That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders—]]>
(1) a Special Committee consisting of five members of Seanad Éireann be appointed, to be joined with a Special Committee to be appointed by Dáil Éireann, to form the Joint Committee on Drugs Use (‘the Joint Committee’); (2) the Joint Committee shall consider the Report of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use (‘the Report’) and shall provide a response to the subject matter of the Report, including a reasoned response to each of the 36 recommendations contained in the Report; (3) the Joint Committee shall report to both Houses of the Oireachtas on the matter before it within seven months of the first public meeting of the Joint Committee; (4) the quorum of the Joint Committee shall be four, at least one of whom shall be a member of Seanad Éireann, and one a member of Dáil Éireann; (5) Members of either House, not being members of the Joint Committee, may attend and take part in proceedings of the Joint Committee, or any sub-Committee thereof, but without having a right to vote or to move motions or amendments, save where they attend, pursuant to Standing Orders, as a substitute for an absent member (or for a substitute not in attendance); (6) the member of Dáil Éireann nominated by the Independent Group in Dáil Éireann to serve on the Joint Committee shall be Chairperson; and
(7) the Joint Committee shall have the powers defined in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (9) and (10) of Standing Order 72.
I would say to Senator Clonan that there is no doubt there is a grave injustice going on. The administration of disability services and supports for families within the HSE is absolutely dreadful. One of the concerns we expressed in this House, perhaps prior to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte's time here, was how would accountability be held when a Minister moved from the Department of Health into the Department of children? Where were we going to find that across Departments? How were we going to call in the Minister for Health when this is under the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth? That is a matter of concern. Perhaps we should be framing it in terms of accountability of the HSE with the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, in this particular area and have statements on that. However, it may well be that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will also need to attend. I am not quite sure how that works, when two Departments are involved. There is an issue where people fall between CHOs. I have come across personalities within different CHOs who exercise their power. It happens in CHO 7 also. It is not unique to CHO 6. The two of them seem to have personalities who are not transparent in the exercise of their authority. We would wholeheartedly endorse having statements.
Senator Cassells spoke about the research. I would dearly love to get my hands on that. The fact is that it is difficult for parents. There is a model and societal pressure on parents to be all things to all people, to never be tired and to never come in the door and wish you could have five minutes and hide under the stairs. I saw a programme recently where someone was hiding in a wardrobe just get away from her family. While we laughed, it resonated to a certain extent, in that sometimes you have to go into the toilet to get a break because of the demands on family life. There is that sense of a bar of perfection that nobody ever reaches. We need normality to be called out. Perhaps we need a debate on parenting supports for parents. I hear that and I completely support that. I will send an email supporting that.
Several Senators paid tribute to our Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, on his extraordinary service to our State and his extraordinary work. He certainly broke glass ceilings for the LGBT community in coming out and in assuming office as Taoiseach of our country as the son of a migrant. He has shown great nobility in his decisions. Whether one agrees with him or not, he has always been clear and transparent in where he stands and he explains why. I always found great comfort when he explained why we could not do something. He brought peace and stability to matters. I was very moved yesterday. His legacy is yet to be written and history will look incredibly kindly at him given his many achievements. He is leaving office when we have full employment, our economy is very strong, our housing and commencements are on the up and we have a satisfaction rating among our people that is extraordinarily high - it is in the nineties percentage-wise. It is an incredible achievement to have all of that. I am grateful for the tributes paid to him and add my voice to them.
]]>The minute I go back to my office I will contact the Minister on the issue of photographic ID. While we are on the subject of mother and baby home redress, it is my memory that on the record of the House the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, when it was raised with him that people were left out of the scheme, said he would review it. I have it written in big bold print on my desk with a view to holding him rigorously to it.
With regard to the drug trials, I know Senator Boyhan is working very hard on this and I hope we will have progress there. I also note there is no progress in the contribution from the religious institutions. It is probably reasonable that we would look for an updated report from the Minister, and perhaps statements on it later in this term to see how has the uptake gone. If there are any issues arising for people making claims, we should get to address them in statements in the House. I urge the House to do that.
Senator Burke, along with Senator Murphy, who gave some very frightening statistics, raised the issue of road safety. It is a disgrace that there were 1,800 speeding offences over the bank holiday weekend. I am glad they are being detected and it clearly shows enforcement by the Garda and a Trojan effort over the weekend but it is shocking. I agree that we need a debate in the House for the purposes of raising the profile of the advocate. When I was 16 years of age, my family got a phone call about a 19-year-old cousin being killed on the roads. It is a long time ago now and he would be a fine man, possibly with grandchildren, by now. Every April on the same day I relive that trauma and I am a mere cousin. For his siblings and his mother it was an horrific thing to experience. I think of them and any family with the experience of going through receiving that news and what it means and how it is for that community. There is no doubt we need to raise its profile here.
Senator Burke also raised the issue of rethinking the VAT rate. This reminded me of Senator Dolan's contribution. We are trying to get people to transition into areas for tourism. Certainly we need to be bringing people into the sector and not seeing places close. Perhaps we need to write from the Seanad to express our view in that regard. I will certainly propose it to the Leader.
Senator Gavan raised the issue of University Hospital Kerry and looked for statements in the House with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. There is no question there is a very strong need for statements. It strikes me that a Commencement matter on University Hospital Kerry could be tabled specifically to get the issues addressed. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, needs to come to the House on the matter.
Senator Dolan raised the fact that an information morning and webinar is going on to send out information on regenerative tourism and accommodation. Getting the information out is very important and I commend Senator Dolan for amplifying the message.There is tremendous opportunity now. The idea that there are no bed nights in Roscommon-----
]]>Do I infer Senator Craughwell's support for the patents Bill? It is very important and I appreciate it. The language might already be published.
Senator McGreehan raised the waiver of the development levy, which was also raised by Senator Casey. There is no question but that it has been a massive step forward in increasing the number of commencements. The extension was raised by my colleagues in the parliamentary party last night. I note it will be 24 April and we are back the week before that. Perhaps Senators could table many Commencement matters on it and act on it. There is no question that it needs to be raised.
Senator McGreehan also raised the disproportionate impact that VAT has on Border counties. I read the reports last weekend and the idea that suddenly the bottom can drop out of their business must be quite frightening for those living and earning their living along the Border. Certainly I am mindful of it. The deadline is Monday week and it is incumbent on all of us to consider this issue. I will ask the Leader to write on behalf of the Seanad to make this point.
Senator Keogan raised the issue of puberty blockers. I concur with her insofar as body dysmorphia is real and we need evidence-based treatment. From this perspective I completely agree.
With regard to mother and baby homes, there will be a disproportionate effect for older people who perhaps do not have any photographic ID. I am very happy to make representation directly to the Minister today on this. Senator Boyhan raised the extension of the mother and baby home payment scheme and I will address that in a moment. I am supporting a number of women who have been making applications since yesterday. It has not yet come up for me but I very much take on board that it has been experienced.
]]>The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the orders of reference of the joint committee on drugs use, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Agreement on a Unified Patent Court) Bill 2024 – Second Stage, to be taken at 12.15 p.m. and to adjourn at 1.30 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening contribution of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes, time may be shared, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 93, motion regarding the statement for the information of voters in relation to the Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Agreement on a Unified Patent Court) Bill 2024, to be discussed in conjunction with the Second Stage debate but not to be taken until the Report and Final Stages of the Bill have been concluded; and No. 3, Road Traffic Bill 2024 – Second Stage, to be taken at 2 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening contribution of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes, time may be shared, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.
]]>Criminal prosecutions were mentioned. Who will be in court? This has been a problem in health and safety. It may be the directors of the company but nobody ever goes to jail. It is always a fine. There is not quite the same stick that there would be if it involved the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act and people on the street. Who will go to court? We would all like to think of Mark Zuckerberg being pulled into the Criminal Courts of Justice but that will never happen.
]]>I do not think people know this. I am not sure it falls to Coimisiún na Meán to educate people in this. Its job is to keep people safe from the effect of it and to mitigate, regulate and enforce with regard to the platforms being responsible in how they do it. The fact of what is being done is not spoken about. Whose job is it to do this? I am not abdicating any responsibility as it is the Government's job. The Data Protection Commission can preserve our data but once someone takes out a presence on a platform, they are signing up to a contract that will go on for years. They have no idea what rights they have signed away that are hidden in this. People are drawn in, not knowing what they have engaged in, because they think about the reality, which is great. I have contact with my cousin in Australia and we swap pictures of our children and talk about our lives in the messaging service. We do all of this and we see the uplift of it, without realising that maybe we have the presence of mind not to be bothered. I would much rather sit and have coffee with somebody than this. There are people who are susceptible to being drawn in. I see it with my own child's resistance to me saying "but". They have it. They know YouTubers. They do whatever. We are against the tide. How do we communicate that this is happening? The cultural shift has moved to this friction-free world. We want everything instantly and we will buy into WhatsApp, which had the audacity last week to say "No" to the Minister, Deputy Foley, with regard to age verification. However, it has obligations. The companies will try to avoid regulation where possible and deny what is really going on.
]]>I will begin by showing my appreciation of the fact that, although the commission has only been in place for a year, a large amount has already been accomplished. The commission has been forthright in the media in discussing and explaining matters. I appreciate that. I am optimistic about what lies ahead.
In 2016, Dr. Cathy O’Neil published her book, Weapons of Math Destruction. In that, she flagged the idea that big data would increase inequality and undermine democracy. We also had people like Professor Mary Aiken discussing the cyber effect and publishing a book at the same time. The confluence of both started me thinking about what life was like for our child. Children are open to direct bullying and their presence on a platform in and of itself brings about an opportunity to be bullied. Even if they are not bullied overtly, their self-esteem is attached to how many likes they get and whether a certain group at school liked or did not like something. Behaviour starts being modified to chase the dragon that is the social media presence and the amplification of same. My child is eight years old and she comes home from school talking about YouTubers. I have to sit her down and say that those people are not living in the real world. When the girls at school talk about so and so or we watch YouTube on the big screen in the kitchen – I do that so that I can keep an eye on it, have conversations with her in the same way as my mother would have had with me about TV programmes and try to keep up with the culture – I have to explain that a lot of what she is seeing is not real and is not our everyday lived experience and that her chats with others in school or her own expectations about what life should look like should not be based on that.
There is not the same regulation of content, but children pursue that self-esteem through that lens of what is on platforms.
The next issue relates to the content that is on there, which we talk about that. I have great faith in the coimisiún's regulation, and its reputation relating to the day of the riots has been exemplary. What I have heard of what it did to click into action is brilliant and I commend our guests on their assistance and on getting on to the platforms, reminding them of the issues and reminding them to have manners on the day. A large volume of content was taken down and, for all we saw, a large volume did not get to be seen in the way it could have been. There is this content, and there is the pulling of people into an echo chamber of their own beliefs. I attended a public meeting on referendums last night with one of our councillors. A woman stood up, held up a book that she claimed was the Constitution and pointed out that the Bunreacht is not really the Constitution. We have all been served with that document. That woman absolutely believed what she was saying; she said it in an absolutely authoritative manner. At the same time, I was standing there thinking that arguing with her would be difficult, but what she was saying had come from an echo chamber of communities on platforms that emphasise certain issues. That comes from recommender systems and pulling people into reinforcing their own beliefs.
Those are the two obvious issues, but there is a third one. I cannot but recommended the coimisiún's website, which is brilliant. It sets out what is illegal and what is related to the various legislation and that is all incredibly well done, but there is a third aspect that relates to a cultural shift. We have been lured into a friction-free world whereby if I need to look up something, I can have it straight away. If I go onto different search engines where privacy is respected, it does not happen in the same way. They will not fill in my credit card details or do all these things in the instant world we live in. There is also, however, a business model at the heart of all this that is about capturing our attention and selling it. We are the product that is being sold to advertisers. Are we educating people about that issue in our literature and saying enough? I fully believe children should not have phones under any circumstances. There are heaps of things online that they should not be looking at. They should not be on YouTube. The idea that ten-year-olds are in their rooms unsupervised on these websites is horrific. There is, however, a cultural shift towards instant gratification, a lack of attention, behavioural modification and so on. How are we going to capture that? Switching off the recommender algorithm is one way of undermining that business model, but if that is only for children and we do only that, can we enforce it? Are there workarounds? Alcohol companies that are not allowed to advertise their products containing alcohol are now flooding the sides of rugby pitches with their 0.0 products, so they have got around that. How can we anticipate the workaround? Is enough research being carried out? I am trying to solicit our guests' opinions or where they think there might be gaps still to come, such that we can try to move ahead of that.
]]>In 2019, the Howley Hayes dilapidations report on the Iveagh Markets stated there was urgency because the building was badly damaged. This building was gifted to the people of Dublin by the then Lord Iveagh as a market for the people of Dublin. It has been allowed to just sit there and rot for an incredible length of time when it could be an amazing tourist pull and facility for the local community. It could be an amazing facility. A beautiful building has been left to stand there rotting. In 2019 it was urgent. This is 2024. In contrast, in February 2023 Dublin City Council put out a report that stated the roof could be preserved. In January 2024, it noted there had been a collapse of part of the roof. On a day-to-day basis, when we receive orange weather warnings and so forth, we are just a day away or a storm away from this entire entity collapsing. Nobody has a sense of urgency. All we get are political statements last September and the same one regurgitated in February this year. Meanwhile, the people who are the friends of the Iveagh Markets, such as James Madigan, Noel Fleming and Kim Olin, who are working from day to day in keeping this on the political agenda and protesting outside City Hall, have heartache to see that this beautiful facility is collapsing.
The other issue to note is that in the announcements for the tender, a two-stage tender is up for offer. One stage to prepare access routes and to make it safe for contractors to go in and do the work. Phase 2, with the 18 months, is to put the premises in such a state that it is ready for regular inspection and maintenance. At the end of the €9 million expenditure - which I note is significantly short of the €12 million estimated cost in the Dublin City Council report, so I wonder where the €3 million is coming from - at the end of that, we still will not have a facility to which the community has access, to which the people of Dublin and of the Liberties in particular have access. There is therefore a false building-up of optimism here indicating that this is only a few months or years away. It is not. That is a fact. I have asked for a schedule of works, what are the next steps, what is going on, to try to establish as a matter of fact what the situation is.
]]>My few words today will be to remember that. We must remember that today people's homes will be attacked. Today there is uncertainty. In the wider global decision-making and the situation between the two Houses in the United States of America over providing funding and support for Ukraine, we must remember the whole feeling that the people of Ukraine are standing up to Russia. If they do not, then who is next?
We have already felt the economic impact on our country and on western Europe, including potential shortages of food. The price paid for Russian murder in Ukraine is horrifically high. Are there some things we could do a little bit better? Absolutely, yes, there are but I cannot move away from the fact that this day two years ago, on 15 February, I was on calls and in meetings where people were saying, "No, they won't actually come across the border, they won't actually do it". However, I have sat as people have wept about their loved ones who were killed in Ukraine and about their fine men who are defending their right to democracy and the right of a country to its autonomy and self-determination.It is regrettable that the temporary protection directive had to be extended, as is the fact that our interventions and supports as a country in response to that had to be extended. However, we have to make this decision today because there are people whose lives are at risk on a daily basis in what is a horrific intrusion and attack on the country of Ukraine by Russia. We can never move away from just how appalling and horrific that is.
]]>That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.]]>
I join Senator O'Loughlin in congratulating Professor Michael O'Flaherty on his appointment. It would be interesting at some point to have statements on the role of the Council of Europe. An opportunity for the House to explore that might be a debate that could be considered within the scope of reform of the Seanad. There are mysterious entities about which we do not know all there is to know. A debate would be an opportunity to share an insight with the public.
]]>Senator O'Loughlin spoke about the call by the Taoiseach yesterday, working with the Spanish Government, for a review of the trade agreement between the EU and Israel. She asked that the Commission take note of that call. It is a vital call and a very suitable intervention when innocent civilians are being butchered. We need something done as a matter of urgency.
]]>A Chathaoirligh, do I respond at this stage to say I am not accepting the amendment?
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