Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Portuguese ambassador to our Chamber. I also join my colleagues in extending my sympathy on the death of former Senator Mary Jackman. I knew her well personally. She engaged with me in respect of her own election to the Seanad. She was a Member of this House for two terms and, of course, spent 30 years as a county councillor in Limerick. Ms Jackman was the first female cathaoirleach, or mayor, of Limerick County Council and she was very proud of that. How things have changed and how we have progressed regarding women's access to politics from the time Ms Jackman was there. She was a person who was committed to the work of the Local Authorities Members Association, LAMA, and the General Council of County Councillors, GCCC, as it was then, prior to the advent of the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG. Ms Jackman toured around the country advocating extensively and strongly for local government and its members, and particularly for women in local politics. I acknowledge her contribution in that regard. To her family, she was, as people said, an absolute lady, and a pleasure to know and an exceptionally warm, stylish and bright person. I will always remember her for those reasons.I wish to extend my condolences to her family and to Fine Gael. She was at the centre of Fine Gael and terribly proud of her connections with it. I thank the Leader's office for arranging the extended time to debate the Birth Information and Tracing Bill. It is important legislation. There will be a number of amendments and I hope we will have a full House. It is among the most important legislation to come before us in the past few months. Very few people have been here to engage with it in the past. I personally have a stake in it and have been down this road. Perhaps I am biased. It is important legislation. I thank the Minister, who is engaging with it in the extended time.

I note the earlier comment about strategic housing developments. The strategic housing development process was a failure on the part of the last Administration. I have sat in here year in, year out, hearing Government Members be rightly critical of it, but it was Government policy. It changed and we have a new policy now, which is about time. Yesterday, yet again, the High Court overturned a major strategic housing development in Monkstown, County Dublin, at a site called Dalguise. Citizens, residents and communities cannot always be wrong, when the High Court is vindicating them and upholding the objections. We need a debate on An Bord Pleanála, its functions and its processes. I want a debate on its processes. I am not calling into question its decisions. Ultimately, the processes will take care of it.

Finally, as I did last week, I yet again call for the senior counsel, Rory Mulcahy's, report on the investigation into corruption in Donegal to be published. It has been sitting on the Minister's desk for five years. It should be published at some point.