We have fantastic workers in our childcare sector who we should be immensely proud of, but I feel they do not get the credit they deserve. That is why I am starting on this point. We have these workers who do so much for so little, and who prepare children so well for their school life. I have seen this first-hand as a school principal, particularly the preparation by the preschools and what they put into the work. For example, Aistear is one programme where a lot of preparation and meticulous planning is involved.…

No, there is not.

Deputy Bruton has a brass neck. He was part of the Government that encouraged dairy farmers to increase their herds only a few short years ago. Now, many of those dairy farmers are being told they are the cause of much of the emissions. It is not right, proper or in any way acceptable. The Government seems to think the electorate has a short memory, but it will get its answers on the door in rural Ireland, because it is constantly punishing them for a fantasy aspiration that is totally detached from any reality or …

I raise the ongoing issue regarding the publication of new wind farm guidelines. When can we expect these guidelines to be published? There are many issues and people in rural communities have no protection from wind energy companies coming in and constructing monstrous turbines against their wishes. In respect of an application for wind turbines in Lemanaghan, County Offaly, there have been 2,300 objections, including one from me. The site is important for its heritage, history and archaeology. There are no protec…

They are draft guidelines but we need updated ones.

The impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of health services in this State has been catastrophic but we know there were issues with waiting lists long before the pandemic. We know that the waiting lists across nearly all medical specialties have increased significantly and that it will be years before we can finally determine the sheer magnitude of the crisis that has been created in non-Covid-related areas, such as cancer, coronary and paediatric care. Not only that, in my constituency of Laois-Offaly, thousands of a…

I wish to raise the issue of reviews, or indeed monitoring, of the funding given to housing bodies. Regarding approved housing bodies, AHBs, does the Department conduct any reviews or monitoring of how the money is spent by these bodies?

I thank the Minister of State for that response. While I am aware that the responsibility falls primarily on the local authorities, does the Minister of State not believe it might be necessary or proper for the Department to have some oversight of the expenditure? Residents of Chesterfield Close, Birr, County Offaly, who are going through the housing body Respond, have been waiting for a considerable time for their houses to be properly insulated. What is happening is a bit rich coming from a Government that has ta…

I acknowledge that the Minister of State mentioned that three recommendations were made in 2018 but I am wondering about his reference to the regulatory authority. What measures will be taken in terms of oversight? The taxpayer is entitled to know precisely what measures will be taken and the monitoring that will be done. Surely it would make sense to monitor yearly. A housing body has been in receipt of €250 million since 2016. While it is building some new homes, it is not carrying out the basic maintenance of ho…

Tá áthas orm labhairt ar an ábhar fíorthábhachtach seo inniu. Child poverty is not only an affront to the human dignity of the children who are impacted by it but to all of us in this State. It is also something we have been talking about for a long time in this House. Indeed, as I was researching this issue I came across statements made by the former Minister for Education, Seamus Brennan, in 1992 on the publication of the Green Paper on education, Education for a Changing World. This Green Paper included statemen…

I wish to raise the issue of car parking charges that are still in place for cancer patients at some hospitals. In May 2018, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, called for a review of hospitals' car parking charges. It is my understanding that there has been no progress since then, but it is an issue that puts considerable stress on cancer patients and their families. At a time when they are already facing significant difficulties and challenges, families having to rush to the car park to move cars in orde…

There is inconsistency in our hospitals.

I want to ask-----

-----whether the Government will abolish car parking charges for cancer patients.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue of international co-operation between law enforcement agencies. The so-called Prüm decisions and various other European Council decisions establish a framework for cross-border police co-operation to support the prevention and investigation of crime. As the EU, among others, has noted, one of the main benefits of the Prüm Convention for law enforcement is the ability to compare DNA and fingerprints found at a crime scene in one member state with data held i…

I wish to raise the issue of the forestry crisis again. I have raised it many times in the House, including during Leaders' Questions. This week, there was another meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine where my colleague, Deputy Michael Collins, also raised the matter. This situation is becoming a national scandal and embarrassment. Some 6,000 licence applications are caught up in a backlog and our sawmills are importing timber. The construction industry is also affected and 10,000 jobs…

I have raised the following issue a number of times in the House. It concerns the deep crisis facing our forestry sector. Almost a year ago, a forestry Bill was introduced by the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, in which she pledged to address the ongoing difficulties and backlog in respect of licences. Almost a year later, 6,000 licences are caught up in the backlog. It is unacceptable. Earlier this week, we met members of the IFA and all the stakeholders involved in forestry. Yet again, they are pleading with …

It is not true.

I made the point, which was factual, that this Government is disconnected. I have spoken to supporters of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and I am genuinely and honestly telling the Tánaiste that there is a serious level of disconnect and the Government is not reaching out to the stakeholders and listening to the experts. It is all very well and good having a tokenistic meeting but following through on this and the commitments on the programme for Government is another matter. The Government is missing its own climate ac…

It is not. It is true. I am telling it like it is.