I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. Since day one, it has been essential that we bring the public with us every step of the way and in every decision during this Covid pandemic. However, each week it becomes more difficult to explain to the public the inconsistencies and decisions that the Government is making. The public wonder why they are restricted to 5 km and why they cannot visit family, go to church or do normal things. That has to be at present, but at the same time the Government has dragged its fe…

It is disappointing to see another housing measure that is based on the very conservative ideology of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Unfortunately, it will fail to deliver social housing. In reality, this legislation will increase house prices and push affordable homes further out of the reach of ordinary workers and families. It is a Bill for developers. There are serious problems in housing provision for workers and families whose income is just above the threshold for social housing but not high enough to enabl…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. Our party supports maximum suppression, as outlined by NPHET. We want to continue to work with NPHET to ensure that we crush the virus and roll out the vaccines in a timely and efficient manner. We have worked hard for the implementation of a strategy of strong restrictions underpinned by a fast track and trace process. At times, things could have been done better and we have had our disagreements with the Minister and the Government on some of the decisions taken.…

Families have been hit very hard by this latest lockdown. It has been a very difficult year for families across the midlands and throughout the country. Many have lost their jobs and face significant drops in income through no fault of their own. In the case of Laois, Offaly and Kildare, this is actually the fourth lockdown. There are currently 475,000 people on the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, 6,838 of whom are in Laois while 6,707 are in Offaly. The reality behind these figures is that families are struggl…

Perhaps the Minister can come back to me in writing on some of the points I will make in the short time I have. There are huge issues that will be a major factor in the vaccine roll-out, one of which is the importance of access for those in rural communities. There has been a commitment for 15 mass vaccination centres in the State. I understand the logic with regard to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because of the temperature requirements, but as the other brands come on stream we need to have significantly more centr…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to address the House in my own words regarding two tweets of mine that have been the subject of commentary over the past number of weeks. I grew up in an Ireland that was very unequal, where women, gay people, minority groups of all kinds and nationalists in the Six Counties were treated appallingly. I took the decision to join Sinn Féin as I saw it developing as a modern and progressive political party. I committed myself to working to end inequality, bigotry, sectar…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to regulate wind turbines through providing limits on the exportation of product generated from wind turbines; protecting nearby dwellings from noise and shadow flicker by providing minimum set back distances; allowing access to public consultative processes and related matters. I welcome the opportunity to introduce this Bill. Wind energy has to have a place in the future of Ireland's renewable energy sector. We need to put in place sensible regulat…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I pay tribute to all of the health workers for the work they have done over the past nine months, and to the teachers, caretakers, pupils and school secretaries in the education sector. It is highly likely that this winter we will see the annual trolley crisis come to the fore. Unfortunately, it is also possible we will have the effect of a third wave of Covid. We must do everything we can over Christmas to ensure we do not allow the spread of the virus to inc…

I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue in the Dáil with the Minister, Deputy Ryan. The Ballybrophy to Limerick railway line is very important. It goes from Ballybrophy in south Laois down the whole way to Limerick city and has much more potential than its current use. Much investment has been made in this line in recent years, such as track upgrades, but the benefits of this to either the public, the environment or to Iarnród Éireann have not been realised. The line branches off in Ballybrophy and travels do…

I thank the Minister for his reply. It is very disappointing. Of course there is not a struggle to accommodate large numbers but the point is that the existing infrastructure is not being utilised. We have not got bang for our buck for the commuters or in terms of economic development along the route. There are a number of low-cost steps that can be taken. The reason Deputy Browne, as a Tipperary Deputy, and I, as a Laois-Offaly Deputy, are raising this is that we have met people along the line who use the service,…

The school vaccine programme is of huge concern. The 2021 programme has been suspended in community healthcare organisation, CHO, 8 and the midlands areas of Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath. It is not happening. It was fully suspended from 9 November and never really got started this year. It would normally kick off in this semester and carry through into next year for the 2021 programme. Children in both primary and secondary school have not been vaccinated as normal since then, even though the front-line co…

There is some positivity in that reply, which is welcome. Since I started raising this issue, there has been huge concern around it. Parents have been at the forefront of sharing their concerns with me on this. The Minister of State mentioned in his reply that it was necessary to suspend the programme. I accept that and anyone with common sense would say that back in the earlier part of the year, it was all hands to the pump in terms of dealing with Covid-19, and those working in the health services and the Departm…

I move: That, pursuant to Standing Order 198, the Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017, which lapsed on the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil, shall be restored to the Order Paper at Order for Committee Stage.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue on Brexit and the implementation of the British withdrawal come 1 January. It will, unfortunately, cause a significant amount of distress and worry about the jobs of workers in industries, particularly in the agrifood industry. It will have a major impact in my constituency of Laois-Offaly, particularly if we do not get a good trade agreement. It is important that businesses are given certainty around how Brexit will impact on their operations. While we hav…

My question is about the promotion of shopping locally and the retention of money in local economies. I have put the question forward in a constructive way because we are in a difficult situation at the moment. These matters are important at any time, as I am sure the Tánaiste will agree, but that is particularly true at the moment because of the difficulties of retaining money in local economies, getting money spent and, very importantly, keeping people in jobs and getting people back into jobs.

I thank the Tánaiste for his very comprehensive answer. There are many things beyond our control but a number of things are within our control. One of these is controlling the pandemic. Deputies on this side of the House are also active in telling people to obey the rules to try to push back the virus and reopen employment. We also encourage people to spend money locally in towns and villages to keep people in work. This is not about protectionism or isolationism. It is very important. I welcome the Tánaiste's comm…

That campaign will be very welcome. We also need to get the message across to people that this is needed not just in the run-in to Christmas but beyond Christmas because we are probably facing a difficult 2021. It will be a difficult year. I hope that, as jobs start opening up and money starts circulating again, the position will improve. One issue that needs to be addressed is the rates charged by local authorities. Unfortunately, many local authorities are going through their budgets this week and they will have …

My question is to ask the Tánaiste's Department to promote, through Enterprise Ireland and other State bodies, the need to strengthen the connection and interdependence between local businesses. I am not advocating isolationism. There is a good deal of trade in and out of this country, and that is as it should be, but if we strengthen those links we can generate more jobs within the region. It is particularly important for regional development.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He covered many areas. Recently there has been a big move towards globalisation. That is the way the world is now, and we have to accept that. That is how it works but recent times have shown how vulnerable we are in this regard. Many supply lines have been cut off during the pandemic. I am aware of people in business who have had difficulty sourcing overseas goods and services that would normally flow freely into the country. This has shown up that there is a vulnerable…