I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, to the Seanad. I welcome this Bill which will help business to adapt in the current very difficult circumstances. I have listened to some of the commentary in this House. I remind people that there is a big difference between remote working and working from home in the middle of a national crisis. We are currently doing the latter. It is not normal that people are trying to juggle home working, home rearing and home schooling, as I have been doing in my family for the l…

I appreciate the opportunity to engage with the Minister on this Bill. I know it has a long name and we refer to it as NORA, but what we are really discussing are the benefits of the climate action fund, the projects that have been approved and potential projects. As previous speakers acknowledged, we are all working towards a transition to a low-carbon economy, while reaping the benefits of that from the point of view of quality of life, work-life balance, the provision of a just transition and secure employment, …

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment. I welcomed the news yesterday that face coverings should be worn by all customers and retail staff in shops and shopping centres and I welcomed the fact that regulations with details on enforcement and penalties are being drafted. I look forward to seeing those. I noted yesterday that the national council of the Restaurants Association of Ireland is recommending that all its member caf…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Bill 2020 today and the emphasis on the July jobs stimulus. The sectors that have been most affected are retail, leisure, hospitality and tourism. I also mention the youth and the regions in rural Ireland in terms of the effect the lack of tourism will have on them. We have talked about home working and one third of us have been working from home throughout the crisis. We have been juggling home schooling, home working and home rearing a…

I extend a very big welcome to the Minister of State, Deputy English, and congratulate him on his new position. I very much welcome the debate on the microfinance Bill and I support the Bill. I welcome the focus on the July jobs stimulus and on SMEs. It is great to hear people talk about SMEs in such a familiar way. We are all connected to SMEs, which employ 1.3 million out of 2.3 million workers. Chambers Ireland has released research showing that 85% of SMEs faced some sort of closure during the restrictions and …

I am sorry. I ask the Minister of State to consider supporting them because they are the future.

I want to raise the issue of the ongoing closure of the peripheral gates in the Phoenix Park. We can all agree the Phoenix Park was a magical place to be during the Covid-19 restrictions when traffic in Dublin was reduced by up to 70%. A minimal number of cars were accessing the park through the Castleknock and Parkgate Street entrances. The peripheral gates and car parks were closed. The natural landscape was reclaimed and cyclists and pedestrians were prioritised. It showed us that we have been getting the balanc…