators and a good day for consumers. Regardless of whether we are talking about mega international music stars or amazing footballers, their careers started in their local villages or towns. In t…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. Ireland is the last stronghold in the world of the native black honeybee, which as Senator McGreehan says, comes from northern Europe. This bee is under major threat. Beekeepers are not going to stand idly by. They are in negotiations with the Department for the past 50 years. Luckily, we now have a Minister who understands and is sympathetic. They want action not words. This is not a criticism of the EU, because the EU has the mechanism and the provisions under Artic…

I have written to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to see if we can get our bees here in Leinster House. If they are in the grounds of Leinster House we must ensure we use the native honeybee which is less aggressive, so it stings less, and is also less prone to swarming. We do not want swarming or hybridisation. In a nutshell, every beekeeper organisation, North and South, east and west, wants this to happen. The organisations want it now as 15 years is too long. They will give this their best shot but this…

Will they be native ones?

On 27 June 1995, a former Senator, Gordon Wilson, passed away. The anniversary of his death was yesterday. His message of forgiveness and imploring people to live peacefully and to rebuild severely fractured relationships is a lasting healing legacy and comes into sharp focus in the current political instability in Northern Ireland, especially with the marching season looming. In Enniskillen in 1987, at the very moment when people were standing in silence to pray for their dead, a bomb was detonated and 11 people w…

The Green Party is delighted to support this Bill. It was part of the programme for Government negotiations. I commend Senator Ruane. I am sure she is the first to admit that it is a positive, progressive step forward. She would probably like the sentencing thresholds to be even higher and to assist even greater reintegration. However, it is now on the Statute Book and we can always move amendments at a later date. Running through the veins of this Bill is a basic respect, to show dignity to everyone. I remember, a…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. As always, he is a friendly face in the Chamber. I am delighted to be part of the green team sponsoring this Bill, introducing it to the House and bringing it to Second Stage. I often begin debates on climate related matters by reminding us that nine out of ten people in the world breath unhealthy air. According to the great David Attenborough, air pollution is connected as a cause in approximately 7 million deaths in the world each year, and I am not going to disagre…

Without exaggeration, this is an historic time for Ireland, including its Legislature. We are standing up, our voice is being heard and we are translating words into actions. Our voices are being heard and we are translating words into action. We are placing our targets on a statutory footing for the first time. That has massive import. It is an unfair comparison when looking at the greatest challenge facing humanity, but the seismic change it made when we introduced personal insolvency on a statutory footing in Ir…

As has been stated, the purpose of this Bill is to extend the emergency period specified in the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act. That makes perfect logical sense. It would be impossible, I hope, for anyone to oppose an extension of the emergency period. The aim of the extension is to further assist tenants who have been financially impacted by Covid-19, while recognising and balancing the constitutionally protected property rights of landlords. That is a challenge because there are judgment…

It is a pleasure to welcome the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I have been happily ensconced for many years in County Kildare with my wife and family, but I have fond memories of the Minister being a fellow county councillor with myself and the then councillor, Senator Gallagher. We had great times. The two of them were always very unequivocal when it came to being heard when speaking out against violence.

I wish to put that on the record, in view of what I am about to say. I have a difficulty with this motion and I am most reluctant to support it, but I will because the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is obviously relying on intelligence in her Department. Senator Bacik said that she was a practitioner in the Special Criminal Court for many years. I have been there as well as a practising barrister. Symbolically, it was in Green Street, which was isolated from the rest of what was then the Four Courts. A former Member o…

I will begin by formally seconding the proposal on the Order of Business by my party colleague, Senator Pauline O'Reilly, to take No. 20 on today's Order Paper before No. 1. I wish to mention two very sad matters today. First, 15-year-old Tiggy Hancock is being laid to rest this afternoon. She was an exceptional horse rider and had a bright future ahead of her in eventing but last week that all ended in a most tragic fatal accident at a training session. One journalist wrote, "the world has lost an angel". Ar dheis…

Very good, a Chathaoirligh.

Yes. In the case of Sergeant McCabe, the scoping inquiry took only a few weeks but, in this case, the scoping inquiry has gone on for almost 18 months. It has been extended repeatedly. This is not a criticism of Judge Haughton, but the family continue to hurt. They want to get to the bottom of this and to get the truth. It is compounding their upset. In addition, until it is resolved and clarified, with recommendations and, hopefully, a public sworn inquiry, as both Houses of the Oireachtas voted for about three ye…

I welcome the Minister to the House in a week in which, once again, he is thinking outside the box. It was reported in the media that there will be public housing on public lands in our two largest cities. I am often suspect of Ministers and the "steady as you go" approach, with the permanent government dwarfing the individual innovation of Ministers. That certainly cannot be said of this Minister. If Ronald Reagan was called the great communicator, the Minister is rapidly getting the reputation of being the great …

I wish Arlene Foster well in the next chapter of her life. The harsh reality for the people of Northern Ireland is that this morning they have woken up to having no First Minister or deputy First Minister, with the clock ticking away for seven days in order for both parties to agree the nominations of new Ministers to those roles. For all of the time in the background there is the ratcheting up of tribal tensions. There is a way forward which is to adopt a page from the book of Linda Ervine. I congratulate her on b…