Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Senator on the points he has just made. I would add that in terms of being a civilised House and how we treat each other, there will be people watching who will not be here to advocate for themselves. When we talk about not having any personalised attacks, therefore, Senators need to be very aware that people watching will be greatly affected by the comments that are made. When we make contributions, we should always think of those outside of this Chamber and not just insult each other. Our contributions will have a massive impact on those watching proceedings. I watched much of the debate in the Dáil and I know that friends of mine who are familiar with fatal foetal abnormality and other issues had to turn off because they could not watch any more. We need to be able to stand up for them when they are being personally attacked, and not only each other.

I wish to propose an amendment to the motion for the arrangements for the sitting of the House to the effect that, in addition to the change regarding Tuesday's sitting arrangements, the Seanad shall meet at 11 a.m. on Monday, 10 December 2018 and that Standing Orders 29 and 30 shall stand suspended.

We will obviously be taking Second Stage of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018 this afternoon. We need to complete our deliberations on this important legislation for Irish women and return it to the Dáil before the Christmas recess in order to prevent an undue delays. I propose that we take Committee Stage on Monday as well as on Tuesday. There is a pressing need to have this Bill passed in order to allow for services to start in January. However, we also want to ensure that we have a chance to properly debate any concerns we may have regarding its provisions. Monday sittings are not unusual. We had one before the summer in respect of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill due to the Government's desire to see that legislation progressed quickly. Such a move can easily be justified in the context of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018. There is a chance that we could run out of time by the end of next week. I propose, therefore, that we make arrangements now to ensure that the latter does not happen. I propose that there be no Commencement debate on Monday and that the entire day be dedicated to the Committee Stage debate on the Bill, which is of significant public interest. I know the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, is supportive of such a scheduling change because he said so in his briefing yesterday. I hope to get agreement from this House on this but I look forward to the response from the Deputy Leader.