I repeat that we often underrate the huge employment in our creative industries. It is spread throughout the regions. The industries are not just good employers but are also important for the well-being of our society. It is important to put in place robust measures to provide adequate support for all the artists and their support personnel, to ensure we do not lose these key artists and this sector. They are very important for this country and for the reputation of this country abroad. They bring a good and positi…

As the Minister knows, some months ago a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Department of Health and its counterpart in the North in relation to co-operation in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. In the meantime, there have been meetings at political and official level between both Administrations and that is welcome. Unfortunately, there have been increasing incidences of the virus in areas both north and south of the Border over recent weeks. Many eminent persons in different areas of medicine, s…

Thankfully.

As the Minister is aware, there are widespread concerns in many communities about the statement by NatWest that it is considering all strategic options in the future of Ulster Bank. Ulster Bank has 88 branches in our State, it has more than 2,500 employees and it has a substantial presence in the Border region, particularly in my 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 country for al…

As I said, there are 88 branches serving 88 communities. They are large communities nowadays because a lot of branches were closed over the years due to rationalisation measures and there has been a loss of services to many communities. Any further diminution in banking competition in this country would be concerning. Ulster Bank is the third largest bank and we lack banking competition in this country. The Minister previously told me, in reply to a parliamentary question, that he would expect the bank to keep its …

I thank the Minister for his reply. In my constituency, we have Ulster Bank branches in Ballyconnell, Cavan, Ballyjamesduff and Monaghan town. Traditionally, Ulster Bank has very much been associated with the Border region and it has had a very successful business, by and large, for the most of 200 years in communities right throughout our country. As the third largest bank in the country, we cannot afford to lose it. From speaking with employees and interaction with private individuals and people with small and me…

The acting Garda Commissioner in November 2017, in a report to the Department of Justice and Equality, outlined that An Garda Síochána had decided to reopen six Garda stations that had been closed some years previously. He outlined to the Department that he had been in touch with the OPW with regard to the necessary modernisation or upgrading of any of the Garda stations so chosen. The Garda station in Bawnboy, my home village, was one of the six that it was decided to reopen and we were told work would commence in…

The same wording used in that reply was used in a reply to a parliamentary question I asked in 2018 or 2019 about this deliberative process between the OPW and An Garda Síochána. This is not a massive development; it is a relatively small-scale project. The former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, was very supportive of reopening Bawnboy Garda station when I put questions to him in the House on this issue in the past. I think it was early in 2019 that, in response to a parliamentary question, he i…

I would like the Minister of State to insist with the OPW that it stick to the timeframe this time, which I would greatly appreciate. It was only last week that the Garda Commissioner joined us at a meeting of the Cavan joint policing committee, where we spoke about the difficulties in policing a long land border with a different jurisdiction. Bawnboy is a small village in west County Cavan with a rural community and it is a long way to the next Garda station. At the time it was closed, I argued, along with the loc…

For many decades the free-travel scheme has been of great benefit to a substantial cohort of our population. By and large persons in receipt of a pension payment are eligible for free travel on public transport and in more recent years on the Local Link services. Unfortunately in too many instances, customers of transport services operated by private carriers are not able to avail of the free-travel pass and that needs to be changed. In many cases more services could be provided in rural areas if those operators we…

I thank the Minister for her reply. I am glad she said it would be kept under constant review. While I recognise that with the Covid pandemic additional services will not be coming on stream because of uncertainty over the use of services, the Minister's answer clearly demonstrates the importance of the scheme. It is a very good €95 million investment in people, in human resources. With 980,000 direct customers and 1.6 million able to avail of the scheme, it is clear how important it is. Some time ago I read docume…

I thank the Minister for her reply and I agree with her last point. I know of one operator that operates a substantial service covering a very large rural area, including a number of smaller towns and villages. The owner told me that were it not for the fact that he was deemed eligible to offer customers the free travel facility, his service would not be viable. I understand that the conditions applied by the NTA and the Department are too restrictive for private carriers seeking access to the scheme in respect of …

With the permission of the House, I will give four minutes of my time to Deputy Sherlock. The Exchequer returns demonstrated very clearly the huge public expenditure that has been necessarily incurred due to the pandemic. There were much-needed and very welcome additional supports for the health sector, social protection and for business, and like previous speakers, I want to see those supports continue. They are necessary to support public health, people who have lost their income and business through a very uncer…

I thank the Acting Chairman because I am conscious of the time. The Minister also spoke about the national recovery fund and the national recovery plan. The Government must ensure that there is a clear emphasis in those plans on the need for regional balance. The pandemic has demonstrated, and my colleague, Deputy Calleary, referred to it earlier, that services do not have to be provided from our capital city or from major urban conurbation centres. Some of the key services for the public were delivered by people l…

I wish the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, well in their important work in the Department of Justice over the next number of years. I have raised with a number of the Minister's predecessors the urgent need for a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the bombing in Belturbet in December 1972, both in Northern Ireland and this State. I am not convinced that an adequate investigation has been carried out in Northern Ireland and I appeal to the Minister to ensure that every …

I thank the Minister and appreciate that she will take this up with her counterparts in Northern Ireland. The University of Nottingham recently contacted me with a recent detailed document on loyalist activities in Northern Ireland and, particularly, in Cavan and Monaghan. A very detailed article has been written by Edward Burke, an assistant professor in the University of Nottingham, entitled "Loyalist mobilisation and cross-border violence in rural Ulster, 1972-1974". One of the sub-headings is "Blowing up Beltur…

I recently had the privilege of attending, along with the O'Reilly and Stanley families, the publication of the book Children of the Troubles: The Untold Story of the Children Killed in the Northern Ireland Conflict by Joe Duffy of RTÉ and Freya McClements of The Irish Times . It contains the following in relation to the Belturbet bombing: Geraldine was one of two children killed in the explosion; the other, Patrick Stanley, had been calling his mother from a phone box when the bomb went off. Nobody has ever been c…

I wish the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, well in their very important work. All Deputies are aware that the reopening of schools in recent weeks has shown there is a wide understanding of the strain that Covid-19 has placed on the wellness and mental health of young people and society in general. That strain does not end when a student leaves second level. I ask the Minister to outline what much-needed additional supports will be provided and deployed for students in further an…

As the Minister stated, Covid is not generational. Rather, it has affected every cohort in society. He referred to SUSI. My colleague, Deputy O'Connor, has tabled a very good question regarding the need for flexibility in respect of some independent students who had to move home and may not have the utility bills for a certain period that are an important part of the application process. It is an unfortunate reality that September and October usually see an increase in referrals for mental health. It is probably th…

I assure the Minister that, having fought for them over the years, we now have two very good institutes of further education in Cavan and Monaghan and I am very glad to be associated with the development of both. We would be glad to welcome the Minister and Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, whenever it is suitable. We are all aware that the members of the class of 2020 have had a very difficult time. They experienced uncertainty with the leaving certificate and will now go to further or higher education coll…