Back in September 2020 I published a Private Members' Bill on the regulation of professional home care. That was two and a half years ago. In fairness, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has done much work in this area and I have had engagement with the Department of Health on the matter as well. I wish to know where we are on this. I understood the Department was going to publish its own Bill on the issue. We have more and more people requiring home care. Their number is going to continue to grow, and especiall…

Will the Minister outline the current state of play in respect of the processing of work permits? At one stage, the time from application to getting a permit was approximately 20 weeks, although there has been a dramatic improvement in that. I ask the Minister to outline what work has been done to make it an efficient system.

It is very much welcome that the time period has improved dramatically. I thank the Minister and the Department officials for the work they have done in assisting that improvement. Getting a work permit is one issue and then there is the issue of visas. I understand an interdepartmental committee was set up between the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Department of Justice in December. What progress has been made in respect of co-ordinating the work permit applications and visa applications? This …

Can the Minister not set a timeline for the Departments to work out a solution to this problem? A big complaint I hear, for instance, is that medical practitioners who are going to New Zealand or Australia can get a visa and work permit sorted in a week, whereas we still have a glitch in our system whereby a person can get a work permit but cannot get a visa. I encourage the Minister to engage with the Medical Council and An Bord Altranais. There is a big complaint about the timeline for getting people registered w…

The Mazars report was commissioned in 2018 and completed and furnished to the Department of Health in January 2020. Three years later, it has not been published. The report arose as a result of the 2018 examination by the health committee, of which I was a member, of the roll-out of orphan drugs and the delaying process that is in place. The health committee's report set out 15 recommendations. The Acting Chair, Deputy Durkan, and I are the only two members of the committee that produced the report in 2018 who are …

I thank the Minister of State. I am concerned about the definition of "imminently", the last word he used. Are we talking about today or next week? Rare Disease Day is next Tuesday and I wonder whether the report can be published beforehand. It is not just about publishing the report but also about implementing the changes required. Ireland ranks 26th out of 34 countries in Europe on the time taken to roll out new drugs, in particular, new drugs for people with rare diseases. The pharmaceutical industry is a huge e…

I understand the public health (tobacco and nicotine inhaling products) Bill was to have been published by the end of last year. It has not been published. Pre-legislative scrutiny was completed in July. Latest figures show an increase in the use of tobacco products. There is also a need for an urgent regulation of the use of nicotine products. When is the Bill expected to be published and what is the timeline for its passage through both Houses of the Oireachtas?

Will the Minister clarify the progress to date under the €363 million strategy to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence from 2022? Will he set out what progress is being made on this five-year programme? I know it is only eight months on but I would like to know what progress has been made as a result of the programme announced in 2022.

I know my colleague referred earlier to the figures. Some 41% of Irish women know someone in their circle of family or friends who has experienced intimate partner violence. I have figures from the Courts Service showing that applications for orders increased by 12% in 2020 to 22,970 from 20,501 in 2019. The other frightening figure in the recent report is the finding that in 2020, 25% of victims of sexual violence were females aged under 18. This emphasises the importance of the programme and the reason we need to…

I wonder whether we also need to carefully look at supports that need to be improved for women who have suffered violent attacks or sexual assaults. I understand that some of the sexual assault units may have difficulty in getting the professional staff required. There are challenges in that area. I ask the Minister to look into the level of supports that are required and ensure the units in operation have adequate staff numbers and supports in place.

I understand a review of the 2006 wind energy guidelines has been going on for two and a half to three years. It has not been published. This deals with the issues of noise levels, set-back distance, shadow flickering and community obligation. When will those guidelines be published, in particular with regard to set-back distance from private properties? I understand the current guidelines are not adequate and many people are concerned. Wind energy is making a major and welcome contribution. At the same time, we ne…

Yes.

Will we see it before St. Patrick's Day?

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to deal with this matter. My request is that we establish a commissioner for ageing and older people. The role would very much be about safeguarding the interests of older people, advising the Government on matters relating to older people, promoting awareness, encouraging best practice, reviewing the adequacy of existing laws, eliminating discrimination, and promoting participation by older people in a way that we are not currently doing enough in this area. …

If the office were established, my understanding is that the cost would be around €2 million. That €2 million would be a very good investment in dealing with this area. I go back to 2004, when I wore a different cap and I acted in a legal capacity for many elderly people in nursing homes. As a result of that challenge in 2004, we brought about a sea change over the following three or four years in how we dealt with people who were having to go into nursing homes for care. We set up the fair deal scheme, which is a …

I want to raise the issue of the Glashaboy flood relief scheme. As the Minister of State is aware, it went out for tender over 12 months ago and tenders were submitted. Unfortunately, the contractor who was awarded the contract was not able to do the work on the basis of the price quoted and the timescale set out in the tender that was submitted. Where are we now in relation to that? It was readvertised and new tenders were submitted. Has a contractor been appointed? When is the work likely to commence? What is the…

When this flooding occurred, which was more than ten years ago, houses had up to 4 ft of water in them. People have been living in fear in that area since then. I am a little concerned that the tender documentation has still not been finalised. The question is about the time period for submissions to be made once that becomes available and then the important issue of the contractor being contacted and awarded the contract. There was too much of a delay the last time around. Tenders were submitted and acceptance was…

I acknowledge both the Minister of State and his Department and, indeed, Cork City Council for the work they have done. It needs to be ensured timelines are clearly set out in order that we can get on with it. I appreciate the work that has been done to date. It is unfortunate that inflation caught up with the council when the first round of the project was first advertised for tenders to be submitted. It needs to be given priority now, as it has been two years. It should be awarded hopefully within the next two to…

Will the Minister provide a progress report on the roll-out of the national broadband plan in County Cork from 1 January 2022 to 30 November 2022, the number of premises connected during this timeframe, including schools and broadband connection points in the county and will he make a statement on the matter?

Does the Minister of State know the number of schools outstanding that have yet to be connected? I am coming across many problems in County Cork where there are properties that Eir has the capacity to connect, but is not allowed to because they are in the amber area. Has there been any progress with Eir on that issue? For example, in one case the pole that provides the connection is at the entrance to a farm yard. The farm house could not be connected, yet a house 200 yards down the road could be connected. Four ot…