I have great concerns about the health committee's recent pre-legislative scrutiny report on the health (assisted human reproduction) (amendment) Bill. This report is not based on a general scheme but on the policy paper from the Department of Health. The committee admits this is not best practice. Why are we bypassing legislative norms for a matter as ethically complex and legally fraught as surrogacy? The committee invited only two stakeholder groups to make submissions, both of which are advocates for surrogacy.…

Is the discussion on the Bill itself?

I support the intent behind this Bill and I will speak plainly about why it matters, not just in legal terms, but in human ones. I welcome the decision to replace the term "child pornography" with "child sexual abuse material". This is not a cosmetic change; it is a moral correction. These are not images; they are evidence of crimes. They are not pornography; they are abuse. As such the language we use must reflect that truth. Survivors deserve legislation that names the harm as what it is. Words alone are not enou…

I add my voice to those who offered their sympathies on the death of Sr. Stan. I also congratulate our new President, Catherine Connolly. I wish to express serious concern about the European Commission's LGBTQ+ equality strategy for the period 2026 to 2030. This is not a strategy rooted in balance or democratic consensus; it is a document driven by ideology rather than evidence. It demands scrutiny. Let us be clear. The five main umbrella organisations consulted by the Commission are all recipients of EU operating …

This subject might be of interest to the children. There might be some unaccompanied minors from Ukraine here this morning. We are now over three years into the largest displacement crisis Europe has seen since the Second World War. Ireland, rightly so, opened its doors, but opening doors is not the same as ensuring safety. Safety begins with knowing who is in our care. How many unaccompanied minors from Ukraine have been taken into the care of Tusla since March 2022? How many of them are currently in aftercare? Th…

I thank the Minister. Unfortunately, none of my questions were answered but the most shocking line of that contribution is that 777 children are under the care of Tusla and 432 Ukrainian children have aged out. They are no longer in the care of or accommodated by the agency. It is only supporting five young people over the age of 18 today. That is absolutely shocking. I know one young man who, on the day he turned 18, was picked up by a taxi outside his accommodation and was brought to a hotel room with three other…

I will address the presidential election and the growing campaign calling for people to spoil their votes. Some have said that spoiling your vote subverts our democracy. I ask such people to look around the Houses they find themselves in today and to look at the portraits on these walls. Was it a subversion of democracy when 73 Irish MPs refused their seats in the British-approved Parliament to become the first Dáil? Was it a subversion of democracy for Parnell to obstruct proceedings at Westminster or when Daniel …

I rise with a heavy heart to address two tragedies that have taken place in our nation over the past week. A young man fled war in Ukraine and, within four days, was murdered with unspeakable brutality in Ireland. A girl ran away from a Tusla centre and is, allegedly, raped. What do these two tragedies have in common? They were entirely preventable. They highlight two areas in which our nation has failed totally, utterly and objectively: migration and child safety. What is utterly condemning is that this Government…

We wish to share time and I would like to speak first.

I rise today in support of this motion not because I agree with the proposers on everything - far from it - but because on this issue they are right. Budget 2026 has failed Irish families. It has failed mothers and fathers who are working every hour they can just to afford the privilege of placing their children in the care they need so that they can work in the first place. It has failed our children, who deserve nurturing and support, not waiting lists. It has failed to deliver on the promise made by the Governme…

Could we speak, a Chathaoirligh? There are only two of us.

Would the Taoiseach mind if we take a minute? There are only two of us left in the Opposition who have not spoken.

I move amendment No. 8: 8. In page 7, after line 32, to insert the following: “Serious harm threshold for natural persons 7. (1) The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 12: “12A. A statement concerning a natural person shall not be considered defamatory unless its publication has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to the reputation of that person.”. (2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to causes of action accruing on or after the date of…

Before I begin my speech today, I would like to first send my congratulations to President Trump for the successful ceasefire in Gaza and this week's peace summit in Egypt. There is a long way to go in this peace process, but I hope everyone will join me in expressing our support for its success and for bringing an end to the horrendous suffering caused by this war. I wish to call for a discussion on what appears to be a concerning footprint of the Muslim Brotherhood in our nation and, even more worrying, the failu…

I rise today to speak on a matter of grave urgency and moral clarity. I refer to the modern persecution of Christians, in particular in Nigeria, which has reached levels that many experts now describe as genocidal. According to the World Watch List 2024, more than 365 million Christians worldwide faced high levels of persecution, and nowhere was this crisis more acute than in Nigeria. In 2023, of the 5,000 Christians who were killed for their faith worldwide, 90% were killed in Nigeria. This year, the situation has…

I speak to my first sole amendment, which is amendment No. 8. This Bill comes to the Chamber with a number of stated purposes, but they are best summarised in plain English as making defamation law fairer and more efficient. This is driven by the fact that there is simply too much defamation litigation in Ireland. I do not believe anyone in government or opposition will contest this. This purpose carries the acknowledgement that defamation law, as it is in Ireland, is not really fair or efficient and this is to be …

Sorry; they were my words.

Shame on him.

I am very disappointed in Senator Flaherty.

Hear, hear.