I thank my colleague Senator Sarah O'Reilly for putting down this amendment. I will speak to the grouping, which addresses a clear and important gap in the Bill as it currently stands. At the outset, I will say that I am not approaching these amendments from a position of hostility to Garda investigations. I fully accept that there will be circumstances where journalistic material is relevant to serious criminal inquiries. These amendments do not seek to block investigations but to ensure that when the State interf…

On a point of order-----

On a point of order, this has nothing to do with the amendments we are discussing. We dealing with amendments Nos. 3, 30 and 31.

I wish to raise concerns brought to my attention today by a constituent regarding the current situation with nursing education in Ireland. She outlined the situation facing her daughter who, like her mother once did, is applying for a general nursing degree. She highlighted a growing sense of frustration among families and within the profession itself. While nursing is formally a four-year honours degree, in reality it functions very much like an apprenticeship. Students spend long days on clinical placements, ofte…

I wish to raise the proposed two-day concert event at Slane Castle and its impact on the residents of Slane village. At the outset, it is important to say that people are broadly supportive of concerts in Slane. These events are an important part of Irish cultural life. However, what is now proposed is not a one-day concert but a two-day event and that brings a very different level of disruption. For local residents, this effectively means four days of significant disruptions from early set-up to the clear-out, wit…

Today, I want to address the issue of the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis that took place last week. I speak not just as a former member, but because the 100th anniversary of the founding of that party should be cause for reflection on the history and development of this nation not just for current and former Fianna Fáil members, but for us all. What struck me most was the distance not just in time, but in purpose, between the party that was founded in 1926 and the party that gathered last weekend. Its original programme was…

I am.

I did not.

Keep going, Joe.

Holy God.

It is great to see them all in the Chamber today.

I want to return to the situation in Stamullen. In response to serious concerns about the quiet purchase of private residential homes for international protection applicants, the Government's position has been that communities must be kept in the dark for the safety and well-being of asylum seekers. That claim deserves scrutiny. It claims that Government secrecy and failure in community engagement is somehow necessary. It is important to clear this community's name. Stamullen is a generous and decent town, as is ev…

I 100% agree with Senator McDowell in relation to this amendment. It is absolutely in order, and it should be allowed. If we need to suspend the House for five or ten minutes to enable people to discuss this and allow the amendment in, that is what we should do. Minorities in this country are already targeted. It has happened to somebody in my family. He was taking a phone call outside a restaurant one day. He happens to be a solicitor as well. He was on the phone and all of a sudden he was surrounded by undercover…

I will address the plight of clinical measurement physiologists, CMPs, who are highly skilled professionals working in cardiology, neurophysiology, respiratory and other diagnostic areas. They play a central role in patient care, yet remain chronically under-recognised. As far back as 2010, the McHugh report highlighted the need for updated workforce structures for professions such as CMP. More than a decade later, those issues remain largely unsolved and the profession continues to operate within frameworks that a…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I welcome the opportunity to raise this Commencement matter, which relates to something that has emerged in recent days. It is deeply troubling and goes to the heart of transparency, housing policy and public trust. The issue today is simple: how many properties has the Department of justice acquired for international protection since 2020? Where are they? How many are in use? How many are sitting vacant and under refurbishment? The way this matter came to light should concern…

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I have to say that it is not really as detailed as I would have liked. In relation to the 37 in-community properties the Department has purchased, nobody knows where they are. Are they currently occupied? Are they unoccupied, like the one in Stamullen at this moment in time that has been left vacant for the past four years? On the three properties that are currently under review for use outside IP accommodation, what is that for? Is that something to do with the Departme…

I raise the handling of a Commencement matter that I submitted on Garda enforcement and charges arising from recent protests. This might seem a small enough procedural point for the Order of Business. I would not usually be inclined to raise it, but the way this has been handled needs to be raised. The difficulty is not simply that the Commencement matter was refused - that happens, and we are all used to it - but how it was refused. The written ruling simply states - it does not go much further than this - that th…

I wish to share time with Senator Joe Conway. We will take six minutes and four minutes respectively.

I am pleased to be speaking on Europe Day today, which is technically not until Saturday, but it is something I am glad we are marking in this Chamber. While I am sure everyone has different opinions on the specifics of what the European Union is doing right or wrong - I certainly have plenty - I think I speak for all when I say that the European project is ultimately a good thing. To bring the nations of our Continent together in co-ordination and co-operation in order to ensure lasting peace, mutual prosperity an…

Stamullen is a town of roughly 4,000 people, where local families are waiting years for housing. Yet, the State now owns residential properties there intended for asylum accommodation, including homes that have sat vacant despite acute local need. This is the situation that residents are grappling with. A well-attended public meeting last night confirmed that a house in the Forgehill estate has been in the ownership of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration since 2022, when our own Minister, Deputy H…