The Minister in the North - not the Executive in the North - granted planning permission for the project in the North. My colleagues have called for the Minister to come before the Assembly and explain that decision. In February 2017 the Dáil passed a Fianna Fáil motion calling for no further work to be done on the North-South interconnector until a fresh analysis and a full community consultation were completed. That never happened. Fianna Fáil is leading the Government at this time. Does the Minister have the sup…

I welcome the Minister back to the House. I shared a similar experience to his in recent weeks. It is part of living with Covid. It gives us a clear understanding of the importance of a testing and tracing system that is responsive and rapid. Personal behaviour and a sound healthcare system are the foundation on which our future will be built. I welcome the inclusion of statements on climate action in the schedule. It is important we keep the topic at the top of the Dáil's agenda although statements on their own wi…

We need absolute clarity on this this evening. Can the Minister confirm if employees were eligible to apply for applicable jobseeker supports for their days of unemployment, even when Aer Lingus was claiming the temporary wage subsidy scheme, TWSS? The company said it was receiving conflicting messages from Revenue and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and says it is for the individual employee to contact his or her local Intreo office. What does the Minister have to say to the workers who …

I did not hear reference to the TWSS. I heard reference to the EWSS and that is what we received previously in responses from the Minister and her Department in written replies to parliamentary questions. I repeat the question: will the Minister confirm if employees are eligible to apply for applicable jobseeker's supports for days of unemployment even when Aer Lingus was claiming the TWSS for that period? The company stated that it received conflicting messages from the Department. Will the Minister confirm that p…

I move: "That Dáil Éireann: notes: — that 19,636 Small Public Service Vehicles are registered with the National Transport Authority in 2020; — the 3,059 taxis and hackneys which are wheelchair accessible, with many people relying on these daily; — the very important service taxi drivers provide as part of the public transport system across Ireland; — the selfless contribution that taxi drivers have made during the pandemic, with many working throughout, despite the dangers, ferrying nurses and doctors to hospitals …

It has to come back to us.

I thank contributors to the debate, which was useful and important. The protest yesterday, along with a number of opportunities during debates in the House yesterday where the issue of taxi drivers was raised, and this debate have brought a focus on the sector. I again commend the four representative groups that organised yesterday's protest and the thousands of taxi drivers who attended. It provided the opportunity for discussion. I thank those speakers who have given voice to the sector, to individual drivers and…

I will continue in the same vein as the previous speaker by talking about the need to ensure that transport services are in place. St. Ultan's special school, Navan is served by 22 buses, all of which are close to capacity. Twenty of those buses carry students for St. Ultan's and other schools, including St. Mary's special school. Issues in that regard need to be acknowledged and addressed as quickly as possible. I have been contacted by numerous parents who have expressed their genuine and earnestly-felt concerns.…

I agree with the points the previous Deputies made. I focus my comments on two groups of workers directly affected by the failed foreign travel policy the Government is pursuing. Representatives of the travel agency industry held a protest outside Leinster House. The travel agencies remained open throughout the pandemic despite a 95% reduction in business. They have reported negative revenues in excess of 100% because they are paying out on bookings from last year. The responses from the Government have been comple…

Those workers will be very disappointed with the Minister of State's response. There is no clarity as to their future prospects. I will repeat my question; is the Minister of State satisfied that Aer Lingus operated the temporary wage subsidy scheme appropriately? What supports will be provided for travel agents? Of the €335 million the State made from the sale of its stake in Aer Lingus, €245 million is still available. Will the Government use that money to take a stake in Aer Lingus? Has that been considered? Wil…

I commend Deputy Cullinane on tabling the motion. It is timely and important. The CervicalCheck scandal and now Covid-19 with the suspension of screening programmes have brought cancer care in Ireland into focus again. I am sure others will address the important issues of delayed and missed diagnoses and the unnecessary pain and hurt this causes. Others will mention the poor outcomes we experience in Ireland. Five year survival rates for ovarian, colon and rectal cancers lag considerably behind other wealthy wester…

On the same issue, I raise the future of the aviation sector. We have all received correspondence from airline pilots, particularly in regard to Aer Lingus, our national carrier. There is a real conflict between the interests of the aviation industry and the interest of public health. It is important for the State to step in to support our national carrier. Some aviation workers feel vulnerable regarding the future prospects of the sector and their own jobs. It is a major employer and of considerable strategic impo…

Nobody disagrees with that.

I support the comments of previous speakers. The commitment to public transport is fundamental to the programme for Government and private operators play a key role in scheduled services, tourism, tours and school transport. It is an important issue. These providers are honest, decent, hard workers and they deserve the full support of the State.

I have good reason to focus my time on classroom sizes in Meath, as we have the highest in Ireland in Ashbourne, or on school buildings. Lismullen national school, for example, is one of the oldest and in the most urgent need of address. However, I wish to focus my comments on access. The future of education has to be one of public and active transport. That must the way of the future as it makes sense with or without Covid-19. We must get children walking or cycling or on the bus and out of cars. That said, there …

There is a commitment in the programme for Government on the future of the aviation sector. We are an island nation and the sector is of essential strategic importance but it has been adversely affected by Covid-19. The approach of the industry in response to this has been to delay refunds and the issuing of vouchers to people who had flights cancelled, to charge exorbitant rescheduling fees for people adhering to the public health advice and to cut jobs and change the terms and conditions of workers. This is doing…

The Minister has said the Government amendment is to provide legal certainty on funding for projects where there will not be a competitive tender. Bog rehabilitation was the example the Minister gave in the Seanad last week. I understand and appreciate the rationale, but as my colleague, Senator Boylan, told the Seanad, and as I put it in this House last week, the Minister must put processes in place to ensure this mechanism is not misused by himself or his successors lest they wish to use it for their own pet proj…

Page 25 of the programme for Government contains a commitment regarding the future of the aviation sector. At the moment, there is contradictory and conflicting advice on travel, which is undermining confidence in the aviation sector and the public health effort. Aeroplanes are taking off but the advice is for people to avoid non-essential foreign travel. It is proposed to extend this advice by way of the publication of a green list on Monday. This policy is incoherent, contradictory and confused and it is having a…

I want to speak on amendments Nos. 1 and 11 to 16, inclusive. I am disappointed also the Minister is not positively disposed to them. I support all the amendments, which strengthen the Bill and expand the scope and the opportunity the Bill presents. It is disappointing the Minister is not taking the amendments on board. I do not accept the strength of his argument against taking them on board. That in and of itself is disappointing. As others have said, there is an opportunity in this Bill to make a very significan…

In terms of the amendments we are dealing with here, I am making a point on the scope of this Bill and the fund it will generate, the climate action fund. That fund should be spent in a fair and transparent way. Some of the amendments being tabled, although not in the Dáil unfortunately, call that into question. Will the Minister provide us with assurances because I need them now in terms of how we will engage with the Bill? Will he provide us with assurances that the funds that will be available from the fund will…