No child should have to go through the experience Ivy went through, which has been documented. The failures in her care and the length of time it took for her to receive the necessary operation was documented in the report of the Ombudsman for Children that was published earlier. The Government is working hard to address the issue in order that other children will not have the same experience. Last year, an additional €19 million in capital and current funding was committed to a plan to address the issue, which led…

I have not seen the detail of today's report yet. However, I assure the Deputy that the Government puts massive stock in and prioritises the need to restore nature and the need to protect our environment. In terms of our actions, we have taken the historic step of putting in place targets for emissions reductions in legislation. We have also set targets that show how the country can lead on reducing emissions and taken a coherent, progressive approach to the nature restoration laws which are currently coming throug…

I thank the Deputy for raising this pressing issue. It is an issue that the Department of Finance is currently working its way through. The objective of the Government is to ensure that those who are actively farming their land are not put in a situation whereby because the zoned land tax will apply to them, they cannot continue to farm or must sell the land. They need to be able to apply to have the land dezoned if they do not want it categorised in that way. Overall, the Government's objective is to ensure that a…

I thank the Deputy. The findings of the research undertaken in the scoping study on the sexual exploitation of children and young people in Ireland are deeply troubling. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is working closely with the senior management of Tusla on the matter and will prioritise a review of the findings of the scoping study and its recommendations in the immediate period ahead. The study offers an alarming account of the sexual exploitation of children by potential…

I thank the Deputy. As he knows, I have provided numerous briefings to outline the position and the challenges we have had over the past six months. The factual position is that we are between forestry programmes. We are currently waiting for state aid approval of our new forestry programme. That means we have not been in a position to issue new licences in recent months and will be unable to do so until we get that new programme in place. We have, however, put an interim programme in place in order that trees can …

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I assure him that as part of the discussions on the next budget, progressing the services available to those with disabilities will be a key priority. It is something on which the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has focused and done very strong work. The Government has taken the significant step, as part of its programme for Government commitments, to move responsibility for disability from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, …

The Deputy was the only one to mention anyone's name in the two-hour debate yesterday. My contribution was about how we, as a Government, are working to support family farms across the country and to ensure that farmers and the families that depend on them and the rural economies that depend on them are strongly supported by the Government. That is our focus from an agricultural point of view. On that particular Bill, I will ask the Whip to revert to the Deputy with an update as to when a money message may be provi…

It seems clear from the Deputy's contribution that there is lots of investment happening in new schools in his constituency. That certainly is my experience in Donegal, where we have had unprecedented investment in new schools and school facilities. The Minister, Deputy Foley, with the backing of the Government, has made capital spending a priority to ensure young people are studying, and teachers are working, in the type of facilities they deserve and that best aids education. It is something that the Department, …

As the Deputy pointed out, families bereaved during the Troubles continue to feel the pain and the loss, and continue to seek the truth, accountability and justice. Existing mechanisms for dealing with the legacy of the past, while not perfect, deliver important outcomes for those families, such as the vindication of a murdered loved one's innocence. In its legacy Bill, the UK Government intends to permanently close off access to these mechanisms, such as inquests, police ombudsman investigations, civil cases and p…

I thank the members of the Rural Independent Group for putting forward the motion today. I always welcome the opportunity to discuss agriculture motions and policy in the Dáil. Whenever a motion is put forward by the Opposition, it is always a good opportunity to emphasise and communicate the work the Government is doing to support our farming families and, of course, to examine the policy and proposals that have been put forward by the Opposition and tease those out. It is important the public get an opportunity t…

That means, for example, Deputy Healy-Rae-----

That means, for example, somebody planting 1 ha of native broadleaf trees now will get €1,100 per year tax free for 20 years compared to 15 years previously. That means €22,000 over 20 years in tax-free premiums for somebody who plants.

We introduced many new schemes for the first time, such as the new genotyping scheme, which will see every animal based in this country genotyped to give full traceability. It is the first in the world. I just announced that a few weeks ago. That will really keep our sector at the forefront of the world beef sector. With regard to responding to particular challenges, the fodder scheme provided €1,000 per farm family last year and will do so again this year. The tillage incentive scheme pays €400 per hectare for eac…

They must think you do not have much useful to say, Mattie.

Is the Deputy not voting against his own motion today?

Good man.

The Deputy is making a habit of voting against his own motions.

He opposes everything. He is only being consistent.

The amendment revokes the Animal Health and Welfare (Animal Remedies Veterinary Practice and Veterinary Medicine) Regulations 2017. This statutory instrument governed certain matters relating to the prescribing of veterinary medicinal products that are now dealt with in this Bill.

The amendment is necessary to alter the definition of companion animals. It sets out that the animals concerned are to be kept for domestic purposes only. This is to ensure, by way of an example, that when the Bill applies to companion animals we are not putting dogs that are used in racing or breeding or animals kept in a zoo into that category. I will speak to the rest of the grouping now, if I may. Amendments No. 3 is necessary to allow me to make regulations about a specific category of animals, such as compani…