Laura Harmon
Industrial and Commercial Panel · Labour Party · Ireland
“There is not enough room for a wheelchair to go around the side of the building. There is no obvious proper entrance. The reception is upstairs. There is no lift access for anyone with mobility issues, buggies or deliveries. The classrooms are an irregular shape and are not the standard classroom size of 49 sq. m.”
“Her cause of death was recorded as “congenital debilities”. For many of those babies who died at Bessborough, the reason given for their death was congenital debility or marasmus, which was essentially starvation. The reason given for these babies’ deaths was often very vague.”
“I am speaking again about the issue of Bessborough in Cork city and to call once again on the Taoiseach to act on this. There is still time to do the right thing and to have a negotiation process with the developer now or, failing that, to look at compulsory purchase of this site. The burial records have been sealed in relation to this.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her response. Will she call for a meeting in person with the school? Could that be facilitated to give the school an update in person? Does she have an idea as to a commitment on the timeline?”
“Will the Minister of State provide an update on what has been done to progress the request for additional school accommodation for Coláiste Daibhéid in Cork city and a timeline for the project?”
“It reaches high standards academically as well as in sport, STEM and stewardship. It has fantastic students and they deserve better. At present, the school is on the edge of Douglas Street Campus on Sawmill Street. There are two buildings. One is Buckingham House, which dates from the mid-19th century.”
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“I thank the Minister of State for the response and for providing clarity on my questions. It is welcome that the deficit in radiation therapy posts has been reduced from 30% down to 14% to 22%. That is still quite a high deficit, but it is welcome that progress has been made on it. Regarding the 0.5 of a machine inactivity rates in the areas the Minister of State mentioned, is that daily, weekly or annual? I wanted to get clarification in regard to that. It is good to get clarity in regard to the €23 million and that six advanced practice radiotherapists and a number of other clinical positions will be recruited. As I said, I understand there is a link with the Department of further and higher education in this in terms of course places. I will follow up with that Department.”
“I am aware that this is also a higher education issue. It relates to course places and having people to operate these machines and this equipment, and ensuring posts are being created. It is also about ensuring that we are keeping our graduates in Ireland once they finish their courses, and that they have clear career pathways. I know this issue is costing the State. We recently saw in The Irish Times that private outsourcing of radiotherapy services cost €23 million last year. This week, it was welcome to see the HSE capital investment plan for 2025, which provides for €12.13 million for radiation oncology projects under the national cancer control programme. Perhaps I will follow up with the Department on where exactly that is being spent. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I look forward to his reply.”
“One linear accelerator machine has been closed in St. Luke's in Rathgar, Dublin, with a skin cancer machine also closed for 50% of the week. One linear accelerator machine and one CT scanner are closed in St. James's in Dublin. One linear accelerator machine is closed 60% of the time in University Hospital Galway, with one CT scanner being used only 20% of the time in emergency cases. I want to check if there is more information relating to these, or if there are more up-to-date figures. It is estimated these closed machines can result in some 120 missed appointments per day. This is according to SIPTU representatives operating on the ground. We know from Irish Cancer Society figures that an estimated one in three patients is not getting the cancer care he or she needs on time and in a timely manner.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the House. My question concerns radiation therapists and machines that are currently not operating in some hospitals throughout the country. Some are not operating at full capacity due to staffing issues. I am aware my question overlaps the Departments of Health and further and higher education. There is an estimated shortfall of between 30% and 35% in radiation therapists nationally and the unfortunate consequence of this staffing deficit means a number of linear accelerators, which are cancer treatment machines, have been out of service. I am aware of four, from meetings I have had with the Irish Cancer Society. As of March this year, it is my understanding that one linear accelerator machine and one CT scanner were closed in Cork University Hospital.”
“We look forward to the next Stage of the Bill, should it pass today, and, we hope, copper-fastening it further and implementing it as soon as we can.”
“I was pleased to bring this forward as my first Bill as part of our Cross-Party Group. We were able to get this within two months of starting as Senators because we believe it is a pressing issue. I take the Minister's points on board regarding the expediency of it. It is welcome that he will decide on whichever avenue is quickest and most effective to bring legislation forward. I would like to be part of that process and I know the Senators in the Cross-Party Group and in this House would wish to assist with that process as well. I look forward to future engagement with the Minister on the Bill and it is welcome it is in the programme for Government. He is a new Minister and, as Senator Noonan said, he is clearly a reforming Minister. It is great to have the thorough discussion on it.”
“One aspect of this Bill is that it is quite straightforward. It provides a good base to work from because there is scope to incorporate amendments. I very much look forward to engaging with the Minister on it. I would welcome the opportunity to meet him further on it. As the Minister said, nobody is proprietary about this. It is not about one individual or grouping taking credit for it. It is clear from the support we have had today from Senators across the House and cross-party and the support in the Gallery from a number of organisations that collectively represent a huge sector of our society that this is an issue people want to see resolved, and we need to make sure we get it right. I look forward to any suggestions for amendments and accepting amendments to it.”
“I thank the Minister, Jim O'Callaghan, for engaging with this today and for his clearly considered response to this Bill and his frank comments relating to it. It is welcome that the Cabinet has approved this in the sense of not opposing it at this stage. I welcome his positive remarks regarding some aspects of the Bill and the substance of the Bill itself. I take on board the three points he made in terms of how the Bill can be more precise and how we can improve precision relating to it. We all acknowledge that, while it is clear-cut on the surface, it is complex in terms of legislation. This is the third attempt at this. I am committed from my perspective to taking on board the Minister's suggestions. I am very keen to inspect the recommendations of the Attorney General regarding this.”
“I was very alarmed recently when I met Gearóid Folan from the Technological University of the Shannon, who is in the Gallery. His union has said this issue is becoming really prevalent for students' unions and they have had to take down many ads in their colleges. When I was president of the USI ten years ago, this was not an issue that was featuring. It has become more prominent. This Bill is the first step in addressing it.”
“With soaring rent prices and a shortage of affordable housing, many individuals find themselves in desperate situations, and this desperation creates an environment where exploitative individuals can take advantage of those in need. There are not enough refuge spaces for those fleeing domestic violence in Ireland. Homelessness figures are rising, as the Minister knows, and rents are going up. There are limited protections for licensee agreements in digs. The cost of living is soaring and food prices are rising. The housing crisis is the backdrop against which the predators are operating. In the absence of penalties, they are allowed to get away with their activity in many instances. I want to talk a little about students' unions.”
“He said, "When I went to view a room, the landlord started to speak to me in a sexual tone and mentioned that there were 'other ways' of paying the rent." These are just some of the experiences of respondents to the ICOS survey. The National Women's Council has been at the forefront of advocating for change in this and emphasising that sex for rent is a form of sexual exploitation. Of course, there can be gender-based violence as well. The council has called upon the Government to take action on this. It is imperative we do so. We need to have a solution, and this Bill I am proposing with the support of our Cross-Party Group is to put a solution in place and work collaboratively. Ireland's ongoing crisis has exacerbated the prevalence of sex-for-rent offers.”
“One international student recounted that, "The owner asked after five days if I wanted sex", illustrating the predatory nature of some landlords. Another student shared the following, "One said I could sleep with him and then sent obscene images to me." These testimonies reveal the psychological distress and violation of personal boundaries experienced by the victims. A female undergraduate from Germany said she had seen "numerous ads on accommodation websites, platforms and Facebook groups" advertising sex for rent. While this issue predominantly affects women, it can affect men too. A Brazilian male wrote, "A guy on Facebook offered a room to me in exchange for sex." A male student from Guatemala reported his experience.”
“The survey found that 5% of female students who responded said they had either seen or had been directly offered a proposal in relation to sex for rent. Therefore, it is prevalent. The statistic is significant. Commenting on the findings at the time, Ana Valdez, an English language student from Mexico living and studying in Dublin, said, "Decent housing is supposed to be a human right, and although Ireland is a beautiful country with great opportunities, the housing crisis has turned the country into a really bad and impossible experience for many people, resulting in overcrowding, poor mental health, sky-high costs, abuse by landlords and even sexual harassment." Beyond the statistics, there are many personal accounts that highlight the profound impact of sex-for-rent propositions on individuals.”
“This legal void allows perpetrators to operate with relative impunity, leaving victims with limited avenues for redress. Research from the Irish Council for International Students, published last February, exposed the alarming realities international students face in Ireland when struggling to find safe, affordable accommodation of a good standard. The extent of financial strain and overcrowding is deeply concerning. Urgent action is needed to address these issues, in particular the sex-for-rent issue, to ensure Ireland remains a welcoming and supportive destination for international students. This can affect our reputation as a study destination because those affected have families and friends back home. Students will state what happened to them and their friends when they came to Ireland. It is certainly having an impact.”
“It is often not until a person goes to view the room or enquire about the ad that they might get a follow-up text message. The key aspect of this Bill is that it does not just cover traditional websites but also text messages and all forms of electronic and verbal communication. It also covers the subletting of rooms and digs. It will introduce a class A fine of up to €50,000, meaning a significant fine would be introduced as part of the Bill if enacted. Despite the egregious nature of sex for rent, Ireland's current legal framework lacks specific provisions to address it adequately. While certain aspects of sexual exploitation are covered under existing law, there is no specific legislation criminalising the importuning of sex in exchange for accommodation.”
“The 2023 survey found that 70% of respondents who had seen these ads had seen them on social media and not on traditional housing sites. The 2024 survey detailed that 81% had seen the ads on social media and 19% had seen them on more traditional housing websites. The ads are often placed on Facebook, Instagram or other platforms or sent through WhatsApp. It is not always on the traditional housing websites. Of course, by proposing sex for rent in this way, predatory landlords or persons can evade detection. Individuals can also receive these proposals through direct messages, however, which are more targeted and are likely to be more distressing than a generic ad online because it means the person has got the phone number of the individual. It can feel more personal and quite scary to them.”
“Sometimes, they will set a nominal fee. For example, they might offer a room for €1 per month or there will be a declaration that the rental price is negotiable. Often, there will be a failure to identify the exact location of the property and the full address will not be there, again because they are hiding behind this. They will also tend to target a particular type of renter. They might say they are just looking for women or refer to a certain demeanour or look they want in the person. The ads often include a request for a photograph or a physical description of the person they desire to have in the house. Those are some of the features of the ads, which, as I said, can be quite ambiguous. The Irish Council for International Students has conducted two surveys, in 2023 and 2024.”
“This can be very scary for people and it is often those whose first language is not English who are most vulnerable to the ambiguous nature that is often a feature of these ads online. Just last week, the journalist herself, Ann Murphy, identified an ad online for a room to rent in Dublin that said negotiation could be based on what applicants could offer. The ads are there and are being run very frequently. Ads have been detected across the country, from Limerick to places like rural Clare, Cork, Waterford, the midlands and Dublin. It is not just urban areas but both urban and rural. Again, I commend Ann Murphy in particular on her journalism on this. The ads on housing websites often have certain hallmarks, which have been identified by the National Women's Council in its research. They will often not advertise any rental price.”
“I thank and commend the Cork journalist Ann Murphy from the Irish Examiner, who has been consistently covering this issue over a number of years, exposing ads she has seen online and writing about this issue at time when nobody was writing about it. She has won an award for her journalism on this and has been covering it for a number of years. It featured in a "RTÉ Investigates" episode a number of years ago as well. It has been well highlighted in the public domain. Some ads are on prominent sites such as Daft.ie and can be masked in language like "must be open-minded", "must be up for having fun in the house" and "can negotiate" in terms of rent. It is often not until written messages are exchanged or the person views the room that the nature of what is being offered becomes clear.”
“I hope this will be the third time lucky because we have been waiting years for this. There is a huge degree of support for this issue and a hunger to work collaboratively to get a resolution put in place. The new Minister has an opportunity to send a clear message to predators that this behaviour is not acceptable and that they will face consequences. This is also an opportunity for the Government, as a whole, to take on this issue as part of the housing crisis. I believe there is an opportunity for the Minister to legislate on this issue before the next college term this September. That would be a real win for many people and certainly for students.”
“The term "sex for rent" refers to situations where landlords, property owners or those subletting offer reduced or free accommodation in exchange for sex from prospective or current tenants. This practice preys on individuals who are often in vulnerable situations such as students, low-income earners, migrants, women or those facing homelessness. Certainly, those fleeing domestic violence situations are at risk as well. A power imbalance is often inherent in these arrangements, which leaves tenants susceptible to abuse. I acknowledge there have been two previous attempts to try to legislate for this issue. There was one from the Social Democrats by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan and, previously, another from Sinn Féin by Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, who has also welcomed my Bill.”
“I will take this opportunity to thank my colleagues in our new cross-party group in the Seanad who have co-sponsored this Bill, namely, Senators Cosgrove, Stephenson and Noonan. This Bill has been received very positively by many civil society organisations such as the National Women's Council, Threshold, the Union of Students in Ireland, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Rape Crisis Ireland, Women's Aid and the Irish Council for International Students, where I am the outgoing executive director. This is an issue I was working on myself for a number of years prior to becoming a Senator, so I welcome the representatives to the Visitors Gallery here today. I know there are people watching online who are very concerned about this issue and who want to see a resolution put in place.”
“I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I will share my time with Senator Nessa Cosgrove, who will be seconding the proposal. I thank the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and welcome him to the House. I thank him for his engagement on this issue to date. I know the Minister and the Government are also keen to find a solution to this and have been looking at solutions to this. I want to work collaboratively with the Minister on this. I believe we can work together to get this Bill passed through both Houses. I know this is in the programme for Government and I am certainly open to suggested amendments to the Bill and to working collaboratively and cross-party as well.”
“Regarding education and employment, we need to provide more training places for healthcare staff but we also must ensure we keep them in the country once they have graduated. That is key. We need more support and access routes to education and employment for people with disabilities. We must invest more in such pathways, including by way of additional resources for the disability access route to education. There is a lot of work to be done. It was mentioned that Ireland had the lowest employment rate in Europe for people with disabilities. We are very much a laggard in this respect. We must support people into the workforce, support them to remain there and meet our public sector recruitment target of 6%. I thank the Minister of State for being here. I look forward to her reply.”
“On housing, we must fully implement and resource the national housing strategy for disabled people, including the provision of funding for technical advisers in local authorities, ring-fencing at least 10% of social and affordable housing for people with disabilities, providing universal design standards, ensuring homes are fully wheelchair accessible where necessary and reforming the Part M building regulations to require wheelchair-liveable housing. Provision of housing is a key area in terms of joined-up thinking. I am glad the Minister of State mentioned public transport in the context of accessibility. We need to expand the Dublin Bus travel assistance scheme nationally to support people learning to travel independently. We must ensure all public transport services are wheelchair accessible.”
“It is during the early developmental years that timely supports can have the most meaningful impact. These delays not only risk children missing out on vital services but also jeopardise their chances of securing appropriate school places down the line. There have been widespread delays and backlogs in service provision, with the HSE often failing to meet the legal timelines. This has led to legal challenges and investigations by bodies such as the Ombudsman for Children. We are failing these children at a time when we could intervene and change the course of their lives. I urge the Minister of State to work with her Cabinet colleagues on this issue. It is great to hear her speaking about recruitment to CDNTs, filling vacancies and further action in that regard.”
“Investment is needed in child-centred SNA provision. We must value SNAs, remove the 72-hour obligation and provide training to QQI level 6 equivalent. We need more interdepartmental collaboration in this regard. The Government must undertake an autism audit of all schools and provide continuing professional development, CPD, training on autism to school staff. This week, we found out from HSE south west that, unfortunately, the average waiting time for an autism assessment through primary care services in Cork is 30 months. That is quite shocking. Children with complex needs in the Cork and south west region cannot access the disability services they need, with waiting times currently at 11.75 months, which is nearly one year. The delay is not just unacceptable; it is damaging. Early intervention is absolutely critical.”
“We need to address this. Recruitment and retention will be key. Linked to the Minister of State's brief is the issue of school places, and we need an interdepartmental approach to that. At the minute, there are 100 children in Cork without school places for September, which is unacceptable. We hear this every year and children are travelling long distances for appropriate places. We need an autism guarantee to secure an appropriate school place for every child and to develop a fully inclusive model of education that vindicates the right to education for all children across the range of disabilities and complies with the UN conventions. There must be an expansion of the educational therapy support service through the NCSE to provide more in-school therapists. We need better training for teachers during their degree courses.”
“We need to resource community and voluntary sector organisations with multi-annual funding and bring the terms and conditions of staff in section 39 bodies in line with the public service through pay parity and ring-fencing multi-annual funding for disabled persons' organisations to build capacity and self-advocacy. Our population is growing and ageing. Disability services in our health and social care system must be resourced and equipped to meet the existing needs and respond to growing levels of acquired disability throughout the life cycle. There is a massive unmet demand for disability services as outlined under the disability capacity review and the commitments in the disability services action plan. Service improvements are constantly delayed due to a failure of workforce planning and underfunding of section 39 organisations.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to be the Labour Party's spokesperson on disability and further and higher education. I look forward to engaging with her constructively over the coming months and years. This year will mark seven years since Ireland ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Having now signed up to the optional protocol, considerable work remains to be done to deliver inclusive communities in this country. It is great to hear the Minister of State say a new national disability strategy will be launched soon. We also need to strengthen the National Disability Authority. All legislation and budgets should be disability- and equality-proofed. We need to strengthen and adequately fund the National Advocacy Service. Placing it on a statutory footing will be vital.”
“We also need to invest in our Defence Forces, however, and we need to review their pay and conditions and implement the working time directive there. One of the biggest opportunities is the shared island approach. We saw this with Brexit and with the pandemic. The shared island initiative is welcome but we need to do more than that, and there is a strong business case for preparing for a border poll. We should not let that fall off the agenda; we need to lean into it. I thank the Tánaiste and the Minister of State for joining us this morning.”
“We have the highest levels of outward migration at the moment since 2015. We are losing teachers, gardaí and healthcare workers. We need to keep them in the country to keep our economy going. As regards Palestine, our humanity in Ireland is not for sale. It cannot be bought or sold. I reject any premise that our economic security here depends on some idea that Palestinians must die. It is not a competition between human rights and business. We need to absolutely protect that and pass the occupied territories Bill. I welcome the Tánaiste's remarks about Ukraine and his commitment to its self-determination and peace. The Labour Party's perspective on the triple lock is that we should safeguard it and that we need further cross-party discussion on it to protect our neutrality.”
“This is a blow to Ireland, and we need to ensure we have strong supports for businesses and workers and that we retain our workforce in this country. However, we absolutely need to approach this in a collaborative manner and not in panic. We must negotiate first and use our leverage within the EU to achieve this. We need an all-island, collaborative approach to this matter. One of the biggest threats to our economy at the moment is the domestic housing crisis. We need to invest more in infrastructure and housing now. It was worrying to hear recent comments from the Minister for further and higher education that there may be an increase in the student contribution. That would be a regressive step. We need to invest in education and close the deficit when it comes to our higher education institutions so we can keep workers here.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here and thank the Tánaiste for his remarks. It is fair to say we are in a period of a lot of change in the world. The world order has changed. I do not believe Trump is the leader of the free world, and democracy is being eroded across the US and across the world. It is worrying that he has abolished the national Department of Education in the US, is weakening the media and is denying climate change. Alongside his comments on women and his xenophobic comments, all of this is deeply worrying and we need to stand up to it from Ireland and from the EU. In terms of tariffs, what Trump is doing is one big distraction and one big spectacle. He is trying to turn back the clocks to an age that benefited only a few people.”
“We cannot look away or do nothing. The world must know that the humanity of the Irish people cannot be bought or sold. I utterly reject the premise or any premise that our economic security or the world's economic security is up for sale or for that for economic security Palestinians must continue to die or be obliterated. We need to act. We need to support this Bill. The world must know that Ireland continues to stand with the people of Palestine. When our children and our grandchildren ask us what we did when this genocide was happening - and they will ask - I hope that we can all turn to them and say that we did not do the bare minimum but, rather, we did everything in our power and were not afraid to stand up and take action. Certainly, I hope we can say that this House took all the action it could take.”
“We must act. The State is complicit if we allow arms to be flown through our airspace when we have the power to stop this. In order to stop it, we need to enact this Bill. We need to stop use of Shannon Airport and pass the occupied territories Bill, which is a separate matter. As Senator Black said, we have an obligation to uphold the Genocide Convention to ensure we are not complicit. The UN General Assembly, in September 2024, called for a halt to the transfer of arms to Israel. In 2024, the UN Human Rights Council called for an embargo on arms to Israel. This is about upholding our international obligations. These arms are being sent to destroy life-giving centres in Palestine, including hospitals, maternity wards and IVF clinics, and the lives of women, pregnant women, babies and men. We can see it every single day with our own eyes.”
“More than 18,000 children and babies have been murdered at the hands of the criminal and genocidal state of Israel. We had the UN special rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, in the House two weeks ago when Senator Black hosted a briefing. Francesca Albanese said that if Palestine is a crime scene, then it has all our fingerprints on it. It is up to us to prove that we are not complicit. Yes, the Government has taken action on this and this House, the Upper House, has a strong history of supporting Palestine. Former Senator Averil Power, for example, had a Bill passed in this House on recognising Palestine. That strong history must be continued. The world order has changed. The US is not the leader of the free world. This genocide is being facilitated by the US financially, militarily and politically and we must not be associated with it.”
“I welcome the Minister. I support wholeheartedly this practical Bill. Section 2 is practical and will ensure we uphold our obligations under international human rights law. We are at a defining moment for our humanity and what it means to be human. Palestine is currently a mirror to the soul of the world. Somebody said that the revolution will not be televised; well, the genocide is being televised. Anyone who watched "Prime Time" last night will agree with that given what we saw happening in hospitals in Gaza, with children affected by shrapnel screaming in pain. It is tempting for many to look away because it is the easier thing to do, but we must keep looking, watching, witnessing and acting on what is happening in Palestine.”
“We need stronger penalties to tackle those who are leaving properties vacant. Housing targets are not being met, despite what was said before the election. We need the State to step up to the mark urgently and scale up the ambition when it comes to delivering housing. We need a pandemic-style emergency response to the housing crisis. I do not have any faith in the Government when it comes to housing. I genuinely wish I did, but it was the last straw when I saw the Taoiseach laughing along with Trump in the White House recently regarding the housing crisis in Ireland. It showed utter contempt for people living in this country. I hope the Minister can prove me wrong. I sincerely hope he will get a handle on this brief and will make a huge impact in his role. I wish him well in his role.”
“It sends a shiver down the spine of people who are saving for a mortgage when they hear of the constant increase in home prices in this country. People are saving money to stand still, while there is no corresponding increase in savings interest in banks. Rents are rising, the cost of living and food has increased and prices are going up and up. The housing crisis is a ticking time bomb. We cannot afford to have a whole generation of pensioners renting in the future. We already have poverty in old age for many. We have the highest levels of outward emigration since 2015. Of my four younger sisters, three have emigrated. We are losing teachers, gardaí, doctors, nurses and key workers, and the housing crisis is contributing to this. We have record levels of homelessness and vacancy and dereliction is rife.”
“They are key for that early intervention for a child. Those working in the access inclusion programme are also low paid and that too needs to change.”
“One such person is my friend Councillor Ciara O’Connor in Cork, who left the early years sector, which she deeply loved. She said it broke her heart to leave but that she could not afford to continue because the pay was too low. She would not have been able to afford a mortgage or a future for herself. These people are highly educated, often holding level 8 or level 9 degrees, and the college courses are of very high quality. These educators need to be treated in the same way as primary and secondary school teachers in how they are paid, and we need a publicly funded model of education for childcare. Early education practitioners are often the first to notice if a child has additional needs requirements such as speech and language therapy or occupational therapy or needs an autism assessment.”
“I thank the Minister for being here. It is fair to say the childcare and early years sector in Ireland is characterised by low pay for those working in the sector, high staff turnover, high costs for those running childcare settings and high costs for parents and families who wish to avail of this service. We need to cap the childcare fee at €200 and we need a clear timeframe for this. No parent should have to decide whether they can afford to go to work or afford childcare fees or, indeed, whether they can afford to have another child because of the cost of childcare. It is affecting family planning. Many who have worked or currently work in the childcare sector tell me they cannot afford to stay working in early years.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled An Act to prohibit certain acts in relation to soliciting or importuning sexual services in consideration of a reduced rent or in lieu of rent for the letting of a tenancy or other residential accommodation, and to provide for related matters.”
“Often, when they start communicating with a person by text message or email, it comes to light what they are asking. This Bill would cover text messages, emails and any kind of electronic communication. It seeks to introduce a class A offence and a fine of up to €50,000 for such activity. The focus is very much on the advertising element. The Bill is very straightforward. If it is agreed to progress it, I would love to work with the Government and the Cross-Party Group on it. I thank the members of the Cross-Party Group – Senators Stephenson, Noonan and Cosgrove - for cosigning the Bill.”
“I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 9 be taken before No. 1. It relates to the Prohibition of Advertising or Importuning Sex for Rent Bill 2025. I will speak briefly to it. I hope we will have a debate on it in the House in future. It is a very straightforward Bill that is laser focused on the advertising of rental properties and prohibits and criminalises advertisements that relate to importuning for sex for reduced rent. The Bill covers a range of advertising, not just on websites. Predators in the rental sector can use vague wording online. They might say prospective tenants "must be up for having fun in the house" or refer to "a friends-with-benefits situation" or they "must be up for sharing a bed".”
“We need to have proper evaluation as we go forward on how it is working and we need to take that into account as to how we respond to other humanitarian crises and others who are seeking refuge here in Ireland. I echo the comments of Senator Stephenson and I will be supporting her amendment later. There is a huge difference between €800 and €600, which represents a 25% cut. We see the cost of living and the rate of inflation rising in the country so the amount needs to be maintained at the current level. People need to be encouraged to take it up and to continue with their hosting agreements.”
“I will be brief. I support the extension of the ARP and the scheme. It is a success story for Ireland in terms of hosting and our response to this humanitarian crisis. Research from the Ukraine Civil Society Forum states that 86% of the hosts report that the ARP is important for them if they are to continue hosting. This finding would also suggest that more that 30,000 refugees could face the danger of becoming homeless if the scheme is not continued. As has already been said, the ARP is far cheaper than emergency accommodation. It saves the State between €1 million and €2 million per day, based on current numbers. It is also taking pressure off the private rental market and helping people to integrate better into society in terms of our communities and in terms of learning English. We need certainty and forward planning in this.”
“On SNAs, we should get rid of the 72-hour obligation and provide training to QQI level 6 equivalent. We need to undertake an autism audit of all schools and provide autism CPD training to school staff to ensure that mainstream schools can facilitate the inclusion of autistic children to the greatest extent possible. I welcome this debate. I fully support the motion from Sinn Féin and I thank the party for bringing it forward.”
“It is vital that we implement an autism guarantee to secure an appropriate school place for every child and develop a fully inclusive model of education that vindicates the right to education of all children across a range of disabilities and complies with the UNCRPD and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Disability advocacy organisations must be part of this process when developing new policy initiatives, and it is essential that we get the people working in this field to be part of any policy initiatives and changes. It is very simple. We need to see an expansion of the educational therapy support service through the NCSE, more in-school therapists and the provision of better training for teachers while they obtain teaching degrees.”