Malcolm Noonan
Agricultural Panel · Green Party · Ireland
“Before I invite Senator Stephenson back in, I welcome members of the Young Entrepreneurs Club to the Gallery. They are guests of the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Cuirim fáilte romhaibh go léir.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I again commend Senator Black, who has been campaigning on this issue for a very long time. It is disappointing that we are here this evening without services included despite the very detailed recommendations of the Oireachtas joint committee, the views of many legal experts and the clear legal opinion of the…”
“I am surprised that the Government is presenting us with a Bill that excludes services. The Government used to tell us that it was for legal reasons.”
“In fairness, it has become even clearer from the remarks made by the Government in recent days that fear of the Trump Administration is driving the decision, with illogical arguments that the Trump Administration might just tolerate a Bill that bans goods but if were to bring forward a Bill that covered goods and services, it would someho…”
“I join with my colleagues in our outright condemnation of this approach by the Government in relation to this legislation. The Government is going to be the lead negotiator on behalf of the European Union at both the climate Conference of the Parties, COP, and the biodiversity COP later this year.”
“The rural housing policy was launched last week. We have had the closure of the public consultation on the nature restoration plan. Lo and behold, the long-awaited phase 2 of the land-use review was published two days after both of those policies. This document has huge implications for land use in Ireland.”
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“Their ability to innovate, be creative and use their own skills, be they general operatives, rangers or scientific staff such as ecologists, has been the hallmark of what they have achieved with scant resources, I would say, up to 2020. Certainly, even the investment we made then and over those intervening five budgetary cycles - and, thankfully, the welcome addition that the Minister of State has added in budget 2026 - has still been a modest investment for an agency that has in its care all of the State's biodiversity. They have done incredible work. Added to that, which is unique in nature conservation here, is the amount of women who work in the National Parks and Wildlife Service - the amount of women who have come in as rangers in the last couple of years but also into other parts of the national parks services.”
“It was labour-intensive work, heading out in boats early in the morning and taking large tracks of rodo out of the parks. I commend the NPWS for the work that it has done in recent years in terms of rodo management. There have been different approaches to it in different national parks. Glenveagh has a different approach to Connemara, as does Killarney, but there is success happening. I commend the innovation that continues to take place. The point I want to make generally here this afternoon is to praise the National Parks and Wildlife Service. As the Minister of State himself will be aware from having met them on the ground, not only in national parks but in other settings across the country, they are a remarkable group of civil servants.”
“It should be given active consideration. The good thing about bringing new national parks into the fray is it takes pressure off other national parks. Brú na Bóinne has the potential to take pressure off the Wicklow Mountains National Park, which comes under significant pressure from the greater Dublin area. Notwithstanding that, it would be fantastic if we could continue that trajectory. We have heard about the relatively small amount of land that our national parks take up, albeit that they continue to expand through land purchases. My first encounter with our national parks, apart from visiting them, was joining for a couple of seasons the ground work crew in Killarney National Park and getting eaten alive by midges to take out rhododendron ponticum with mattocks - the old way.”
“Our national parks give us a representative sample of what we should have in terms of the connectivity of nature. Up to 2024, we had six national parks. I was in the fortunate position to have brought Brú na Bóinne and Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara to fruition. Fantastic work was done by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to get those over the line, but also by the whole of the Government. It was not only a ministerial job; it had to be approved by the Government. The fact that the Government had the vision to bring two national parks into the frame speaks volumes about the care that we have for nature in this country. I am hearing the comments from colleagues around inland and the midlands, be it a freshwater national park or a Slieve Bloom national park, which we looked at as well, specifically related to the hen harrier.”
“Go raibh maith agat. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I continue to wish him good fortune in his Ministry. For me, as outgoing Minister of State, it has been fantastic to see that Deputy O'Sullivan has hit the ground running and is a Minister of State who cares for nature. To get it in two Government cycles is good for biodiversity, I have to say, and I wish the Minister of State continued success. In the 93 years since our first national park was founded when the Muckross estate was handed over to the people of Ireland in Killarney, we have lost a huge amount, as the Minister of State will be aware, of our native habitats, semi-natural grasslands, woodlands, bird species and peatlands and we have a disconnected, fragmented habitat network right across the country, as has been said by the previous speaker.”
“This is not through anyone's fault; these things happen. However, it is critically important that we meet our 30% by 2030 targets given the challenges that our marine biodiversity is facing, but again I welcome the update.”
“I welcome that update. The word "codesign" is critically important here. It is not to say that we had not made significant progress. Notwithstanding the legislative piece, we got close to the 10% strict protection through the east coast and seas off Wexford special protection areas, SPAs, for marine birds. That was hugely important. Separately, the two ObSERVE programmes in mapping the ocean and marine biodiversity have been hugely significant, so I welcome the update. I am not sure if it is the correct approach, but I hope it is. I welcome some of the measures that the Minister of State has put in there and that he has given acceptance to what was in the previous Bill using the DMAPs approach. Critically, the main thing is that the State will get there as quickly as possible now. We have had significant delay in drafting.”
“I had hoped the Government would continue that piece of work. It was 95% there, but I would love to see a renewed commitment from the Government. We have heard different soundings from the Minister of State and the Minister, when he was with us in committee, about the various approaches, whether they are going to renew this legislation or put an amendment into the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021. What I want to hear from the Minister of State today is what direction of travel the Government is going to take in delivering MPA legislation and to meet our international obligations for marine biodiversity.”
“The COP is starting in Brazil this week and we are seeing that marine biodiversity is under significant threat from various sources. Unfortunately in the previous Government, we ran aground with the marine protected areas Bill for various reasons, primarily to do with drafting. This is significantly challenging legislation to deliver. Notwithstanding that, we had hoped the current Government would continue the trajectory the legislation has started. It had in it very significant elements regarding public participation. To do that correctly and design it in a way that communities and fishers, in particular, are involved in an iterative process that is ongoing and continues to ensure the effective management of our MPAs is hugely important. Unfortunately, that legislation did not make it.”
“From a heritage perspective, these marine protected areas were hugely important. When we look at other countries that have developed marine protected areas, we see positive spillover effects, not just for areas where there are no-take zones but where there are management systems in place to take care of features or species that are within those designated areas. Last year I attended the basking shark conference and met delegates from all over the world who were very impressed by the fact that the Irish Government had protected basking sharks in Irish waters and how that protection can connect into protections in the North Sea that have been delivered through the Scottish Government. There is an interconnectedness in all of our marine biodiversity and it is vitally important that we support that.”
“This is an internationally regarded means of achieving marine biodiversity protection by getting a coherent network around Irish waters. Irish waters are the most significant and important in the EU under the EU biodiversity strategy and this was the means outlined to get there. Despite the Covid pandemic, we embarked on a public engagement process, travelling to meet fishers and communities in Killybegs and other coastal areas around the country during my time as Minister of State. We had some fantastic engagement, sometimes outdoors in car parks, and it was important that we did that. The one thing that the fishers had been saying to us was that they wanted these marine protected areas. They wanted to protect fish stocks for their own livelihoods but also for coastal communities.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This is our first engagement since his appointment, so he is very welcome to the House. The 2020 programme for Government committed to delivering on our global commitment to protect 30% of our marine area through marine protected areas. This was in line with the Montreal Declaration on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, with the EU biodiversity strategy, with what would be our fourth national biodiversity action plan and with objectives in the marine strategy framework directive. A lot of the preliminary work that had been done in 2019 was presented in a really excellent report by Professor Tasman Crowe on how we get there and how we deliver this.”
“This legislation is practical and implementable and would make a meaningful difference to women and families fleeing situations of domestic violence.”
“I commend Senator Harmon on bringing forward this legislation. We want to use our Private Members' time to bring forward progressive legislation. If you look at other legislatures across Europe, including those across the water in the UK, opposition Bills are routinely accepted by government. That shows progressive politics and collaboration across a house. I welcome the Minister's response but this is urgent. I am fortunate that, in the constituency where I live, there is the Amber Women's Refuge in Kilkenny. We hope that Carlow is about to be served with a refuge as well. The issue here is about a State that cares about women fleeing domestic violence. Every single measure we can bring forward as a State shows that we care and that we take a zero-tolerance approach.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. This is the Cross-Party Group's fourth piece of legislation. On every occasion, we have used our Private Members' time to bring forward legislation that I think is progressive. We are trying to bring in progressive legislation. The last Bill we brought in was also subject to a timed amendment. It related to vacancy and dereliction. This Bill is far more urgent. I have seen it from the other side. I have been in government. I saw very good legislation coming from the Opposition only for a timed amendment to be applied. It is unfortunate. I can appreciate the different priorities but the proposal to allow the Bill to progress while fine-tuning it and dealing with those elements the Minister would have to address from a social welfare point of view could be accepted.”
“I urge the Taoiseach to get a handle on this, in particular on water quality. There are significant challenges in Lady's Island and Lough Ree, among others across the country. I urge him to address these issues. If he gets a chance, the Taoiseach should go to Collins Barracks to see Rory Gallagher's guitar. I met his brother, Dónal, there yesterday. It was purchased in Crowley's of Cork. It is a great privilege to see it there. I question how our cultural institutions, in particular the National Museum of Ireland, can operate with its current staffing level. It has done an amazing job. I urge the Taoiseach to try to visit Rory's guitar.”
“In the minute I have I want to focus, unsurprisingly, on nature, heritage and cultural institutions. I am just back from Geneva with some of the representatives of the Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss where we presented at the human rights, democracy and rule of law forum. I appreciate the support the Taoiseach gave to me as Minister of State with responsibility for nature and heritage, but the budget for 2026 is static. When we strip out the capital funding, the budget for heritage and nature is static. I urge the Taoiseach to address that. We have had a CCAC report and an EPA report on water quality. Unfortunately, all of our trends are going in the wrong direction. The Blackwater fish kill happened in the Taoiseach's own county. We see issues concerning the destruction of woodlands in County Cork as well.”
“I welcome that and the living cities initiative but simply not enough is being done to tackle vacancy and dereliction. There is certainly not enough in the budget to meet the commitment to try to unlock the potential in the tens of thousands of vacant properties right across the country.”
“The budgets for the built and archaeological heritage services and the national monuments services have both remained virtually static. The uplift there was very small, despite the huge increase in demand for services and traditional skills, as part of the community monuments fund and the various grant schemes the council administers. Earlier this morning a number of us, including the Acting Chair, met with Jude Sherry and Frank O'Connor outside the gates of Leinster House. They were there to mark World Vacant Homes Day. There are enough houses in this country to meet quite a lot of the demand that is there, in public housing and housing generally. I welcome the moving of the collection of the residential zone land tax to Revenue. That was brought forward in a Bill the cross-party group brought here earlier this year.”
“It also has two new national parks, a lot more nature reserves and a lot of land that we have purchased in recent years. The NPWS has to implement a national nature restoration plan and make serious commitments on the protection of our habitats and species right across the country. A seriously worsening water quality situation has been highlighted by the Lady's Island case and also the devastating fish kill in the Blackwater. Where is the extra money and funding to implement the water action plan? Is there a funding commitment for the national biodiversity data centre. I do not see it there. The Heritage Council has received a 3% uplift. That will seriously impact its ability to deliver on programmes and its very popular community grant schemes.”
“They disappeared from the national development plan announcement earlier this year and they are not in the budget. While there is additional money for the ACRES scheme, I cannot see money anywhere for the nature restoration fund. Where is the money to restore nature going to come from? Farmers are going to walk away from this process unless the money is there. I welcome the general uplift in the nature budget. I would like to have a breakdown of the funding provided because there is some disparity between the Department's announcement of €256 million versus €196 million in the Vote in the budget pack. The additional funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service is welcome but we have to remember that this is an organisation that is now twice the size it was in 2020.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I reiterate the point made by my colleague about the cut in the VAT rate to 9%. I would question giving a handout to Starbucks when many of our small, independent businesses are in real trouble. A targeted scheme such as a rates rebate for smaller businesses would have been more effective. I welcome the commitment to make the basic income scheme a permanent one. It was introduced by my colleague the then Minister, Catherine Martin. I wish to speak briefly to the areas within my remit as my party's spokesperson for nature, heritage, agriculture and the marine. In particular, I want to focus on the non-commitment of the moneys that were supposed to be there for the nature fund. They seem to be gone.”
“It is a decade since the Gender Recognition Act was brought into force in 2015. The latter was very forward-thinking, progressive legislation in an Irish context, but there has been very little progress since then. There was a review in 2018, but very little progress has been made. Ireland must now act to advance equality for transgender and non-binary people. The recommendations made in 2018 and those contained in the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy of 2019-2021 - the first of its kind - and in the annual strategy for the year 2025-26 must be acted upon as a matter of urgency. This is probably something I should table as a Commencement matter, but I felt the need to raise it today. I would welcome a debate on the matter.”
“Given the redistribution of power that is required from the Security Council to the General Assembly and the very notion of the existence of permanent members of the Security Council, this has hamstrung the UN in the context of carrying out its duties and with regard to its role in peacekeeping and trying to put a stop to wars. Its structure does not reflect the universal membership. It was founded in a completely different world. The future of the UN must be built on the principle of the prevention of wars, building democratic structures, strengthening democracies and eradicating poverty through a climate justice lens as opposed to just engaging in firefighting exercises. I would welcome the opportunity for a debate on the UN at 80. The second issue I want to raise is that of transgender rights.”
“I want to raise two issues. I am not sure, but perhaps we have discussed the United Nations at 80. We have had a number of discussions this morning in relation to the UN roll. I would welcome an opportunity to have debate on the United Nations at 80 in light of the fact that this is a significant milestone in the organisation's evolution. As the UN plenary concluded, it is particularly pertinent that we have that discussion. My father played a very active role as a member of the Defence Forces and served on the early peacekeeping missions in the Congo from 1960 to 1963. The UN is in need of urgent reform. Attempts to do that were made by previous UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.”
“This morning, I met representatives of Trócaire, the Irish Environmental Network and development organisations outside the gates of Leinster House. They are campaigning to stop the watering-down of the directive, which will impinge negatively on human rights, workers' rights and environmental regulations. It is important for the Irish Government to play a very active role in ensuring the directive is not watered down. It is really important that the corporate sustainability due diligence directive maintains a high standard of environmental and workers' rights right across the EU. If it is as proposed and in line with some of the proposals that are coming out, the directive will be completely ineffective as a measure. It is important that the Government plays a very active role in ensuring that the directive is as strong as it can be.”
“We are looking at nitrates levels increasing again. We all want to see the derogation retained but it is going in the wrong direction, unfortunately. Last week, I visited Our Lady's Island in Wexford with my colleague, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman. We met representatives of communities there and looked at something that has been going on since 1983, with no real progress to speak of. We have a serious issue as regards water quality and bathing water quality. We have a water action plan and increased enforcement at local authority level but at the same time we have a really significant challenge and I would welcome an opportunity to have a debate on that. The second issue I want to raise concerns the corporate sustainability due diligence directive.”
“I join others in wishing Martin Groves all the very best. I also wish Martin Hughes the very best in his new role. I want to raise an issue that was brought forward throughout the summer and particularly highlighted by the fish kill of up to 40,000 fish in the River Blackwater. It is an incident over which the EPA and everybody else seems to be wringing their hands, yet they are unable to determine the source of the fish kill. It was a serious incident of environmental pollution to add to the many others across the country. We seem to be heading into a space where water quality is declining across the country. In response to Senator Boyle's suggestion of having a discussion on Irish Water, I would welcome an opportunity for the Seanad to debate water quality generally at some point during this term.”
“What security do we have when we cannot produce food, protect nature or care for those fleeing conflict and climate chaos? They are saying now that we should do less with less. It is a MAGA-lite budget, and Ireland should not support it.”
“However, it is also great to have such incredibly dedicated people as well as funding in place to help such iconic species like curlew until we restore nature at scale. What future is there for such programmes if the EU cares more about missiles and drones than it does about nature, farming and social cohesion? I raised concerns here about the MFF some months ago and received assurance that the Government is engaging at a high level within the EU, and it would appear that their efforts were futile. When we return in September, it will be too late. I am of the view that the committee on European affairs and the agriculture committee should meet next week to specifically discuss the gutting of CAP, social coherence and environmental funding at the expense of defence and security.”
“Funding through the MFF should prioritise support for civil society, democratic institutions and co-ordinated action across Europe and the world. I share the concerns of many farming organisations this morning as we learn of a significant cut to the CAP budget and plans to merge it into other funding streams. I am concerned too for LIFE programmes, European innovation partnerships, EIPs, and other programmes that reward landowners for environmental actions on land. I visited once such EIP on Sunday last, namely, the Breeding Waders EIP, where Owen Murphy and his team and people from Fota Wildlife Park were releasing nine head-started curlew chicks. Unfortunately, we have to intervene in this way at such a level, moving eggs and incubating them at Fota, because our habitats are in such poor condition and are fragmented.”
“As the EU prepares the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, for the period 2028 to 2035, there are growing concerns that the European Commission is aligning itself with a far-right agenda. The shift threatens to divert financial resources away from the EU’s long-standing commitments to environmental protection, social progress and international development within Europe and globally. While strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and defence capacity is important, and we all agree with that, it must not come at the cost of essential programmes that underpin democracy, sustainability and global solidarity. The EU must raise its ambition not be emulating US-style policymaking but by reinforcing its own values.”
“Most of all, though, and like other Members have this evening, I urge the Minister of State and the Government to take seriously the requests of the Irish Postmasters' Union, which have been there for many years, even during our time in government together, and to find a way forward to try to maintain a vibrant ecosystem of post offices and a viable economic return for postmasters for their activities within it. It is essential to our town centres.”
“Many post offices are heritage buildings in their own right and many are on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Even in my home town of Kilkenny, we have a beautiful high street post office. Backing onto it was a sorting depot, which moved its operation to an industrial estate more than 20 years ago. That depot has been empty for that period. Many of us have been looking to convert it into a black box theatre space for local productions, yet despite many letters to An Post, we have not had any positive engagement with An Post on the matter. Therefore, there is also the built element, where the buildings have a dual use or could be brought back into productive use. That is important.”
“That is where we have these challenges. The reality is that many towns are still struggling despite policies brought in by the Government around urban regeneration and conservation and restoration of older buildings. We need all these services to make our towns vibrant, and what our post offices offer, as well as the wider services they provide, is being a physical hub. The opportunities to expand that have been mentioned in many contributions this evening, such as energy hubs, information centres and lots of other places of exchange that our post offices could become, if the will is present in the Government to do so. Comments were made about Rathmines post office. It is an incredible built heritage asset in the heart of Rathmines.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. There have been many excellent contributions this evening on the social, cultural and community needs that are reasons to retain our post office network. I will focus a little on the heritage assets of our towns, looking back at the last programme for Government, under which we introduced the town centres first programme. Thankfully, it has been committed to again in this programme for Government. We can see the invaluable asset the physical presence of our post offices continues to be in our towns. Historically, our towns evolved as places of transaction - market towns - and if it becomes a situation where the opportunities for transaction and interaction are diminished or reduced year on year because of the loss of banks and other facilities, our towns will unfortunately go into perpetual decline.”
“This recommendation includes vital safeguards such as automatic stay of proceedings while an early dismissal motion is being heard, which are designed to protect against abuse of litigation. As the Bill goes through today, the Cross-Party Group supports organisations calling for the Houses to make necessary amendments to ensure that Ireland seizes the opportunity to protect freedom of expression. Public participation should be the cornerstone of our democracy.”
“The legislation also omits key components of the directive that could have been readily included. These include provision for third-party interventions in support of SLAPP defendants - Article 9; security for damages - Article 10; and reversal of the burden of proof - Article 12. The legislation also fails to incorporate the protections against SLAPPs initiated in non-EU countries - Articles 16 and 17. By failing to incorporate these core safeguards the Irish Government exposes itself to potential infringement proceedings from the European Commission. The Government could and should have drawn on the established international best practices, including the Council of Europe's recommendation on countering the use of SLAPPs.”
“My colleague has spoken more broadly on the provisions of the Bill. I will speak specifically to the EU anti-SLAPP directive. While provisions of the Bill give effect to aspects of the EU anti-SLAPP directive, and its application to domestic defamation cases is welcome, it falls short of transposing the directive's full set of minimum standards and protections, which Ireland is legally required to implement in full by May 2026. The anti-SLAPP provisions in the Bill apply only to defamation proceedings, even though SLAPPs frequently exploit other causes of action, including privacy, copyright and data protection to intimidate and silence public interest speech. The Government has provided no clear explanation of how it intends to extend protections beyond defamation in line with other EU obligations.”
“I have asked a number of times about where the climate and nature fund is. What has happened to it? It was supposed to be put in place to support farmers to implement measures on their farms as part of it. I would welcome statements and an appearance by the relevant Ministers on this matter in the autumn.”
“The nitrates directive and the nitrates action programme are there to protect our water bodies. We have to turn this tide. We need to retain the derogation. We have seen the potential economic cost of it. In my view, and I have said it here previously, the only game in town is the water action plan and full and swift implementation of the measures contained therein. I attended a farm walk a number of weeks ago in County Laois where farmers from all over the region were learning about the farming for water EIP. This is a €60 million European innovation partnership. It will really be beneficial in terms of farmers participating in it. The resources of the Departments of agriculture and housing will be required to get a grip on what is a seismic shift in the European Commission's approach to this.”
“The changes aim to improve water quality and meet the requirements of the directive but farmers may need to adapt practices and potentially invest in new technologies and infrastructure. I welcome the most recent EPA report, which shows there has been a reduction in nitrates but phosphates remain persistently high, particularly in my part of the country in the south east. I ask the Minister for agriculture to ensure his and other responsible bodies, namely, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the NPWS, are fully optimised to deal with the new requirements to protect farm incomes and our wider rural environment. Farmers may need to increase the amount of land they farm to maintain livestock numbers. It will be a significant challenge.”
“Correspondence from the European Commission on securing the nitrates derogation for Ireland will have serious ramifications for the wider rural economy and the agricultural sector generally in terms of demonstrating compliance with the habitats directive. While granting derogations to individual farmers, it is on a subcatchment basis. The requirements for maintaining the nitrates derogation will likely lead to stocking rate reductions for some farmers. This will require them to reduce livestock numbers, increase land area or find alternative solutions for slurry management. It could significantly impact farm profitability and competitiveness, particularly for dairy farmers. It may also affect sectors such as beef, sheep and tillage.”
“With regard to the implications for bail, in summary cases bail can only be refused in limited circumstances putting victims at potential risk while awaiting trial. Indictable charges would give courts greater power to refuse bail and to consider an accused person's prior record or other charges. The current penalty under section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 for breaching a domestic violence order is a maximum sentence of 12 months' imprisonment. The proposed legislation would increase the maximum penalty to not greater than five years better aligning the punishment with the severity of the offence and improving prosecution for victims. I hope the Minister of State has positive news for us on allowing the Bill to progress. Our party group supports the amendment brought forward by our colleague Senator Ryan.”
“In terms of the current legal framework, the Minister of State will be well aware that breaches of domestic violence are prosecuted only summarily in the District Court. This one-size-fits-all approach does not reflect the seriousness or complexity of cases. This proposed Bill introduces a hybrid approach allowing more tailored responses to different levels of severity. Multiple or serious breaches of protective orders are not uncommon yet current laws limit the ability to pursue more serious charges. The amendment includes a number of key changes. Prosecutors will have the discretion to bring indictable charges for breaches where appropriate. Indictable charges are more serious and allow for more robust court responses.”
“It is a small change in our legislation that will help so many women and children and families who are in that awful situation of domestic violence to move into a safe place and brighter future. It is difficult to articulate my feelings even from my notes on this issue but it is important to do so following Senator Ryan's contribution because that was so powerful and so important to put context on this powerful legislation. In 2022, the last year I have statistics from, over 10,000 domestic violence protective orders were issued with approximately 5,000 breaches reported. Half of them were breached. Despite the scale of the issue, only 500 convictions followed those breaches. In the same year, there were 54,000 Garda call-outs relating to domestic violence. It is of epidemic proportions.”
“I do not have much to say after that. I thank Senator Ryan for sharing her experience with us. It brings into perspective why we are here this evening. We know that so many families are affected through domestic violence and children in particular are affected greatly. This Bill, first introduced by my colleague Vincent P. Martin in the previous Seanad, had got us to Committee Stage. I thank Senator Clonan and my cross-party colleagues for agreeing to use this slot to bring the Bill forward. Now we see why it is so important. I also acknowledge the presence in the Public Gallery of Sarah Benson from Women’s Aid. Women's Aid has been championing this piece.”
“It is really important that we continue to grow the sector. We are in a good space, which has not always been the case, and it is being reciprocated by communities up and down the country when they get community monuments funding, the built heritage investment scheme or the small funding grants for projects or oral histories. All of that is hugely important. We cannot see it as just a nice add-on or a nice thing to have. It is critical to the future of our communities. I really welcome the response and look forward to the process being initiated and to participating through this House.”
“Members are probably used to standing up here and saying they are disappointed with the response they get. I warmly welcome the response from the Minister of State in this case. As I said in my opening remarks, it is really important that we use an evidence-based approach. I refer to that specific point I made about the research function in the Heritage Council, but all of that will be teased out as the working group sets about its task. It will take considerable time. There is no doubt but that it is a significant Act. Indeed, it is a significant sector to try to get into the roots of to ensure everybody has a say in this review process and that we have a vibrant sector into the future. I go back to that resourcing point. I say that with the framing of the Minister of State's budgets for 2026 in mind.”
“It is vital to communities up and down the country who partake in, and are custodians of, our heritage. Critical too is that the growth we have seen in the sector over the last number of years has been welcomed by those communities and by the Heritage Council in its role as well. That role is ever expanding and it is really important that we use this evidence-based approach to see where we need to be investing into the future and to justify that investment for future Governments. It is one of those sectors that have taken hits in the past when the country has gone into recession or there have been economic challenges. If anything, it is a time to ramp up investment in heritage because it is all a part of who and what we are and it helps shape our future. I would welcome the Minister of State's thoughts on that.”