I welcome the Taoiseach's reference to his ongoing work, and that of the Tánaiste and the Government, to have the institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement, the Assembly, the Executive and the North-South Ministerial Council, put back in place again. One welcome aspect of the work of the Department of the Taoiseach since 2020 has been the establishment of the shared island unit. As we know, the work of the unit is very much underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. Thankfully, in my constituency we h…

The forthcoming anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is a good time to reflect on the great benefits our country has derived from that agreement, which include the cessation of violence, the saving of lives, the development of the all-Ireland economy and its generation of a new business environment and a surge in cross-Border trade resulting in new employment opportunities. The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement recently held a discussion on the benefits that have arisen for all …

First, I compliment An Garda Síochána on the work being done locally and nationally to deal with the scourge of drugs. As we all know, drug addiction and drug abuse are very complex issues and we need a multifaceted approach that includes the health service as well as the criminal justice system. I ask the Minister to outline any additional measures that will be implemented locally and nationally to deal with what is an epidemic at the present time, unfortunately.

I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome the fact that additional sanctions and longer sentences will be imposed on these criminals who are peddling death and destruction in every community. The Minister indicated to me when we spoke on this issue that he would be bringing forward additional measures and legislation which I very much welcome. This issue should be addressed with the utmost urgency. It is really heartbreaking to listen to parents, siblings and family members who have lost loved ones through the …

Yes.

I thank the Minister for his reply. I would love it if what he has said here was amplified to communities and individuals throughout our country. The message must go out that this is the approach of the Government and the Oireachtas. There should be no tolerance for people who are peddling drugs and passing around a line etc., whatever social strata they come from. I listened to a sergeant in the Cavan-Monaghan drugs unit speaking at a public meeting recently, and he outlined the horrors inflicted on people through…

Some months ago during Taoiseach's questions, I welcomed the initiative of the shared island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach in having NESC undertake work on its behalf, in the context of the economy and regional development. I hope the Taoiseach can take on board what I suggested at the time, in the context of discussions he said would be taking place in March between the shared island unit and NESC, that a particular work project should be undertaken on the specific challenges faced by the Border region, …

I asked about the central Border area.

The Tánaiste mentioned that the newly appointed independent chair is Ms Julie Sinnamon. She has been an exceptional public servant and I have no doubt that she will do a very good job again on behalf of the State and all its citizens. I wish to talk about structures in the Army, with particular reference to accommodation. Unfortunately, 11 years ago the most modern army barracks in Europe, Dún Uí Néill in Cavan, was closed. It is a location centrally situated in the Border region. We have no Army facility now betwe…

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. As he is aware, Cavan had a proud Army tradition over the years. Generations of families joined and were proud to serve our country at home and abroad. I am sure Deputy Berry and others in the House would agree with me that there was always greater recruitment in areas where there were substantial Army barracks, such as in Cavan, Kildare and other noteworthy places. Again, therefore, I appeal for the needs of the Border region to be considered in the context of the possibility of…

It is almost a year since the Minister made the welcome announcement that the DEIS programme was to be extended. The provision of those targeted supports to more schools will benefit a great many students. More than 240,000 students are now able to avail of DEIS supports. More than 1,200 schools are involved in the scheme. As the Minister will know, every Deputy has schools in his or her area that were disappointed not to be included in the extension. I sincerely hope that it will be possible to extend this very im…

I thank the Minister for her reply. I very much welcome her provision of additional funding for services to be provided universally to all students regardless of the particular school they attend. I previously discussed with the Minister two particular schools in Cavan that were excluded this time. I have detailed notes prepared and may talk to the Minister about those particular schools later today. It is hard for any of us to explain how the scheme works in centres where there are a number of primary schools. I t…

The Minister may recall that, a year or more ago, I raised with her and the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, the whole area of special education provision. I compliment the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, on the progress that has been made in ensuring a substantial expansion in the provision of special education. At that time, I questioned whether the input of the local inspector or cigire was factored into planning. Years ago, the views of the local inspector, who covered a county or half…

I thank An Taoiseach for his reply and I welcome the fact that he has had engagement with the political parties in Northern Ireland and the British Government. I also welcome that an Tánaiste and other members of the Government attended the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in mid-January. All those meetings are important, particularly in the absence of the North-South institutions functioning. I was in Belfast with other Fianna Fáil parliamentary colleagues in early January. Among the people and groups we…

The CLÁR programme was established in 2001 and at that time, the areas were identified on the basis of areas that had suffered due to population decline. To my knowledge, there was only one extension to the original CLÁR programme, which occurred in 2006 and was based on the 2002 census. The Minister will be aware from my correspondence with the Department and parliamentary questions I have tabled that I have been calling for an extension to the programme. At what stage is the consultation process at on a possible …

I hope the review process can be expedited. I know from speaking to my colleague, Deputy Ó Cuív, the architect of the original CLÁR programme, that population decline was the main measurement in identifying areas at that time. It was always his opinion, and that of others involved in drafting the programme, that as the programme developed and brought investment to areas, other criteria should also be factored into the assessment of areas under consideration for inclusion. The Minister will be aware that, thankfully…

We have all been supportive of groups working very hard to draw down extra funding. We know when groups get public funding, it enables them to raise funding through their own fundraising initiatives. As well as being an important financial contribution, it is a great encouragement to groups. The Minister mentioned Clonervy which is the Castletara-Ballyhaise area. That is one area with a small enough population. It could not avail of assistance towards the development of a school playground. Thus, it is one of the a…

This year, 28 December marks the 50th anniversary of the despicable and heinous crime of the bombing of Belturbet, County Cavan, which caused the deaths of two young teenagers, Geraldine O'Reilly from Belturbet and Patrick Stanley from Clara, County Offaly, and injuries to many others. In September 2020, I put on the record of this House information that had come to me through the good investigative work of Dr. Edward Burke, then of the University of Nottingham, regarding the Belturbet bombing and other loyalist op…

I concur with the comments of my colleague, Deputy Cahill, in respect of the ill-informed commentary that is made sometimes in respect of farm food production and its contribution to climate change. Thankfully, over many decades, there has been a very significant investment by the State and by the farming sector in modernising their farming techniques and in lowering emissions. Recently, there was a report from the Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group, and one of its proposals would provide for a sharp reduction in the…

Discerning people.