As the Minister knows, our post office network is a considerable asset for our country and for communities in urban and rural settings. Thankfully, there has in recent years been an extension of some of the services that our post office network can provide, with good services being provided for Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks, AIB. It has been suggested that the Government should give detailed consideration to the provision of other government services through the post office network. The Minister might let …

I thank the Minister for his reply. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, has been engaging with the Irish Postmasters' Union. I have been told that by the personnel of the union and I know they appreciate that. There is one issue that should be addressed. Post offices are, in reality, small businesses. They, like every other enterprise in the country, have faced increased costs in recent years. Worthwhile and necessary initiatives were undertaken by the Government to assist small businesses and households…

The services from the Department of Social Protection that are provided through the post office network must be maintained. If there are changes to the television licence system and the method of supporting public broadcasting in this country or if the current system is continued, it should still be operated through the post office network. If Revenue were to be involved in the collection of charges to fund public service broadcasting, it could be done through the post office network as the collection of the local …

The 50th anniversary of the darkest day of all during the era known as the Troubles, when 33 innocent people were murdered and hundreds badly injured in bombings in Monaghan and Dublin, will be marked on 17 May. The Government needs to continue to reassure victims and families of victims that we will relentlessly pursue the need for truth and justice. That message has to be reinforced with every engagement with the British Government. I recently spoke to the Tánaiste at the request of Patsy McGlone MLA regarding th…

The comments in the British command paper prior to the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Executive and the North-South Ministerial Council were particularly negative in regard to the all-Ireland economy. Regardless of what British public servants or politicians think, the all-Ireland economy exists, is growing and is being strengthened every day, thankfully, for the benefit of the people throughout this island. To take one statistic, between 1998, the time of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement…

I welcome the measures the Minister has been introducing to strengthen the recruitment and retention of GPs. As he knows, there are particular challenges in rural practices. Recently, I have been engaging with him very strongly and continuously regarding the need for a permanent GP appointment for Swanlinbar, County Cavan. The permanent GP there retired some time ago and a locum has been in place in the meantime. As the Minister will be aware, having heard from me and other local public representatives, the local c…

I thank the Minister. I understand there will be applicants for the permanent GP vacancy in Swanlinbar if the position is readvertised. I sincerely hope it can be. The HSE makes the clinical decision on a suitable applicant. I sincerely hope this can be made in the best interest of the local community. Over the years, the permanent GP service in the area served the community very well. That is what the people of the area want to see continued. I strongly endorse their request in this respect. I thank the Minister f…

I am very anxious that the HSE has without delay an open recruitment campaign to enable the appointment of a permanent GP in Swanlinbar, County Cavan. Since the retirement of the previous permanent GP, a locum doctor has fulfilled the role of the doctor in charge on a four day per week basis. This contract is due to end on Thursday. The communities served by this medical practice in Glangevlin, Corlough, Templeport, Bawnboy and Swanlinbar are absolutely clear in their view, which I completely and strongly endorse, …

I raise again the disappearance in July 2020 in Portugal of my constituent and family friend, Jean Tighe. Jean's family has sought every possible assistance daily to locate their beloved daughter and sibling. I have made numerous representations to the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Justice to stress the absolute necessity of ensuring proper and adequate searches are undertaken to locate Jean. It took an inordinate and totally unacceptable time for the Portuguese police authorities to put Jean's name on the mis…

I warmly welcome the Taoiseach's response and the Government decision yesterday to allocate very substantial funding to a range of projects that will benefit all of our country. I particularly welcome the funding for the N2 scheme between Clontibret and the Border in County Monaghan and the development of the A5, which is a crucial artery in building and strengthening the all-Ireland economy. Thankfully, today we have an all-Ireland economy that is being strengthened. The economy North and South is very interdepend…

We often think of cyberattacks as only affecting major corporations and public services but to the contrary, a report last October showed that more than 70% of Irish businesses suffered cyberattacks in the previous 12 months, and that represented an increase of more than 20% on the previous year. Cybersecurity and protection of IT systems, data systems and communication networks are vitally important to the economy and all of society. The trend towards an increase in the use of digital and cloud technologies in bot…

-----that it has a very modern course in cybersecurity. That is the type of course we need to be replicating in our jurisdiction. I thank the Leas Cheann-Comhairle.

I, too, warmly welcome the restoration of the assembly, Executive and North-South Ministerial Council. As we all know, all legacy legislation should be victim centred. Unfortunately, the recent British Act is totally perpetrator centred. I raised on many occasions in this House the terrible bombing of Belturbet in December 1972 that resulted in the deaths of Geraldine O'Reilly and Patrick Stanley. Next May marks the 50th anniversary of the horrific bombings in Monaghan and Dublin. The Taoiseach will recall that, in…

We all warmly welcome the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, and that enables the North–South Ministerial Council to function. As we all know, Tourism Ireland, as one of the six implementation bodies, has a remit to promote the island of Ireland overseas as a premier holiday destination. I sincerely hope the Minister will have an opportunity at an early date to meet her new counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive to give impetus to the good work of Tourism Ireland and show determinati…

I warmly welcome the Minister's response and the sentiments expressed in her reply. She referred to the all-Ireland economy. It was so disappointing to see in the British Government's command paper the negative comments about the all-Ireland economy. That economy is growing and is being strengthened, thankfully. I thank the Minister sincerely for her support in getting major funding for the flagship project for the Shannon Pot and Cavan Burren Park interpretive centre. We are well advanced with that project and it …

I hope the Minister will be able to visit again. Local councillor John Paul Feeley and I worked very hard, along with Cavan County Council and Fáilte Ireland, to bring the project to this stage. Local constituents have told me that the Minister of State in the Department visited the geopark quite recently. He is very familiar with the area. It is important that the interpretive centre, the discovery centre, promote the history and culture of the area and the importance of the River Shannon, our country's longest ri…

Throughout this country we are very fortunate to have a great presence of small and medium enterprises in villages, towns and rural parishes. I welcome the very significant contribution those enterprises, whether it be in hospitality, retail or manufacturing, make to employment, the economy and the overall well-being of areas such as counties Cavan and Monaghan. Typically, owners of such enterprises work extremely diligently and hard, and with great commitment to keep the businesses going and to retain and where po…

Since October 2020 I have had a lot of dealings with the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and with the HSE around the appointment of locums and the need for the appointment of a permanent GP in Swanlinbar, County Cavan. I have been highlighting the need for the locum GP to have a five-day per week contract instead of the existing four-day service. From speaking to local residents and from the people in the wider Swanlinbar catchment area I know they are adamant and very anxious to have a five-day GP service. T…

I am again raising the unacceptable delays children with additional needs in Cavan and Monaghan have in getting appropriate follow-up treatment following an assessment of need. There are long and inappropriate delays in children obtaining therapy such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and physiotherapy. We all know very well of the absolute importance of early intervention to support these children. We were told that there would be a robust international campaign to try to recruit therapists. Th…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. As has been said on many occasions in this House, the shared island initiative is very welcome. My constituency of Cavan-Monaghan is benefiting through investment, for example with the Ulster Canal and also through committed investment in the further development of the Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark. It is the first UNESCO-recognised cross-border geopark in the world, encompassing parts of Cavan and parts of Fermanagh. This initiative and investment with the shared island local auth…