Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. Is é inniu tús le Seachtain na Gaeilge. Cé go maireann sé 17 lá, tugaimid Seachtain na Gaeilge air, ón bhféile náisiúnta agus idirnáisiúnta a dhéanann ceiliúradh ar ár dteanga dhúchais. Idir seo agus Lá Fhéile Pádraig, tá Conradh na Gaeilge agus grúpaí fud fad na tíre agus an domhain ag moladh do dhaoine úsáid a bhaint as an teanga, más é sin cúpla focal nó más rud é go bhfuil siad líofa. Today marks the start of Seachtain na Gaeilge. Even though we call it a "seac…

Hear, hear.

It is being pressed. With respect to the Leader's remarks, I have seen the Government amendments and the fact is the prescribed rate of pay remains in the Bill. I do not think that is something the Seanad can or should stand over.

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh Uachtarán Mhálta fosta. He and his delegation are very welcome to the Seanad. Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire fosta agus fáilte roimh an leasú atá á phlé againn faoi láthair. My colleague, Senator Gavan, has outlined our perspective on this eloquently. I spoke at the Order of Business this morning as to where I stand and where Sinn Féin stands in relation to this matter. The reality is the prescribed rate of pay remains in the Bill. That is a fact and is not addressed b…

Senator Hoey rightly said this is something the Seanad should not allow. I would go further and say to the Minister that this is something the Seanad must not allow and the Minister should not allow it either. As Senator Gavan said, they have the opportunity here to do the right thing. I understand the difficulties people have in terms of adhering to a party Whip, a Government Whip or whatever it may be. However, this Seanad works best, and in my experience the previous Seanad worked best, when we work on a collabo…

Under Standing Order 62(3)( b ) I request that the division be taken again other than by electronic means.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an fhógra ó Shasana inné maidir leis an straitéis is déanaí ó Rialtas na Breataine agus ón Aontas Eorpach. I join other colleagues in welcoming yesterday's announcement and the conclusion of the negotiation between the British Government and the European Union. We can all agree we, collectively, not only Sinn Féin but all of us, set ourselves a target in the context of the protocol, before, during and indeed after, of ensuring we protected the all-island economy, that there was no return to a ha…

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur, ní hamháin roimh an Aire, ach roimh an reachtaíocht thábhachtach seo atá ós ár gcomhair agus atá á phlé againn inniu. The Minister of State is welcome to the Chamber. This is a welcome Bill that adds to and strengthens the Sex Offenders Act 2001. It is an all-encompassing Bill that provides a protective umbrella for individuals targeted by sex offenders, and this protection is in the form of a statutory framework, namely, the sex offenders risk assessment and management programme. The …

I for one would hope that we do not hear a series of misinformation and that views such as those we have just heard are not platformed or given air time. It is all we seem to hear consistently, day in, day out in this Chamber.

I want to join my colleague Senator Fitzpatrick in condemning last night's atrocious shooting in Killyclogher in Omagh. It has just brought shock and absolute devastation, not just to the PSNI officer and his family but also to the community and the service users at the multisport centre. I know some of the users and some of those who run groups in that facility. It is a devastating time for them. I welcome and note the united statement from the five party leaders in the North this morning condemning last night's a…

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus roimh an tairiscint atá os ár gcomhair inniu. We have already heard in the short time we have been debating this motion, just how multilayered and complex this issue can be. As complex as it can be there are some fundamentals too. Like other colleagues, I welcome the fact that as a society we are ready, willing and capable of debating this issue. It is necessary and timely. Some would say it is past time. Nevertheless, I welcome that this motion is before the House today and t…

Agus mé ag éirí don Ord Gnó inniu, ar dtús báire ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a sheoladh le huachtarán nuathofa an Chumainn Lúthchleas Gael, Iarlaith Ó Broin, as Contae Ard Mhacha. Guím gach rath ar a théarma oifige. Táim ag súil go mór leis an téarma sin agus a bheith ag obair leis, go háirithe maidir le cúrsaí na nGael sna Sé Chontae, ábhar dár ndóigh a bhfuil sárthuiscint aige fá dtaobh de. I congratulate Silverbridge Gaelic Football Club and County Armagh's Jarlath Burns on his election as the president of the …

A rally will take place this Saturday in Dublin, with participants meeting at 1.30 p.m. in Parnell Square under the banner "Ireland for All". It is the coming together of a range of political parties, NGOs, civil society groups and a plethora of community and voluntary organisations from right across our Thirty-two Counties. At the heart of that coming together is a celebration of the richness of our diversity, including our cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity, as a great positive and strength for all of us i…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus roimh an mBille atá os ár gcomhair inniu. I thank the proposers of today's Bill to amend the 2018 Act. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Over recent years, my colleague in the Dáil, Deputy Martin Kenny, who is Sinn Féin's justice spokesperson, as well as other elected representatives in the Oireachtas have raised issues relating to improving the quality of justice for anyone appearing before the courts, particularly women and children who experience domestic violen…

That is right.

Beidh mé gasta. Níl agam ach ábhar amháin inniu. The Irish Commemorative Stone, also known as the Black Rock, is a monument in Pointe-Saint-Charles in Quebec. It marks the mass grave of 6,000 Irish emigrants who fled an Gorta Mór and died of typhoid and other diseases. The stone was erected on 1 December 1859 and it was the first monument in North America to the victims of the great hunger. Each year, the community in Montreal remembers those who died and the aid offered to those who were fleeing hunger in Ireland,…

Ar dtús cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus fáiltím roimh an deis cúpla focal a rá ar na ráitis thar a bheith tábhachtach seo. The Minister is very welcome to the House. Last week, I attended a rally outside the gates of a Leinster House. It coincided with Lá na Féile Bríde and it was in support of the family of Natalie McNally, who was murdered in her home in Lurgan. Ms McNally was the 16th woman to be killed in Ireland last year as a result of domestic violence. She was 32 years old when she was murdered, and she wa…

Ba mhaith liom labhairt faoin mbreithiúnas a tháinig amach ón gCúirt Uachtarach i Londain inniu. I welcome today's UK Supreme Court judgment, which unanimously rejected the appeal that had argued the Northern Ireland protocol was in breach of both the law and the Good Friday Agreement. We know clearly from the judgments of the high court, the court of appeal and now the UK Supreme Court that that is not the case. There is clear evidence of a political stance against the protocol rather than a legal one. With the in…