I welcome the students in the Gallery from St. Mary's CBS in Portlaoise. They are very welcome to the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business: "That No. 21 be taken before No. 1."

I want to highlight a wonderful event I attended last Friday in the European Parliament Liaison Office. It was the launch of a report making the case for Irish unity in the EU, which was commissioned by Members of the European Parliament and written by legal experts, Mr. Mark Bassett and Professor Colin Harvey. It is truly a great piece of work. The authors have excelled in the difficult task of making the notoriously technical and dry area of EU law accessible and compelling. I encourage all Members and anyone watching to read the report. To summarise the authors' argument, there is no legal barrier to the EU supporting constitutional change on the island of Ireland. In addition, the authors make a compelling public policy case for the EU to take such a position and assist Ireland in the planning and preparation for potential constitutional change.

Many of the people who live in the North of Ireland have availed of their right to Irish citizenship. This, in turn, makes them EU citizens, and the best way their rights as EU citizens can be vindicated is reunification. The European Council stated in 2017 that should unification occur, the whole island would be in the EU. We all know that the people of Northern Ireland were pulled out of the EU against their will. They have had to endure the political dysfunction and economic impact of that decision ever since. Despite the promising recent developments with the Windsor Framework and the economic benefits it may offer, the best way for people in the North to protect their human rights and grow their economy is to rejoin the European Union. The only plausible path to that is constitutional change on the island.

The EU was an important partner in the Brexit negotiations and close collaboration between EU and Irish officials, on which I commend them, helped protect vital Irish interests. Many issues remain, however, one of which is that Irish diplomacy in the EU should build support for constitutional change on the island of Ireland. This is the best way to resolve the issue of Brexit, protect human rights, drive economic development and heal the wounds of partition.

I also note that the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act is being commenced today, which is warmly welcomed. It is a huge moment that has been a long time coming. There are some flaws in the legislation but it is a huge step forward. Let us seize this momentum to progress swiftly with the reform of the Mental Health Act and the creation of adult safeguarding legislation.

At this juncture, I welcome to the Public Gallery Ms Sharon Bradley, co-ordinator of the Dublin 12 drugs and alcohol task force, who is here with her family. She is the guest of our colleague and friend, Senator Seery-Kearney. I thank Ms Bradley for the tremendous work she is doing in the community. The work the committee is doing is incredible. I thank her very much for being here today.

I ask the Leader to arrange a debate regarding newly-zoned land areas within local authority areas. I have received several representations from councillors regarding people from around the country whose land has been zoned, particularly from Councillor Tom Connolly in County Mayo. The only avenue that is open to those people now is to appeal to An Bord Pleanála. An exemption from the tax liability on the basis of farming activity being carried out on residentially zoned lands is not a provision in the Finance Act 2021 but the purpose of the draft residential zoned land tax map. People have to appeal to An Bord Pleanála in this regard. Many people do not want their land zoned. They want to farm; they have been farming the land for years and they do not want to develop it. I hope the Leader will arrange a debate on this matter in the House because many issues arise. This is impacting on family farms and families who would like the issue addressed. Perhaps this House is the ideal place to have a reasoned debate on the issue.