Victor Boyhan
Agricultural Panel · Independent · Ireland
“It also mentions the agrifood sector and the importance of diversification in agriculture, the maritime sector, coastal communities and fishing communities in terms of rural policy.”
“I know from my engagement with both the Department and the Minister that over 900 submissions to the consultation process were received. No Member or parliamentarian will have had the opportunity to consider the anonymised version of these consultations, which contain many good suggestions in favour of the regulations and many concerns in…”
“I welcome the Minister and the official to the Seanad. This is particularly important Private Members' business. I thank Senators Collins and Tully for setting out the background and the rationale behind their Private Members' motion. I acknowledge the Minister's exceptional commitment to rural Ireland and his Ministry.”
“I am conscious of the Minister's public consultation, and I acknowledge it and thank them for it, in relation to the Our Rural Future work programme in 2025. In fairness to him, he did not stop at that. I received a further update when I requested it from his office very recently.”
“This will come about through that process. It is for the Minister to decide. Maybe he will do so tomorrow when the regulations are dealt with. However, when Senators are in this Chamber discussing these regulations tomorrow, they will have no sight of any constituent who made a submission. That is my first item.”
“I am pleased to see Senator Byrne in the Leader’s chair. I wish him well in that job. I also wish him well in his new position as Government Whip. There are three items I wish to discuss today. First is the exempt development regulations, which are being covered extensively in the media.”
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“It is quite frustrating. They are working under enormous pressure. They are working under enormous time constraints. It is very hard to recruit staff. Recently, I was told by someone in a recruitment agency that when they mention Tusla, no one nearly wants to apply. They ask what they are doing here with that shower. That is not correct and I want to correct that narrative. Tusla does amazing work on very complex issues, conflicting interests and families that are broken for various reasons through no fault of their own so they have different priorities for their families, their children and the struggles of children who fall into a family that is divided or does not have the resources, skill sets or finances to support themselves. I understand that.”
“The Minister of State confirmed that the five new SCAN teams for adult services would be located in Kerry, Limerick, Galway, Kildare and Dublin south city. That is only the beginning and she pointed that out too. She did not say that here but she told us here. That is all good news. All of this is music to my ears and compatible with what I am trying to do here. Then the Minister of State went on about the relevant statutory bodies and I understand that. I take that on board. I want to put on the record my own support for Tusla. It is a much maligned organisation but there are amazing workers who work in Tusla. They do really good work.”
“She told us about her own personal experiences and she has met families, advocates and told us she was impressed by their strength and contributions in light of all the difficulties they face. I agree with her and there is no difference in that regard. We talk about the mental health professionals and just a few minutes ago, she commented on how great the mental health professionals are and I fully agree. I fully agree about the SCA nurses and that is why I brought it up because I thought it would give her an opportunity to speak on it herself. I know she speaks on it all of the time but I wanted to give an opportunity here because that is a really good, positive story that we have six new SCAN teams across the country.”
“I forensically examined the Minister of State's contributions in the Dáil and here, along with her track record of Government Information Service, GIS, press releases, etc., and I choose the words here carefully. I read and analysed all of these. I have gone through five subheadings. I talked about people with the lived experience and the Minister of State has talked extensively, eloquently and well about that herself. She empathised with people with the lived experience but I get the balance. It is also to look for professionals and expertise and she has made that point too so I have taken that on board. All of us have talked about family members and advocates. The Minister of State has praised the work of the family members.”
“The amendment is about a report on maximising autonomy. I propose that in advance of the five-year review of the Act, the Mental Health Commission shall prepare and submit a report reviewing strategies to maximise patient autonomy within the mental health services. This report shall be developed in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, including but not limited to people with the lived experience, family members and advocates, mental health professionals, mental health advocacy organisations and relevant statutory bodies. The report shall include evidence-based recommendations aimed at strengthening rights-based, person-centred approaches to care and enhancing supported decision-making in line with the national and international human rights standards. There has been so much talk about human rights.”
“I move amendment No. 65: In page 42, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “ Report on maximising autonomy 27. In advance of the five-year review of the Act, the Mental Health Commission shall prepare and submit a report reviewing strategies to maximise patient autonomy within mental health services. This report shall be developed in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, including but not limited to: (a) people with lived experience; (b) family members and advocates; (c) mental health professionals; (d) mental health advocacy organisations; (e) relevant statutory bodies, and shall include evidence-based recommendations aimed at strengthening rights-based, person-centred approaches to care and enhancing supported decision-making in line with national and international human rights standards.”.”
“I note the Minister of State is concerned about capacity; she issued a press release from the Government Information Service which I have in front of me, "The Minister for Mental Health ... announced ... the recruitment of six new Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse teams for primary care..." That is in the context that an "unprecedented 300 additional mental health staff will be recruited in 2026". I look forward to that recruitment. It was issued by the Government press office. It is related. It is not as many as we would like but it is going in the right direction.”
“It is self-explanatory. Perhaps the Minister of State would like to respond briefly. That is her call. I am conscious of time; I think we all are. I do not want us going out of here saying we did not have sufficient time. We now have time and if we use it constructively we can complete this Bill within that time.”
“(3) Where a recommendation for involuntary admission is made under section 16 in respect of a person detained in a prison, arrangements shall be made without delay for the transfer of that person to the registered acute mental health centre specified in the recommendation. (4) A person shall not remain detained in a prison solely by reason of the absence of an available bed in a registered acute mental health centre where the criteria for involuntary admission are fulfilled. (5) The Minister shall, in consultation with the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, make regulations providing for procedures to give effect to this section, including time limits for assessment and transfer. (6) The Mental Health Commission shall include in its annual report data relating to referrals and transfers under this section.”.”
“I move amendment No. 55: In page 36, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “Transfer from prison where person appears to fulfil criteria for involuntary admission 19. (1) Where a person detained in a prison appears to a registered medical practitioner, the Governor of the prison, or the Director General of the Irish Prison Service, to fulfil the criteria for involuntary admission under section 12, the matter shall be referred without delay to an authorised officer for assessment. (2) An authorised officer who receives a referral under subsection (1) shall, as soon as practicable, assess whether to make an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission in accordance with section 14 .”
“I want to keep the process going because we owe it to all of us that we all have an opportunity. It is self-explanatory. I am happy if the Minister of State wants to respond or add something but that is up to her.”
“(3) The Mental Health Commission will set up independent auditing and review procedures for all cases where treatment is given without consent before a capacity assessment is completed. The review must look at— (a) whether time limits were followed, (b) whether the reasons for treatment were properly recorded, (c) whether independent advocacy was involved where relevant, and (d) what steps were taken to support the person’s participation.”.”
“I move amendment No. 43: In page 29, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “ Capacity assessment and safeguards for treatment without consent 14. (1) A person cannot be given treatment without their consent unless a formal capacity assessment has been carried out and they have been found to lack capacity to consent to that specific treatment, in line with the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. (2) An exception to subsection (1) will only apply in emergency circumstances where such treatment is— (a) immediately needed to protect the life of the person or someone else, or (b) needed to prevent an immediate and serious threat to the health of the person or someone else, and no safe and effective alternative is available.”
“I move amendment No. 41: In page 28, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: “ Report on right to independent advocacy 13. Within nine months of the passing of this Act the Minister shall lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report outlining how a right to independent advocacy can be guaranteed to all patients and their caregivers.”.”
“The Acting Chairperson has been provided with a note. I have chaired the Seanad myself and notes are provided for the Cathaoirleach to read into the record when requested. I ask the Acting Chairperson in both cases-----”
“A different reason was given on this occasion because it was suggested it was a challenge to the Exchequer. I ask the Acting Chairperson to read the letter issued by the Cathaoirleach's office for the record of the House.”
“Sometimes people lose sight of the human elements of each and every one of us and we can only give it so much and so much of our time. We can only base it on our own experience. As I said at the beginning, we are here to advocate for the people who put us in here and I feel I have given it my best shot. I know other people have. I am somewhat disappointed. I would love to think that due to those four sentences I have said to the Minister of State she might change her mind but I do not think so. I thank her.”
“I was nearly going to bring the signatories and the document in here today to make the point. I hear what the Minister of State is saying and I said at the outset we are engaging in a respectful dialogue because this is a parliamentary process. We will go on this afternoon or tomorrow to do other work because that it the very nature of it. I respect that and will not think any less of her in terms of her parliamentary job. She has a lot going on herself and she is the Government Chief Whip as well so it is an enormously busy time for her and I want to acknowledge that because it is important. We all have to sleep. We all have to get up and wash our teeth in the morning. We all have to go to bed and put the cat out.”
“I have made the point that we are involved in primary legislation and therefore I am somewhat disappointed the Minister of State is not in a position to accept it. It did not come to any surprise I was tabling these amendments back to her because she would have seen the list of amendments. I need her to clearly remember that I did not press the amendment to a vote as I was not going to in some way tie my own hands so that I could not reintroduce this amendment. I somewhat sat on my hands because I know the process and that it would roll on to the next point. We are now on Report Stage, which is our last opportunity in this House to make the case. A lot of people outside and in here will be exceptionally disappointed because it is so simple and logical and only follows through on commitments that Ireland signed up to.”
“I have spoken, as have many people on the Opposition side, and engaged with advocacy groups who have championed this. I acknowledge again the enormous work former Minister of State Finian McGrath did in this area and the promises he was made back then about this important matter. Let us be clear what we are going to do here in a few moments. The Minister of State has considered it, she is aware of it. Forget about the detail and about vagueness. I am just making that point. I want to move on. I do not believe it is vague. I have shown, from the very first day of my engagement with this Bill, my commitment to put in only something that is there and nothing I made up. I wanted to support it.”
“I have been consistent on all Stages of the Bill. I have stood here through it all and continuously reiterated the importance of those two conventions, so none of this comes as a surprise to anyone. The Minister of State will know of it because I have seen engagement with her Department from correspondence that has been shared with me by a number of the advocacy groups I have spoken to and referenced today. I hear what the Minister of State is saying and respectfully disagree with her. When I spoke on these amendments I indicated this would be a determining factor in my personal consideration of this Bill and for that reason I will push this because it is important we have on the record where people stand in relation to these two pieces of really important legislation.”
“While I do not have difficulty with some of the sentiment of what the Minister of State said, I have to take issue, respectfully, with her. There is nothing vague about these two amendments. First, they are in plain, simple English. Second, it is not up to me, I am not the Minister of State and do not have the bank of officials behind me to tie up the legislative, legal or parliamentary language. It was very clear what these two amendments say, and they say simply that: "This Act shall be compliant with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child..." and "This Act shall be compliant with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities...". How the Minister of State could suggest they are vague is way beyond me and I do not understand it. I am not asking her at this stage to rewrite the legislation.”
“It is not me making them up and it is not anyone suggesting a half-baked idea. They are there. They are clear. We all understand them. Hopefully, the Minister of State can give it her support.”
“I see my prime role and function in this House as being an advocate for legislation, shining a light on important key issues, and effecting and bringing about change through primary legislation. We are primary legislators in this House. We are not somehow Senators masquerading as TDs. No one in this House is a TD other than the Minister of State. We are Senators, and we are conscious of our role in focusing on revising primary legislation to assist the Minister of State, the Parliament and the process of getting the best legislation. For that reason, and no other, it is important that we put our stamp on this House and that we demonstrate that this House effects change and has effected change in relation to these primary conventions of rights that we are signatories to.”
“I ask the Minister of State seriously today to give us the support we have been asking for, to accept these two amendments and to embed them in the primary legislation before us. The Minister of State should remember that we are the revising Chamber. We are the Upper House of the Oireachtas. This is not a mere nod-and-wink exercise of saying, "Yay, yay, yay." Parliamentary democracy is being challenged at its core. I remind the House, without delving into the views of politicians in the Minister of State's party or any other party, or indeed those who are Independents or non-aligned, that parliamentary democracy was under scrutiny in the past two or three weeks. People are asking serious questions about our relevance and our ability to influence change. Actually, I do not see myself as a politician at all.”
“I ask simply that the Minister of State hold faith and honour all of us and the commitments that the Parliament gave to advocates for people with disabilities and to people who have disabilities. It is necessary for the children that we talk about cherishing. The importance of children is enshrined in the Constitution. If we are to give this any legitimacy, we must honour what we set out to do. We and the Minister of State have a real opportunity. This enormous legislation will be one of the Minister of State's legacies because, hopefully, she will get it through. What a task it is. The Minister has stuck with it. The Minister of State has been lucky to have the opportunity to stick at it too, which is fantastic. No doubt other Members on this side of the House will speak about these two amendments.”
“I have taken the time to look at the Government Information Service, GIS, press calls, press releases and documentation I have here with me, in which they are welcoming it and they are rolling it all out. Finian McGrath, the former TD and Minister of State, was a great advocate. He got huge commitments then. Times have rolled on. It is a new Administration. There are Members of the Dáil who support the Government who are committed to this. I have raised it with a number of people in the Lower House as well. People have suggested that there should be no reason that this cannot be bedded down. I am asking the Minister of State for the last time. I will not keep going on. The Minister of State knows my view on it. The record of this House is clear about it. It is in the Official Report of all our debates.”
“I will not give the Minister of State a lesson here because everyone understands what they mean but it is important that they are central to this primary legislation. The Minister of State has indicated her reforming zeal in regulations that we have not yet seen. It is something of a blank cheque. We do not really know the shape of what is to come. I do not doubt that the Minister of State is committed to do it but we do not have it in front of us here. We do not have anything and I do not expect to. That is the norm. I am not suggesting that it is any different from any other legislation. I am pointing out that these conventions have been signed up to by successive Governments and they have spoken on them.”
“My ask and that of the many NGOs, organisations and advocates for various sectors across this country is that if we are to be consistent with our commitment and our ambition and if we are to honour all the "spiel" in both Houses, as someone said to me, in respect of these conventions - I would prefer to say "speeches" - we need to embed this in primary legislation. I will not accept anything less. This will be a determining factor in my support for this entire Bill because, I believe, it is so fundamental and so principled. Over the years, Minister after Minister, both present and past, has committed to support this area of importance. It is worth saying, when we talk about UN conventions of rights, that we know what they stand for.”
“I acknowledge the engagement with the Ombudsman's office and with a range of advocacy groups in terms of human rights, the understanding advocates for disability, the Children's Rights Alliance, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and many more organisations in relation to this matter. Indeed, my own colleague, Senator Clonan, has been an amazing champion in relation to the UNCRPD, as have other people across all sections of this House. This is an important matter. We are signatories to both of these conventions. I am somewhat surprised that it is not on any parliamentary agenda. It is certainly not on the latest one for which I thank the Minister of State, the summer programme, which I am aware comes under Deputy Butler's remit too as Chief Whip.”
“This is where it gets trickier. The Minister of State will be aware that I have spent a lot of time on this. There are two separate amendments, Nos. 31 and 32, but I will combine my comments on them. Amendment No. 31 seeks to ensure that "This Act shall be compliant with the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC)", which the Minister of State will be aware of. Amendment No. 32, which seeks to review the operations of this legislation, seeks to ensure that "This Act shall be compliant with the United Nations Convention Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).".”
“I also acknowledge that the Minister gave us a narrative there a day or two ago. The comparison was similar. There is cross-pollination and co-ordination. That is to be expected, given the complexity and understanding of the issues involved. I do not like using the phrase "a clean-up act" but, effectively, it is cleaning up a few commas and bits and pieces here. Personally, I take it in good faith. In the interest of moving things along because we have some very important amendments yet to be considered, I am happy to support that set of proposals by the Minister of State.”
“At the outset, because there was a lot of work done in the past few days, I particularly thank the Bills Office. I only learned yesterday - every day is a learning day - that it is the task of the Bills Office to do these listings and it is completely separate from the Minister's office. There is no influence whatsoever between the two departments and that gives us confidence. I did not doubt that, but it is nice to learn that because I thought it was the Seanad Office that was making these decisions. I learnt something new. Therefore, I acknowledge the important work of the Bills Office and its staff and the enormous pressure they are under in keeping all the legislation going across both Houses to come up with this list. I also acknowledge that they gave us a narrative on each of these too, which I thought was really interesting.”
“I will restart. I thank the Minister of State very much for setting out the transitional provisions. I take her word for it. She has confirmed that it is time-bound. That is a really important point. She also talked about the Mental Health Commission and its role and oversight in terms of governance. Of course, that is always really important. We will have another opportunity to talk about the Mental Health Commission later. I am satisfied with the Minister of State's reassurance from a personal point of view. I thank her for setting out the explanatory discussion in relation to that.”
“I do not know, but I am also respectful of the fact she is the Minister of State who is driving this legislation. It is on her watch and she will be aware of other considerations that I would not necessarily be aware of. I mean it genuinely. My heart is in the right place and I think the Minister of State's heart is too, but there is a strong case to have this independent advocacy service, for which I make the case here today.”
“As I said, I had a letter in The Irish Times and I got a lot of feedback on it. There are people who feel they cannot be open in their feedback, including people who have had family there. They are shocked by it. I will not gild the lily. I will just make it clear that there is a genuine and real need for an advocacy system. If there is a difficulty financially or with resources, or with getting people to bring that about, then the Minister of State might share that with us to help me have a greater understanding of the reason she would not support it. She indicated in her introduction to this group of amendments, before I spoke, that she would not be in a position to support it ,and I do not know if I have said anything that might make her reconsider it.”
“I do not think it is that difficult or should be that difficult for the Department to support the Minister of State in agreeing to a very reasonable request. This is what people are looking for and what they are asking for. I am not sitting at home every day making up stuff. I have absolutely no doubt in the Minister of State's commitment. There may be things I am not aware of in terms of unintended consequences but it sends a very clear signal if we can unite on the need for an independent advocacy group. I am conscious that I am on my feet and can only speak once so I am going to use my time well and to the best of my ability. I have only gone through the Bloomfield situation. I understand there is additional reporting due over the weekend in relation to this particular premises and the goings-on there.”
“While I have quoted the articles, I want to stand over my own commentary here that my concern and what motivates me to propose this amendment is the real need and desire for independent advocacy. This is an important point. The Minister of State will be aware. She has seen this legislation through all Stages, to her credit. Being a parliamentarian, she knows more about this legislation than anybody, as do her officials. I do not believe that what I am suggesting is an unreasonable request. I do not want to feel that I am somehow arguing with the Minister of State or arguing with the system. If the Minister of State came back and said, "No, Senator Boyhan, you're wrong. We need 19 months or 18 months", I would take that, but I do believe we need to be ambitious about having a pathway to putting in a statutory advocacy system.”
“We know from our engagement with Mental Health Ireland, Mental Health Reform, the Children's Rights Alliance, the Ombudsman for Children and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, to name just a few, that they too have focused on the issue of advocacy. Really all I am asking is that within nine months of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report outlining how a right to independent advocacy can be guaranteed to all patients and their caregivers. When we consider the parliamentary questions in the Dáil, the Commencement matters in the Seanad and the debates here, I know the Minister of State is motivated to do the right thing. I want to be clear that I am not calling into question any of that.”
“It is a shocking indictment of what was going on there. These are people in care in our State, which is another issue. We have now heard from the Irish Independent that more than 240 children have been waiting 18 months or longer for mental health care, according to the latest CAMHS figures as released yesterday. The parents, the guardians of these children and the teachers of these children are having difficulties in advocating for these people within their charge. That is important. The Irish Independent has another article the title of which is "Left in limbo - suicidal teen left to wait four weeks in hospital with no child psychiatrist available." I am only reading these into the record because they are in the media and I am highlighting them, but I am trying to illustrate the point that we absolutely need advocacy.”
“I know because I have spoken to people who worked there. I want to pay particular acknowledgement and reference to Shauna Bowers from The Irish Times , who documented it. I wrote a letter to The Irish Times , which the Minister of State will have seen, and I think I was fair in my general assessment of it. I note the Minister of State is committed to following through and I look forward to her work on that. When it is appropriate and everything is completed, I hope we would have an opportunity to look at it again because I think there are learnings there. Again, I am trying to illustrate the point that shocking things happened in the Bloomfield nursing home. Staff at all levels in the organisation were unhappy. They felt there was not independent advocacy. Many of them did not feel they had confidence in any whistleblowing situation.”
“There is an ongoing investigation and I do not want to pre-empt all of that, but all sides of the House agreed in the Dáil that there were major concerns about it. I just want to put that on the record. There is the statement from the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health on North Kerry CAMHS, compensation and further file review. That was the document I was referring to, dated 29 March 2026. I noted that and I just wanted to read into the record that this is the correspondence because the Minister of State may want to reference that later. If we had a fully functioning, open and transparent advocacy service, I do not believe we would have got this far in what was a shocking story. I have spoken to people involved. Then we move to the issue of the Bloomfield home. We were discussing these matters.”
“Would it have happened if we had advocates? I think we would have heard earlier of many of the problems if the whistleblowers had felt confident enough to say it. People did not feel they had advocacy. We are talking about advocacy here. It is important. My amendment states, "Within nine months of the passing of this Act the Minister shall lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report outlining how a right to independent advocacy can be guaranteed to all patients and their caregivers.” I mentioned Kerry CAMHS and the appalling situation that happened there with the administration of medication, which parents and those in loco parentis were not fully aware of. Without spending the whole hour talking about Kerry CAMHS, the Minister of State knows, and I know, what happened.”
“As we speak, the association is having a conference in Cavan on CAMHS. Today many people will have heard the interview on "Morning Ireland". While this point is not teed up for this per se , I just wanted to put it in the context of advocacy. They asked if the Minister would consider a pause on the proposal to close the ten-bed child and adult mental health service at St. Vincent's in Fairview. This leads me to the issue of advocacy for CAMHS. I looked at the Government Information Service, GIS, and the Government announced two press items, on which I will speak in a second. I really want to talk about advocacy first. I will read them and I will reference the documents, a copy of which I have here. Two issues highlight advocacy. People contacted me from across Kerry. We know about the absolute scandal there with CAMHS.”
“I fully understand. I thank the Minister of State. I suppose this is one of the kernels of the legislation and in some ways would indicate one of the central problems of it. To put it into context, I will say a few things about advocacy. Today I want to wish the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland well in its conference.”
“I note what the Minister of State has said and put on the record of the House. It is consistent with the briefing note we all received. My takeaway from it is that the Minister of State is telling us these amendments are about being compatible with the Child Care Act, about having regard to Tusla and its current status, and about the balance between the right of access and the work of Tusla as an advocate, because it is a legitimate advocate in many cases, and parents. This is my understanding of it. I also understand there is no change in the policy. I thank the Minister of State for this. I presume I understand this correctly but if I do not, the Minister of State might enlighten me further.”
“I am happy to support the amendments but for clarity it might be no harm, as people are listening in and some Senators are not here, for confirmation that we do not have an opportunity to vote on the sections on Report Stage. I know this but, just so it is clear, it might be confirmed that we have one opportunity to speak on each amendment, so we need to be here if we want to speak to an amendment, and we will not have an opportunity to have a broad sweeping discussion on each section.”
“I welcome the Minister of State and her officials. I thank her for the rationale around these amendments. I hope we can conduct our business as speedily as possible. We have done all the bits of debate. I can only speak for myself, but I do not envisage much more. I thank the staff of the Minister of State for facilitating us with the small, brief and concise explanatory memorandum. That helps us to digest the information and get through a lot of it. I also want to put on the record my thanks to the Bills Office. It provided a very similar document. Everyone will be happy to know that the Bills Office and the office of the Minister of State were consistent in what they said. They are independent of each other. This is reassuring for us and I thank the Minister of State for it.”
“We cannot continue. I will finish on this point because it relates to some of the Members of the Deputy Leader's Party. During the past 24 hours we have seen people step up to the plate and talk about their frustration with the parliamentary process, be they Independent or within the parties. It is a wake-up call for all Members of the Oireachtas. We need to do our business in a better way, in a more respectful way, and stop guillotining debates the public deserve to hear.”
“We will attempt to do our business professionally, but with respect. We can all hold back on repeating ourselves on all sides of the House and that includes on the Government side as well. I hope the debate will go well. We should endeavour to buckle down and make a decision. At this stage we have debated most of the issues, so let us get to the important point and put the votes on the record of the House. I hope the debate will go well and I genuinely mean that. Let us try to do our business speedily. I have to put on the record that the guillotine is disappointing but I am moving on. Let us glance back and look forward. There will be other days and other opportunities to reform parliamentary democracy. It is a sad day and an affront to parliamentary democracy that we had a guillotine in the Dáil last night and now here in this House.”