Mark Ward
Dublin Mid-West · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“The second largest part of the subvention is the €4.1 billion that relates to public debt. Ireland would have no legal liability to pay any part of this. The cost of defence and international relations is approximately €2.7 billion and almost none of this expenditure relates to activity taking place in the North.”
“It has not allowed us, as a nation, to reach our full potential. I also think it is important that we take the current financial situation in the North seriously. It is always disappointing when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael use the North as a stick to beat Sinn Féin. Even the Labour Party used this tactic this week.”
“It has been a long-standing policy of Sinn Féin to bring waste management back to public control. Privatisation has failed ordinary people. Bin companies act like a cartel in how they raise their prices. When one company increases its price, the rest follow.”
“The total subvention includes central British Government costs allocated to the North that would not be relevant to a united Ireland and here is why. The subvention from the British Exchequer to the North was €16 billion in 2023.”
“I thank Deputy Sherlock for bringing forward this legislation to bring bin collections back to public control. I am disappointed but not surprised that the Government is opposing this legislation. Fine Gael has a long history and policy of privatising public services.”
“We have a situation that allows multiple bin trucks to operate on the same street. On my road there could be three different companies coming down the road, sometimes at the same time. This goes against everything we are trying to achieve to make waste collection more environmentally friendly.”
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“This amendment seeks to provide a clear definition of "legal counselling". We were asked many questions about legal counselling during the justice committee's hearings on this legislation, such as how it is to be defined, what it means and who will provide it. There will be a lack of clarity if legal counsel is provided by non-legal professionals. Is it to be individual counselling? Is it to be group counselling? Is group counselling even ethical under professional rules? Before I was elected here in 2019, I worked as an addiction counsellor. I could call myself a behavioural therapist. There were no regulations in relation to that under CORU at the time. Since I became a Member, the regulation and registration of counselling by CORU still has not happened. Will the term "legal counselling" have to be regulated by CORU?”
“It goes without saying that the management of migration will be simplified when there is one state on the island of Ireland. For this reason, and many others, it is time to start making unity a reality. I have raised this issue on numerous occasions. I have raised the need for a secure bilateral agreement with Britain to ensure that those international protection applicants who should be processed in Britain can be returned there promptly.”
“3 relates to the fact most international protection applicants arrive through the common travel area and yet there has been zero assessment of how the common travel area will be affected and no attempt to agree a bilateral arrangement with Britain. With the failure to prioritise this bilateral agreement on returns, the Government has left the State in an unacceptable situation in the management of migration. It is also time for the Government, including the Taoiseach, who appears to have a particular reluctance in this regard, to admit that, as with many other challenges faced in Ireland, having two states on this island impedes our ability to deal with migration properly. Brexit added another layer of complexity to the situation.”
“Decisions are taking way too long. Appeals are taking too long. Deportation orders are not being enforced. There is massive profiteering from the provision of inappropriate IPAS accommodation. Fixing these problems does not require us to sign up to the EU migration and asylum pact. Ireland is a small, neutral country with an independent foreign policy. We should not allow the EU to dictate from which conflicts we should take people who are seeking refuge. This should be a matter for the Irish Government to decide. Amendment No. 2 is a safeguard to ensure the laws are made by Ireland's elected representatives and not handed over to Europe. Amendment No.”
“I will speak first about amendment No. 2. This amendment simply reaffirms that decisions on immigration and international protection remain the sole responsibility of the State. I have said before that Ireland is an independent sovereign state and should not be beholden to Europe on matters we can resolve ourselves. It has been the attitude of successive governments that we want to be the best in class when it comes to the EU. Ireland's position is unique and it has its own particular challenges. We are in the EU but are not in the Schengen area. We are part of a common travel area with a state that is outside the European Union. That is why the one-size-fits-all approach to migration and asylum is not in our best interests. There are many problems with the international protection system, which have been outlined already.”
“We have not had the chance to scrutinise this Bill in the way we should. We have only just got sight of some of the 267 amendments. I would like a copy of one of the green booklets but there are none to be found. I have a staff member looking for a copy of the amendment booklet so that I can look at the amendments while I am debating them rather than going on my phone, but the booklets are not even available. That is not good enough, but that is what happens when you rush legislation.”
“Listening to the debate, there seems to be one rule for the Government and another rule for the Opposition, with the Minister pushing his own legislation and not giving the Opposition the chance to undertake the proper scrutiny it needs to. I will give an example of why I am saying this, and the Minister will know where I am coming from. Last month, the Government delayed legislation I had before the House on nitrous oxide. I know it is not related to this issue, but the context is similar. The Minister decided to delay that legislation by nine months. The reason he gave me at the time was that he had just got sight of it and had not had a proper chance to go through it. That was the reason he gave me. As the Minister said, today we are discussing one of the most comprehensive Bills to come before this House and we are rushing through it.”
“It seems that because the Government is adopting the EU asylum and migration pact, this rush is about being the best boys in Europe and going straight into Europe and saying "yes, we will do what we are told". We will doff the cap and get on with it. That is no way to do it. We are a sovereign State and we should be able to look after our own rules and regulations when it comes to situations like this.”
“They simply will not be able to deal with any extra pressure that is going to be put on them as a result of this Bill. There is nothing here to deal with the vacancies in international protection. We are looking for the Minister to be able to prepare for that. That is all we were asking for in the amendment that has been ruled out of order. We do not know whether the provision of accommodation will be adequate. That needs to be prepared for. In my area of South Dublin County Council, we have the highest number of people staying in international protection in the whole State. There are 4,200 people there at the moment and it is bursting at the seams.”
“It is the wrong way of doing things. As Opposition, it does not give us time to research it. We do not have the same capacity that Government Ministers have with their teams of staff. I see officials beside the Minister. We do not have that facility. We have to research and look at all that information ourselves. We do not have reams and reams of staff to do this. The common-sense amendment that has been disallowed merely asked the Minister to do something simple to prepare for the enactment of this legislation. As we have heard before, fail to prepare and prepare to fail. We heard yesterday at a committee meeting that civil legal aid services are bursting at the seams already. They have not had any increases in fees since 2008.”
“I have said before that rushed legislation makes for poor legislation. I was on the justice committee when it was agreed unanimously right across the committee that we would give as much time as possible to debate the EU asylum and migration pact and the legislation we are talking about today. It was agreed on a cross-party basis by members of the Minister's party, of his colleague's party and all the Government parties - that we would have a robust debate in the committee rather than coming in here and speaking for an eight-hour debate today and probably next week as well until the guillotine comes, which I expect it will at some stage. As my colleague said, it is absolutely bonkers that we received the amendments as late as we did and that we had to put amendments in before Second Stage was even completed.”
“One of the reasons the social housing passport is badly needed is a direct consequence of the housing list and the amount of time people are left languishing on it. I previously raised the case of a constituent living in my area in Newcastle, which is in South Dublin County Council's area. She has been living in Newcastle for 12 years. She set down her roots in the Newcastle area and her children go to school there but, because she is on Dublin City Council's list, she cannot apply for any of the homes that become available in the Newcastle area. If she wants to secure long-term housing, she will have to uproot her family. I hope the Government will support this Bill as it progresses through the House.”
“I thank my constituency colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, for the work he has done on this legislation. The Social Housing Passport Bill is a really important piece of legislation. It provides a person with the ability to move from one local authority list to another without losing their time on the housing list. I first raised this issue back in 2019 when I got elected in a by-election. It was in the 2020 programme for Government, but it was not included in the 2025 programme for Government. I am going to put my Dublin hat on because this measure is particularly needed in Dublin. Despite being the capital of our State, Dublin is a small county and people move across the four local authorities. For example, a HAP tenant on the Dublin City Council list cannot move to South Dublin County Council's list without losing their time on that list.”
“It is, therefore, incredibly disappointing that what we see returning from the Seanad is the Minister's acceptance of just one amendment, bringing explicit clarity to an existing provision. That, to my mind, does not reflect a Minister who is genuinely interested in hearing from the Opposition and good legislative practice, or give due respect to the function of these Houses in their totality.”
“Government Ministers commonly talk about being willing to work with the Opposition, asking what the Opposition's ideas are and asking us to bring forward solutions. Sinn Féin has brought forward multiple proposals that would have tempered the wholesale removal of juries. So, too, did other Opposition parties and Independents in both the Dáil and the Seanad. In particular, one amendment in the Seanad would have effectively aligned the law on mode of trial with that of the North, unifying the law on this issue for the whole island. That would have added benefit that should have been given greater consideration. Distinct from this, we also brought forward amendments touching on other parts of the Bill following significant deliberations in both Houses.”
“Sinn Féin will be supporting the Minister's amendments from the Seanad, which are largely technical, as well as the amendment that explicitly clarifies the defence of live broadcasts. We will, however, be opposing the Bill itself. While the Bill contains important provisions with regard to strategic lawsuits against public participation, SLAPPs, for example, and Sinn Féin remains willing to engage constructively with the Minister in relation to defamation reform or any other matter, we oppose the removal of juries from defamation trials. It is unnecessary, given the outworkings of the Higgins case. That said, I express significant disappointment in regard to how the Minister has progressed this Bill.”
“They get a temporary fix and then they reappear a couple of days later. You could drive down a road one day and if you drive down the same road the next day, a pothole could have magically appeared. I would invite the Minister of State for a drive around Dublin Mid-West but it would be a bumpy ride with the number of potholes we have. We drive on the left in Ireland but in Dublin Mid-West we drive on what is left. That is what someone said to me as that is how bad the roads are. It is getting even worse. Residents in my area pay their road tax like everybody else and the least they should have are safe roads.”
“The Government has said it will commit to looking at regulations for e-scooters and scramblers but they need to be comprehensive. We need to see what powers are going to be put in place for the Garda to be able to seize them. These are absolute weapons in the hands of wrong people. They are lethal weapons. We need to put everything in place that will take them off our streets. I want to talk about potholes. It is the first time I have brought them up in the Dáil. It is a big issue in Dublin Mid-West. I have lived in the area all my life and I have never seen the roads so bad. Driving through parts of Clondalkin and Lucan is like driving through an obstacle course trying to avoid potholes. The roads literally are in bits. Some people actually name the potholes in my community they are there that long.”
“In 2012, Teachta Dessie Ellis brought forward legislation to deal with scramblers in our communities. In recent times, Teachtaí Donnelly and Ellis and I again brought forward more legislation. Despite the efforts of some Government backbenchers, the Government did not put anything concrete in place. My area of Dublin Mid-West is just one of the neighbourhoods that has been terrorised by people on scramblers. They feel they can do what they want, when they want and how they want. It is not just scramblers that are causing problems in our communities. E-scooters are being driven recklessly and with impunity, often transporting drugs and cash for organised criminals. People coming off e-scooters are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries presenting at the Mater hospital.”
“I want to start by saying that everybody who was involved in that tragic incident on North Earl Street this lunchtime is in my thoughts and prayers. I thank the first responders. They do not get enough thanks from us in this House for being there and assisting people at this tragic time. I also want to ask people to refrain from sharing images and videos on social media. I know somebody it happened to before and it is an absolutely horrible way to find out that a loved one was involved in a tragic incident. I ask people to refrain from doing that. As a father, I watched the heartbreaking reaction to the tragic death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch by a scrambler. Those of us who have represented communities that have been plagued by scramblers are not surprised. We have given the Government ample warning.”
“There has been an increase in the number of people presenting to accident and emergency departments with acquired brain injuries due to accidents involving e-scooters. I ask for an update on the measures the Government will introduce, when that will happen and how the law will be enforced.”
“I listened to the Taoiseach's response on Leaders' Questions to my party leader, Deputy McDonald. He said the Government will introduce regulations for e-scooters. That is also in the programme for Government. Since 2024, e-scooters have been legal on Irish roads, but people do not need a licence to drive one. They do not have to be registered, taxed or insured. As we speak, e-scooters are being driven recklessly and with impunity across Dublin. They are so quiet that pedestrians do not hear them until they are right on top of them. They are being driven on footpaths and at night time with no lights or reflective clothing. The drivers are often dressed in black. They are being used to transport money and drugs for criminal gangs. They are driven without helmets.”
“It is a symptom of a broken care system. These are not isolated incidents. I could bring up more recent incidents in our constituency but I will not because I know there are investigations ongoing. These incidents are not few or far between and they need to be addressed. I hope this Bill goes some way to addressing the problems we are experiencing with Tusla.”
“As far as I know, the school is not in the summer work programme either, so it will not get any supports during the summer. Schools like St. Kevin's in a disadvantaged areas need to have the appropriate settings to encourage children to go to school, so they do not come to the attention of Tusla. In my previous profession, I supported people suffering with addiction issues. One of the most challenging issues I had was when, within the space of two weeks, three young women presented to our service. All three were products of the care system, all three had addiction issues and all three had a child while in the care of the State. All three had their children taken off them and put into the care of the State while they themselves were in the care of the State. That shows me all that is wrong with Tusla.”
“Any legislation that provides greater supports for children who need them is to be welcomed. However, we also have to make sure that children have, for example, appropriate school settings. There is a report out this week that shows a decrease in the number of young children attending school. If they are not attending school, they come to the attention of Tusla. This week I visited a school in the Minister of State's and my constituency, namely, St. Kevin's Community College on the Fonthill Road. It is my former school. I walked around the school with the principal and there were 32 leaks in the school builsing. It has an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, class that is not fit for purpose. It is meant to moving towards 1,000 pupils but there are no plans for that.”
“I do not want to talk about my own stuff but if there is more than one income coming into a house, it is taken out of the threshold. Talking to students and parents, all they see is that the Government broke its promise. They thought they would get a reduction of €500. The simple maths is that last year I paid €2,000 for my child's education in university and this year the cost is €2,500. You do not need to be a college professor to work out there has been a €500 increase. There is a bit of spin in this and the Minister has to admit this. What parents want to see is actual change in their pockets. The question they want me to ask is when they will see a further reduction in college fees and when they will see college fees totally abolished. This is what that people right across Dublin Mid-West and throughout the country want to know.”
“The reason I know this is because I am one of the parents who had to pay the money. Is there any commitment to address this?”
“As the Minister mentioned, 108,000 students and their parents will get a second bill for student fees through the door. I know because I am one of those parents who got a bill this week. I am in the privileged position of being able to afford to support my daughter but many parents are not in that position. I was interested in the Minister's response to Deputy Ó Cearúil earlier with regard to parents who have multiple children going through college at the same time. He said there may be a commitment to address that further down the line or in the next budget. That would be really welcome. I know the Government has a promise to reduce fees but the reality for most parents and children out there is that there has been an increase of €500 from last year to this year.”
“What are the Government's plans to reduce university fees? Is the Government committed to fully abolishing university fees? When will this happen? In the context of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, these fees are putting undue pressure on families and students.”
“It is disappointing the Government did not accept the unanimously agreed cross-party recommendation from the justice committee to reconsider opting out of the majority of the pact. This is very regrettable. There are also serious concerns that neither Tusla nor the civil legal aid system will be able to cope with the demands they will face under this legislation.”
“Decisions are taking way too long, appeals are taking too long, deportations are not being enforced and there is massive profiteering from the provision of inappropriate IPAS accommodation. Fixing these problems does not require us to sign up to the EU migration and asylum pact, however. Ireland is a small, neutral country with an independent foreign policy. We should not allow the EU to dictate which conflicts we should take people seeking refuge from. This should be a matter for an Irish government to decide. I am on the justice committee and as I have said numerous times about different legislation I believe this Bill is being rushed to fit in with a timeline set down by the EU and agreed by the Government.”
“Ireland is an independent, sovereign state and should not be beholden to Europe on matters we can resolve ourselves. It has been the attitude of successive governments that we want to be the best person in the class when it comes to the EU. Ireland’s position is unique and has its own very particular challenges. We are in the EU but we are not in the Schengen area and we are part of a common travel area with a state that is outside the European Union. That is why this one-size-fits-all approach to migration and asylum is not in our best interest. There are many problems with the international protection system in this State but most of them are of the Government’s making.”
“They have no understanding of third-hand information. I ask the Minister to accept any amendments that the Opposition proposes as this Bill progresses through the rest of the House, and to bear in mind the opinions and real-life experience of survivors and victims.”
“They contend it will continue to violate their rights and continue to cause significant psychological harms to survivors. To continue to allow the perpetrator to read the private, personal counselling notes of victims is inhumane and must be ended. I am a member of the justice committee, as the Minister will know, and this point was made across party lines. Members of the Minister's party agreed that the use of counselling notes should be abolished when it comes to situations like this. Without this full ban, it will continue to retraumatise victims. It will stop victims from continuing with their lifesaving recovery or stop them from seeking justice to continue their healing. It will cause ever further delays in an already chaotic judicial system. Survivors also make the point that judges are not qualified counsellors or therapists.”
“That is what it is there for. I checked the code of ethics of the organisation with which I was accredited and the only time I was permitted to break the confidentiality of that counselling room was when I felt somebody was a danger to themselves or to somebody else. This is something I had to do a couple of times over the years. The amendment that the Minister proposes requires that pre-trial disclosure hearings take place in all cases where counselling notes are requested. The Minister contends that such an amendment would balance the constitutional rights of the accused to a fair trial with the rights of the complainant to privacy. Survivors wholeheartedly disagree with this Bill and do not believe that this Bill goes anywhere near close enough to upholding their rights.”
“During my time counselling clients, they would have disclosed to me some absolutely harrowing details, including being victims of child abuse or sexual and gender-based violence, and being victims and survivors of coercive control. As a practising counsellor, I was not aware that the legal team of a perpetrator of these horrific crimes could request my counselling notes to be used to defend its clients. Thank God, I was never asked to hand over such notes. I do not genuinely think I would have complied with such an order. Whatever the consequences would be, so be it. We also need to look at the practice of the DPP in the requesting of counselling notes. Once the DPP requests them, they have to be handed over to the defendant. The confidentiality of the counselling room is essential to allow the healing process.”
“The whole process is rushed, and rushed Bills make bad Bills. We learned from the Minister's speech that more amendments with other stuff are coming later on. We should have more chances to discuss such matters for a longer time. Due to the length of time I have to speak, I will only be able to speak on one aspect of this Bill. I wish to talk about one of the aspects of the Bill that I know and of which I have some experience. The practice of the defence in sexual violence cases requesting counselling notes has become the norm, with devastating consequences for victims who are seeking justice. I am a qualified and former practising counsellor.”
“I am not in favour of the use of miscellaneous Bills for complex issues such as those we are discussing today. The issues in this Bill are diverse and have little or no connection to each other. The Minister went through the list of what the Bill covers, from the use of counselling notes in sexual violence crimes to obligating courts to consider a community service order in lieu of prison sentences, and even to outdoor seating on public land. There is very little connection between these. During the pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill, some of these issues were not even discussed. These matters deserve their own stand-alone Bill in order to be interrogated properly, to give us the time to discuss them, to make sure we do due diligence on each Bill and to give each matter what it needs.”
“It is a really good idea and these organisations are really happy that their workers are getting pensions but unless they receive supports, they may have to cut vital services, which goes against their service level agreements. Has the Government got a solution to this issue?”
“I want to ask about the pension auto-enrolment scheme, particularly for community organisations. Clondalkin Drug and Alcohol Task Force estimates auto-enrolment will cost its organisation about €6,000 in 2026. If things stay as they are, that will rise to €12,000 after three years, €18,000 after six and €24,000 after nine. It is not sustainable if the funding remains the same. Other projects are in the same boat. Another organisation that contacted me said it will cost it €10,000 this year. These organisations are not businesses. They are not able to get revenue in, increase costs or anything like that. They rely on Government funding to provide the services. They are already engaging in fundraising activities to cover funding deficits that are already there. I am not being critical of auto-enrolment.”
“The Government brings forward amendments, and then it tables amendments to its own legislation, so do not criticise the Opposition for doing the same. I am willing to work with the Government, all parties and none, to bring this legislation in. At this stage, I will be asking the Minister of State to withdraw this amendment because I really do not think it is good enough. We are giving the Government a solution. We are giving it the answer. We are willing to work with it but it is kicking us down the road.”
“I do not think he read the Bill if he did not see sections 6 and 11 that specifically work in relation to giving the Garda the right to seize nitrous oxide canisters. The Government often comes in here and criticises the Opposition for not bringing solutions. I am bringing in solutions. I was on "Prime Time" with the Minister of State a month ago and I offered her the Bill. She can take the Bill and call it a Government Bill. As Deputy Crowe said, I do not really care who brings this legislation in. The Clondalkin drug and alcohol task force has said children as young as 12 are using its service because of nitrous oxide use. Is it okay for those 12-year-olds to turn into 13-year-olds? This period of nine months does not make sense. I said I am willing to work with anyone on this legislation. No legislation is perfect.”
“There is no cost to retailers or sellers who have a legitimate reason to use nitrous oxide. The Minister also mentioned the Garda having the powers to seize nitrous oxide not being in this Bill. If we turn to sections 6 and 11, section 6 will give the Garda the power to seize nitrous oxide canisters from people who it is believed intend to use it as an intoxicant. Section 11 of this Bill sets out the powers gardaí will have to enter and search properties they reasonably suspect are being used to sell nitrous oxide without a licence or to the non-exempted purchaser. I pay tribute to Joe who works in my office. Joe, myself and the OPLA worked on this legislation. I do not have a team of staff like the Minister has.”
“Regarding the EU issue and kicking this down the road until the EU comes in with its derogation in 2027, I said in my contribution that we are an independent, sovereign state. We should be making our own laws. We do not have to wait for the EU to come in with a law. Holland has done it already. It came out with legislation a couple of years ago, which was very similar to this. It is not waiting on the EU. We know how liberal that country is in relation to drug laws. If it is bringing legislation to tackle nitrous oxide, we know there is a problem. The financial burden on businesses was mentioned. There is no financial burden on businesses from this legislation. There is no cost for a licence. An application is made to the Minister for the licence and to be on the approved list of retailers.”
“Every chance I get when I am in this House, and the Minister of State herself will know this, I will raise this legislation. The Minister coming in here and saying he was not aware of the Bill simply does not wash. The Minister also mentioned there were several pieces of legislation already out there that should be working in relation to combating nitrous oxide. Walk down any park, street or stream, as Deputy Crowe said, and you will see discarded nitrous oxide canisters. It is not working. How many people have been convicted of selling nitrous oxide over the past number of years? I could not find anybody who has been convicted, so the legislation out there is not working.”
“I thought I wrote his speech myself because he was making all the same points I was making. When I come in here to talk about a Bill, often there is clear blue water between the Government and the Opposition. There did not seem to be on this legislation. I cannot think of any legitimate reason, and I know a multitude of reasons was given, other than this is just a political decision not to pass this Bill. The Minister actually commended me on the legislation itself. What he did say, which does not wash with me, is that he only became aware of this Bill in the past week. I introduced this Bill in the last Dáil term, and then I reintroduced it as soon as I could in this Dáil, so this legislation has been ready to go to Second Stage for quite some time.”
“I just want to thank everyone who spoke in support of this Bill. I thank Deputy Crowe in particular because, in fairness to him, he did a hell of a lot of work on this Bill to make sure we protect the children and the end-user was not criminalised. I thank the other Opposition parties whose members spoke in support of the legislation, including the Labour Party, the Social Democrats, Independent Ireland and Deputy Paul Gogarty. As was said, this is a common-sense Bill and it should be allowed to go onto Committee Stage. Deputy Gannon, I think, said it is like a foundation that can be built on. I am not egotistical enough to think this Bill is absolutely perfect. I am willing to work with the Minister of State and the Government to improve it. I was bemused by the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan.”
“He can kick this down the road for nine years but he has five years and has not come up with an alternative. If he comes up with an alternative in his ten-minute speech after I have sat down, I am open to listening to it, but urgency is needed on this.”
“The Bill is 20 pages long. It was not just thrown together. It took 14 months to get to this stage. It went through every kind of critical thinking and stakeholder conversation possible. On that note, I thank the Clondalkin Drug and Alcohol Task Force for its help with the Bill. I welcome those from Dublin city's Comhairle na nÓg who are in the Gallery tonight. They have done a huge amount of work to raise awareness around nitrous oxide among young people. I will simplify these 20 pages. The Bill will require wholesalers to hold a licence to sell nitrous oxide products. Retailers who sell nitrous oxide products will need to be on a register of approved sellers. It will only be possible to sell these products to exempt purchasers. It is a simple Bill that can make a big difference. The Minister has five years.”
“When you see an increase of 175% in one year, you know there is a problem. The EU has produced a report and is looking to put in place a derogation to prohibit the sale of nitrous oxide to the public because of the damage it is doing to people's reproductive health. That is when it is used in a clinical setting, such as in dentistry. God knows what it is doing to young people who are inhaling nitrous oxide if it is causing damage in those controlled settings. Is this one of the reasons the Minister is kicking it down the road? Why wait? We are a sovereign country. We do not have to wait for the EU. We can do this here and now. The Bill itself is similar to legislation that was introduced in Holland a couple of years ago. There are a few changes. I thank the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers in the Oireachtas for its help on this.”