I thank the Minister for his statement and I welcome him to the House on the first time I have had the opportunity to do so. Senator Lombard would have liked to have been here but he could not do so and he wanted it put on the record of the House and to let the Minister know that the Minister has the Senator's full support on this motion. The horse and greyhound racing fund was established for the specific purpose of giving support to the horse and greyhound racing industries. It enables the State bodies to develop…

The Cathaoirleach predicting what I am going to say before I say it, but he is right. I am pretty sure that he, as someone from the county that was beaten by Cork, will support us going forward.

Does it not just show what sport and the GAA can do? Difficult decisions were made a couple of months ago over whether this year's championship should go ahead and whether Government could support it. A weekend like we have just had shows the impact it has for people and for communities. For my county it is huge. It took 85 years to win a Munster final and having two players from my parish on the team gives great personal pride for our area. Many people have talked about it being similar to 1920 with the same four …

When it came to my attention earlier in the week that a debate on living with Covid was scheduled for today, I thought it was only right and proper that I should take the opportunity to contribute to that debate. Like thousands of people in this country, I have lived with Covid for two weeks and it is important that I put on the record of the House my experience of it. I was lucky. I did not have many of the symptoms experienced by most people. In terms of how the HSE and my GP dealt with it, the structure in place…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. Since 2019 and throughout 2020, ESB Networks has rolled out new electricity smart metering technology in homes across Ireland. If and when this roll-out is completed, domestic and business premises in Ireland will have a smart meter installed. Customers have been told that there is no additional charge for smart meters but that is not the case. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, has already announced that household bills will increase by between €…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I note that she said that during 2020 it is quite difficult to have the same pace of roll-out as 2019, so I hope the situation will be better next year. However, if the roll-out has slowed down, it is the perfect time to reassess and re-evaluate whether it is the right approach from both the cost and environmental perspectives. I have been speaking to businesses in Tipperary and around the country that have concerns, especially about costs. Every decision the Government …

I stand in support of the Private Members' business. I have been a Member of this House for six months and have worked with Deputies and Senators in other political parties and Independents alike. Although I disagree with them on a range of issues, I never doubt their sincerity. I cannot say that about Sinn Féin. I doubt that party's Members' sincerity on almost every issue, and this is a prime example. Every decision they take is not about what is right but is based on what is popular. It was for water charges unt…

I rise to speak about the need for the Government to support post offices. I welcome the announcement by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Heather Humphreys, a number of weeks ago on changing social welfare payments to a weekly basis. This is encouraging for a number of reasons. It is much easier for people to get their payments on a weekly basis and some people were struggling when that was not the case. It also brings people back to towns and encourages them on a weekly basis to pick up the payment and t…

I wish to raise enforcement laws and the powers of the Garda in relation to Covid-19. The last week has been very difficult, particularly for the three counties that have gone to level 4. It is now widely accepted that all other counties are going to be on level 3 for quite some time and will not be coming down from it soon. That means asking people to stay within their counties and asking businesses to remain closed for a long period of time. Most people are abiding by and sticking to the guidelines and recommenda…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. We are living in a different time at the moment and this budget reflects that space we are in now in terms of the amount of money we are borrowing and investing. We are, however, doing the right thing. As Senator Chambers mentioned, it seems almost impossible to be against this budget with the amount of money we are investing in it but, somehow, the Opposition has still managed to find a way of being against funding and investing in our country. I welcome, particularly, the €4…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy English, to the Chamber this evening. I will be supporting the Government counter-motion. It is recognised that there is no statutory sick pay in Ireland, and we are an outlier among EU member states in this regard. As was mentioned earlier, Ireland is one of only five countries in Europe that does not have sick pay. We have illness benefit, which is a payment made by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. In 2019 it amounted to about €607 million and it …

I would like to discuss sport. Does the Deputy Leader agree that sport can play a huge part in helping communities and organisations throughout the country to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic in the coming months and years? Does the Deputy Leader agree that the €70 million that was ring-fenced for support for all sports clubs throughout the country during the summer months was very welcome? I note also that the €20 million that was announced several weeks ago to make sure the inter-county championships go ahead wa…

There are many topics we could discuss in higher education. I welcome the Minister of State here today. The Minister touched on mental health in his opening remarks. I welcome what he said about prioritising the funding that was announced last month and that must go first and foremost towards counselling services. I have three questions which the Minister of State might be able to answer or the Department could write back to me on them. I seek clarity on how that funding is managed. A letter the CEO of the HEA, Dr.…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. Senator Dooley has delivered for Clare and his own home on that. I will be brief, as we are caught for time. I congratulate the Minister on the opening of schools and the process she went through to make that a success and I wish her well in that. I have two issues to raise and they have been spoken about by most Senators today. I echo Senator Wall's very practical suggestion to the current crisis within school transport in terms of the over 70s being given the opportunity to drive …

I welcome the Minister of State to her Chamber. It is apt that our first sitting in the Seanad Chamber has our own Minister of State present. I also welcome this Bill that is being put forward. It has been mentioned a number of times today that the Bill is being brought forward in a speedy manner and that is a good thing. This industry has gone down 35% in the past year. If anything needs to be done, it needs to be done in a speedy manner and that is hugely welcome. We are talking about an industry that provides 12…

I welcome this morning's announcement of €200,000 in funding for the Suir blueway. This is part of €4.5 million worth of funding from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment for 26 blueway and greenway projects throughout the country. The blueway in Tipperary, as Members will be aware, goes from Carrick-on-Suir to Clonmel. This extra funding will add 1 km to bring it farther into the town of Clonmel, which is very important. It connects the blueway to a car park in the centre of the town an…

I welcome the Minister and wish her well in her new role. I have two questions, one of which relates to yesterday's announcement and the second to a local school. Do the guidelines set out yesterday regarding school transport extend to after-school services that provide a drop-off and collection service for parents? I know a business in Clonmel involving three carriers collecting, on average, 20 or 25 children on any given day. If those guidelines do not include after-school services, what arrangements should they …

I wish to share my time with Senator Lombard. We will have four minutes each.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and congratulate him on his new position. It has been a busy period for him and that will continue to be the case. He indicated that these are short-term measures to give reassurance and support to businesses. That is exactly what is provided for in the Bill, namely, certain supports and reassurance so that they can survive in the short term. The Bill sets out how company meetings and meetings of industrial and provident societies can be held in the interim period from …

Now.