I thank the Deputy. To be clear, the message from both the EPA and the HSE is not to drink discoloured water, and to report it to the EPA. I take on board the Deputy's feedback that the EPA and the HSE are not doing enough in that regard, and not doing enough to interact with the public in that regard too. I will absolutely pass that on to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and ask him to act on that. Our water and wastewater infrastructure requires substantial and sustained investment. That is clear. It requires it over…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 23rd October, 2024.

I thank the Senator for raising this very important issue. The directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union was published on 19 October 2022. The Senator is correct when she says it must be transposed by 15 November of this year. The directive aims to ensure that workers and unions are protected by adequate minimum wages, allowing for a decent living wherever they work. The Government absolutely welcomed the publication of the directive and has been very supportive of its principles since it was first …

As the Senator sought reassurance, I am absolutely aware of the importance of this directive. Its transposition is a priority for my Department. As I have stated, we will be taking the necessary steps to ensure transposition happens ahead of 15 November. It is fully our intention to meet that deadline. While my Department’s position is that no legislation is required to do that, legislative change may be considered as part of the development of our action plan on collective bargaining, which must be completed by th…

To clarify, it is not the target.

As the Deputy said, social enterprises are an important and growing part of Ireland's entrepreneurship ecosystem. They create jobs and stimulate local economic activity and they are recognised as an integral part of Ireland's broad enterprise policy landscape. My colleague, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, launched Trading for Impact 2024-2027 - Ireland's National Social Enterprise Policy, last July, to build on the achievements of Ireland's first social enterprise policy. This po…

I thank the Deputy very much. I add my congratulations to the winners. I met with SERI in July. I received a briefing from it on the survey it commissioned, in which 66 of the social enterprises across Ireland participated. SERI made it very clear that it has had very positive engagement with the Department, Enterprise Ireland and local enterprise office staff. This led to the roll-out of the workshop just last week. The workshop is aimed at educating LEO staff about the profile of social enterprises. Deputy Conway…

I thank everybody for their contributions and for all the support they give to social enterprises, both within their communities and throughout the country. I acknowledge the huge role SERI plays in doing exactly that and driving this important element of our community. The suggestion of awareness campaigns is really positive and is something we can look at. That said, I point to what already exists in terms of the national enterprise hub which is our new online portal that is backed up by a fully staffed call cent…

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge and recognise the role he played in setting up so many LEOs for success up and down the country. As he will be aware, there are 31 LEOs and they play an important role at local level as part of a supportive ecosystem that provides services directly to small businesses and promotes entrepreneurship in towns and communities across the country. They are the first-stop-shop for all businesses, regardless of sector. Over 370,000 small businesses are eligible for some type of support fro…

To reiterate, it is our intention to make sure that decarbonisation grants and initiatives are easy to access and draw down. We have a €300 million decarbonisation fund, through Enterprise Ireland. Over the first two years, there has been a good and strong take-up of that. At a more local level, over the past three weeks we have made a big effort to reduce the complexity around accessing the LEO energy efficiency grants. We have also increased grant aid from 50% to 75%. In the next couple of weeks, we will embark o…

We aim for consistency across our 31 local enterprise offices. One of the reasons we have models through our local enterprise offices in every local authority is because decarbonisation is as important in Donegal as it is in Dublin, Cork or Clare. I fully agree with what Deputy Bruton said about the success of group schemes. We need to learn from that. We as a Department are very much committed to making sure key learnings are shared in order that we are not asking companies to reinvent the wheel all the time and w…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 76 together. Balanced regional enterprise development remains a key focus for me and for the Government, as affirmed in the White Paper on enterprise. I very much appreciate the contribution made by enterprise and remote working hubs throughout the country. These facilities allow people to live and work in their local communities and provide vital services to support entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs. We have invested significantly in the development of these facilities. We a…

Absolutely we will. I appreciate what he is saying, that up until now it has been the Cavan or Monaghan local authority that has been buying sites and developing those services. To reiterate, now that we have the smart regions scheme, it is there to support that dynamic of industry, academia and enterprise. Stream 1 of that is designed to support the major local investment and capital investment projects. It is something worth looking at, especially if there may be IDA land in the area where a partnership could pot…

I hear what the Deputy is saying, and absolutely we need to do more in this area. Part of the smart regions enterprise innovation scheme also looks at clustering. Perhaps that is something that might be relevant to the Deputy's constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, if, for example, there are manufacturing companies he feels could benefit from that. I hear what he is saying, that we need availability of land, grants and financial supports for local authorities or whoever else to develop them and turn them into active spac…

I thank Deputy Hourigan for raising this important issue and for her passion, knowledge and commitment to the subject. I am taking this Topical Issue debate on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, who has spoken previously on the topic of gender healthcare. He has acknowledged this is a small and vulnerable group of people who need to have access to proper, appropriate and integrated care, including acute care and community care. He has also acknowledged that they do not currently have access…

I thank Deputy Hourigan. She made some valid and interesting points, which I take on board. I will refer them to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and ask that he take them on board as well. The Minister wants to ensure that members of the transgender community are given the proper, appropriate and integrated care and support they need to live authentic, fulfilling lives. The new model of care aims to do just that and it will be at the heart of it. The development of the new model of care for gender healthcare service…

-----the model of care will be our policy decision on this. The long-term aim is to provide a wide range of services for all people with gender dysphoria, from care locally in the community to more specialised and complex care. The Minister and the HSE are dedicated to building a service based on experience, clinical evidence, respect, inclusiveness and compassion. I know the Minister is committed to the development of a well-governed and patient-centred healthcare service for members of the transgender community. …

I thank Deputy Buckley for raising this Topical Issue matter on the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. I will provide an update on the progress with regard to the delivery of this important scheme to survivors and former residents on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. As the Deputy knows, the scheme is the centrepiece of the Government’s action plan for survivors and former residents of mother and baby and county home institutions. It provides financial payments and health supports to eligible peopl…

I thank Deputy Buckley. I will put on record some of the other systems and supports that are in place as it would be good for all Deputies to be aware of them and to promote them to those affected. First, the national centre for research and remembrance is an initiative that will represent a national site of conscience. It will include a museum interpretation experience, a space for reflection and educational, family and parenting supports. Detailed planning and engagement with survivors and stakeholders are ongoin…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all the words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the Government is very conscious of the needs of the tourist and hospitality sector and wants to maintain a healthy and profitable environment for these sectors going forward; — in this regard, it reduced on a temporary basis the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent on 1st November, 2020, in recognition of the fact that the sector was amongst the most impacted by the public health…