Key to where I and other Members of this House want to get to, and where I hope the Government wants to get to, is that every single policy is disability-proofed across the Government in the same way we are or should be focusing our climate policies. This report is another long overdue wake-up call on the challenges faced by persons with disabilities. The stark reality of the significant costs incurred involuntarily by them is quite staggering - an extra 25% annually on top of the average industrial wage. That cann…

I am interested in continuing the discussion on plans to help drivers in the small public service vehicle, SPSV, and taxi industry into 2022.

The Minister of State listed an awful lot of supports and there is no doubt some effort is being made but taxi drivers constitute the only cohort which is having difficulty, as far as I can see, in reaccessing the PUP. Many are being refused it. I got a message while I was sitting here ten minutes ago from another taxi driver who has been refused access to the PUP. Overnight when the restrictions came back in, all late-night work disappeared. I was struck by a response that Deputy O'Rourke received from the Taoisea…

I will take a written reply to Question No. 12 if we could move on to No. 13 from Deputy Bríd Smith. That would be a good one to hear.

I move amendment No. 9: In page 16, after line 31, to insert the following: " Back to Education Allowance 24 . In relation to the scheme administered by the Minister and known as the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA), the terms of the scheme shall be amended so that the qualification period for BTEA are deemed to be met, for all BTEA applicants commencing any year of a new course of education from September 2020, where the applicant closes their pandemic unemployment payment claim and establishes an entitlement to…

I will pass that information on to Deputy Sherlock, who has the details. I think this could be done on a case-by-case basis or through a regulation. On that basis, I will withdraw the amendment.

I move amendment No. 11: In page 16, after line 31, to insert the following: “Report on the treatment of cohabitants under the Social Welfare Acts 24. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the treatment of cohabitants under the Social Welfare Acts, with particular regard to the differences between the treatment of a married couple and a cohabiting couple.” I am disappointed amendment No. 10 was ruled out of order, given the…

I move amendment No. 12: In page 16, after line 31, to insert the following: “Report on maternity and related benefits 24. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the adequacy of the level of payment of maternity benefit and other child-related leave benefits, and report with proposals to link these benefits to earned income.”. With each passing year, it seems the adequacy of maternity benefit and other child-related leave be…

In light of the publication of the cost of disability in Ireland research report last year, which showed that having a disability can cost on average between €9,500 and €11,700 extra per year, and given the commitments to the disability sector in the programme for Government and the fact the costs cut across all different sectors from transport to medicines to housing adaptations, will the Taoiseach confirm all Departments will respond with a plan to cut the costs for people with disabilities as soon as possible ea…

I plan on this being my only contribution this evening because I have no amendments tabled. There are some good pro-scrutiny and pro-transparency amendments that we will be supporting and there are other amendments that we will not. I hope that the Minister can answer my question during the course of this evening. Regardless of how one feels about this legislation or its sister legislation, we can all agree that, legislatively speaking, this is not the best way to tackle Covid in the months and, dare I say it, year…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak. Annually, we have a debate about the health insurance Bill wherein we establish the regulations and legislation around the private health insurance sector. It is a difficult thing for those of us who have fundamental issues with how the Irish health sector is set up at the moment, and how it has been set up for many years. In the past two years the deep problems of our healthcare system have been clearly exposed for all to see. As a State, we operate a…

Wow, anything can happen during Question Time on a Friday, including getting through the list of questions. I would like an update on the booster vaccine campaign. GPs seem to be getting on well, but I would like the Minister's view on the mass vaccination centres and the pharmacies and how they are being used for the campaign. Could he also speak to the staffing levels to provide the vaccine compared with the levels during summer? Have there been changes in the staffing levels and resources we have at our disposal…

Neither of us expected to get to this question, so I appreciate that the Minister does not have detailed notes with him. However, it has been reported that we do not have as many vaccinators or staff as we had in the summer. Is he able to speak to that? I am not looking for numbers, but is that an issue? It may not be a big one; it may be a small one. Second, we are following a similar vaccination pathway by prioritising older people, healthcare workers and so on, as we did initially. Has there been any kind of jud…

I am happy to cede whatever time I have to the Minister. Do I have 30 seconds?

I feel like I have walked into a Cork North-Central public meeting.

I thank Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan for bringing forward this Bill and I thank the Minister of State for being here. I also acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has entered the Chamber. Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. While that is not the subject matter of this Bill, we are talking broadly about people having access to healthcare, whatever that may be, so it is important to recognise this day. I hope that we will have more focused debates on the matter in the coming weeks…

Even compared to this morning's debate, right now feels like a very sad time. The people that have been on to me this afternoon, particularly in the past hour and a half, are angry but also disconsolate and sad about where we are going with this virus. They have known for a number of weeks that we have been heading towards restrictions. The figures have been too high in respect of case numbers and, particularly, hospitalisations and ICU admissions. While the mortality rate has gone down and the vaccines have played…

In the context of the announcements made this evening, I welcome the Minister's statement that the PUP will be restored. I look forward to receiving further details in that regard. In the short time since those announcements were made and the Minister's statement, I was contacted by campaigners in the arts community and by people in the taxi industry. They are very worried about their sectors and whether they will qualify for supports. I would welcome if some clarity could be provided to the people in those industr…

We will support the legislation, but we will also support our own amendment and a number of other amendments that have been tabled by Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats. Mandatory hotel quarantine is a tool in our response to Covid-19. We want as many arrows in our quiver on this. However, given the experience we had with mandatory hotel quarantine, and more importantly, given where we are with the virus now, I have significant concerns about it being applied in the current circumstances. The virus is running rampa…

I return to an issue that was raised by Deputy Kelly yesterday during Questions on Promised Legislation and which I raised this morning with the Minister for Health. It relates to the Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill, which is before us today. We have concerns regarding the definition of "exempted traveller" and how that is being interpreted in reality. We would like an explicit statement from the Tánaiste, the Minister or the Government in relation to women having to travel to seek a termination. In our experience,…