I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution on the post-Council statements. Understandably, as other speakers have said, the priority issue was the Covid-19 pandemic, which, unfortunately, has been with us for more than 12 months. Of course, the Government leaders had the opportunity to review what has been achieved and what has not been achieved in regard to the roll-out of the vaccine programme. As we discussed here on the last day, it is very disappointing that there has not been greater speed in getting va…

The Minister may recall that I table questions on a regular basis regarding the need to ensure the statutory agencies have the resources and tools available to them to deal with illicit trade and cross-Border smuggling. Sadly, despite all the good measures and the good work of our statutory agencies at local level, substantial illegal trade is still happening. I ask that we be vigilant at all times and that we introduce new measures, if needed, to counteract such illicit behaviour by gangsters and criminal gangs.

I thank the Minister for his reply. I want to take the opportunity to complement the members of the Garda, the Revenue Commissioners and other statutory agencies and local authorities who have had to deal with these thugs and criminal gangs over the years. They are a very sophisticated outfit and I know there has been very good work done. However, we need to be vigilant. Our measures, legislation and regulations need to be monitored and reviewed because we know things move on with technology and so on. It is a bit …

For some time, I have advocated more cross-Border agency work and a joint approach by both police forces and Revenue offices. That is happening and it is very welcome. Again, I take the opportunity to compliment officials at local level who are dealing with these matters but there is a trade going on out there and small-scale traders, the owners of legitimate businesses who dutifully pay their taxes and dues to this State, are finding it hard to survive. My message is that we must be constantly vigilant and attenti…

There is another important meeting of the European Council this week and, quite understandably, the focus of this meeting will be on Covid, and on vaccination in particular. Listening to news reports these days, one will know that incidence of the virus is still at a very dangerous level throughout Europe. At this summit, questions have to be raised about this whole area and an emphasis must be laid on the production, manufacture and distribution of vaccines. Health systems across all of Europe need predictability …

As the Minister knows, up until 2012 there was a specific funding stream within the Department of Transport for the local improvement scheme. Since that funding stream was abolished, there has been a huge dearth in and lack of activity to bring local improvement scheme applications forward. Unfortunately, there is a huge backlog in applications now. There is a much smaller scheme funded through the Department of Rural and Community Development. If we are to tackle the backlog in the local improvement schemes nation…

I sincerely ask the Minister to review this matter. When there was specific funding for the local improvement scheme, the Department conducted a rigorous examination, in conjunction with the local authority officials, to ensure the funding went to the particular scheme for which it was intended. I am talking about roads that may have nine or ten households on them plus farms and perhaps some minor businesses as well. It is a complete misnomer to talk about non-public roads. The reason they are non-public is because…

I would argue that the Department of Rural and Community Development has no statutory responsibility for roads. When Deputy Ó Cuív was Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the CLÁR funding was a top-up in addition to the local improvement scheme funding that came directly from the Department of Transport at that time. We need to have investment to reduce, in a meaningful way, the huge backlog. In my county of Cavan, our council is dealing with applications that were submitted in 2009. With the prese…

As we are one year into the pandemic, I take the opportunity to compliment all our front-line workers and all workers providing different services for us through challenging times. I highlight again the particular role of our healthcare workers. They have spent a difficult year dealing with a deadly virus. We all know they have been working in highly challenging circumstances, oftentimes with a reduced staff complement because of colleagues being out sick, etc. They continue to do a marvellous job in what are still…

Two recent decisions by NatWest and Bank of Ireland will have serious repercussions for so many rural communities and some urban communities as well. Over the past couple of months I have engaged with the Minister by way of parliamentary question, conversation and Dáil debates in regard to my concerns about the NatWest announcement of a strategic review of its operations in our State. Its decision to exit the Irish market will impact severely, as we know, on staff, customers and communities. The Border region has h…

We must work continually to ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. We have all been mandated to implement that international agreement through the referendums held in the North and the South in May 1998, both of which were overwhelmingly endorsed by the two electorates. The successor agreements, namely, the St. Andrews, Fresh Start, Stormont House and New Decade, New Approach agreements, also need to be implemented. The Irish and British Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive are oblig…

As the Tánaiste is aware, there are widespread concerns in many communities about the decision taken by NatWest Bank some time ago to consider all strategic options on the future of Ulster Bank. Ulster Bank has 88 branches in our State and has more than 2,800 employees. It has a substantial presence in the Border region, especially in my own constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, with three branches in County Cavan and one in Monaghan. It has been an integral part of Irish commercial life, and it has been trading in our c…

I welcome the Minister's earlier comments. The past 12 months have seen unprecedented turbulence throughout the world due to the impact of Covid-19, while here we have also experienced Brexit and our nearest neighbour leaving the European Union. In that regard, the people involved in the agrifood sector, the primary producers, the processors and all their employees have done excellent work over the past 11 to 12 months in ensuring there has been no shortage of supply and the supply chains have operated to a high st…

I welcome the comments today by the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in regard to the vaccination programme. Both have consistently indicated that they want the programme to be rolled out fairly and that those most in need will be prioritised. That has to be the basis for rolling out the largest ever vaccination programme in the history of our country. I welcome the Minister's confirmation that 85% of the public have indicated that they want to have the vaccine made avail…

The Minister for Foreign Affairs said in his introductory remarks that Britain will be outside the European Union, the Single Market and the customs union from 1 January next, which is only two weeks away. How we trade with Britain will be dramatically different, therefore. Even if a free trade agreement is concluded between the European Union and Britain, there will be significant and enduring change. It is vital, as previous speakers have all said, that all businesses, regardless of their size and be they small, …

A quick look through the conclusions adopted by the European Council at its meeting on 10 and 11 December gives us a good overview of what is likely to dominate the domestic and European agenda in the coming six to 12 months, with one exception to which I will return. The five conclusion headings from the post-meeting communiqué were the multi-annual financial framework for 2021 to 2027 and the next generation EU recovery plan, Covid-19, climate action, security and external relations. The statement of the Taoiseac…

On 28 December 1972, a bomb that originated in County Fermanagh caused the deaths of Geraldine O'Reilly and Paddy Stanley in Belturbet, County Cavan, while injuring many other people. Unfortunately, nobody has ever been brought to justice for this heinous crime and there has never been a proper or thorough investigation in Northern Ireland into the persons responsible for this activity. On 10 September, during oral questions to the Minister for Justice, I brought to the attention of the House new information that h…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this very important matter. On many occasions in this House and at Oireachtas committee meetings I have highlighted the need for further investigation into the bombing at Belturbet on 28 December 1972. Sadly, two teenagers, Geraldine O'Reilly and Paddy Stanley, lost their lives due to that heinous crime and many others were injured as well. Nobody has ever been brought to justice for these murders. A full, thorough and comprehensive investigation of this atro…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am very glad he has confirmed that the report I brought to the attention of the House in September has been referred by the Minister for Justice to the Garda authorities for further investigation. Again, I compliment Professor Burke of Nottingham University for his detailed report on the reprehensible activities of loyalist paramilitaries in Ulster, particularly in south Ulster and the counties of Cavan and Monaghan. The Minister of State quite rightly stated that i…

I wish to record my appreciation to the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important topic for discussion. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the waiting list to see a paediatric rheumatologist was three years long. It may very well be worse now. There is also a year's wait for a private appointment. There are only two paediatric rheumatologists for the entire country. Clearly, this level of service is anything but acceptable. Down Syndrome Ireland, Irish Children's Arthritis Network, iCan, and Arthritis Ireland had a m…