It was all Senator Boyhan's fault.

Congratulations to the Leas-Chathaoirleach on her election. I had the great fortune of knowing Tras Honan. She was a mighty woman and it is fantastic that we have one of her successors among us. I know the Senator's rate of work and how fair and dedicated she is to the job. I look forward to working with her. It is a testament to her tenacity and hard work over the years that she is in this position. I hope she enjoys today as it is a big day for her. The Minister is very welcome on his first visit to the Seanad as…

Shame.

That is disgraceful.

I know. My life would have been easier.

I thank the Minister for bringing this really important Bill to the Seanad. While it is a miscellaneous provisions Bill and contains various measures, each one is very important. The enhanced role for pharmacists is something for which a number of Senators have been calling for a long time because we are aware of the pressures GPs, particularly those in urban areas, are under. This frees up time and gives a greater role to our community pharmacists, who, as the Minister pointed out, are highly trained, highly educa…

Next Tuesday.

I too support the Independent colleagues in the Seanad and commend them on tabling such an important Bill. Since my election to the Seanad in 2016, the issue of scoliosis, the lack of services for children with scoliosis, the delays and the suffering have been a constant topic of debate and conversation in these Houses. It is clear that these families and the children in particular have been let down by the State over a long period of time. As the mother of young children, I can empathise with the parents who see t…

Tomorrow at 9.30 a.m.

It will come as no surprise I wish to speak about Natasha O'Brien and the very brave leadership she has displayed during the past week. I am really struck by her bravery, poise and leadership on this issue, having experienced an unbelievably horrific attack. For the past week, we have all felt shock and we are only absorbing the impact of the decision to suspend, in its entirety, the sentence imposed on the person who assaulted her. Looking at Natasha O'Brien in recent days brought the bravery of Ms Lavinia Kerwick…

I propose that the Minister be given a couple minutes to read the-----

Perhaps if a Member keeps talking while the Minister is reading, could that-----

At this stage, I should not be naive, but in my naivety I was going to ask our colleagues to amend their social media accounts to reflect the position that any misapprehension or misunderstanding had been cleared up, but I know that is not going to happen. Of course the regulatory authority is going to check the sex offender register. Any suggestion that it will not or that it will just casually look over something is completely erroneous and is insulting to the people who will work in it. Everybody wants to safegu…

I will be extremely brief. This is a wonderful day for everybody who has worked so hard to get us to this point. When the Minister came into office, he promised a revolution in women’s healthcare. He is delivering that revolution and I am grateful to be part of it. I thank everybody who put their hearts and souls into this. I was very proud to be part of the special committee on international surrogacy. We produced a good report and I am happy this legislation is based on it. The rights of children born through sur…

I, too, welcome our colleagues from the Irish Cancer Society. I thank them for all the work they have been doing. They are assisting us in our work in the House. I thank them on behalf of everybody who has felt the benefit of the Irish Cancer Society. I thank the Minister of State very much for coming to the House to discuss this very important motion tabled by Fine Gael colleagues. I commend all of them on working on this, in particular Senator Kyne. I know the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, …

I propose that we suspend until 6 p.m.

The Order of Business is No. 1, Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024 to be taken at 3.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, Senators may share time and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

I thank the ten Senators who contributed to the Order of Business. I congratulate Senators Doherty and Boylan, who were successful in the European Parliament elections and will soon take up their seats. I commiserate with Senators Gavan and Blaney and with the Leader.

Gabh mo leithscéal. It was really significant to have six Members of this House contesting the elections to the European Parliament. In addition, a former Member of the House, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, was successful. When I was first elected in 2016, I learned a lot from him. It was fantastic to see him succeeding. I commend everybody who put their name forward, whether they were successful or unsuccessful, in both the European Parliament elections and the local authority elections. Our democracy depends on people puttin…

The guests are very welcome. I hope they enjoy their trip. Senator Wall also raised the issue of spoiled votes and, more concerning, the incorrectly stamped ballot papers, which resulted in approximately 1,000 votes around the country being deemed invalid - again, shocking. Senator Wall also raised the issue of a sewage spill in Athy and Uisce Éireann's inability to respond to Kildare County Council and the people living in Athy over that issue. That is unacceptable. If Uisce Éireann cannot respond to local authori…