The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re the restoration of Bills to the Order Paper, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, proposed opt-in under Protocol No. 21 to EU Regulation 2017/1954 amending Regulation 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 1, without debate; No. 3, motion re Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2020 - Instruction to Committee – to be taken on the conclusion of No. 2, without debate; No. 4, Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020 – all Stages, to be taken at 12.15 p.m. and to conclude after three hours, by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government, the time allocated to the group spokespersons for the debate on Second Stage shall not exceed eight minutes and all other Senators shall not exceed five minutes, and the Minister should be given not less than eight minutes to reply, with Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken immediately thereafter; No. 5, motion re the earlier signature of the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 4, without debate, a sos of 30 minutes will take place on the conclusion of No. 5; No. 6, the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2020 - all Stages, to be taken at 3.30 p.m. or immediately following the sos, whichever is the later, with the time allocated to the group spokespersons in the debate on Second Stage not to exceed eight minutes and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given not less than eight minutes to reply, with Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken immediately thereafter.

I am happy to support the Order of Business. I welcome the €750 billion recovery fund at EU level to help with the Covid pandemic. It was a mammoth session in terms of meetings between member states that went on for an unscheduled day to show the seriousness and extent of the recovery package being promised. There was a significant win for Ireland in that it is to be calculated on how our country is hit by the pandemic and not on past economic performance. This will result in additional funding and supports for our country. We have all read in recent days that there were divergences of views, but such is the power of the European Union, by the end of it all there was consensus and an ability to agree a deal and to move forward, which is extremely positive.

It is worth highlighting that in order for Ireland to do well post-Covid or even during the recovery period, we need the European Union to do well. It is not just about what Ireland gets back; we are an exporting nation and we export what we manufacture, so it is important for us how well the European Union as a whole recovers. The package represents a really strong prospect that we will recover well but, more importantly, that we will recover quickly.

I also wish to touch on the July stimulus package to be announced later today. Many of the details have been released already and we heard news of it yesterday and this morning. It is extremely positive that the pandemic unemployment payment and the temporary wage subsidy scheme will be extended. This gives assurance and comfort not only to businesses but also to employees who are in a vulnerable position at the moment. It must be worrying to be in a place where are one does not know if one’s job will continue, if one will lose one’s job in the near future and in what position one's family will be in the next number of months. The extension of these two schemes is very important and welcome. While this will cost a great deal of money, it will be worth it. There will also be enhanced restart payments for companies that want to reopen and additional funds to help such companies restart. There was an acknowledgement that while the restart grant was welcome, it fell a little short of what was needed. That scheme will be enhanced in the next while.

I particularly welcome the tax refund scheme. I know business argued for a VAT reduction but it is better for the economy and country to encourage people to get back out spending and to protect consumer confidence. If people get scared and worried, they will stop spending and we will be in bother if that happens. If businesses have footfall and people are coming in the doors of hotels, restaurants and cafés, that will help us to recover more substantially and faster. All in all, the package that will be announced will be positive and broadly welcomed.

There has been some confusion about the green list that was announced. The message remains clear - please do not travel unless it is essential. There is no ban on travel as such. That would not be practical. What we are asking people to do is to staycation and travel within Ireland. We are asking that they do not travel outside Ireland unless it is essential either to care for a family member or for work purposes.

This part of the proceedings in the Seanad is the Order of Business. Senators are at a disadvantage if we come into the House and we do not have a copy of the Order of Business in front of us. I respect the Leader and her office. It is all very well for her to come in here and tell us what she has decided. We are challenged in both Houses in the current political landscape, but particularly in this House of which I am a Member, because we are up against a vast Government block of people. That is the Leader's right and that is democracy. A courageous and ambitious programme for Government has been negotiated and I wish the Government well. However, we on this side of the House are also challenged and we have to challenge. We have to call out and support good government and when it is bad we have to say so. We too have busy schedules and work to do. We also hope to participate, if we are given the chance, in the joint committees and in other areas. Let us not stymie democracy. Let us have new government. The slogan of the previous Government was that it would be a new Government. Let us get it right here. Let us respect one another and show that respect for each other outside this Chamber. Will the Leader agree to provide, before 9 a.m. on the day of all Seanad sittings, a schedule that she proposes to bring to the House in order that we can discuss it among ourselves? That would allow us to amend the schedule if we so wished, which is important. I am happy to discuss with the Leader outside the Chamber how we can continue to work well together.

Yesterday, the cervical cancer campaigner, Ruth Morrissey, was laid to rest, having died on Sunday. She was one of many courageous women. I also think of people like Emma Mhic Mhathúna and Irene Teap. How sad that none of them reached their 40th birthday. Why are women being dragged through the courts? The then Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, gave an undertaking in the Dáil that the court cases would cease and these women would not be dragged through the courts. These courageous, brave and determined women were not going to be set aside. I read the transcripts of statements made in the Dáil at the time by Opposition spokespersons and the then Taoiseach who said that would not happen and that there would be a tribunal of inquiry, as recommended by Mr. Justice Charles Meenan. That inquiry has still not been established. If one read any of the newspapers in the last few days, one’s heart would go out to these brave, courageous women. Let us support them. I ask the Leader to have the relevant Minister come to the House next week to make a statement on how the Government will stand by its promises with regard to CervicalCheck.

Last year over 900,000 passport applications were made to the Irish Passport Office. Over 94,000 of them came from the North and Britain. In one day in 2018 the office received over 10,000 applications. I acknowledge that currently restrictions are being placed on people and we know about the advice regarding international travel, albeit it is confused and calamitous at times. However, as we navigate a way through the current restrictions people will, please God, begin to travel again and it will hopefully become an important part of life and our economy. Even aside from all of that we all know the importance and the significance of a passport as a form of documentation. The Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said that Passport Office staff have been facing unprecedented demand and many of us know the first-class work that the staff there do.

I am calling for positive and practical future planning for better infrastructure for our Passport Office and its service delivery. We currently have an office in Dublin and one in Cork. There is an identified increase coming from the Six Counties, from people of every tradition. Brexit is part of that but it is the natural course of things as well. At the minute 19,617 people have signed an online petition calling for a new passport office to be opened in the North that would service that geographical area, from Gweedore over to Warrenpoint. It makes sense, it is a practical call. It is prudent for the Government to plan ahead for what will no doubt be a continued pattern of increase in applications. As restrictions are lifted we will see a further surge. It makes good sense and would be good practice for the Government to plan ahead, to listen to those very rational, reasonable and logical calls for that new service. Initial research has shown that it would be cost-neutral so it would not put any additional financial burden onto the State. It would also create jobs and improve services for us as elected representatives and for the many people out there in the public who have to engage with the Passport Office should a problem arise.

I welcome the new protocol on the wearing of masks in the Chamber.

I thank the Leader and the Seanad Office for putting down the motion on conclusion of the Order of Business for the restoration of two Bills to the Order Paper. For the information of Members, those are Labour Party Bills which were both introduced and passed by the previous Seanad on Second Stage. The first is the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Naturalisation of Minors Born in Ireland) Bill 2018 which would restore certain citizenship rights to children born in Ireland. It was passed by this House in November 2018 with support from Fianna Fáil and the Green Party and we very much hope that we will see it pass all Stages in the lifetime of this Seanad. As such we are restoring it to the Order Paper so it may go to Committee Stage.

Our second Bill is the Convictions for Certain Sexual Offences (Apology and Exoneration) Bill 2016 which likewise passed Second Stage in the House in February 2017 with unanimous support. The State has issued an apology since then, in 2018, but it has not exonerated or expunged the records of those men who were convicted of the relevant historical offences. I know the expungement is contained in the programme for Government but we wish to assist the Government by bringing forward our legislation again and restoring it to the Order Paper. I thank the Leader for that and hope all parties will support the two Bills.

I wish also to renew a call for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy O'Gorman, to come into this House after the recess but early in the September session, to have a debate with us on disability services. This debate would in particular concern the necessary legislation to be passed in the lifetime of this Government to ensure we are fully compliant with our international obligations on the rights of persons with disabilities. The Justice for Wards of Court organisation has been in contact with me and pointed out a number of different gaps in our current law. These are well-recognised but we want to hear about a timeframe for the passing of such legislation.

I would also like to ask the Minister about residential services and the reopening of day services. In the meantime, I will be submitting questions to the Minister on that matter because I have been inundated by messages from people who are deeply concerned, people with Down's syndrome and others who have real difficulty with accessing residential and day care services.

Finally, I ask the Leader for information on the report by Tom O'Malley SC, the renowned academic who was commissioned in 2018 to carry out a report into necessary reform of our law on sex offences, in response to the Belfast rape trial. The report was due to be published by tomorrow, when the most recent deadline given lapses. On 3 July, The Irish Times announced that the report, which has been delayed a number of times, would be published within two or three weeks, and that deadline lapses tomorrow. We know from Rape Crisis Network Ireland and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre how much of an increase there has been in reports of rape and it is therefore important that this report is published without delay.

It is an honour to address the House in the other House's Chamber. It is comforting to see my fellow Senators, Oireachtas Members and staff wearing their face masks at this crucial stage of the Covid crisis. Nobody needs reminding that this crisis has gripped our country since the middle of March. It has wreaked havoc on our day-to-day lives, shut down schools and businesses, impacted jobs and livelihoods, and sadly, cost many people their lives.

At the beginning of this crisis, the collective community-based approach was very evident and there was a strong sense that we were all in it together. People went out of their way to support one another, and my colleague, Senator Garvey, was filmed by RTÉ delivering groceries and water to people who were cocooning. There was a great sense of pulling together and there are many examples of that from up and down the country.

During the lockdown, many of us saw and noticed things we had not noticed before. People were tending old graves, rejuvenating their gardens or doing some DIY around the house. More people walked and cycled, and many of us got out into nature and observed it with fresh, appreciative eyes. That was something positive that came from the lockdown.

However, despite our best efforts, we have seen an increase in cases over the past number of weeks. Perhaps an element of complacency has set in. We have perhaps relaxed our vigilance, and so the virus still grips us. We need to reignite the community spirit that kept us going so well at the start, that connected us and made us attentive to what we needed to do. At the moment, that includes adhering to the public health advice, heeding the Government's guidance on foreign travel, contacting our GPs if we are feeling unwell, or downloading the Covid tracker app. Quite a few people have downloaded it and the more people have it, the better. We must do it and we must pull together.

We also need to reignite that sense of meitheal that was so prevalent in the early days. For example, we can support our local charities, many of which are without their usual mechanisms for fundraising. We can and should support Irish businesses, and can buy local food, arts and crafts. Most importantly, we should be holidaying at home this year, whether through an excursion along the Wild Atlantic Way, a day trip to the Slieve Bloom mountains, or a trip around one of our many wonderful towns and cities. We need to be that tourist and that local customer, and we need to ask everyone to stay at home this summer. We are all still in this together.