The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice entitled Report on Victim’s Testimony in cases of rape and sexual assault, to be taken at 1 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours and, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, the contribution of the proposer of the motion shall not exceed five minutes, the Chair of the committee being a Member of Dáil Éireann, or another Member of Dáil Éireann in the Chair's stead, may attend and speak to the motion for a period not exceeding 12 minutes, contributions by all other Senators not to exceed eight minutes and the Chair of the committee shall be given not less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 2, statements on the Northern Ireland protocol, to be taken at 3 p.m. and to conclude at 4.30 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed six minutes, all other Senators not to exceed four minutes and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3, Private Members' business, Criminal Justice (Public Order) (Amendment) Bill 2019 – Committee Stage, to be taken at 4.30 p.m. and to adjourn at 5.15 p.m. if not previously concluded; and No. 4, Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2021 – Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, to be taken at 5.30 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate.

We will be speaking about the Northern Ireland protocol later. There is a broader issue on the building of trust between the EU and the UK and all parties on these islands. The Brexit committee, of which the Deputy Leader is Chair, has been doing a lot of work on these issues. It is very clear that we need to have greater co-operation, North-South and east-west, among parliamentarians and diverse elements of civic society. I hope we can have this debate or discussion, particularly in the context of discussions in the shared island unit on how we can build trust, North-South and east-west, between civic groups. There is far less engagement taking place now than there was at the time of the Good Friday Agreement and beforehand. It is important.

February will mark the centenary of the founding of the Civic Guard which became the Garda Síochána. I hope the House will mark the centenary of the Garda and acknowledge the contribution of the force over the past 100 years, in particular, to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives in the service of the State. It is appropriate that we have a debate on the future of policing and look at policing on this island. If we are to move towards a new constitutional arrangement on the island, what will an all-island police force look like? These are the discussions we need to start to have. How will we deal with cyberterrorism, cybersecurity and some of the new threats that society faces? Perhaps as part of our schedule for next year, we can look at events to mark the centenary of the Garda and acknowledge its contribution. We need to have a debate on the future of policing.

It is only fair to comment on the announcement last night. It is unfortunate that we are moving in a particular direction. Much Government policy had been based, correctly, on our vaccination programme. We have had a very successful vaccination programme. The Government needs to stand up for those people who have been trying to do the right thing. We need to ensure we put first the interests of people who are vaccinated and the interests of our health service. It is very clear that people who are unvaccinated are six times more likely to end up in ICU than those who are vaccinated. We need to reward and recognise those people who are doing the right thing. I do not believe it is right that we should be closing late-night facilities, provided the publicans and venues are enforcing the Covid certificate rules on the door. We need to reward and recognise those who are doing the right thing. I know some people are not able to receive the vaccine. We have to recognise and protect them. To those who are unvaccinated and who are being so selfish, the message from the Government has to be that we will stand up for those who are being responsible.

Following on from the previous speaker, we should invite the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, to the House to discuss the decisions taken at Cabinet yesterday. There is a sense of frustration in the country. The Government makes its decision based on best advice but it would be timely to have a debate on yesterday's decisions, the huge success of the vaccination programme and the need to progress the booster roll-out.

I will touch on the issue of rural housing, which has a special place in the hearts of many rural people. I have no doubt that in the Deputy Leader's home county of Mayo, and certainly in Galway, it is part of our history. We can see many old homesteads and famine cottages that are a throwback to how and where we lived. Perhaps it is also evidence of land ownership in this country. When we did get control of our land it was often small parcels of land and small strips of land. Very often, it was scattered in different areas. A family's right to build on its own land is something many rural people hold dear. It provides supports in the community, with sons or daughters living close to parents or grandparents and providing family support.

We are talking about small numbers in many rural areas.

I have a concern that if we left these matters to the Custom House, there would be a total clampdown on rural housing. It is important that we debate this issue in advance of the new guidelines on rural housing. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, is working on those and I understand there will be a period of consultation next year. I call for a debate with the Minister of State on the guidelines and how they are feeding into the national planning framework and how this framework is feeding into the county development plans.

It is important that we allow families to continue to build on their own lands. This brings me to the Flemish decision in the courts, restrictions in relation to the Irish language and the strict environmental conditions that apply to building and high scenic amenity areas. There is a whole array of areas in respect of rural housing. It is an expensive process and there is a large number of refusals and appeals. It is important that we have an input on policy and that we hear from the Minister of State on the consultation that will take place in the coming months.

I thank the Deputy Leader for setting out the Order of Business. I also thank the Cathaoirleach, the Seanad staff and the staff of the Oireachtas for facilitating a very late debate in the Seanad. We will not sit until 1.15 a.m. tomorrow but we did so yesterday to deal with important legislation, the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill. It was a good debate, which there is no point in revisiting now. We move on and we will have other opportunities next week. I acknowledge the staff, the Cathaoirleach and the Senators who were or could be here and engaged in the debate.

Let me put down a marker. We talk about a family-friendly Parliament. I am not here to define what a family is - there are very mixed groupings - but people have family commitments. It is not right or proper that we sit until 1.15 a.m. to deal with legislation when we have a half-day on Tuesdays. The issue is one for discussion on another day in another forum and I will take it up again. Nonetheless, I want to put down a marker. I am always conscious that this is a public forum. Members of the public listen and see us on Oireachtas TV. I use this opportunity to communicate my messaging and I never apologise for that. This is not the way to run a Parliament. We should all take away that message, think about it and use our contacts and energy to focus on how we can reschedule our business in a way that is supportive of people. A number of Members could not be here last night because family members were sick. We need to bear that in mind. I will leave it at that.

I ask for a debate on the mother and baby institutions payment scheme announced by the Government yesterday. There are clearly some anomalies and shortcomings in the scheme. As The Irish Times stated today, there are some notable exclusions as regards eligibility. I do not intend reading out the relevant article. Suffice it to say, it is in that newspaper today and people can read it for themselves.

Yesterday, I raised illegal adoptions and birth registrations, which are very serious issues. We have to find out what happened, who can be held accountable, what institutions were involved and what was the role of the State. We often talk about the role of the church, in the broader sense of the word, but the State had a significant role in all of this. We need a frank discussion of these issues.

On the issue of illegal adoptions and birth registrations, we know the Minister has a report on his desk setting out proposals for the State response to illegal birth registrations, which he commissioned from Professor Conor O’Mahony. We need to see that report. We also need to have a frank discussion and question and answer session in the Seanad, this public arena I talk about and value so much. I ask the Deputy Leader to facilitate this. I know there are many demands but this is critically important for the people involved.

Many Senators will know Samantha Long, the administrator for the Independent Group and assistant to Senator McDowell. She was on the radio last night and also featured on "Six One News". Everyone should have a look at that programme. Ms Long, somebody who works with us and walks the corridors of this House, is telling us her story. Many people want that opportunity. As legislators and politicians, we need to ask some hard questions of the Minister. I acknowledge his commitment to first engaging with the people directly involved, the survivors, which is critically important. The sooner he comes to the House to discuss these two issues, the better. I ask that the Deputy Leader facilitate this.

I thank the Senator for his comments on the staff of the Houses and the late hour everybody worked until last night. I pay tribute to the Senator and also to Samantha Long for articulating her story and also the stories of so many thousands of people who were failed by the State, its institutions and the churches, in the broader sense.