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this this evening. Although I, for one, would much rather we were talking about all the many other issues in the health service, such as the huge inequalities we see, particularly in the primary care system, we are back again talking about CHI this evening. When we look … dysfunction at the top of CHI that that was not communicated to the Minister and the Ministers of State, in particular because of this semi-permanent state of crisis that CHI finds itself in. I very much welcome the moves the Minister made over the weekend. I welcome

recent years. Since 2020, we have increased National Parks and Wildlife Service funding from €28.7 million to €78 million. We have grown the service's team by two thirds, from 349 staff to 577. That represents real investment and, indeed, real ambition. I have spoken about this previously … embedding nature into how we plan, build and manage public services. There is more to do, of course. We must build on the fourth national biodiversity action plan for the period 2023 to 2030. The Minister of State worked on that with me when he was a member

occupied Palestinian territories. As Deputies are aware, in July 2024, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; a case in which Ireland made written and oral … presence and activities of the UN under international organisations and third states in occupied Palestinian territories. We continue to urge Israel to immediately remove its restrictions on aid access and facilitate essential supplies and services into and throughout Gaza. We are seeing long-overdue momentum at European level

throwaway remark. The Minister of State came back to the topic again and reiterated the point. It is clear that he strongly believes that we must only encourage afforestation for export, that land not in service of agriculture can be directed towards this and that somehow this would … policy of the new Government to ignore science, to abandon our legal obligations and to destroy some of our best chances to capture carbon while preserving unique habitats? Has the Minister of State instructed his officials to begin implementing a new forestry plan to include planting on peatlands

commence in early 2026; and for such considerations to be taken into account in further scrutiny of the Bill"." As the Minister for State with responsibility for public procurement, digitalisation and egovernment, I thank Deputy Farrell for giving us the opportunity to discuss public procurement on the floor … this Bill is actually already happening through eForms and I will speak a little bit about that shortly. In addition, there are some legal concerns with the language in the Bill, in particular with definitions and I can elaborate on those. That is why I am asking that

Beneavin site, all of which are under Emeis, but the holding company, which owns multiple legal entity providers, is not accountable to HIQA. That is an area the Minister of State should be concerned about, particularly because the number of these have grown and there are large numbers … fair deal scheme prevented that. As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, this is a procurement issue. We are procuring services from these providers. I understand that millions of euro were going into Beneavin alone every year. Somebody needs to stand over the delivery of that

service. Many of our colleagues today have acknowledged the incredible, painstaking work it has done. Deputy Connolly also commended the Library and Research Service publication that has provided us with a summary of that detailed work. Deputy Malcolm Byrne had two very interesting thoughts. One related … Regarding his comments on commercial rates, and the fact that they are legally established on 200-year-old laws, I fully appreciate where he is coming from. Given my former role as a Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I understand we have

deciding to extend the scope of the service, the Minister must have regard to the extent to which demand by borrowers for credit is being met by regulated financial service providers, the importance to borrowers and the economy of the State of particular types of credit provided … million from next March. The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman is also available to assist borrowers who believe they have been mistreated by a regulated financial service provider. The existing Credit Review office has been operating quite effectively on its current legal basis. It is timely to bring

necessary quality standards. I have presented an example of where that did not happen. There is a line in the directive that member states must endeavour to establish registers of interpreters and translators. This is something that is best practice, which professional linguists and people such as Professor … have accredited, university-level courses for legal interpreters. We need a regulatory body and a register. We need for longer trials to have two competent interpreters. The UK has a new qualifications framework and a contract for spoken language services that was tendered in autumn 2024. We need

massive increase in calls. All of the service organisations say the same. They are people who have made contact, but there are so many people who do not report anything, do not talk to anybody and do not pursue a legal case. One of the reasons is because … every survivor has come out from court and named this as being something that should be changed. In Tasmania, which is an Australian state, they have a total ban where the complainant must give their consent. That is another thing that the Minister is removing with his proposal

taking on will be ring-fenced within the NTMA. It has the governance, expertise and experience required to manage complex financial and legal matters to completion, while avoiding the cost and duplication of maintaining separate structures which are no longer required, given the reduced scale of the remaining … with responsibility for financial services, I know first hand the importance of the funds industry to this country. The funds industry is very much a pillar of the financial services sector of our economy through funds administration, asset management, risk and compliance and legal and financial advisories

appropriate materials, such as bench books. A training working group was established in July 2024, which comprises membership from key Departments, State agencies and legal professional bodies, including the Judicial Council. I will now look at the family courts. The Family Courts Act was enacted by the Oireachtas … Deputy Gogarty's point on providing clearer guidance to parents, improving information and awareness is a key priority under the strategy. The Courts Service has made significant progress through its family law information hub, which provides accessible, plain language guidance to help families better understand the system

getting it. Worse than that, however, is that parents have had to go to court daily to demand that the State implement what it is legally obliged to do. Hundreds of cases - thousands over the years - have happened. The Government then tried to pull a fast … factor of six, seven or more. We have far too many children waiting for an assessment. Children cannot get access to services. What is really appalling and upsetting for parents, who have to battle for services, is that the assessment does not come and they are told they

legally necessary and legally possible and recommended by Government backbenchers on the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. The ceasefire does not negate the ICJ ruling on the occupied territories, neither do statements on difficulties with services. We already have to differentiate on services from the occupied … reality, we need to create that world. We need to create accountability and we need to show that there are consequences for states that commit genocide, so what is the Government doing to fulfil that obligation with regard to Israel

from the Taoiseach. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel's occupation of Palestine is illegal and urged member states "to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal ... [settlements]". That is exactly what … thank the independent Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers. The work it has done on the legal opinion and the drafting of this legislation is first-class. The legal opinion concluded that "we can provide for restricted access to financial services on the basis of public policy grounds that

that then went and wrote it specifically [in his report]. Lied on the stand in court. Stood with my exes legal team despite supposedly being independent. And multiple meetings with my ex and phone calls but I wasn't afforded the same. He dismissed my child when bringing … water is overwhelming. The English and Welsh legal system recently had a sea change in how the family courts were reported on. Pilots were set up that removed the in camera rule and allowed accredited journalists and legal bloggers to report on family law proceedings, subject, of course

from Ireland. They will come from all over. In practice, then, the expectation of how this will work in practice is that police services will request information from IT companies and it will be given over. Where it is not, though, the new body will be given … going unanswered, the officials acknowledged that, “In theory, the regulation is based on the idea of full faith in credit in the member states' legal systems." This means that the entire premise of us adopting this legislation is accepting at face value that the legal system in every

competitiveness funding to include military spending and defence industry support, respectively. This will have the effect of benefiting our most developed member states, which are home to the arms factories where this funding will be funnelled. This is all while small businesses operating outside the military space will … charity. These are our legal and moral obligation to act, and Europe has utterly failed in that legal and moral obligation towards the people of Palestine, instead continuing to be complicit in occupation and genocide. The refusal from this Government to ban services in the occupied territories Bill

development and issuing of innovative new products. The principle of proportionality is embedded within EU financial services legislation. We must ensure that Ireland, therefore, does not fall behind other EU states that are subject to the same rules but that manage to move faster, avoid gold plating … establishment of digital fund structures, also referred to as tokenisation. There is an urgent need for clarity and certainty on the legal basis under which tokenised funds and other digital fund structures can be established and operate in Ireland. If changes are needed, they should be expedited

have been targeted advertisements on social media encouraging people to travel abroad to sit their driving tests. Regardless of whether this is a legal or viable pathway forward, it speaks volumes about the level of frustration people are feeling. We have to be honest. We should … travel considerable distances to avail of a driving test. The backlog needs to be tackled head on. I applaud the Minister of State for saying that he will do just that. We need additional testers, extended testing hours and a properly resourced plan from the RSA to bring

Minister of State with responsibility for migration, I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak this afternoon on what I believe is one of the most important issues facing our country, which is migration. As a Government we need to address this. We need address it with … country. Every day they are contributing right across our economy and our neighbourhoods. We also understand that migration encompasses a range of legal, social, economic and humanitarian challenges. In dealing with that we have to have a firm, fair and effective system. This is imperative to maintaining public

about rostering, and it is not a narrow industrial relations matter. The motion goes to the heart of whether the State is allowing a vital emergency service to operate in a way that is incompatible with the law, that is unfair to workers and that is dangerous … office environment; they are front-line emergency responders and they are work 24-hour shifts because the public needs a 24-hour service. Let us put some facts on the record. A standard 24-hour search and rescue shift includes six crew. Two duty engineers are recorded

services for them is all very well but that is the very minimum we can do. These are people who were injured through the inaction of this State and that has never been acknowledged despite the letter that was written by my party leader, the Minister of State … State. It is not an apology. It is an apology for what they are going through, which states that the Government regrets the position they are in. I understand the restrictions that are there. I have been critical before of the manner in which the State

thank the Minister of State for taking Topical Issues again - two days in a row. I must be following him around. It is appreciated. I wish to raise a matter today, similar to the previous speaker, around the growing concerns for families in Lusk, in my constituency … order to operate safely and legally. They are full-day services so they cannot use just what they have in the tank. It is not that they are early childhood care and education, ECCE, or national childcare scheme, NCS, services. When the water supply is interrupted, they simply

accuracy, effectiveness and legal robustness of that system is essential. I welcome the decision to remove the requirement for a paper motor tax disc. It is a sensible modernisation of a system that has changed very little despite the widespread digitalisation of our public services. Most motorists … also ensure that people who are less comfortable using digital services are not left behind as these changes are implemented. I very much welcome the statutory basis being provided for the Check My Vehicle service. This service gives members of the public access to important information and helps