I welcome our colleague Senator Aubrey McCarthy, who is here with the board members of Tiglin, a homelessness and addiction charity that does fantastic work. Tá fáilte romhaibh ar fad.

I move: That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that: - Irish people have emigrated throughout the world in times of famine and during times of economic difficulties and have helped build cities and communities wherever they went; - Ireland benefits from migration; - immigration to Ireland has been increasing in line with our increased prosperity; - we are a small, open economy which relies on trade and investment to deliver economic and jobs growth, and raise living standards; - thousands of people come to Ireland to wo…

I am sharing time with Senator Cathal Byrne.

The Minister of State is no stranger to the Seanad Chamber, and nor is his colleague the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, who has been very forthcoming with his time in coming here to debate these issues. That is something for which we are all very grateful. Nuair a smaoiníonn muid ar chúrsaí imirce, is fíorthábhachtach an rud é smaoineamh ar ár stair, ár seanmhuintir agus ár n-oidhreacht. I gcás fhormhór na ndaoine sa tSeomra inniu, rugadh ár sin-seantuismitheoirí am éigin ag deireadh na 19ú haoise. Rugadh a seantuis…

Uair amháin eile, gabhaim ár mbuíochas leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Brophy, as ucht teacht isteach chun éisteacht linn, as an óráid láidir sin a thug sé tar éis éisteacht linn agus as an rún atá os ár gcomhair anocht a phlé. On some of the issues raised during the course of the debate, I should first say that, like others, I am delighted the debate was carried out in a very respectful manner with different views exchanged. As Senator Joe Conway said, it was carried out in a spirit of decency. That is to be welcom…

The availability of accurate information was referenced by a number of Senators during the course of the debate. This is absolutely key so we can take a stand against the politics of hatred, division, misinformation and, very often, the deliberate conflation of issues that relate to migration but are not necessarily interconnected. The issue of international protection was raised, and one Senator was critical of the Government making an issue of the fact the numbers seeking international protection had escalated. F…

I dtosach báire, déanaim mo chomhbhrón leis na teaghlaigh ar fad a bhí bainteach leis an tubaiste uafásach a bhí againn i gContae Lú. Chomh maith le cuid mhór Seanadóirí eile, tugaim ómós dár gcomhghleacaí an Teachta Paschal Donohoe atá ag éirí as a phost mar Aire Airgeadais. Is duine cumasach tuisceanach cineálta é Paschal. Is duine é atá an-stuama ó thaobh chúrsaí airgeadais de. Bhí sé ag iarraidh go mbeadh an t-airgead againn an t-am ar fad nuair a bhí sé ag teastáil, cosúil leis an bpaindéim a bhí againn agus a…

First, cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus roimh an mBille atá os ár gcomhair inniu. I commend Senator Flynn and her colleagues in the Civil Engagement Group on the great work they have done on this. It is not a question of the Government taking their work, running with it and rebranding it. Senator Flynn earlier said that she would like her daughters to be proud of her and the change that she has made. The spirit of what is being proposed is being adequately dealt with. The soft reference to child pornography i…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta O'Sullivan, agus gabhaim buíochas leis as teacht isteach inniu. Tugaim mo tacaíocht don leasú tábhachtach atá os ár gcomhair anocht. As the Minister of State outlined in his opening remarks, what we are doing here is legislating for an increase in the statutory borrowing limit. If we do so, it will be the seventh occasion on which this has been done since 1981. My colleague, Senator Murphy, has already outlined the urgency behind this, given the potential shortfall that…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach agus leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach maidin inniu le héisteacht liom an todhchaí Ghaelscoil an Chaisleáin i mBaile an Chollaigh a phlé. Tús maith leath na hoibre a dheireann phobal na Gaeilge i gcónaí, agus is fíor é sin i gcás Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin ar an taobh iarthar de Bhaile an Chollaigh i gCorcaigh. Tá tús maith faighte ag an scoil. Le breis is ocht mbliana anuas bhí ceannaireacht aislingeach ón bpríomhoide iontach Máire Bean Uí Shé agus ón bhfoireann ar…

I thank the Minister of State for his understanding of the issue. His points were spot on - why wait when the demand is already there? I appreciate the Minister of State coming in and that he was given notes by the Department but I dispute that there is adequate accommodation in the school at the moment. We as a school community need to address that to ensure the correct decision is arrived at. Otherwise, it would be a waste of money. This is not something new. In 1987, a second secondary school was built in Ballin…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach, go háirithe nuair nach raibh sé ag súil leis an díospóireacht thiubh. Chomh maith le mo chomhghleacaithe eile, tá imní orainn faoin méid atá ag tarlúint. Like Senator Kyne, I am deeply concerned about the interception of the flotilla. As my colleagues, Senators Comyn and O'Loughlin, have alluded to, this is of deep concern. I am happy that the Tánaiste, the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, and those in the Department of foreign affairs are doing everything i…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Smyth, as ucht teacht isteach. Cuirim fáilte roimh an rún atá os ár gcomhair tráthóna inniu ó Sheanadóirí Fhianna Fáil. Is tábhachtach an rud é gach iarracht gur féidir linn a dhéanamh ón tír seo teacht ar réiteach ar an gcoimhlint sa Mhéan-Oirthear agus deireadh a chur leis an gcogadh. In response to the unspeakable murder by Hamas of almost 1,200 innocent Israelis and foreign nationals and the taking hostage of more than 250 others on 7 October 2023, the Prime Ministe…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Brophy, agus gabhaim buíochas leis as ucht teacht isteach chuig an Seanad inniu. Mar is eol dúinn, tagann sé isteach chugainn go rialta chun ábhair éagsúla a phlé agus is fíorthábhachtach é an t-ábhar atá os ár gcomhair inniu, ábhar a bhfuil an tAire Stáit freagrach as. Chomh maith leis sin, cuirim fáilte roimh Martin. Tá súil agam go n-éireoidh go geal leis ina phost nua. Ar aon le han-chuid daoine eile anseo agus ar fud na tíre, chaith mé cúpla tréimhse thar lear ag o…

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Buttimer agus an Aire, an Teachta O’Brien as ucht bheith i láthair sa Seanad inniu chun cúrsaí iompair a phlé linn. Mar atá déanta ag Seanadóirí eile, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an mbeirt acu. I have listened with interest to all the contributions to the debate thus far and there is a common thread among many of them. This was something that was raised in a debate we had previously on balanced regional development, that is, the disproportiona…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire, an Teachta O'Callaghan, atá ar ais sa Seanad chun an leasú seo don Bhille um Chlúmhilleadh a mhíniú dúinn agus a phlé linn. In broad terms I welcome this amending Bill. As the Minister has outlined, it includes many necessary and progressive provisions that will improve the laws and legal proceedings in the area of defamation. I especially welcome the proposal to include provisions to counteract the possibilities of SLAPPs. These are effectively actions taken with the intent of silencin…

Were the comments withdrawn? Can this be clarified?

On a point of order, there was a contribution in which the integrity and impartiality of the Minister was questioned and a Senator was asked to withdraw the comments. I want to clarify whether those comments have been withdrawn.

I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(4)) (Data Protection Commission) Regulations 2025, Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(4)) (Information Commissioner) Regulations 2025, Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(4)) (Comptroller and Auditor General) Regulations 2025, copies of which were laid in draft before Seanad Éireann on 2nd July, 2025.

Is maith an rud é a bheith in ann fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Collins, arís chuig an Seanad chun an tAcht um Chosaint Sonraí, 2018 a mhíniú agus, go háirithe, na rialacháin atá os ár gcomhair inniu a phlé. We in the Fine Gael group recognise the importance of a positive resolution of the three draft regulations before us today and of striking the right balance between enabling certain State bodies to carry out their regulatory and oversight roles while also recognising the need to protect the righ…