I thank the Minister. I note that the Financial Services Union appreciates the direct engagement that the Minister and his Department officials have had with it. I have raised this on a number of occasions in the House, during Topical Issue debates, especially when Ulster Bank announced its departure from this country and when there was a dramatic reduction in the number of Bank of Ireland branches. I asked the Minister to ensure that there was good engagement with the Financial Services Union. We all had represent…

I thank the Minister. As a society, we want to be more conscious of the people who do not have good literacy skills and who have not had the opportunity to adopt IT skills. Those people find it difficult to transact business today, especially when they cannot call into a local branch. It behoves all of us to ensure that there is an opportunity for people to transact their business in a practical way, especially people who may not have had the opportunity to acquire IT skills or who may not have access to broadband …

My question relates to the tragic death of Shane O'Farrell in County Monaghan following a hit-and-run accident in August 2011. I have often listened to Lucia O'Farrell, Shane's mother, outline with great detail and clarity the dysfunctionality of so many elements of the criminal justice system that led to Shane's tragic death. A scoping exercise was established by a previous Minister for Justice and Equality a considerable time ago. We need this public inquiry process to be progressed as soon as possible.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Minister for her reply. My question has been framed in the background that on 14 June 2018 we all voted in this Chamber calling on the Government to establish a public inquiry. As we in this House all know, the O'Farrell family has worked tirelessly seeking justice for their only son and brother. The State failed them in the manner in which the death of Shane was investigated, prosecuted and in the manner in which the family's complaints around the investigation and prosecu…

I would like the scoping exercise to be completed as soon as possible. I hope we will then have the public inquiry I believe is warranted.

I agree with the remarks of my colleague, Deputy Flaherty, regarding the outstanding success of the vaccine programme. On other occasions when we spoke here or in the convention centre, Members questioned the roll-out of the programme and some initial delays, but the plan and programme the Minister laid out and stuck with has proven very successful. I compliment him, his senior officials and the personnel in the HSE on the very successful vaccine roll-out programme. I take the opportunity, as Members on all sides o…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. I welcome the substantial chapter on the shared island initiative in the national development plan. Specific commitments are made there for cross-Border and all-Ireland projects, both in the area of infrastructural development and the delivery of services. The NDP also references the fact that the economy of the central Border area is predominantly driven by small and medium enterprises. The last time we discussed the shared island unit during Taoiseach's Questions, I mentioned …

Like Deputy Haughey, I welcome the Taoiseach's comments at the association's conference. I wish to refer to the European Commission's proposals last week regarding the protocol. Naturally, the Taoiseach and his colleagues in government will have contributed to the discussions in order to remove as many obstacles as possible. When I engage with people in Northern Ireland, be they business people or community members, they want to see us getting on with the daily work of doing business, growing trade, creating and ma…

The Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme was put in place earlier this year to replace the EU cross-Border directive following Britain's exit from the European Union. The scheme and its predecessors enable large numbers of patients to access treatment and surgery, or both, in Northern Ireland, paid for by this State. These were typically patients on long hospital waiting lists. I understand the scheme is due to finish at the end of this year. Could an Tánaiste give me a categorical assurance that this scheme …

I too wish to address the issue raised by Deputy Fitzpatrick, that is, the illegal tobacco products that, unfortunately, are prevalent in so many communities. I have heard of people going door to door in housing estates, selling these illicit products. Members can imagine the damage that is doing to human beings. In the Border area, there was enough damage done to vehicles and legitimate businesses as a result of the washing of diesel and the stretching of petrol by those gangs and criminals who inflicted so much d…

I welcome that following the commitment made in the programme for Government, the Minister has established within a short timeframe the Commission on the Defence Forces. When does he expect the commission to report? Hopefully, he will be able to give us a commitment that the recommendations put forward in the commission's report will be implemented by Government within a set timeframe.

I am glad the capacity of the RDF was included in the commission's remit because often over the years the very good work of that force has not been given the recognition that it should have. I raised this issue in the House on many occasions. During the previous Dáil, on many occasions in plenary session and at committees, we discussed the issues and the problems of retaining personnel in our Permanent Defence Force. I sincerely hope that pay and conditions will be adequately addressed along with retention policies…

I have one regret with regard to the composition of the membership of the commission. Before the commission was established, I argued in this House that it should include a person who had extensive experience in the Border region during that awful era when our Permanent Defence Force, gardaí and other emergency services had to deal with thugs, criminals, paramilitaries and murderers as they kept our State safe. A person with extensive experience as a senior officer in the Border region during that era should have b…

I welcome the Housing for All strategy and compliment the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and his colleagues for bringing this programme forward. It is one that has the potential to tackle the major housing crisis that affects this country at present significantly and very well. It is the largest State-led building programme in Irish history. I welcome the fact that there is an emphasis on the need for local authorities to build houses, not buy or lease them, in the future. There is a clear message about building…

With reference to the ministerial and Government decision-making on policing and justice, I wish to refer to the need to establish a public inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell at Carrickmacross. The person responsible for the death of Shane had a litany of convictions, in courts North and South, for serious offences. It was an appalling failure of the justice system that this convicted person was free and driving a car, causing Shane's death in a hit-and-run accident. It is appalling that such a convicted per…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. I ask that in his communications and that of his Department with NESC, specific consideration is given by the council to a study on the particular challenges facing the Border region. We are all well aware that Brexit will continue to have adverse impacts, particularly in the Border economy, both North and South, much more so than anywhere else on the island. That has already been demonstrated by studies. Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic will also impact more severely on enterp…

As we know, the Good Friday Agreement established a number of all-Ireland implementation bodies, including the promotion of tourism on an all-Ireland basis and the management of rail and waterways. At that time, a number of areas were identified for further collaboration and co-operation on an all-Ireland basis, including education. Unfortunately, that has not been given the priority in the meantime, North or South, that it needs. There is an opportunity, particularly with the shared island initiative, to drive for…

I thank the Minister for his positive response and for his determination to make progress in this area. I represent a constituency where, fortunately, there are two good colleges of further education, in Cavan and Monaghan. The Minister may recall that at our virtual meeting at Cavan Institute, we spoke again about the potential for co-operation. In our neighbouring counties, there are institutes of further education in Enniskillen and Omagh, which are long established and teach to a high standard. There is potenti…

I acknowledge that my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, is working on apprenticeships and I welcome that. I welcome also the Minister's commitment in regard to Magee College and the great co-operation between Letterkenny Institute and Magee College. Having listened to the director of the former and the president of the latter, I believe the level of co-operation taking place in the north west is heartening. In the north east, similarly, there has been very good co-operation between Dundalk Institute …

The prevalence of drugs in our society is causing havoc and devastation for individuals, families and communities. Unfortunately, this destruction is happening in every community, urban and rural, and is not confined to any particular age cohort. I am aware that drugs are travelling north-south and south-north. That supply chain needs to be smashed. We need to cut off the supply and deal with the people who are wreaking havoc on many communities and individuals, and ensure their ill-gotten gains are seized.