I have one last observation. Increasingly, we see on our programmes that, no matter what topic is being dealt with, up comes an announcement at the end of the current affairs programme, “If you have been affected by any of the issues in this programme, you can dial the following number or go to the following helpline.” Is this what we are facing into? Should we be expecting broadcasters to say, “If you have been defamed by anything that has just been said on this programme, for which the media does not have any fin…

Ní raibh deis agam go dtí seo gach rath a ghuí ar ár nUachtarán nuathofa, Catherine Connolly. I want to wish, as I know many in this House and elsewhere have done already, our President-elect Catherine Connolly the very best for her tenure as Uachtarán na hÉireann. I have had the pleasure of serving on the Coiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus na nOileán with Catherine. Whatever disagreement I might have from time to time with Catherine on some issues, sometimes very important issues, I have always found her to be …

We could do with some nuanced thinking about the whole question of spoiling one's vote. To be clear, if one can make a clear choice between candidates and express a clear preference, it is entirely reasonable to express that. If on the other hand you are unhappy that you have been left with a bad choice and if your feeling of indignation is so strong that you choose, American style, to write in the name of somebody you would like to see on the ballot paper, that is a reasonable thing to do, too. The voter is sovere…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus cuirim fáilte ar ais roimh an Aire. On the last occasion, I had just begun to speak when we had to report progress. I expressed my wonderment at how this section had got through the Dáil, considering how far-reaching it is in how it changes the situation with regard to the protection of people and their right to a good name and reputation. Both the Minister and Senator McDowell beside me are senior counsel and they know a lot more about defamation than I do. I …

It would not make him unique.

I have some sympathy there and Senator Ruane has raised some very interesting points on the right to recover a reputation. It reminds me of that idea of the right to be forgotten as well. Some of us have been reflecting on that in recent days with the question of whether a person who had a conviction for firearms could be employed in the precincts of the Oireachtas. I remember thinking that they should certainly have to go through the scanner for a few years anyway but there should certainly be a focus on allowing …

Can we have a definition of "jinks", please?

I am afraid I will be one more voice contributing to the rumour of the Minister's fallibility on this. Senator McDowell offered an answer to a question I had in my mind when I read this section, this dramatic proposed change to the law, which was, "How did this section survive? How did it escape the scrutiny of the Dáil?" I felt the same about this section as I did about the ill-fated so-called hate speech legislation last year in that here, it seems to me, is legislation that fails to understand and respect the ne…

I report progress.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I was thinking of Percy French because the debate got off to a rather slow start. I was wondering whether we would get there before the night. As I was listening to the Minister of State the thought occurred to me that if the review recommendations were to be implemented, the rail network would increase from 2,300 km to 3,000 km, which would be commendable. However, I was wondering how many kilometres of rail there were at the time of the West Clare Railway. We have a long way to …

Cassady is a good Irish name. Come west.

I spoke yesterday about my concern about the religious orders' interactions with the State and the need for them to be very careful about being bullied by the State in the context of future redress arrangements concerning not abuse in schools, which is a very separate thing, but what happened in mother and baby homes. I do not suggest that there is not a case in some cases for redress but I am very troubled. I read this morning an excellent article by John McGuirk on Gript about the Tuam babies and the whole cultur…

They must not be planning on travelling in the coming days.

Think of all the money you are saving on hotels in Dublin.

I welcome the Minister. I welcome the inquiry and wish the judge well. I hope the process will contribute to the processing of pain from past injustices by survivors and to their getting the justice they deserve. I am glad this commission has a broad remit to include all schools. I understand the scoping inquiry grew out of the brave testimony by the Ryan brothers and so on, but it was harmful that the State and original scoping inquiry confined itself to religious-run schools. We have to move beyond the black-and-…

Last week, I spoke about the ridiculous report of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, and how it wants us to rerun our care referendum on mothers in the home. That committee was not satisfied with the overwhelming rejection by the Irish people of tired modernist thinking and thinks we should try again. I now draw attention to that same committee's commentary on abortion in the Republic of Ireland. The advice it provided predated by days the release by the Depart…

We learned in recent days that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, has recommended that we rerun the referendum on Article 41.2 of the Constitution that relates to women in the home. In our Constitution, the State recognises that woman, by her life within the home, gives the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved and the State pledges to endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be forced by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of t…

I welcome the announcement by the Government about the establishment of a commission of inquiry into allegations of historical sexual abuse in Irish schools. In particular, I welcome that this is going to focus on all day and boarding schools. I was particularly concerned about the narrowness of the remit given to the previous scoping inquiry. In focusing on all day and boarding schools run by religious orders or employing members of religious orders, there has been a danger because of the context in this country o…

I support what Senator O'Reilly just said. The Government has said it is required to implement the European framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia. If it had implemented that alone – no more and no less – we would not have had the controversies we had over the legislation last year. We will test the Government on the extent to which it simply implements the European framework decision in what it may propose in the future. If it is to go much further, as it did last year, it can expect similarly stron…

I join the expressions of sympathy to the family of the late Carmencita Hederman. Like Senator O'Loughlin I remember her well. She was ubiquitous during the Dublin millennium year of 1988 and was a colourful, articulate presence on the media scene. People noticed her, heard her and talked about her. We recall her distinctive contribution to Irish political life and send our sincere sympathies to her loved ones. According to the Irish Examiner last month, there are vape shops selling psychoactive substances across t…