Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank my women colleagues in this and the other House who attended the Seanad Chamber earlier today at 1.30 p.m. for an event to mark the 95th anniversary of the 1918 general election, the election in which women first had the right to vote and Constance Markievicz was elected as the first woman MP-TD. We had a great turnout, with the Chamber half full of elected women. An official photograph of the event was taken which I hope will be displayed on the walls of Leinster House, just like the photograph to mark the 90th anniversary of the 1918 general election. I thank staff in the Houses of the Oireachtas, particularly the communications unit, the Captain of the Guard and the ushers, who helped to make the event so successful.

I support Senator Thomas Byrne on the Constitutional Convention. It would be good for the House to debate the individual reports the convention has already published. The recent debate with the convention’s chairman, Mr. Tom Arnold, was excellent because it provided for us, as legislators, an overview of the entire work the convention had done to date. I would also like a follow-up debate at the conclusion of the convention’s business.

I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality’s referral of the issue of the nullification of penalty points to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, which is the appropriate forum to deal with the issue. It was always the place for the investigation that needs to be carried out into the serious allegations made. Many Members, including me, expressed some concerns about the appropriateness of the Committee of Public Accounts carrying out such an investigation, an investigation that is clearly required to uncover the scale of the nullifications. The Garda Commissioner’s language at last week’s committee hearing was unfortunate, but he did raise some issues of concern. It is welcome to see the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission taking on a role in this regard.

I am also glad that the Minister will seek to amend the Garda Síochána Act to ensure serving gardaí will have a clear forum in order that whistleblowers can be protected, as there is a flaw and a gap in the legislation to date. I look forward to that debate.

The Louise O’Keeffe judgment handed down by the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR, today is welcome. One consequence of the Supreme Court's judgment is that it placed a heavy burden on voluntary boards of management of primary schools. I know there will be consequences from the ECHR judgment which is a lengthy document and which I have not read fully yet. However, I hope we will debate it, as well as how best the State can protect pupils who are, unfortunately, victims of sexual abuse in schools. We need to look further at the repercussions of the judgment for the State and survivors of abuse.