Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to keep us apprised of progress in the other House of the omnibus Brexit legislation, as I know he will do. I understand it will come before the Seanad on 11 March. It is legislation that we all hope will not be necessary but which nonetheless is essential as a contingency. I do not think there will be an obstacle to getting it through in a timely fashion, given its urgency, even though we do need to scrutinise properly and so forth. I welcome that there are some positive signs in Britain in the last 24 hours, notably the Labour Party move towards embracing the idea of a second referendum. I hope we will see a stronger momentum towards that end in very early course.

I pay tribute to Ellen Coyne and Katie O'Neill, journalists with The Times, Ireland edition, for their exposé last week of the tactics of an American group who it seems are seeking to recruit Irish people to blockade and obstruct access to clinics and medical services for women seeking abortion in line with legislation here, as women are now entitled to do. It was a very worrying exposé of the deeply intimidatory and aggressive tactics being used by certain groups.In calling for a debate on the need for exclusion zones I want to raise a particular concern about reports that the Mansion House has apparently been used as a venue for a fundraiser for a group associated with some of these American groups. I am really concerned that this is the case and hope we will hear some explanation or receive some clarification on the matter. Will the Leader organise a debate on the need for exclusion zones and how best legislators can respond to the difficulties women with crisis pregnancies may be facing in accessing medical services? This is a critical matter, given how recently the legislation was passed by this House and in the light of the Minister for Health's promise that legislation on exclusion zones would be introduced as a matter of urgency early in the new year. In the Government's legislative programme I see that such legislation is not on the priority list for this session. Will the Leader see what progress can be made in that regard?

I commend our colleague Senator Reilly on the great work he has done to ensure charging points for electric cars have been put in place on the Leinster House campus. This positive environmental move will encourage people to drive electric cars. For many years I have been pressing for decent bicycle parking facilities on the Leinster House campus. I have to say I have met very little enthusiasm and support from those involved in the management of Leinster House, which is really unfortunate. I will be pressing the matter further because Senator Reilly has shown us how it can be done. We need to see adequate bicycle parking facilities being provided. We also need to see shelters over the bicycle parking facilities that are available and properly allocated bicycle spaces. When I cycled in today, as I always do, I saw myriad cars parked on the lawn on the Merrion Square side of Leinster House. It was supposed to be the case that we would not see that happen again.