I ask the Leader to call the Minister for Transport to the House to discuss aviation in the context, in the first instance, of the need to introduce antigen testing. While I welcome the reopening of aviation on 19 July, I still believe that the lack of antigen testing - and the prospect of being aligned with all European countries or becoming an outlier - is a real concern. The fact that we are not reopening until 19 July is a concern in terms of job losses. I would also like the Minister to make a statement on the…

The Commencement matter I have tabled consists of a long statement. I welcome the Minister to the Chamber today and particularly thank him for being here, which indicates the seriousness of the matter. This is a very important week in Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, negotiations and a breakthrough is expected. I wish the Minister well in those negotiations. He has the support of all of us in this House to get the best outcome possible for all our farmers. I met the local Irish Farmers' Association, IFA, group in T…

I thank the Minister and wish him well in his negotiations this week, which he will attend following this contribution. What I have heard from farmers right across Tipperary is that it is important that the Minister stands up to the Commissioner because there is a feeling that he does not have farmers' interests at heart so the Minister must represent Irish farmers, including those in Tipperary, as strongly as possible. We in Tipperary lost approximately €13 million when the previous CAP negotiations took place and…

Following on from the words of the Cathaoirleach, I wish all Croatians living in Ireland well. Happy Croatia day. I was taken aback when the Cathaoirleach was naming some of the cities. I actually got engaged in Pula. In an almost previous life, I used to be a bartender on a cruise ship.

It seems such a long time ago. I used to be a bartender on a cruise ship, and we used to stop at different ports. It is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I would recommend to anyone to go there. I want to raise the fact that the Irish Air Line Pilots Association, IALPA, held an extraordinary general meeting at 10 a.m. followed by a rally and a protest. They will deliver a letter of protest to the Taoiseach today. Its members are outside the gates of Leinster House at the moment. It is about rapid an…

I echo Senator Cummins's point on access. It is a key point. This is one measure in a whole range that have been brought forward in the past year to support businesses. This one in particular has been changed to include the farming and food processing sectors, which is very welcome but the key thing is to be able to get access to it. The banks need to be held accountable for that. I encourage the Minister of State to keep engaging with the Minister for Finance on that in order that we ensure it gets down to people.…

I move: That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Loan Guarantee Schemes Agreements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

I thank the Acting Chairperson. I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and thank him for the work he has been doing for the past year, particularly in recent weeks. The number of people being vaccinated is phenomenal. If truth be told, six months ago no one would have thought that would be possible. If Members from all parties were to be honest, I do not think we would have ever fully believed the HSE could get 3,000 people vaccinated a week. What is being done is phenomenal. In my community, Tipperary, I note how e…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the Chamber. I also welcome the Bill and the proposal to move the powers to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is the right thing to do and I welcome it. I thank the Minister of State for the work he has done in the past year. I have seen his commitment to this portfolio in a case in which he has been very engaged. I refer to Knocklofty House in Tipperary. I thank him for meeting with the Save Knocklofty House group, which is working in my…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I thank Senator Bacik for bringing this Bill before the House tonight and for her contribution. It is staggering that 14,000 women every year suffer from miscarriage. Everyone knows someone who has gone through it and normally the person is a family member. The only reason we know she is a family member is because if it is not a family member, we do not necessarily talk about it. It could be a mother or sister. Perhaps one of the advantages of this Bill, or one like i…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, to the Chamber and thank him for taking this very important debate. It is important to recognise that the last year has been incredibly difficult for many people who have been out of work for the last number of months. I wish everyone who went back to work on Monday well. There have been an awful lot of challenges in so many sectors, from health to employment, and in every facet of society. As we reopen the country, get people back to work and restore some norma…

I thank the Minister of State for the detailed response. As he said, counties like Tipperary have different challenges but they are not ones that cannot be overcome. We need a little bit of time to address them but we are in a critical stage now. As the Minister of State said, in agriculture with the cutting of silage and harvesting season coming upon us, it is a critical time. The number he cited of 1,992 people waiting to be called for a test is high. I thank him for providing those detailed numbers. It would be …

I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for the work she has done with nursing homes in her portfolio of older people. It is such a relief for people at the moment to be able to visit friends and neighbours in nursing homes. I know that from my own experience. I thank the Minister of State and all the people working in that sector. My question relates to the proposed primary care centre in Fethard, County Tipperary. Fethard has been identified by the HSE as the preferred location for the development of a prim…

I thank the Minister of State for her detailed response. I thank her, in particular, for saying that relevant documentation to developers will be issued before the end of May. That takes us one step closer and it is the major step towards getting everything moving. I thank the Minister of State for her engagement and work on this matter, and her help in pushing it along. There are many things going on in the Minister of State's Department, including the cybersecurity issue we heard about last week and, with that in…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. It is an apt day for him to be in the Chamber as it is an incredibly positive day for businesses right across the country. I extend good wishes to all the businesses reopening in Tipperary today. It has been an incredibly tough five months for them. I know from speaking to numerous business owners in Clonmel and Cahir over the weekend that the excitement about being able to get back to work is something else. While they appreciate all the supports they have had in the…

Next Monday.

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and thank him for all the work he has done in recent months. I thank my colleague, Senator Seery Kearney, for tabling this Private Members' motion. I was listening in my office to the contributions, which have been very enlightening and positive. In particular, I listened to the contribution of Senator Lynn Ruane, which I found incredibly interesting with regard to the perception that when children have a tough upbringing certain people ask where were the parents and what were …

I wish to share time with Senator Seery Kearney.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I do not pretend to know as much about this conflict as others in the Chamber today, and I would not suggest otherwise, but I do understand the feeling of seeing children being blown to pieces and families searching for their children or their loved ones, as well as the pain one sees in communities. There is nothing you can say that can truly explain the sense of loss of the community within Palestine. I commend what the Minister said at the weekend and his strong words…

I echo Senator Lombard's call for planning laws to deal with An Taisce. The decisions it has made or the lack of acceptance of court judgments are reprehensible in many ways. This has a real knock-on effect on farmers in my area in Tipperary. It is attacking farmers in one region and not farmers around the whole country, which is extremely unfair. I want to talk about the arts and entertainment sector, and dance schools. Some months ago, people representing dance groups protested outside Leinster House asking for c…