I thank the Minister of State. It is good news that the Minister of State has met the Minister of State, Deputy English, and the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and they agreed to review the scheme. I welcome that the Minister of State mentioned the possibility of a permit scheme. That is exactly the type of scheme non-EU workers are looking for, a scheme that would allow them to enter contracts for three years and allow flexibility as opposed to the current rigid, inflexible system. That is welcome news and I thank …

I am delighted to share time with my party colleague, Deputy Cahill, because he represents the views of a rural, agricultural constituency, similar to my own, with a mixture of beef and dairy farming. There is fear out there. I appreciate that there are challenges. It is important for the Minister to hear what Deputy Cahill said about the willingness to change, reduce emissions and make everything more efficient. We must remember that for years successive Governments and the EU have incentivised the intensification…

Baby Kate Mynard is an adorable child from Dunmanway in west County Cork. She has a disease called spinal muscular atrophy, a rare disease that causes loss of movement. Quite often with these diseases, there is no cure or treatment. However, in Kate's case there is a treatment - a miracle drug called Zolgensma. If Kate receives treatment with this drug, she will experience an incredible improvement in her life and in her outlook. I urge the Taoiseach, as leader of Government, to intervene here and ensure that cost …

Baby Kate turns two in April, at which point it is recommended that Zolgensma is no longer to be used. Therefore, there is a sense of urgency about this.

West Cork currently has no athletics track. This is despite the fact west Cork has produced some of the most talented athletes in Ireland. Bandon Athletic Club is right at the top of that, which continues to produce some incredibly talented athletes despite only having a grass running track and no proper infield facilities. It has produced some incredible athletes such as Phil Healy, who I do not have to tell the Taoiseach about and who did us so proud in the Olympics, decathlete Diarmuid O'Connor, hammer thrower N…

Ireland's housing system to date has failed its people. Houses are not affordable for most and waiting lists are too long. This document, put together by the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and his Department, is our first real chance to address and solve that. I urge Deputies to get behind it because it is ambitious and financed and has measures that will bring housing affordability within people's reach and solve the social housing waiting lists. These measures have been outlined by Deputies Carroll MacNeill an…

Can I have an opportunity to speak for one minute?

We are all rusty after the recess.

We are all very rusty. There is no reason to worry about it.

I have lost ten seconds already.

I thank the Minister for his reply. This is a unique opportunity for us, as Deputies, to highlight the importance of certain infrastructure projects within our constituencies. There are some that I would certainly like to see included in the upcoming revised NDP. The first I will mention is the need for a southern relief road in Bandon town. Bandon is the largest town in my constituency. It has major potential but at the moment it is experiencing serious traffic congestion. There is a transportation and public real…

I appreciate that we must raise these projects with the line Ministers as well, which we have done, but this is a unique opportunity for us to raise projects with the Minister and highlight the importance of having them included in the NDP. I will outline a few further projects. The Bantry flood relief scheme was discussed in the Chamber earlier. That needs to be progressed and included in the plan. In health, the need for an endoscopy unit in Bantry General Hospital is very important. Finally, in the area of touri…

I sometimes question our priorities when it comes to the fishing sector, the fishing industry and our fishers. This has been probably the toughest 12 months to face the sector. We had the introduction of a controversial penalty points system at this time last year. It would be an understatement to say it did not go down well with the fishing sector. We had Brexit, as a result of which the sector and the Irish fleet lost 15% of its quota share. That was a great financial blow to the sector, to the fishers themselves…

I commend both the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, on the extensive supports provided to date. Like many other Deputies, I toured my constituency over the summer and met people who have reopened their businesses. Most of them told me they would not have been in a position to do so without the extensive support provided under the CRSS, the restart grant, the employment wage subsidy scheme and, for many in hospitality, the outdoor dining scheme, which was incredibly important. The …

I believe that the uptake of the scheme will increase significantly as time goes by. I want to come back to the energy crisis and the cost of electricity for small businesses. It was encouraging to hear the comments of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, about measures in budget 2022 for individuals and households in terms of social welfare payments, the fuel allowance, the living alone allowance, etc., to cushion the blow. I would love to see some similar measures for SMEs that …

At the outset I want to say how disappointing it is to hear the negative narrative from some Opposition Deputies about this legislation. The Deputies who constantly criticise the Government for not reaching emissions targets or not switching to cleaner renewable energy at a faster pace are the same ones who are now describing this legislation, which is so important for reaching those targets, as a threat to coastal communities or as something that will somehow lead to the demise of coastal communities. It is very d…

I thank the Acting Chairman and the Minister of State. The issue I wish to raise is the lack of existing housing, particularly social housing, for people with disabilities and particularly the cases that have been presented to me regarding those who are wheelchair bound. It became very apparent over the summer recess, in particular, that more and more people are in positions where they are seeking social housing that requires accessibility. The simple fact of the matter is that those houses are not there. There is …

I appreciate the Minister of State's response and I can hear his dedication to ensuring people have the option of independent living in accessible houses. However, we are still in the situation in which we are. The development I referred to in Clonakilty will provide secure housing for so many vulnerable people on low incomes. Out of the 50 houses, to have only one adapted toilet is not good enough. Perhaps local authorities need to be explicitly instructed to ensure that when they are building social housing devel…

I am looking for details on the number of community gardaí in the Bantry, Bandon and Clonakilty districts.

I must echo the Minister of State's sentiments on the unbelievable work that An Garda Síochána has done through the pandemic. However, I come back to the crux of this matter, which is the real shortage of community gardaí in the west Cork division. The number for all of west Cork is four community gardaí and if we go to north Cork, there are seven community gardaí. If we go to Cork city, however, there are 40 community gardaí, so there is a major imbalance. The Minister of State indicates it is down to the chief su…