I thank the Senator. I understand that he has expressed many concerns. This is emergency legislation because Brexit is not waiting.

I refer to a topic I have raised previously. Senator Murphy will be familiar with it as well. It is about community groups having to come together to challenge local authorities when it comes to inappropriate planning and locations of transfer stations on sites that force hundreds of trucks through the middle of a town. This is a significant issue for us. I bring it to the House's attention because there is a town that is very united. We are bringing together business groups, clubs and community groups. We have doc…

I welcome the Minister to the House. It is great to hear an update on the TU agenda. As Fine Gael spokesperson on further and higher education, research, innovation and science, I am delighted with the progress the Minister has achieved to date with his officials in this brand new Department. It is quite exciting to be starting off with nothing having gone before and it being wide open for the Minister to achieve what he will. The goals that he has set out here will amount to an amazing achievement when they are de…

An application has also been received from Athlone and Limerick ITs. Athlone Institute of Technology is close to my heart as it is only 15 minutes away from my home in Ballinasloe, and it is very important for the east Galway area as well as the midlands and the mid-west. The Connacht-Ulster Alliance application that will soon be submitted will bring together the Galway-Mayo, Sligo and Letterkenny ITs. This project is so important. The Saolta hospital group and others across the country are linked to universities a…

I welcome the Minister. He has worked tirelessly with the EU Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, and a trade deal is necessary, but not at any cost. The willingness to compromise has to be demonstrated by all sides. The vote on the Brexit referendum in 2016 left the world in shock, and it left me in shock. The historic result of 51.9% to 49.1% changed the future of engagement between the UK, Europe and Ireland. However, our previous Government and Departments immediately stepped up with a Brexit readiness plan. Dedic…

Our first priority is to save lives. We are in a battle against Covid and every measure we take, every response and every part of our national armour is to protect Irish people and families. It is the worst crisis we have faced in generations. I think of the more than 2,000 families who have lost loved ones, of people who have gone to funerals with limited numbers and of people who cannot hug during a period of grief. We stand together with them. Ireland stands united in this battle. I pay tribute to everyone who h…

I thank Senator McGahon, and all other Senators, for their contributions on reopening Ireland and the Government's response. I want to acknowledge the comments of Senator Carrigy on the loss of his mother. Our thoughts are with him. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Frankie Feighan, to respond.

The Minister of State has 45 minutes, if he wishes to use it all.

Does that include the children's flu vaccine?

Hear, hear. I thank the Minister of State, especially for those heartening words at the end. It is true that the end is in sight and 2021 will be a better year for the world, for Ireland and for the families living here. In accordance with the order of the Seanad today, the House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. next Monday.

I welcome the great funding that was announced yesterday as part of the just transition fund, which amounts to over €27.8 million. It is wonderful to see a project in my own home town of Ballinasloe getting funding of nearly €500,000 for remote working hubs. The just transition process follows on from job losses, climate change and us changing the types of industry that we have in Ireland. More than 200 jobs were lost locally in Shannonbridge, more jobs were lost in Lanesborough, and there were also jobs losses in …

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am very happy to see this Bill introduced. It is important that we are providing ways for local authorities to come together. I know how difficult it is. Many Senators were recently local authority members. Galway County Council is trying to hold its plenary meetings by bringing 40 to 45 councillors together in large GAA halls at the moment. The county development plan is very important, and this legislation is really about the county development plan. In my area in Ballinaslo…

My final comment is on timelines for planning developments. Again, I am very familiar with a local one. I refer to a permit, nothing to do with planning as such, for the operation of a waste transfer station and I am involved in the campaign about the inappropriate location. The challenge we have is that there is no extension to the 25 working days for people to respond and make submissions. Especially with Covid, and we have just gone through a lockdown level 5, there is no way to galvanise or engage with the comm…

There is only a 20% uptake of the flu vaccine for children at national level and GPs are saying the exact same thing. It is crucial that we encourage parents to bring children for an appointment with their GP or a pharmacist. The nasal spray makes the vaccine easy for children to take. Best of all, it is free for children between the ages of two and 12. Families will be coming together at Christmas and it is crucial that parents know there is no possibility of their children passing the winter flu to older loved on…

I would like to share my time. I will take two minutes, with the same length of time for Senators Mary Seery Kearney and Shane Cassells.

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. This is a difficult topic. I heard the Minister speaking on this issue and its impact on women especially in Ireland in difficult and terrifying situations. The Minister stated public information campaigns make a difference. That is why we must talk about this issue, ensure it is not a hidden secret and bring it out into the open. I speak clearly about active bystanders as well. The statistics are shocking and the home is not a safe place. I pay tribute to the www.stillhere.ie…

I welcome the Minister of State here to speak on the Credit Union Restructuring Board (Dissolution) Bill. I very much acknowledge that ReBo has fulfilled its role, as he has said, under the 2012 legislation. He mentioned that there were 82 projects with assets of €6 billion that covered 156 restructuring of credit unions across 24 counties and performed very well over the period since 2011. I pay tribute to that massive project and acknowledge that the credit unions have also stepped up in the past number of years.…

I welcome the Minister of State to speak on the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020. I will ask about three points: the virtual meetings of credit unions; the fiscal council longer term; and credit unions accessing the European Union SURE scheme as a facility lender. The board of directors of every credit union is drawn from the members. As we have talked about it, a credit union is a community organisation. A credit union is run by the community for the community and for the benefit of the community. It i…

In the recent budget, over €740 million was allocated in respect of school buildings under Project Ireland 2040. Scoil an Chroí Naofa in Ballinasloe has been waiting 20 years for a new building. Generations of children have gone through the school and had children of their own and still there is no new building. How did this happen? In 2000, the boys' and girls' schools amalgamated to form one school. School buildings were promised at that stage. The existing buildings date back to the 1960s. I went to infant schoo…

I will try to be very brief.