The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures, to be taken without debate on conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, motion regarding proposed agreement by Seanad Éireann of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No. 439/2010, referral to committee, to be taken without debate at the conclusion of item No. 1; No. 3, Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021, Second Stage, to be taken at 3.15 p.m. and to adjourn at 4.45 p.m. if not previously concluded, with the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes, those of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given not less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 4, Private Members' business, Remuneration Information and Pay Transparency Bill 2023, Second Stage, to be taken at 4.45 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
I will not be the last to make reference to it, but I welcome the Windsor agreement on the Northern Ireland protocol. It is phenomenally good news. As has been recognised in the past 24 hours by the chambers of commerce and the business sector in Northern Ireland, this agreement offers the potential for Northern Ireland to prosper economically and socially. Northern Ireland will be able to enjoy the best of its normal trading relationship with the UK and the advantages of the EU Single Market. That is huge. Related, and more important, is that the agreement offers the potential for normal governance in the running of Northern Ireland. Devolved local government can resume. A functioning government can now be set up.
It will be a challenge for unionism to show leadership in this area. All we can do is appeal to them and let them know that the painstaking efforts to achieve this agreement arose from a genuine wish on the part of those on this section of the island, across Europe and the UK to accommodate the needs of unionism.
That has been implicit in all of the negotiations. There is nothing here that is sinister or threatening to the unionist community. I would like the Leader, in her summary, to consider a unified approach from the House to this. Maybe we could have a further discussion on it but I ask the Leader to declare that we all support the agreement, welcome it and appeal to unionism to take it in good faith, to work with it and to re-establish governance.
In the time remaining, I wish to raise a practical, local issue that was raised by my colleague in the other house, Deputy Cannon, namely, the possibility of extending the Croí Cónaithe scheme, which provides grant aid to refurbish derelict properties, to those who would potentially rent out the premises. When I mentioned this to a learned colleague who is sitting in the Chamber at the moment, he pointed out it might have taxation implications. That should be looked at. The issue is that if one were renting, one would get a tax allowance but under this scheme, one would get a grant but there can be a reconciliation here. We should look at look at making the Croí Cónaithe scheme available in all situations in order to achieve occupancy and use of houses. If anything can be achieved in that regard, it should be done.
I wish to add my voice of congratulations on and support for the Windsor Framework, as published yesterday. This certainly marks a new phase of both EU- UK relations and Irish-UK relations. It also solidifies a strong partnership that is necessary to face global challenges as they arise. I congratulate in particular the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin who, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, was central to these negotiations. I repeat our appeal and our hope that those who were elected as MLAs to Stormont will finally have the opportunity to take their seats and work for those who elected them, in an appropriate manner.
Today is rare disease day. In Ireland, it is estimated that 300,000 people are living with a rare disease. However, Irish rare disease patients are forced to wait over one third longer than their EU counterparts to access approved orphan drugs. This is an appeal on behalf of those who need better access to life-saving treatments. I want to give a shout out to a number of people. I have spoken here many times about my friend, Pat Tinsley, who sadly passed away last year from amyloidosis. The patisiran drug just did not come in time for him. I also want to shout out to Stephen Sheil, who worked here in the Houses of the Oireachtas, and who is not just surviving but is thriving. Stephen was diagnosed with intestinal neuronal dysplasia, IND, when he was just six months old. He and his family had to make many sacrifices but it was wonderful to see his post on Twitter this morning. I also want to pay tribute to my colleague, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan who is doing a lot of work in this area, as did former Deputy John Brassil.
I also want to raise the issue of human rights NGOs calling on EU countries to join the European Commission's court case against Hungary over a controversial law adopted by that country. It is basically a Russian-style anti-LGBT+ propaganda law and is almost a carbon copy of Putin's 2013 law. The European Commission rightly says that this law violates Internal Market rules, the fundamental rights of individuals and EU values. Three NGOs have come together to launch a petition to remind EU member states of their commitments. They are expecting at least 20 EU countries to engage in these proceedings, which could be the largest human rights infringement proceedings ever brought in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and I am calling for Ireland to be one of those countries.
Finally, I wish to mention somebody that I called to yesterday, a lady called Ms Natalie Stout who runs a community preschool in Caragh, County Kildare. She provides a highly valued service for those that use it. On behalf of many smaller community, rural-based operations like hers, Ms Stout spoke about the real threat of closure next September.
While we are grateful for what the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, did for parents in reducing fees, we must have that for those who operate the early childhood care and education, ECCE, schemes. I call for the Minister to come before the House for a debate on the matter
Like my colleagues, I congratulate the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and the European Union on the wonderful negotiations that led to the Windsor agreement. We should also congratulate Sinn Féin on the measured response it issued yesterday and the unionists who have come forward to say this is a great day. I hope that those who are still struggling with it will find a way forward.
Friday is World Hearing Day. It is no secret that I suffer quite badly from hearing loss. Hearing loss is horrific for anybody who suffers from it. I was at an event one day with my wife and when I walked away from some people we were talking to, she asked me if I had heard one word they had said. I asked her what she meant and she said I kept answering questions I had not been asked. It is a horrible place to be. I ask that people suffering from hearing loss go to get their hearing checked and get hearing aids, which are a great assistance. Without hearing aids, I could not use my telephone. From that point of view, hearing aids are of huge assistance. Unfortunately, however, they do not restore one's hearing to what it was.
I got the most peculiar email from the United States asking me to visit Tipperary town. The man who sent it told me that what I would find would be depressing. I visited the town afterwards and to say I was depressed on leaving it again would be an understatement. At the county building, the headquarters where the bureaucrats and the people who look after the town work, there is a water feature that is absolutely disgusting. It is filthy dirty because debris and rubbish have been thrown into it. Surely to God, at the very centre of the town, that should be the first thing looked at. The town courthouse, which is 100 years old, is locked up and completely unusable at this stage. This means that young people who are involved in situations of domestic violence or who are having marital problems and who have to resort to the courts must travel 60 km to the nearest courthouse. That is simply not good enough. There are other things I will say, not just about Tipperary but about how we deal with such things as rates in towns, and how people can avoid rates. I will discuss that matter in more detail later.
I am going to speak about Rare Disease Day, which was mentioned by previous speakers, because it is important to do so. Even though 300,000 people in Ireland are obliged to deal with rare diseases, it is very difficult for individuals to advocate for any kind of intervention on their behalf. An alliance of the organisations involved is important. I am involved with Addison's Ireland. Very few people - the estimate is one in 100,000 - have Addison's disease. I am one of them. I would like to give a shout out today to Rachel Bracken, a volunteer who has done major work over decades in trying to get action for those who have Addison's disease. We are not in bad company in that JFK also had the disease, although he did not have it for long. One can lead a very active life if one has Addison's. People do not realise when it comes to the kind of care needed in order to save the life of an individual with the disease. Paramedics are very busy and do not always have all of the information to hand in this regard.
That is a crunch point when people are being taken to hospital, namely, what will save their life in that particular instance. Unfortunately, we have see unnecessary deaths in our community. I am sure the same can be said for very many people with rare diseases.
Something that can be achieved quickly is the full implementation of the Mazars report published last Friday. I thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, for ensuring it was published. The alliance for rare diseases in Ireland has spoken to me, as I am sure it has to others, about how it feels this is a catalyst for change now in Ireland because it is a long road to try to get orphan drugs approved in Ireland. We cannot stand idly by when Ireland is a laggard in that regard. I also thank Deputies Pádraig O'Sullivan and John Lahart for the work they have done. I look forward to working with them as part of the working group on rare diseases. I hope it will not be another year before we see some progress in rare diseases in Ireland. We are all working tirelessly to try to do what we can for families.
Cuirim fáilte roimh an fhógra ó Shasana inné maidir leis an straitéis is déanaí ó Rialtas na Breataine agus ón Aontas Eorpach. I join other colleagues in welcoming yesterday's announcement and the conclusion of the negotiation between the British Government and the European Union. We can all agree we, collectively, not only Sinn Féin but all of us, set ourselves a target in the context of the protocol, before, during and indeed after, of ensuring we protected the all-island economy, that there was no return to a hard border in Ireland, and that we safeguarded the North's access to the Single Market. That has all been done. The negotiation is concluded and now is the time to return the institutions in the North so that we can maximise the economic, employment and prosperity opportunities that are offered as a result of the protocol to ensure people in the North who are facing the difficulties caused by the cost-of-living crisis and the crisis in the healthcare sector and the educators and teacher community in the North who are facing difficulties can have these dealt with by the locally elected politicians in the assembly. That is what the majority of people voted for in last May's assembly election and that is what people want. They want to see the resolute conclusion of the negotiations, which is why yesterday was welcome, but they also want to see the protocol utilised and maximised in terms of what it offers our people and our economy.
The coming days will be an important period. Like Senator Craughwell, I too note a change in mood and tone, and I welcome that. All of it, dare I say, will not amount to much unless we ensure there is a collective effort and push to ensure we do all we can to get the institutions back up and running. At the heart of that, and it needs to be put on the record, is the need for the DUP to end its boycott of the institutions in the North. I hope it does, and sooner rather than later.
The British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly will meet in Stormont on Monday. We will have our plenary session in the assembly chamber. I would much rather it was my colleagues in Sinn Féin and, indeed, all of the other parties returning to that chamber on Monday to represent my local community and all of the communities to get working on our all-island collaboration, the North-South Ministerial Council and our own inter-parliamentary forum, North and South.
Another week has passed and we have seen more slaughter in Palestine. Another week has passed and we still do not have the statements many across the House have been seeking. It is crucial this House does not remain silent in the face of that breach of international law and in the face of that apartheid system, that we have those systems and that we are able to send that international message of solidarity, peace and support for the rule of law.