Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I want to highlight an urgent and important matter concerning disability services in my county of Cork, specifically the long-awaited completion and opening of the new building for the Pathways adult disability day services programme, which is hosted by Horizons, formerly known as Cope, in Montenotte in Cork city. This facility was promised as a modern, purpose-built space to support adults with intellectual disabilities. These are individuals who deserve access to safe, structure…

I thank the Minister of State for her response, which I appreciate. I welcome the funding under the Department in yesterday's budget and the extra hours for adult school leavers. I note what she has said on this issue. However, today is 8 October. I am a little sceptical that all the refurbishments will be done by mid-October. I am also concerned that, as per the Minister of State's reply, even if the building were to be finished tomorrow, it is still only partially staffed. How far along the line is the recruitmen…

Today I want to speak about the increased incidence of road traffic accidents on the Macroom bypass and the N22 east and west of the town as a result of wild deer. Since the opening of the bypass almost two years ago, there has been a massive increase in the rate of incidents involving wild deer. The deer have been displaced and that is causing more of them to be on the road. Almost every week I get a call from a member of the public advising that there has been an accident either on the bypass or east or west of i…

Cuirim fáilte roimh on Aire Stáit agus gabhaim buíochas leis as a óráid. What we are discussing today in terms of the national social enterprise policy is incredibly important for rural Ireland. It combines two vital strands, namely that public policy must serve social purpose and that rural and regional areas deserve every opportunity to thrive in a sustainable manner. As per the policy and as the Minister of State outlined, a social enterprise is one that trades in goods and services as a business does, but whose…

I thank the Minister of State for being with us. I am delighted to support the motion. It is incredibly important. Now, more than ever, we need to realise the importance of agriculture and farming to our economy. Last week, I attended a meeting of delegates from across Europe on the vision for food strategy. While we all came from different countries and farming backgrounds, the common theme seemed to be that of food security and the future of our food security. We need to bear in mind that one of the founding aims…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith linn inniu. This matter relates to the need for Ireland to introduce incentivised savings and investment accounts for Irish savers. It is reported that in excess of €163 billion worth of Irish household savings are currently lying in deposit accounts in banks, earning limited interest and not being invested in the economy. In particular, approximately 85% of this money is in overnight accounts where it earns little to no interest. In reality, any value which it is rai…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am glad to see that, with respect to many of my previous comments, we seem to be very much on the same page. I note he acknowledged the report from the European Commission today. On the Minister of State’s comments on the reduction of the exit tax on investment funds, I welcome the measure, but this change will primarily benefit those who already have or are inclined to invest in an investment fund. Progressing this exit tax reduction should not prevent the establishme…

I thank the Minister of State for being here. I raise this matter because I believe it is incredibly important. It is the need to provide ring-fenced funding towards transport for those in receipt of adult disability day services. Currently, children in special schools who are in receipt of disability day services can receive transport to and from their service until they turn 18 years of age. At that point, when they graduate from special schools to adult disability day services, there is no longer a provision for…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply and appreciate that this is not his Ministry. I find the reply incredibly disappointing. As the Minister of State has noted, there are transport services available on a limited and discretionary basis. There are no guidelines. There is not even a means test in place. I have thankfully worked closely with some of the fortunate recipients and from what I can see, it is available on a "he or she who shouts the loudest" basis. The idea that the funding is there on a discretio…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith anseo inniu. I am delighted we are discussing this issues and ongoing concern, namely, the future of the post office network and the critical role it plays in the life of rural Ireland, particularly in rural regions such as my own in Cork North-West. In communities across the country and especially in rural parishes, the local post office serves many functions. For many older citizens it provides a trusted face in an increasingly online and depersonalised world. As ha…

I wish to address a matter I have raised before, namely, the need to provide ring-fenced funding for transport for those in receipt of adult disability day services. Currently in my county of Cork, there are 242 users of adult disability day services across 25 providers. The issue is that there is no transport provision or funding for a child using the services. These are provided until a child turns 18 but not after that. In certain cases, there is provision on a discretionary basis. This is grossly unfair. There …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Gabhaim buíochas leis as a bheith sa Teach linn inniu. I rise to support this important motion which calls attention to the future of oral healthcare in Ireland and the steps we must take to ensure that access is fair, services are reliable and regulation is fit for purpose. As has already been mentioned by my colleagues, the Government published Smile agus Sláinte in 2019, our first ever national oral health policy. This was a landmark moment in public dental care. As has been no…

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to be in the Chamber to take this matter. I acknowledge my colleague, Councillor Rory Cocking, who has been working closely on this issue with me. The issue I raise is particularly important at present as we traditionally see a big increase in the number of passport applications made at this time of year, as people head off on their summer holidays. From first-time applications to renewals because of lost or out-of-date passports, I am sure all my colleagues have be…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. As she correctly outlined, it is not the response I hoped to get. I take the point that passport renewal is a fantastic service, and 99% of people are able to avail of it. However, the issues around time generally are not caused by renewals. They are caused by new applications. It is important for that to be mentioned along with the disparity between a one-day turnaround in Dublin and a four-day turnaround in Cork. I have already mentioned the massive extension of passen…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Go n-éirí an t-ádh leis sa phost sa Roinn talmhaíochta. Coming from a beef and dairy farm and having been elected to the agricultural panel, I welcome the opportunity to speak today about the importance of food promotion and accessing new markets, an area that speaks directly to our rural, agrarian economy, our farming families and our national identity. We cannot ever forget the importance of food. Food security will be a massive problem going forward. We see that with the uncert…

I am sharing time with an Seanadóir Kyne.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus gabhaim míle buíochas leis as bheith anseo linn inniu. I also take this opportunity to commend him on the work being done by his Department. I am delighted to be speaking about balanced regional development in my role as Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson on rural affairs and community development. Coming from rural mid-Cork, I am incredibly aware of the importance of balanced regional development and decentralisation. Balanced development is not just a policy goal; it is essential if we…

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. My Commencement matter is about a review of the widow’s pension and the payment of same. There is a massive anomaly in the system when it comes to the payment of the widow’s pension insofar as if someone is in receipt of the widow’s pension, that person cannot receive any sick pay or illness benefit should she need to go on sick leave from work. It is incredibly discriminatory and unfair. It needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, when it comes to bereavement, it does n…

I appreciate the Minister of State’s engagement on this matter and, indeed, the many valid points he made. We are very much on the same page on this. It must be recognised that an anomaly exists. In that context, I refer to the unfairness of the situation whereby a person who is still working and paying PRSI cannot access illness benefit. I commend the Minister of State on the work he said he did in this area previously in terms of the half-rate carer's payment. I do not see why that logic could not be applied to t…