I welcome the Minister of State and thank the Government for indicating its support for this amendment. There are no amendments to this motion, which is interesting. I heard a number of people around the corridors of Leinster House in recent days say that there was not a hope in hell and that it would not wash with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Senators did not put down any amendments. Not many of them have even spoken about the Bill to date. We still have a little time. I thank the Minister o…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. I thank him for coming to the House to deal with this Commencement matter, which relates to Dundrum town centre, rather than the commercial shopping centre that many people know Dundrum for. I am talking about the fabric, the community and the existing town that is Dundrum. For those who do not know, Dundrum is the second major town centre within the local authority administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown so it is a major town centre zoning, and sometimes peo…

I have a few more years to do here myself.

I thank the Minister of State. In essence, it is obvious to all that this funding needs to come forward. In summary, the strong rationale for this investment has been validated in the community, cultural and civic action plan for Dundrum by the provision, as the Minister of State said already in his response, of €4 million from earlier URDF funding. Basically, there has been a substantial amount of money put into this project and this concept. We need to get it from the concept up. We could not surely turn our back…

There is a pairing arrangement.

I would like to raise the issue of the follow-up inspection report to an earlier report by the Inspector of Prisons on Mountjoy Prison. I wish to acknowledge and appreciate the amazing work done by the chief inspector of our Prison Service, Mark Kelly. I have twice requested that the report be discussed by the House because of its importance. Certain reports are required in legislation to be laid before the Houses. This report was laid before the Oireachtas on 4 February 2026. Within days of that I might have first…

He might want to respond.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and I thank her for a comprehensive report on what is a motion in regard to Data Protection Act 2018 regulations of 2026 for two scoping exercises. It is a highly sensitive area. We talk many times about the lived experience but it takes courage, guts and bravery to pour out your vulnerability regarding the many injustices perpetrated against you. It is important to say that many people were banging on a lot of doors for a long time and were given the cold s…

I raise the proposal from the Government, through the Leader, contained in the Order of Business. We work in a parliamentary democracy and have plenty of time to do our business. We were off last week. We started the other day at 2.30 p.m. We have got to smarten up here - all of us, including those in the Opposition - in regard to how we use our time productively and creatively in a family-friendly Parliament. I have spoken to a number of people who cannot get home to their own families who live in the greater Dubl…

I welcome the Minister of State. I will not reiterate what others have said but I wish to convey to him my disappointment. I am not going to elongate it as he has heard it before. It is something of a disappointment that this Stage of the proceedings is going to be guillotined. Parties and many other groups advocated for the retention of the Seanad but this makes a farce of this House. We are willing, we are ready and we are well-paid public servants who want to engage in a parliamentary process. We are, of course,…

I move amendment No. 24: In page 25, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Report on treatment of refugees and asylum seekers 7. (1) Within 12 months of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall produce a report on the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. (2) The report shall analyse the effects of this Act and include details as to whether immigrants are receiving appropriate legal counselling and are being treated humanly in detention in line with national law, the European Convention on Human…

The Minister is doing well.

In light of what the Minister has said, I propose, with the consent of the House, to withdraw the amendment with the right to reintroduce it on Report Stage.

I move amendment No. 1: That the Seanad do now adjourn until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, 24 March 2026. We are a friendly parliament. We have all committed to the women's caucus and to having a family-friendly parliament. On Wednesday we met here in the middle of the day and it worked very well. People have homes to go to. We do not all live in rural Ireland. People live in the urban spaces here and they have commitments. All I propose is a simple measure that we meet at 1 p.m. as opposed to 2.30 p.m. We are well paid and w…

I welcome the ambassador and Marie Barry, a great colleague and friend of mine in former years It is great to see her here. I did not recognise her. It is particularly great to see her and all our guests, including those from Dublin College Sallynoggin. Previous speakers have spoken about Saint Patrick's Day and what a great festival and great celebration of our culture, our heritage and indeed our enterprise it is. I and other colleagues were over at a showcase in Tesco Ireland for artisan food, meat and other pro…

On a point of clarification, I want to speak to amendment No. 1.

Were amendments Nos. 1 and 2 grouped together?

This is a broader opportunity for Senators to comment briefly on the Bill. I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank the Oireachtas Library and Research Service for its comprehensive paper on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. It is disappointing to note how little of that was taken on board. We can talk about that as we go through the Bill. I do not know what advice the Minister got but there are elements peppered through the Bill that I intend to bring up on various Stages, if the Bill is not guillotine…

I thank Senators Murphy, Duffy and Kennelly for proposing this Bill. It is very simple and only has two sections. We all know we want to tackle and be tough on crime, especially in rural communities, but we have to be practical as well. While I support the essence of this Bill, there are difficulties with it. I do not know what the Minister is going to say. I can guess what he might say but it would not be right for me to do that. What occurs to me is that there are technical legal difficulties with this Bill. We h…

We have a pairing arrangement.