I congratulate the Minister on her very good news and offer my very best wishes to her family. My question pertains to An Garda Síochána, an organisation that has played a pivotal role in the life of this State. The centenary of the foundation of An Garda Síochána is coming up in 2022. Can the Minister outline the State's plans to commemorate this historic occasion?

I thank the Minister of State for that very detailed and comprehensive reply. I have a few suggestions. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors is of the view that a commemorative medal could be struck and presented to every serving member of An Garda Síochána. I am of that view myself. A very similar suggestion was made in 2016 for members of the Defence Forces. Every serving member received a commemorative medal marking the Defence Forces' centenary. Is this something the Minister of State might wish to…

I have another suggestion. The Garda Síochána Retired Members Association is of the view that an oral history project could be considered. A very similar project for Defence Forces personnel is taking place in the Military Archives in Cathal Brugha Barracks. There is a large volume of testimony and eyewitness accounts from Garda Síochána operations over past decades so, again, we should probably consider an oral history-type project. I am not sure what the Minister of State's thoughts on this would be or where fund…

I move: “That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: — positive mental health is fundamental to overall health and well-being; — mental health is central in building a healthy, inclusive and productive society; — people’s experience of well-being may vary, with some experiencing vulnerability at some stages in their life; — the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic should ensure that measures protect not only the population’s physical health, but its mental health also, as an equally important component of health …

I welcome the opportunity to make a statement this afternoon prior to the very important meetings that will take place in Brussels on Thursday and Friday of next week. The Taoiseach outlined the very broad agenda that is on the table. I will focus my contribution exclusively on Brexit because it is the most urgent and most important issue from Ireland's point of view. I suggest that next week's summit is the most important EU summit of 2020 from an Irish perspective because it will either be the summit at which any…

I would like to focus my questions on Ireland’s air-sea rescue capability. It was a service that was provided exclusively by the Irish Air Corps for decades up to the year 2002, when it was handed over and outsourced to a private company. Most members of the public will be familiar with the large red and white helicopters that sometimes fly overhead. What they may not be aware of is that these helicopters are not owned by the Irish Coast Guard, nor are they even owned by the State. They are owned and operated by a …

I thank the Taoiseach for that very useful response. I fully appreciate, like everybody in the Chamber, that there is huge demand on the Taoiseach’s time currently. I also understand that he gets the occasional direct flight from Baldonnel airbase directly to Brussels, which is completely appropriate given his status as Taoiseach. Would he consider arriving an hour before his flight sometime early in the new year so he could visit the helicopter wing in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, which is only a couple of hundr…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to introduce this Bill. I welcome its publication. It is very important that it gets out there. In 49 days, whether we like it or not and whether there is a deal, our trade relations with our nearest neighbour will face a severe shock. It is very sensible and prudent to get our house in order as soon as possible, at least from a legislative point of view. I have gone through the Bill in detail and I agree with the vast majority of what is in it. I am in genera…

I welcome the publication of the Finance Bill. I know it is not a perfect document but there is quite a lot of good stuff in it and, on that basis, I am going to support its passage through the Dáil. In the time I have available, I want to focus on one specific provision at the bottom of page 11, the Naval Service seagoing personal tax credit, which is very important. I very much welcome the fact this tax credit is going to be included in the 2021 fiscal year as well. This year, 2020, was the first year it came in,…

Yes, as an Independent Deputy, I think the Government's concession of 16 minutes for Sinn Féin and 14 minutes for the other groupings is reasonable. That is a reasonable concession and compromise. We should run with that.

I welcome the Minister of State. I am proud to be present this morning, as a member of the Regional Group, to promote this important motion to protect the Irish post office network. As a number of speakers have said, it is timely due to the Grant Thornton report being released a couple of weeks ago. The report had devastating findings. There was an annual shortfall of €17 million, which equates to approximately €20,000 per post office. The report's central recommendation is that a PSO levy is introduced or that a P…

I wish to put on the record that I am generally supportive of and in agreement with the Government's decision to increase the Covid-19 restrictions to level 5 nationwide, as of midnight tonight. It is a prudent and sensible thing to do under the circumstances. As an individual who comes from a constituency that covers the Laois, Offaly and Kildare region, I am familiar with the additional burden that lockdown will put on the local population. However, I also recognise that it is a viable strategy as a last resort t…

That is great. I thank the Taoiseach for that very useful information of which I was not aware. We are all conscious of cost in this Chamber. We are all familiar with the past history of pharmaceutical companies which may profiteer on pandemics like this one. In light of the global emergency crisis at the moment, has there been any discussion on perhaps the waiving of patents by pharmaceutical companies? Does the Taoiseach have any idea of what the unit cost of a single vaccine dose will be? He may not have that in…

I thank both Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Michael McGrath, for their positive engagement in the run-up to the budget. I valued their input and appreciated it. I am conscious of the limited time I have available. I will focus exclusively on the security and defence aspects of Budget 2021. I have only five points to make. Three are quite positive and only two points at the end are areas in need of significant improvement. The first point relates to An Garda Síochána. I welcome the increase in Garda numbers which a…

I note that the HSE's winter plan says that it intends to build capacity for contact tracing. I also understand that earlier this year more than 72,000 people volunteered for the HSE's On Call For Ireland initiative. Has any thought been given to tapping into this great pool of talent, which has been completely underutilised, in order to fill contact tracing roles? If no thought has been given to it, will the Taoiseach and his Government consider it?

To begin, I wish to extend my very best wishes to the Minister of State and his family on his recent appointment in the Department of Justice and Equality. Law and order are significant priorities for me and my constituents and I very much look forward to engaging with him over the coming years in that regard. From the outset I am very happy with the legislation that is before us. It is long overdue and I will certainly support its passage through the Dáil. I have seven points to make which I will try to keep as br…

Most people in the Chamber are familiar with the range of financial supports available nationwide to mitigate against the effects of this terrible virus. I want to focus my questions today on the situation in the three counties of Laois, Offaly and Kildare, which had been disproportionately affected as a result of the virus. Most reasonable people would accept that the outbreaks in those three counties were caused by some failings by State agencies in the monitoring of meat plants and direct provision centres. Most…

I thank the Tánaiste for that clarification. My final question has specifically to do with Kildare. It is unique among counties in that it is the only county to have experienced three lockdowns, two of them back-to-back. I accept that a financial package was provided and commend the Minister with responsibility for media, tourism, arts, culture, sport and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Catherine Martin, for providing an extra €500,000 for marketing the county as a staycation of choice. That €500,000 is lodged in a Bord Fáil…

I congratulate the Minister on his recent appointment. I thank him for coming to the House to answer questions. A national foods ombudsman is proposed in the programme for Government. Will the Minister update the House on the process? Will he give a timeline for establishing that office?

It is reassuring to hear that an implementation plan is in place. From my perspective, I emphasise the need for the food ombudsman to be an independent office with the statutory powers to enforce the directive as outlined. We have seen in recent months that we have to protect primary producers and small suppliers so that large retailers and conglomerates do not abuse their dominant position in the market. From my perspective, the independence of that office is crucial. If there is anything I can do with the Ministe…