I take this opportunity to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, who was here earlier. I listened to his contribution. He is a person I admire because he has moral courage and speaks out. I have been following him over the past 12 months, and he does speak out on important issues. That is something wanted to put on the record. When people voted to retain the Seanad in 2013, one of the key selling points was that we would have a greater role in scrutinising EU directives. On foot of his dogged determination a…

I would like to join Senator McCarthy, and perhaps others, in wishing Ann Lane all the very best. We have known Ann around the House working with the Labour Party over the years. Her good humour does not surprise me whatsoever. I wish her every success. I hope she has enjoyed her expeditions overseas. The Leas-Chathaoirleach and I, along with other colleagues, were at a very powerful and emotional briefing in the audiovisual room, partly facilitated by our former colleague, Mary Seery Kearney. We all know the great…

I call for a debate on the participation of people with disabilities in sport. Many governing bodies have what I would describe as tokenistic inclusion and disability officers. Some make a genuine effort. For example, the FAI has its Football for All programme and there are other governing bodies that make an effort. However, in my view, there is not enough being done at all to create a level playing pitch - pardon the pun - for people with disabilities to meaningfully engage in active living and sport. I am a form…

I call for a debate on the regional airports strategy. We hear a lot of talk about Dublin Airport and the removal of the cap and so forth. I am of the view that a cap in Dublin Airport does not necessarily benefit regional airports anyway, so lifting the cap, if it is good for Dublin, can be good for Ireland. That said, however, I am a big believer in our regional airports, particularly Shannon Airport. The debate taking place concerning the cap in Dublin Airport means there may be a lack of focus on our regional a…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House, and I welcome the legislation. Senator McDowell makes some pertinent points with which I agree. The example of the 15-year-old asking the 18-year-old extends to off licences, lottery tickets and all these other things as well. It is a major issue. As a former retailer, I have fierce sympathy for retailers. They are usually employing staff, and a lot of weekend staff in particular are only 17, 18 or 19 themselves. It is very difficult and very awkward. The global point I…

I am looking for a review of a mechanism local authorities are using more and more to deliver projects, including some commercial projects. That is designated activity companies, DACs. In my view, DACs are a way for local authorities to keep certain projects at arm's length so as to reduce risk. That is fine but many DACs have loans guaranteed by the local authority and they are in commercial arrangements. Many of them are not effective and are losing money. I wonder if it is an appropriate mechanism for local auth…

I fully agree with Senator Byrne. I note that, in Australia, vaping is illegal except if you have a prescription. As a result, the amount of vaping in Australia is among the lowest in the world. It is not good for you and it is not healthy.

Senator Byrne's point on the proliferation of these awful-looking shops the length and breadth of the country was well made. I note in Ennis how a fantastic music shop that we all grew up with is now a vape shop. We need to address this. Perhaps we could have a debate on it at some stage. Today, the HSE was at the health committee on the matter of vaccines. One of the issues discussed was the misinformation that seemed to be proliferating on social media about vaccines. Last week, I spoke about the treatment of Sen…

Hear, hear.

I echo Senator Boyhan's commendation of the Minister regarding his coming before the House. Lots of Ministers send in junior Ministers. While they have a very important role to play, it is great to engage with the senior Minister. I thank Senator Boyhan for proposing that we have this debate. The situation in Irish prisons is completely unacceptable, as I think the Minister agrees. There are two ways of dealing with it. The obvious one is capacity. We have a growing population, so we are clearly going to have a gro…

I have a point of order.

I agreed with the Cathaoirleach before this debate that I would get an opportunity to speak. It seems ironic that the longest serving Member with a disability in either House of the Oireachtas - 15 years this month - would not have an opportunity to speak in this debate.

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I know from my experience how committed she is to this portfolio, how she wanted this portfolio and how she is going to make a success of the portfolio. She is not in office that long. We need to give her an opportunity to activate her intentions, which are fantastic. I also pay tribute to the former Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Senator Rabbitte, who we are lucky is now a Member of this House. She did amazing work when she was in that Departmen…

I stand in solidarity with Senator Flynn following her contribution this morning. The messages of hate she received are despicable. I sincerely hope An Garda Síochána deals with it expeditiously and brings these people to book for what they are doing. Her sentiments regarding the flag are very well articulated. It is incumbent on all of us to stand in solidarity with her at this time. I was very pleased, as others have articulated including the Deputy Leader, with the result of the election in Hungary. The new Prim…

I, too, welcome the Minister to the House. He is a very positive contributor as a Minister. If only every other Minister were. I know it has been a difficult week, but that is politics and the joys and challenges of being in government. I know the Minister understands that and stands up to the plate when it comes to that. I consider this legislation is evolving in the sense that proceeds of crime and the mechanisms that criminal gangs use are constantly evolving and changing. We need to evolve and change our legisl…

I had hoped to speak on Second Stage, but it ran a little quicker than I expected. I welcome the Minister of State. What Senator McDowell has proposed, which is coming from the legal side, makes a lot of sense. I am sure the Minister of State will work around it to come up with a resolution that is favourable. I was in the House in 2015 when the legislation was the subject of a significant debate. Some who were in the House at that point but who are no longer Members made invaluable contributions in respect of the …

I am pleased to hear that the Minister of State has been engaging with the Courts Service and that specific arrangements for this purpose will be put in place over the coming weeks. This is a big deal for families. There are roughly 1,000 families in this situation. I have engaged with a couple of them in recent times and have engaged with others over the years. It takes over their lives completely, for obvious reasons. They love and care for the person concerned. The last thing we want to see, as Senator McDowell …

Like the Minister of State, I am very pleased that the House came together, as it often does on legislation that matters to people and families in this country. I am not a member of the disability matters committee, but perhaps this is work that it has commenced. There are sections of the 2015 Act that need to be reviewed. We we discuss Bills, it is difficult to identify all of the possible consequences in theory. Sometimes there are none. More often than not, however, there are. When an Act becomes operational, th…

I want to put on the record my acknowledgement of the announcement by the Government yesterday in respect of dealing with the cost of fuel in light of the current situation in Iran. There has been significant engagement with the Irish Road Haulage Association, and there is a commitment to continue this engagement. We cannot forget that we are an island nation and rely on hauliers to transport goods in and out of our island. This is always going to be something that needs be kept under review. We perhaps need to con…

At the outset, I acknowledge the Taoiseach’s visit to Washington. I think he handled it very diplomatically. He defended what he needed to defend and he said what he needed to say. Overall, the Government’s St. Patrick’s Day programme internationally, across Europe, the United States and other parts of the world, has gone exceptionally well. The benefit of this is significant. I listened with great interest to Senator Ryan talking about cancer services in the mid-west. I came in here with the intention of calling f…