The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding referral to joint committee of proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of the proposal for regulations and a directive of the European Parliament and Council on international protection, asylum and migration, to be taken without debate on the conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, statements on the cost of doing business, to be taken at 1.15 p.m. and to conclude at 2.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening contribution of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and time can be shared, and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3, motion regarding Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023, instruction to committee, to be taken without debate at 3 p.m.; No. 4, Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken on the conclusion of No. 3 and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 5.15 p.m. by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by Government; and No. 141, motion 2, Private Members' business, regarding applications for school places, to be taken at 5.30 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.

Go raibh maith agat, Leader. I welcome to the Public Gallery the students from Divine Word National School in Rathfarnham and the Henrietta Street group. I met the students from divine school in Rathfarnham in the corridor. I thank them for being here and hope that, as part of their visit, they get homework off tonight to celebrate being in Leinster House.

I welcome also guests of Senator Malcolm Byrne: Reuben Murray from University College Cork, who is interning in Leinster House, and Eimear Lawlor, who is in transition year from St. Mary's College, Arklow.

I raise the proposed changes to the parental leave age limit in the Civil Service. This has come to me from a former colleague in Louth County Council, Maria Doyle. Her words are much better than mine. It is somewhat complex and I want to put this on the record because I do not think the memo and the proposed changes are particularly fair.

Prior to the attached memo, parental leave was available unpaid for up to 26 weeks, which must be taken before the child is 12 years old, or 16 years old in the case of children with disabilities or indeed a long-term illness. This has now been changed for all children up to the age of 16. In the grand scheme of things, that seems like a good thing. However, from 1 May 2024, child benefit will be paid to anyone who is 18 and still in full-time education, or up to their 19th birthday to anyone who has a disability, so there is a discrepancy there straight away.

Would it not be more reasonable to extend the timeframe for children with a disability or long-term illness to allow their parents avail of parental leave up to 18 years of age or at least while they are in full-time education? It would cost the exact same money to the State. It would not entitle the parent to any additional weeks but would allow them to spread out the weeks, which is the important thing, and to avail of them while their child is still in school or further education. Children with a disability or long-term illness may well need parental support when it comes to exam time and this would allow them to remain in full-time education for longer at no additional cost to the State. On one level, we are doing something for children up to 18 and, on another level, we are doing something for children with a disability up to 16. I suggest that should be spread out to include children up to 18 in both situations or who are in full-time education. It does not incur any additional cost to the State. It is just about changing the system to make it more efficient.

The memo that was sent out about changes to the parental leave age limit is an example of an idea that was good on paper but which, when it is put in to practice, has gaps in it and a bit of space where this House, politicians or the Minister need to step in and tweak it to make it fair for everybody. I would like us to do something about that and would appreciate a debate around all aspects of parental leave and making it fair for everybody.

It is a new day, we have a new Taoiseach and a new task force has been announced for Dublin's inner city. I welcome the Taoiseach's interest in the inner city and any support and resource he can bring to making it safer and more livable for all. I welcome his call for recommendations and suggestions but do not really believe we need any more recommendations or suggestions for the inner city. It is simple. Talking to residents, schools, businesses and visitors, it is clear they want it to be cleaner, safer and more livable. To achieve that, we need dedicated community gardaí working on a small-area basis, going into businesses and schools, talking to residents and knowing who lives in, works in and visits the area.

We need Dublin City Council to step up the plate in terms of cleaning the streets, removing rubbish and tackling dereliction. The council needs to accelerate the regeneration projects funded for our beautiful Victorian fruit and vegetable market in Mary's Lane, the city library in Parnell Square, the national monument on Moore Street and the regeneration of the flats on the west side of Dominick Street, on Dorset Street and on Constitution Hill. We need a combined effort. We do not need a PowerPoint presentation or press release. We certainly do not need another press event. We need direct action and resources for the organisations tasked with making our inner city more livable and safer for all.

I commend SIPTU on its press release today containing details of its survey of the experience of safety on public transport. The Leader will know that, prior to the previous general election in 2020, our party, Fianna Fáil, campaigned for dedicated gardaí on public transport. Unfortunately, it did not make it into the programme for Government but we have not given up.

The Leader will be aware that two years ago, we conducted a survey of the public with more than 1,300 respondents, with people telling us very clearly they do not feel safe. SIPTU today is confirming the Fianna Fáil findings that people do not feel safe on public transportation. If we want people to use public transportation, we need to make it reliable and affordable but, most importantly, we need to make it safe. I call on the Minister for Justice to engage immediately with the Garda Commissioner to deploy gardaí on public transportation. We have been campaigning for this for years. The demand is there not just from public transport service users but also from those who work in public transportation. It needs to be delivered on.

This morning, the national conservatism event in Brussels resumes after a tumultuous attempt to cancel it yesterday. It is deplorable that the mayors of several districts in Brussels cancelled the event, citing concerns over what they pathetically deemed public safety. Today, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the Hungarian President, Viktor Orbán, are expected to speak. Is being the head of a democratic European nation now a safety concern in the EU’s home city?

Cancel culture is re-emerging as a destructive force that will challenge democracy. If the hate speech Bill becomes law, and it may return as it was published yesterday in the summer legislative programme for this House, we would see similar events occur here at political and public events. I had hoped the Government would listen to the public backlash against the hate speech Bill and other looming legislation the Government is proposing to approve. I was wrong to hope the Government had any care for public opinion on civil liberties or the crucial facets of the democratic process.

My colleague Senator Michael McDowell spoke yesterday on the EU migration pact and rightly pointed out how this House was becoming a rubber stamp for legislation and little more. Poll after poll, village after village, it is clear the Irish people want serious, if not radical, reform of the migration system in this country. The EU migration pact will have a paltry-----

The Senator should conclude. The time is up.

I thought I had three minutes.

I do not control the clock but I will allow the Senator to continue.

The EU migration pact will have a paltry two and a half weeks of debate in this House in the coming week. The public concern is that we are losing control of our borders, our checks and balances and our safety. A set of legislative instruments such as a pact should rightly be a matter for a referendum to the people but we will not get that because we do not have a Government or a leadership with a vision fixed on the electorate. Instead, our Government leaders have their visions set on Europe, on appeasing the unelected bureaucrats in Brussels who offer high commissions and positions of prestige and prosperity far beyond any office in this House. Our Government is full of ruthless careerists and righteous cultists of woke ideology.

The hate speech Bill and the EU migration pact have two main things in common. Both originate in Brussels and both pose an astounding threat to our democracy. If this Government votes through either of these proposals, only the same can be said of it.

The time is up. The Senator should conclude.

The events in Brussels yesterday were an attack on free and peaceful assembly. It is a bad look for a city proud of its role in the European project. If the EU was a proper democratic institution, we would call it hypercritical, but it is not democratic in its law-making. The hate speech Bill and the EU migration pact show us the threat it poses when it does not act on its democratic mandate.