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deciding to exclude services from the content of the Bill before us today. This is despite the original draft presented by Senator Francis Black. This is despite the very detailed recommendations of the joint Oireachtas committee. This is despite the legal view of many legal experts … despite the very clear legal opinion from the International Court of Justice from July 2024. Let us recall that decision. Let us recall what the International Court of Justice held was a state's obligations. It said all states are under an obligation "to abstain from entering into

came in mentioned the lack of plurality in the media in Ireland and said the fact that RTÉ was a public service meant that there was not enough plurality. He was not talking about the lack of working-class voices in the media, the lack of women … ability to challenge power, to challenge corruption, to challenge institutions, to challenge states and to challenge the Government. These are real life impacts if there is no budget and no legal power in a public service broadcaster to withstand libel threats. Without the resources of RTÉ, creators will

excluding services is. He said we have a narrow legal pathway identified by the ICJ and the Attorney General. However, the ICJ makes no distinction between trade in goods and trade in services. It says that states are under an obligation to abstain from entering into economic … Ditch, and which Deputy O'Gorman has referred to, says there has been no reference to an issue around services in his very detailed legal advice. People can check that for themselves. Not including services seems to me to be a policy choice. The Tánaiste has said

commercial service. That means the roll-out of publicly funded and delivered childcare services, better pay and conditions for early educators, who should be paid directly by the State, and a guaranteed legal right to affordable, accessible and universal early education for every child

into the handling by schools, religious orders, State bodies and law enforcement of allegations, is both welcome and essential. So, too, is the appointment of Mr. Justice Michael MacGrath as chair of the commission. His legal experience, including his service in the High Court and the Court … authorities and the State? The inquiry will not only look into what happened, but how it was handled or, indeed, mishandled. That includes failures to report abuse, the shielding of abusers, the moving of individuals between schools and dioceses and the use of legal processes to silence

goods and services. They were clear that the legal advice received by the departmental officials was to the effect that the ICJ was referring to trade in goods and services. As such, if Ireland passes a Bill that excludes services, we will not meet the requirements … give me a convincing argument on that point. I believe that by proposing a Bill that omits services, the Government is setting it up to fail a legal challenge. This weakness can be solved by including services in the Government's Bill

waste in this country, I want to see the State take control of this vital public service. Ultimately, I see this legislation as a stepping stone towards local authorities providing this public service. For a variety of legal and practical reasons, however, we believe our Bill … believe the game-changer now is the 2014 EU concessions directive, which allows for tendering by a state, or an agency of the state, for services of general economic interest or general public interest, of which we believe waste is one. As we all know, waste management

involved in the implementation of the Act, such as the Decision Support Service, Legal Aid Board and National Advocacy Service in order to achieve that goal. I am calling on the Minister of State to commit to providing further resources to the public bodies involved in implementing

person's gender for legal purposes, and recording sex within the State's system of civil registration. This Bill risks bringing those distinct questions together without adequately resolving the consequences. The implications of the Bill also extend across legislation and public services. The Bill would propose to amend … insignificant or purely technical amendment. So much existing legislation and service delivery and so many Government systems operate on the basis of two gender categories. The introduction of an additional legal category, therefore, requires us to examine carefully how it interacts with existing legislation and with the systems

with the Mental Health Commission, as the regulator of mental health services, and the HSE, as the main provider of mental health services in the State. I thank the Mental Health Commission for all its support. The Department consulted widely with other stakeholders and professional representative groups such … Reform and its various member organisations, other Departments and State agencies such as An Garda Síochána. I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the people with lived experience of mental health services - those living the experience and their loved ones - for taking

commissioned, completed, analysed and then incorporated within a proposal for a unitary state within 18 months. All analysis and proposals about the economy, education systems, health services, public service pay, the replacement of sterling, legal systems, policing, legacy, culture, identity and constitutional structures must be completed

being asked to go without. Acting upon that pain, those parents became legal experts. They have had to take on therapeutic practices themselves just to provide the service to their children that the State is failing to give. We have talked about it in a number of different

parents struggling daily to cope without the services they so badly need. Can he outline how this appalling state of affairs can be ended and the waiting list backlog cleared quickly? I remind him that there is a legal obligation on him to do so and plans should … assessments will not simply move the bottleneck further along, and that an adequate number of school places for children with special needs, suitable services and supports required by them will be available when they have had their assessment of need

children on warm words. While Governments make announcements, children are waiting. While Ministers make promises, parents are fighting for assessments. While the State is legally required to provide an assessment of need within six months, the HSE said earlier this year that 21,782 children were overdue … aspiration but an enforceable legal obligation. It must not be restarted because an assessment moves from one stage to another. It must not be extended indefinitely because the State has failed to provide the staff and expertise needed to deliver the service. The proposed legislation introduces a significant

raised this matter with the representatives. They said they had taken legal advice via the Chief State Solicitor's Office and the Office of the Attorney General and it was unequivocal that ECCE services are rateable and are inherently operating for profit. This means that all ECCE services

overall aim of this regulation is to create a predictable and legally binding framework for digital identities that will enable citizens, residents and business to securely access public and private services across member states. The regulation requires each member state to develop and provide at least one European

have put in place, particularly our efforts with regard to a two-state solution and the work we will be doing in the forthcoming UN high-level conference on implementing the two-state solution in New York this June. We are very hopeful and will be using this … that previous calls to permit the Central Bank to disregard EU financial services legislation would not be consistent with EU law, would undermine our obligations as an EU member state and would be open to legal challenge. In addition, an action such as this is not consistent with

advisory opinion for member states to seek to move ahead unilaterally, for want of a better phrase. We have not yet been able to identify the narrow pathway on services. That is the truth. It is not a policy position; it is a legal position. However

selling them, it is facilitating these Israeli war bonds. We can have an argument about the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, the legal service available to us, which seems to have the best of legal minds. It is intent on ensuring that the Minister does not do anything … this is not a State that is too worried about infringement actions or legal challenges being taken. In general, the State has faced up to legal challenges, sometimes when it should not have, when ordinary people tried to ensure that their rights were fulfilled. The Palestinian people

accommodation system, public services and administrative capacity. Throughout that period, public servants across multiple Departments, State agencies and local authorities worked intensively to ensure vulnerable individuals, families and children were provided with accommodation and support in accordance with the State’s legal obligations. Their efforts ensured that Ireland … sustainable and better planned model of accommodation provision. For that reason, significant investment has been made in expanding State-owned capacity through the acquisition of Citywest, the refurbishment of State-owned properties and the development of modular accommodation projects. Alongside this, stronger oversight of revised rate card models

away all of the legislative jargon and the Government's spin surrounding this Bill, one question remains: is it going to get additional services for the children who need it? That is not just a concern that has been expressed on these benches. Even some of the Government … waiting more than three months beyond the legal deadline. Those are children whose development is being delayed. Families are living in uncertainty. Parents are forced to fight the State for years to get the services that they are entitled to receive. The crisis cannot be resolved through administrative

engagement the child and his family had with all relevant State services, including health, social, and educational services. The national review panel has an independent chair and operates with full independence, including its own legal advice, to ensure its findings are objective and factual. Tusla has also initiated

would love to have that money available to deal with other issues that have been identified by Deputy Carthy, such as criminal legal aid, civil legal aid and the criminal injuries compensation tribunal, CICT. In terms of the objective and as I said yesterday, the real driver … clear saving in providing State accommodation as opposed to providing accommodation in the private sector. I note what Deputy Carthy said about criminal legal aid and civil legal aid. I am in negotiations with the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation with respect

special areas of conservation and 36 natural heritage areas, addressing legal action against the State and protecting peatland sites of unique ecological value for future generations. Through this scheme, the National Parks and Wildlife Service has demonstrated that significant ecological restoration is possible through fair and sustainable community

Bill is to prohibit the importation of goods into the State from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, in line with the programme for Government commitment. Legally, the regulation of external trade in services is considerably more complex than is the case with goods at EU level