I wish the Minister and Ministers of State well in their new roles. I compliment An Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners and other statutory agencies 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 health services rehabilitation as well as the criminal justice system. I ask the Minister to outline any additional measures that will be implemented locally and na…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I look forward to more youth justice projects being rolled out. They are a great investment in our young people and a great investment in communities where there is particular disadvantage. As the Minister of State will be aware, this issue needs to 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 use of drugs. They are victims of the people who are peddling drugs and c…

I thank the Minister of State and again welcome his emphasis on the need for intensified cross-Border co-operation because we know these evil criminals who are peddling drugs across borders. There should be no tolerance for people who are peddling drugs and passing around cannabis or a line of cocaine, whatever social stratum they come from. We have all listened to presentations where professionals working in this area outline the horrors inflicted on people through the use of drugs. We need to get that message out…

There are welcome proposals in the programme for Government on the very urgent need to improve services and supports for children with additional needs. Every day I talk to parents who are utterly frustrated and very concerned about the lack of timely interventions through appropriate therapies. We need a common application system and enough special classes to enable children attend schools in their local community. Proposals are not enough. We need urgency attached to a comprehensive implementation plan for such m…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. I sincerely hope that in any discussions with the British Government, Prime Minister or members of the British Government, regardless of the agenda, that the British Government’s despicable and deplorable legacy legislation is discussed. Many times in this House and within meetings of parliamentary parties and Oireachtas committees, we have unanimously called for the repeal of that legislation. No amendment by the British Government of that legislation will ever make it acceptab…

I welcome the additional substantial funding being provided for the shared island unit. There is a particular need in the less developed areas of the central border region, including my counties of Cavan and Monaghan, as well as counties Tyrone, Fermanagh and Armagh, as they do not have the critical mass of a major population. The programme for Government refers to developing the full potential of the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor. I think that will develop itself. We need to prioritise resources for the less-de…

I take this opportunity to compliment all the front-line workers, the ESB and local authority workers, the fire services, the Civil Defence and the many people in our sporting and voluntary organisations who really rose to the challenge of helping people, particularly people who are vulnerable and those who were without power, connectivity or a water supply in their homes. There is a lesson for the ESB at corporate level, at board level, and at chief executive and senior management level regarding what is being don…

Large numbers of my constituents in Cavan–Monaghan are still without their electricity supply. Most of those people have difficulties with their telephone and broadband connectivity. Life is extremely difficult for people with health ailments and dependent on medical devices. The major cause of the power outage in our area has been trees falling on ESB transmission lines. It is clear that the corridors for ESB lines are not being maintained to the proper standard. If they were, we would not have such problems with …

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and all the staff of the Houses for the courtesy and support they have shown over the years. Our small and medium enterprises, which are the backbone of our economy, particularly in smaller urban and rural areas, have faced particular challenges over the last few years due to increased costs. Many of those businesses fear for their viability into the future. Serious problems have now arisen for a large percentage of them in accessing the new power up grant of €4,000. The first increased …

Will the Tánaiste ensure this is addressed as a matter of urgency because businesses need these payments before the end of this year?

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas for their assistance and support in recent years. I hope all the Deputies present will be back. I am delighted the Minister of State at the Departments of Education and tourism and sport, Deputy Thomas Byrne, is with us. As this is the first opportunity I have had, I express my sincere thanks to him for the great work he has done with the sports capital programme and large-scale infrastructure programme. I am delighted that my county ha…

I thank the Minister of State sincerely for his response. The model in Cavan relating to the large-scale infrastructure sports application had Cavan County Council, Cavan GAA and the Royal School collaborating and putting forward a project that brought the entire community together. It is extremely important in all walks of life. We could learn from having more collaboration across sectors, sports, etc. I very much appreciate what the Minister for Education did. I know from school authorities who speak to their loc…

That is a big challenge for me. All the sitting TDs in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency are safe except me.

The Minister of State will have heard me speak previously about the value of enterprise centres and the development of workspaces. Grant schemes are available to help develop such centres but they are not adequate, particularly for local authorities that have a low rates base. I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure there is an additional scheme of assistance to help those local authorities and community groups in areas such as Cavan and Monaghan and elsewhere, where historically there has been less economic de…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. The point I have been trying to get across to successive Ministers in the Department is, in the case of Cavan and Monaghan where we have a great culture of developing enterprise centres, typically the local authority or community group buys the site and develops the services at major cost because of the drumlin topography and soil in the area. They can then get grant aid towards the provision of the actual workspace or enterprise centre. There is no national assistance a…

I welcome the development of hubs, but I am specifically talking in this case about centres and workspace for manufacturing and processing. We have a great tradition of engineering in Cavan and Monaghan. I have worked along with companies that started with two or three employees in an enterprise space and now are huge employers, having developed their own space. We need the space to enable processors and manufacturers to start their businesses. Those opportunities are there to create jobs in our towns and villages.…

There is an urgent need for more flexibility by the Department of Education in applying the criteria for the retention of teaching posts where there is a short-term drop in a school's enrolment on 30 September but this drop in enrolment is reversed within a very short period of time, particularly by the end of that school term, bringing the school's enrolment up to the required threshold for the retention of its teaching posts. The loss of a teacher in a small school creates serious difficulties in trying to organi…

I welcome the fact that there has been much more active engagement at heads of government and ministerial level between the Irish and British Governments. This needs to continue. The Taoiseach will recall that when the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly met in his constituency of Wicklow, members of the British and Irish delegations, including me, spoke about the need to intensify engagements at bilateral level, at political and public service level and in our parliamentary relations across these islands between …

The Commission on the Defence Forces recommended significant changes to the Defence Forces. Given the changed security situation in Europe with Ukraine having been invaded by Russia and Britain's exit from the EU, we need to review the number of facilities for Army personnel and their location. Aiken Barracks, Dundalk, is located in the north east and Finner Camp is in south-west Donegal but the central Border region has no Army installation and this needs to be revisited as a matter of urgency.

I welcome the fact that the needs of the central Border region in the context of defence and security issues will be taken into consideration in the review of the structures and location of Army installations. Dún Uí Néill was the most modern military barracks in Europe and opened in 1990. Regrettably, it was closed in 2012. It is situated in the central Border region and, as we know, that region does not have an Army barracks. I have spoken to people with a lot of military knowledge and experience and I value thei…