I thank the Minister and commend him and his team, including the Ministers of State, Senator Hackett and Deputy Heydon, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, on the new CAP programme. It appears from the early signs that it is very positive and will support farming in our region in particular. On the extra €2.9 billion, how will the Minister ensure this money gets down to the farm table? There is so much red tape involved in schemes that people will not engage wit…

I think the target participation rate for the new agri-environmental scheme is 50,000, which equates to the current participation level in the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS. How will we ensure that those who are excluded from GLAS will not be excluded from the new agri-environmental scheme, whatever it will be called? How will we further ensure that the restrictions in the current GLAS scheme will not transfer across to the new scheme and that its benefits will not be lost to many, including many h…

I am concerned that the proposed policing Bill will walk us into a crisis. I have observed the various commentary on it. There were pre-legislative scrutiny hearings. What work has been done in the Department to address the very serious concerns that were expressed, even outside of the pre-legislative scrutiny process? A far greater response is required.

I thank the Minister. Garda superintendents say the Bill will give more power to oversight bodies to deal with gardaí than An Garda Síochána has to deal with criminals. That is the kind of thing that is said for attention at annual conferences, but it is a very serious charge from a group of people who, as the Minister said, have co-operated with reform and are leaders in their communities and of the force. The Commissioner has spoken about sections of the Bill granting powers to the proposed new ombudsman which, i…

Absolutely. We all want that, but to have a world-class policing service we must have the confidence of An Garda, which, at all levels, is losing confidence in this Bill. The Minister has had interaction with the Commissioner but he appeared before the justice committee this week and used the phrases to which I referred so, obviously, he is not too convinced that there will be too many changes. The Minister had the interaction with the Garda superintendents. What about the issue coming from rank-and-file members of…

I am surprised the committee has not been meeting more often considering where we are at. That said, is it working with the Cabinet health committee in relation to the issues with Covid-19 care and their impact on non-Covid-19 care, particularly in the days and weeks ahead? Second, has any decision been taken on the recognition for front-line workers and healthcare workers, in terms of a payment or the proposed bank holiday?

Ar dtús, déanaim comhghairdeas le mo chomhghleacaí, an tAire, an Teachta Michael McGrath, agus leis an Rialtas as an gcáinaisnéis inné agus as na rudaí a bhí páirteach ann. I welcome much of yesterday's budget and commend my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, and his Government colleagues on its introduction. However, I want to begin by making a general point about the entire budgetary process. It is dated, irrelevant to people's daily lives and it is doing us a disservice in this House that one day's…

Today, on "Stars in Their Eyes", I will be Deputy Michael Moynihan. I would like information on our plan as per the programme for Government commitment to sign the optional protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

I thank the Minister of State and acknowledge her work in this field since her appointment not just as a Minister of State but as a spokesperson on disability matters back in 2016. Now, as part of the Government, she is actioning much of what she called for then. Is there a timeline on earlier ratification or is it completely dependent on the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act being commenced? She has indicated that this might happen by June or July next year. Is it a firm commitment that this will be done bef…

I welcome the fact that the Minister of State is on target. I also do not expect either her or the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to give us sight of the budget. I acknowledge the extra investment but it is not being seen on the ground. We have had this conversation. It seems to go into a big black hole and people's lived experience continues to worsen and disimprove. When the budget is published there will, possibly, be extra resources, but where are they going? Members of the National Federation of Voluntary Service …

I am asking this question on behalf of Deputy Niamh Smyth. I know the Minister is committed to ending the system of direct provision. I know that from our talks on the programme for Government. I would like to get a sense of where we are in that regard. Do we have a timeline for it? I fear that the system might conspire to dilute the Minister's ambition. Will the Minister assure me that is not going to happen?

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response. There are 6,500 people living in accommodation provided through the International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, 1,692 of whom are children. What access do they have to the various reforms? Will their input be sought by the expert panel the Minister mentioned? Will their daily experiences be heard? Do they have a complaints mechanism at the moment? As we begin the transition away from this service, how do we ensure their lives are not impacted by it and…

I thank the Minister for being present for this entire debate. I acknowledge her work since she has gone into the Department. I notice that she has been back on the road over the past few weeks in the US and the UK. That is essential. I want to endorse everything that Deputy Griffin said about Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, two superb organisations. There are people across the world in Tourism Ireland who sell the message very well and they need as much support as we can give. We cannot have any cliff-edge wit…

I thank the Acting Chairman. I wish him good luck in the new gig. He looks very comfortable in that chair. I welcome the debate on the strategy. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, on the huge work he has put into the strategy. I join others in commending Deputy Stanton. Way back, we were both on the justice committee and I know he has taken an interest in this. I say well done to my colleague, Deputy McAuliffe, who has led the way on scrambler legislation. I was listening to Deputy Howlin's speec…

I acknowledge the detail in the Minister's answer. I also acknowledge that the staff of the Passport Office are working hard and that they were moved to other Departments as part of the pandemic response, which I accept. The Minister mentioned in his response that there was regular contact with passport applicants but there was not. Applicants come to us because they cannot get the information on where their passport will be and they cannot get through to the Passport Office. The online checker that shows people th…

We need it to give prompts to remind people to renew their passports in the immediate weeks.

Can we put in place a system that you cannot book a flight without getting a reminder asking if your passport is in order? If the Department has to pay for that commercially, it is all that is needed. It would be a prompt. The notion that customer service is engaging with people is not our experience. The passport team is working incredibly hard but if you want to get detail on a passport, it is incredibly difficult. Can we open a passport office in the west where people can walk in off the street? I propose Irelan…

The Minister will be more than familiar with the former Asgard sail training programme. It gave incredible opportunities to young people to participate on the vessel formerly known as Asgard II . I would like to see it refloated, not the vessel but the programme. I understand proposals have been made to the Minister on youth education and opportunity. I would like to discuss those with him.

I thank the Minister. I would certainly like to meet with him. The national sail training programme was an important programme. It enabled skills building, team building, and the kinds of skills in boat building that we need as an island nation and not just sail training. The Asgard II was a regular visitor to Killala Bay, in particular to mark the French arrival in Killala in 1798. Even before I became a Member of this House, I regularly witnessed the benefits that it had for participants, and the Asgard has a lon…

I agree with the Minister that this is not about privilege; it is about opportunity. There is nothing privileged about being stuck on a sail training boat in the middle of the Atlantic during a storm. The programme offers opportunities and life experiences, including the experience of travel. We are looking at building an appropriate boat, which involves skilled people. We are constantly talking about the need for apprenticeship programmes. This is an opportunity that also could benefit the apprenticeship programme…