Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Dúirt an Cathaoirleach ina chuid fhocal maidir leis an gCléireach nua-cheaptha gur onóir mhór é an ceapachán seo do chlann Martin Groves agus dó fhéin, ach is onóir mhór dúinne é a leithéid de Martin a bheith ceaptha sa ról mar Chléireach.It is a huge honour for us that Martin Groves has been appointed Clerk of the Seanad. He has been exemplary in his work to date and has been very supportive of every Senator across the board. I congratulate him and look forward to working with him in his new role.

I have called regularly for a debate with the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for the diaspora, Deputy Joe McHugh, which we have not had yet. I concur with many of the sentiments expressed here today. What role is the aforementioned Minister of State playing in this scenario? We need an urgent debate with the Minister of State, within the next seven days if possible, because there are two major international issues looming, one being Brexit and the other the situation in the USA, which is changing daily. We need to know what role the Minister, Minister of State and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are taking in supporting the diaspora across the board but most particularly in Britain and the US. What steps are being taken to look after their rights as Irish citizens? It is a little ironic that Fianna Fáil is now calling for a working group because when it came to supporting votes for the diaspora, it was not so quick to respond. It is important that we would have a good debate with the Minister or Minister of State, which has not happened to date.

The issues being raised with regard to the treatment of people who come from different backgrounds, religions and countries and so forth should lead us to point to the finger at ourselves and ask how we are treating both migrants and those seeking asylum in this country. We still have the absolute scandal of a direct provision system in this country which should be dismantled, and I would certainly welcome a debate on that issue.

On the question of migrants, I have been doing quite a bit of work recently in Galway with people working in the hospitality industry. It is very clear to me from the work I am doing there that we have people in that industry, especially migrants, who are being very seriously abused. A debate on the working conditions in the hospitality industry is overdue. It is very important we have such a debate to ensure we can address abuses of all types, be they contractual or related to working conditions as well as physical, sexual or verbal.

While I have called on the Leader to schedule a number of debates, it is imperative that we have a debate with the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for the diaspora within the next week.