Tá cúram leanaí ró-chostasach agus níl dóthain áiteanna ann. For far too many families childcare is no longer just a challenge but a barrier to having children, returning to work or simply making ends meet. I am aware of couples who have delayed starting a family because of the pressures bought about by the combined costs of childcare and housing. That is not their failure but a failure of Government. This is one of the wealthiest states in Europe. There is no excuse for parents still paying over €800 a month per c…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an deis labhairt ag an díospóireacht seo. Pride, it is important to remember, emerged from repression, as a movement for equality. It is important that we celebrate all those who stood up and fought for change during periods when it was not easy to do so. In Ireland and in this State, Pride emerged as a response to what was, for much of our history, a conservative and reactionary State that was hostile in the extreme to anybody who was perceived as different, particularly gay people but also oft…

Not agreed.

There is chaos reigning in our courts as thousands of cases are being adjourned due to the withdrawal of services by legal aid solicitors. The Government and the Minister are responsible for further backlogging the legal system and for creating havoc for many of the people involved in these cases, including victims. There should be a Dáil debate this week on the proposed changes to the criminal legal aid scheme. Most importantly, the Government and the Minister need to immediately engage with stakeholders and then …

They are not.

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after "ending on 29th June, 2027": "; and — calls on the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to bring forward legislation to give effect to the recommendations of the Independent Review Group without further delay.". Tá díomá orm go bhfuil muid ag filleadh ar ais arís anseo ag athnuachan cumhachtaí éigeandála agus reachtaíochta atá as dáta. Ba cheart go ndéileálfadh an Rialtas leis seo roimhe seo. It is disappointing that we are back here once again renew…

The Minister of State need not have bothered.

Sinn Féin has brought forward this motion because the Government simply refused to understand that dental care is an essential part of healthcare. Across the State, particularly in counties like Cavan and Monaghan, families are being failed by a dental service that is stretched beyond capacity. State-wide, as colleagues have outlined, thousands of people, mostly children, are waiting for dental or orthodontic treatment, with a significant proportion waiting well over a year. Many children are leaving primary school…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 10, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: "8. The Minister, having consulted with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, may by regulation direct that the Director suspend cooperation, in part or in full, with a state in breach of— (a) the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, or (b) Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union, or whereby cooperation would place Ireland in breach of Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union.". I want to put on the record that I consid…

It does not because, with due respect, the Minister of State is missing the point. The amendment is in respect of specific states and the ability to suspend co-operation, in part or in full, based on the list of scenarios I have set out. Arguably and hopefully, the provision would never need to be utilised, but it would be negligent not to put a safeguard in place. People might ask when or how what I describe could happen. Consider where the Hungarian Government got very close to in terms of control of the courts a…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 15, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “(g) ensure minimal administrative burden is placed on small to medium sized service providers.”. There is real concern about the administrative burden this legislation could place on small and medium enterprises, SMEs, particularly in the IT sector. The Government conducted an SME test and I will talk more about that later but it found that the legislative impact on the SME sector will be significantly greater than it will be on …

My apologies. I meant to speak to amendment No. 3. It is actually sometimes useful to get the Minister's response before speaking to an amendment. I would encourage the Minister of State to look back at the Oireachtas justice committee. There was quite substantive discussion with officials on dual criminality, particularly how the civil law system that operates in most of Europe relates to Ireland's common law tradition. If the Minister of State were to review the transcript of that engagement, she would see clearl…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 15, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “(g) ensure the conduct for which orders have been received constitute an offence under Irish law.”.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 15, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "(g) the Data Protection Commission.". Like the previous amendments, these are simple proposals. Amendment No. 4 seeks to facilitate the office of the director of criminal justice international co-operation in making representations to or assisting the Data Protection Commission, DPC, in regard to the e-evidence package in the same way the legislation provides for such co-operation in the case of the Competition and Consumer Prote…

It would be useful if the Minister of State could outline in greater detail exactly what was involved in the consultation with the DPC. It has been referenced both at the committee and here in the Dáil that there was such engagement with the commission. We have been told that it did not see itself as the appropriate enforcement authority and, as we have heard from the Minister of State just now, that it did not seek additional provision in the legislation. Was the question asked of the DPC as to whether such a prov…

It does not really. I understand that the Minister of State is only new in the role and I do not expect her to know the details of that. I think she is confirming that there was no actual physical engagement and this was all done via emails or written submission. The question I asked was whether the question was put to the DPC. Is it the case that all agencies received an email with the draft Bill, telling them to highlight any concerns they may have with it, and if one did not come back, it was assumed that the Mi…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 16, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: “(g) the Data Protection Commission.”.

I move amendment No. 6: In page 16, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “(4) Such an annual report shall contain statistical data in relation to— (a) the number of orders which were notified to the Director, (b) the number of orders that were refused, (c) the number of agreements entered into with service providers under subsection 40(1) and the status thereof by category, (d) the number of instances whereby a court confirmed, set aside, replaced, or remitted either the decision or financial penalty o…

I welcome that the Minister of State has put on the record that she believes the information set out in this amendment should be provided in the annual report. That is important. However, I think there is a tacit acknowledgement in what the Minister of State has said that there will be no obligation whatsoever on the new entity to actually provide that because it has been given direction by the legislation to produce an annual report with no direction as to what should be in it. It is like asking 20 children in a c…

I move amendment No. 7: In page 17, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(2) Notwithstanding this section, the Minister shall, no later than 31 July, publish guidance notes for small to medium sized service providers to promote compliance with their obligations under this Act.” This is, again, a simple insertion. It goes back to the earlier point on the need to actually support SMEs which will receive a minority of the requests but for which this will have the biggest impact and implication, as acknowle…