I tabled this question to give the Minister an opportunity to explain the further expansion of apprenticeships across the country. We have seen many new ones coming on stream in the past number of years. What new ones are being planned? Are there strategies in place to retain apprentices in position once they are employed?

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is great to see more apprenticeship schemes coming on stream and so many in place. One question that arises is that once the apprentices are in position, why are so many leaving? This is true in the construction area especially, where there is such a significant need for them. I have had a number of responses to parliamentary questions and thank the Minister of State for the information supplied. However, it appears that in some instances one fifth or more of them …

I thank the Minister of State for that. Is he concerned at the level of dropout, which is in some instances one in five, or even greater?

I ask the Minister to examine the issue of people with intellectual disabilities in rural areas getting to the centre of further training, education and so on. It can be a massive challenge. They do not qualify for the second level school transport scheme. Their parents are quite often working and they cannot get to the centre, which may be many miles away and very often the distances between certain workplaces and centres can be lengthy. That is causing a massive challenge and huge stress. I ask the Minister, with…

Many of the issues we deal with here are immediate and short term. I raise the issue of rising sea levels. This year, the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was published. The Taoiseach described it as a code red. The report suggests that parts of Cork, Limerick, Galway, Wexford, Dublin, Clare and Kerry will be under water before too long. The rise in sea levels cannot be stopped and is accelerating. What long-term plans does the Government have to study and deal with this? Will it set up a nat…

I acknowledge the fact - this has been mentioned a few times already - that I was very anxious when I was the Minister of State that we would have a strategy and plan. We pulled together the experts in 2019. There were 26 people who worked extremely hard on the strategy for more than a year. I acknowledge their work. They were led by Deaglán Ó Briain, a very impressive official in the Department of Justice. Really and truly these people put their hearts and souls into this because they knew they were doing somethin…

As my colleagues have done, I welcome this opportunity to raise these issues with the Minister. He will be aware of the N25, which is probably one of the busiest roads in the country. There is currently a major bottleneck at Castlemartyr. I understand that there are approximately 22,000 vehicle movements per day through one small crossing there. There have been major tailbacks and the area is now highlighted regularly on traffic news as one of the main black spots. Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure I…

When does the Minister expect the works in Barryscourt Castle, which has been closed for up to seven years, to be completed and when will it be open to the public again?

Frustration is an understatement. It is seven years since this project was started. The Minister of State has said it will not be open until 2023. I have a letter here from his predecessor, Deputy Canney, stating that it would be open in 2019. It is very disappointing that it has taken so long. I understand it is painstaking and difficult. Does the Minister of State have any plans for developing the castle and the grounds when it finally reopens? Has he had any contact with the Barryscourt trust which I understand …

I am pleased the Minister of State has plans to do that but I am disappointed it will take until 2023 for this to happen. It has now been seven years and it does not make any sense to add another two years to that. I ask the Minister of State to expedite this because it is frustrating for people in the region. It is a very important project. It is a magnificent castle just off the N25 with great potential. The grounds are also spectacular. I am not sure if any of my colleagues have seen it, but it is worth visiting…

Between 2006 and 2007, joint policing committees were established. At that time we had urban district councils. There were five in my constituency: Midleton, Youghal, Cobh, Fermoy and one other in the county, so I found myself on six joint policing committees at the time. I found them very useful and informative because they brought policing right down to the ground. The people in the community, the public representatives from county councils, Deputies and community leaders all came together with the Garda and the …

I appreciate that this question was covered earlier to a certain extent. It concerns the need to ensure the resilience and security of our energy supply at times of peak demand, especially as we face into the winter months. As we are aware, there were some amber warnings last year, as well as earlier this week and last week. I would like to hear the Minister's views on this. Can he guarantee there will not be any blackouts this winter?

I thank the Minister for his response and hope he is correct that there will not be blackouts this winter. I will address the issue of power demand throughout the UK and Europe, which is at a crunch pace at the moment. This is leading to higher prices and there have been amber alerts and threats of blackouts. The price is skyrocketing. Will the Minister comment on the higher prices and the impact this can have on families and homes throughout the country?

Has the Minister, his Department or any of the utility companies given consideration to advising or assisting people to conserve energy in the coming period, given that there has now been a number of amber alerts, with a danger and fear of blackouts?

I am glad to contribute to the debate on the Bill. For many decades, we in Ireland turned our back to the sea. I come from a coastal community, where we have Cork Harbour, the second largest natural harbour in the world, Cobh Harbour, which is steeped in history, Ballycotton Harbour and Youghal Harbour, where the film "Moby Dick" was made not that long ago. The coastline along that area is maritime and it is inhabited by fisherfolk, which is a dwindling community, one that needs our support. For many generations, w…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for picking this matter this evening and allowing me to be here. We have a central Midleton mental health centre. It was built in the 1970s. It is called the Owenacurra mental health centre. It provides mental health services, continuing care, mental health care and respite for people in a vast area. Last June, a decision was taken to close the centre. Some 19 residents are currently in the centre. We were told there would be moves to find alternative accommodation for these peo…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and for his commitment to bring my views and the views of the people in the area, which are quite strong and quite worried, back to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. This is in no way an attack on the HSE, the Minister of State, the Department or anyone else. We want to come up with a proper solution. That is why I am asking that this be paused. I am told that some of the residents have been advised that they may have to go into Cork city, Kanturk or Sarsfield Cour…

I am interested in the online retail scheme and I have asked for the breakdown of the scheme by county. I am curious to know whether there was more take-up in some parts of the country than in others and if further rounds are being considered as part of the scheme?

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He mentioned in his response that a review is going to take place. Who is carrying out that review? Does the Minister of State feel that the scheme has been a success and if so how has such a success been measured? Is it the Minister of State's intention to expand this scheme further to support businesses in this way in a further round? Has any analysis been carried out as to whether, now that shops are open, this may have an adverse effect on the high street and that…

I again thank the Minister of State for his response. Has he any indication as to what kind of business was done as a result of the online retail scheme? What increase occurred? Was there any value on that? Again, if there is a review, who will carry it out and what metrics will be used when it is being carried out?