I note today a report in a newspaper regarding the Companies Registration Office, CRO, filing deadline of 25 November and very unsatisfactory responses allegedly being given to those who have sought extensions to that deadline. I ask the Minister to raise with his Cabinet colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the possibility of extending the deadline beyond 25 November. More people will be working from home from now on and will not have the same access to the documents they need.…

As this is the European Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, it is appropriate that we are discussing the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021 today. I thank the Minister of State and his officials for bringing this important legislation to the House. I will be supporting this Bill which includes a number of important amendments to the sex offenders register notification requirements. It also provides for electronic tagging and for a prohibition on convicted sex offenders …

I understand that 450 new staff will be employed in the Passport Office. I acknowledge the work of the staff in that office. It has been an extremely busy time for them, particularly in the last number of months. Some were re-tasked to assist the Department of Social Protection and other Departments during the height of the pandemic. I am sure I speak for all Deputies when I express gratitude for the work they have done and for assisting many members of the public. The Minister will be aware of the backlog of paper…

It is important that this House discuss the findings of the Farrelly commission's inquiry into the Grace case. Grace was failed by the State and her service providers. Concerns were raised as far back as 1993. Grace and her family deserve the truth and the establishment of the full facts of the case. The commission, under chairperson and sole member Marjorie Farrelly, SC, commenced its investigation on 15 May 2017. Four years on, it is regrettable that we do not have a final report. My colleague, Deputy McGuinness,…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021, a wide-ranging Bill that seeks to regulate e-scooters, e-bikes and the newly installed dynamic traffic management system on the M50. The Bill also includes measures to increase the speed of the implementation of BusConnects and underpins the investment in a much-improved public transport system. Significantly, the Bill also introduces legislation to deal with dangerous and antisocial off-road use of scramblers, quads and similar vehicles. T…

The NTA published its Draft Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2022-2042 yesterday and there has been much miscommunication about it. The plan clearly states the railway order applications will be made for the Metrolink and the DART+ west next year and the Finglas LUAS in 2023 or 2024. The draft strategy also envisages the roll-out of BusConnects between 2022 and 2024. All of that is welcome, though I would like to see the roll-out of the bus routes a little bit faster. Other elements of the plan repres…

I extend my sympathy to the family of Austin Currie, including Senator Emer Currie. I also extend my sympathy to his party colleagues and wide circle of friends. He was a distinguished human rights campaigner, co-founder of the SDLP and a former member of this House from 1989 to 2002, serving as Minister of State with responsibility for children from 1994 to 1997. Prior to his election to this House, he was elected as a Nationalist Party MP to the Northern Parliament at Stormont, representing the constituency of Ea…

I thank the Minister of State and his officials for bringing forward this motion. I welcome the opportunity to examine it. I will be supporting the motion which will authorise the Minister for Finance to not allocate €500 million to the rainy day fund for 2021. The action is prudent given the very exceptional circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic. A similar motion under section 6 of the National Surplus Act 2019 was proposed last year in the context of the pandemic and in 2019 because of Brexit. Given the …

I ask the Minister for Finance to outline the ways in which the Government is supporting the credit union sector to continue to provide essential financial services to local communities.

I thank the Minister of State for that reply and for his engagement, particularly on the review. I note that €1.1 billion being lent for SMEs and mortgages. Will he please update the House on the three commitments contained within the programme for Government, one of which is the status of the review with the policy framework with the credit unions and how they are operating? What action is being taken to enable and support the credit union movement to grow? I also note the 18% increase in the loan book. How are he…

The Minister of State mentioned the credit unions’ willingness to step in, particularly given the closure of bank branches throughout the country. There have been a number of high-profile branch closures, including in my constituency and in Dublin city. Only last week, Shankill in my constituency lost its ATM. Some Deputies might say that that is not the end of the world. However, it is for a community that relies on that ATM to access services. I also commend Core Credit Union for its proactive nature in expanding…

On behalf of Deputy Crowe, I ask the Minister for Finance his plans to enhance the NCID, in relation to insurance.

That is welcome news. I welcome the proposed extension of the national claims information database. I note that last week, at an Oireachtas committee, Oliver Gilvarry, head of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council secretariat made the point that enhancements to the NCID database would provide greater detail on claims which would help to drill down on the cost of the awards. I note what the Minister of State has said about the volume of information available here compared with other jurisdictions, es…

I thank the Minister of State. It is certainly good information for consumers. The first Central Bank report on the national claims information database was published more than a year ago. It identified that in reality, the award to the individual, whether through PIAB or the courts, was pretty much the same. Coming back to the database, that is why, according to the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, it is so important to see the information flow so that the industry can be challenged about why pri…

I know it is not the Minister's remit, but he will be aware of recent reports of antisocial and criminal behaviour on our public transport services, be they Luas, DART or bus services throughout the greater Dublin area. Only yesterday, in the Irish Independent , Allison Bray reported on antisocial behaviour and harassment that seems to have become endemic on services. The response from Irish Rail security was that nothing can be done and they see it every day. That is an appalling indictment of our public transport…

I wholeheartedly agree with my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, on his remarks on the Bill, including the assumption of the challenges not only facing us here in Ireland but right across Europe. A higher level must be achieved. I thank the Minister of State for his attendance throughout this discussion this afternoon of this important Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021. I support this Bill, which provides for the implementation of three international legal instruments in the area of people smugglin…

I welcome the opportunity to examine the report, Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland, and to discuss the significant progress made to date on the serious issues highlighted within it. I note the Minister of State's remarks in that regard. The research, published jointly by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Economic and Social Research Institute, has shown that lone parents and their children account for 53% of homeless families and are much more likely to experience inadequate housing than o…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for her attendance and for her opening remarks on breast cancer awareness month. I welcome the opportunity for all the Deputies in the House to join with many other colleagues to discuss this very important issue. Breast cancer remains one of the most common causes of invasive cancer in women in Ireland, after lung cancer, and is the second most common cause of cancer deaths among women. It is estimated that approximately a quarter of breast cancers may be preventable t…

I welcome the introduction of the Child and Family Agency (Amendment) Bill 2021. The purpose of the Bill is to give full effect to the Taoiseach's announcement on 27 June 2020 that oversight of certain education and welfare functions would return to the Department of Education. Those functions, namely, the functions vested in the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth or under the Education Welfare Act 2000 and the administrative functions in respect of the administration of the home lia…

I move: "That, pursuant to Standing Order 198, the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2018, which lapsed on the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil, shall be restored to the Order Paper at Order for Committee Stage." This Bill seeks to regulate and restrict, where appropriate, convicted sex offenders from travelling abroad in the interests of the common good to protect people outside the State from serious harm. It seeks to amend the Sex Offenders Act 2001 and to provide for related matters. First, I want to acknowledge the e…