Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will not be too taxing on the Cathaoirleach this year but, if God spares us, next year we will be putting him to the test.

Mar atá ráite ag an Seanadóir Garvey cheana féin, is cúis cheiliúrtha go bhfuil tús curtha cheana féin le Seachtain na Gaeilge. Mar atá an cás le roinnt imeachtaí eile, is mór an trua go bhfuil na srianta i bhfeidhm agus nach féidir linn í a cheiliúradh ar an dóigh thraidisiúnta agus a dhéanaimid é den chuid is mó den am. Mar atá ráite ag comhghleacaithe cheana féin, má tá Gaeilge nó má ta píosa beag Gaeilge ag duine, ba cheart dó nó di úsáid a bhaint aisti. Má tá duine ag iarraidh an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim, níl le déanamh ach ceist a chur ar na Seanadóirí Garvey nó Clifford Lee, nó orm féin, agus déanfaimid ár ndícheall cuidiú leis an duine sin.

Like Senator Hoey, I extend my solidarity to the members of An Garda who were injured on the streets of Dublin at the weekend and indeed to all front-line workers who face intimidation and bullying tactics by those who have appeared on the streets under the guise of being anti-science, anti-vaccination and anti-mask. Given the limited time afforded to me this morning, I do not want to get into all of the detail of the weekend and indeed into some of the worrying and troubling public remarks that were made about the events on Saturday and who was responsible and behind them. I agree with Senator Hoey that this is a reminder that we all have a responsibility and a role, not least as political leaders. No matter where we are or where we reside in society, we must face down the hard right when it presents itself on the streets, in the European Parliament or elsewhere. This is an important point to remember. I hope it is one that we can collectively agree to return to and, more importantly, to address going forward.

I also want to touch on the poll and the research released by votingrights.ie, indicating that 56% of respondents are in favour of extending voting rights in presidential elections to citizens in the North. There is also a majority in favour of extending such rights to our diaspora. It would be timely, as we approach St. Patrick’s Day when we traditionally engage with our global diaspora, that we would have an opportunity to hear from our diaspora about the Government's plans as we come out of this pandemic and about how we should engage with the diaspora in the changed reality that we face as a result of the pandemic.

To conclude, I am disappointed with the time allocated to the Health (Amendment) Bill 2021 in today’s Order of Business. I have raised these concerns before and I appreciate that the Leader has done her best in trying to allocate and set aside appropriate time. Given the circumstances and nature of this Bill, just two hours and 15 minutes for all Stages does a disservice to this House and to our work as legislators and parliamentarians. Legislation of such importance should not be rushed through in such a tight window.