I start by saluting the survivors, the women and their families who have put up with years of very deep pain. I also start by echoing the hurt and anger that they feel at this report. No doubt they will also feel some anger and hurt at the apology that they heard here today. I certainly do. One could say that the report and its contents were to be expected. When the then Minister and current Senator McDowell introduced the original Act to set up commissions, it was very much about being a cheaper, easier, less just…

Can the Ceann Comhairle clarify for me the amendments we are dealing with now?

The Bill is welcome and the fact that we are attempting to pass it before the end of the year is positive. It is about three years since our society was shocked by the events that led to the death of Dara Quigley. That has to be deeply regretted and we should never see a repeat of it. More recently, there were scandalous events related to a Discord server and what emerged from that. This Bill is being passed and we welcome it. There are a couple of things in the amendments that we are dealing with which I would lik…

I do not accept lectures from the Labour Party about the vaccine. We are all responsible Deputies and we will ensure we promote the vaccine. I do not accept lectures from the same party that lectured us about water charges. Neither do I have huge criticism of the motion but I am glad to see that it mentions the student nurses and why they should be paid. I want to raise more generally the idea that, as Winston Churchill famously said after the Second World War, never let a good crisis go to waste. When we google th…

-----and how they see workers. In Covid times, we need to look after workers just like we look after everybody else.

I greatly welcome the indication the Minister gave yesterday in the Seanad that no deportations would be allowed during the pandemic. My question might seem a bit redundant, but I ask her to reiterate the Department's intention regarding those who have received letters. I put particular emphasis on the cases of the two care workers that I have raised with the Minister repeatedly. What do they need to do next? I acknowledge that the Minister has given me written answers. What are their next steps? Should they make a…

I thank the Minister; that is very helpful. Just before I came in here, I spoke to two care workers who have received deportation orders. Their concern now is that one of their work permits has expired and the other will expire in the next couple of weeks. That does not help us because it means that two care workers who could be doing very useful and vital work during the pandemic are unable to because they do not have work permits. They cannot apply to extend their work permits because of the refusal of leave to r…

I welcome what the Minister said. I will ensure that these issues are followed up. Ultimately, the pandemic may spike and subside here and in other countries, but if these are the conditions under which people are allowed to remain, then the deportation orders are like a sword of Damocles hanging over them. It is a tragedy and a pity. These are human beings who have a huge contribution to make to our society. In the end, this needs to be resolved outside the context of this Covid-19 crisis, because we do not want t…

We have heard a lot about student nurses and the work they are doing on the front line at the moment. I want to ask specifically why they are being asked to pay for the flu jab. It is perfectly understandable that they would receive the flu jab given that they are front-line workers and working very hard with patients in Covid wards etc. Why, particularly when they are not being paid for the work they do, are they expected to pay for a simple thing like the flu jab? A number of nurses have come to us about this iss…

I thank the Minister for his answer. I will provide him with the information I have. Again, we are hearing, in regard to student nurses, that something should not be happening. It should not be happening that they are not getting paid for work they are doing. It should not be happening that they are working instead of studying. It should not be happening that they are not supervised. It should not be happening that they are working instead of learning. However, all of those things are happening. I totally get that …

I appreciate the Minister's answer but the fact is that it is almost like the Government is blinkered to the fact that we are still in a pandemic. That is ignored and we are told that they should be students and they should be training. In fact, they are students and they are working. It is not that we are demanding that they become part of the workforce. We recognise that they are students but we also recognise that they should be paid for every hour they work. It is work that a normal care worker would do, includ…

I ask the Taoiseach whether the Cabinet has had a discussion on the newly revamped Irish Aviation Authority and the appointment of its new CEO. He is due to take up that appointment on 1 January 2021 but yet he comes from a company that has an appalling record on both issues that his new job will enjoin him to deal with. Ryanair has an appalling record on the treatment of workers and consumers, with many passengers waiting long periods for refunds and thousands left waiting for cancellations to be dealt with. While…

I did not say he did not. I asked the Taoiseach to comment on his appointment.

The Ceann Comhairle has better ears than the Taoiseach.

I want to make a couple of comments on what I have heard in the debate so far. I welcome the contribution by Deputy O’Dea. In the short period during which I was a member of a committee with him in the term of the previous Dáil, I learned a lot from him and found him to be very progressive on these issues, but his remarks stand in stark contrast to those of Deputy Carroll MacNeill. What she said was quite startling. The issue of inequality may look good from the vantage point that she has but the reality is very di…

I move amendment No. 6: In page 9, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: "Reports 18. (1) Within three months of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall produce a report to the Oireachtas on the levels of fuel poverty in the population, the impact of increased energy and heating costs and the advisability of increasing the income thresholds for access to fuel allowance supports. (2) Within three months of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall produce a report to the Oireachtas on the impact of t…

On each of the answers, bar the one on the wage subsidy scheme, all the Minister has done is to pass the parcel for matters that are her responsibility. The proposed report on fuel poverty is not looking to establish the impact of increased carbon taxes or the qualifying conditions but is to assess the fuel poverty that exists in the population. Nobody seems to want to touch this matter. As I said earlier, it was the job of the Joint Committee on Climate Action to recommend that it happens but it never did. I doubt…

I was looking for clarity on the proposal for a report on employers' contributions to the Social Insurance Fund. Will the Minister repeat what she said about that? I think she is excluding a whole cohort of young people who do not fall into the categories she listed and they are the ones about whom I am concerned. Obviously, it does not impact on them if they are living away from the home, but those living at home are impacted. I do not accept the Minister's view. The Minister is rejecting my amendment. I would lik…

There is a commitment in the programme for Government to overhaul existing building standards in the construction industry. Related to that is the fact that SOLAS, under the Department of Education, has farmed out the Safe Pass course to independent commercial entities. Since March 2020 and the start of the Covid-19 crisis, the cost of that course has more than doubled from €80 to get a Safe Pass to work on a building site to €160 and then to €200 to do that course. If one does it through a third language, the cost…

The Taoiseach said earlier that if the nurses are working, they should be paid. This morning, he said that he does not believe they should be working, or perhaps, it is the other way around. He has, however, said they should be paid if they are working and he does not believe they should be working. He must verify it. I am shocked that he has not verified it because the HSE is telling him that is not the case. He has not, however, verified it; we have. We have spoken to hundreds of people like Zara, a second-year s…