I thank the Deputy for her question. As she said, the programme for Government contains a commitment to increase diversity within An Garda Síochána, prioritising the identification and removal of barriers to recruiting and retaining people from diverse and minority backgrounds. This work is being taken forward as part of An Garda Síochána's equality, diversity and inclusion, EDI, strategy. The Garda Commissioner and the Secretary General of my Department are leading on this issue across the public service. My Depar…

Members of An Garda Síochána will undertake training that covers hate crime and diversity awareness. That training includes contributions from a number of minority communities as well as NGOs. The training will be delivered to both Garda members and staff and will build on the diversity training embedded into all aspects of the BA in applied policing that is undertaken by all trainee and probationer gardaí. The training will support the delivery of a human rights-based policing service to diverse communities in a n…

The Deputy made a valid point. Garda diversity forums have been established and they are going to liaise and communicate directly with different minority groups. There is ongoing communication between different groups, including, for example, the Cavan Cross Cultural Community, Dublin City Interfaith Forum, The Federation for Victim Assistance, the Garda Traveller advisory group, the Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Irish Criminal Justice and Disability Network. There is significant engagement between a number …

The programme for Government sets out the Government’s commitment to a sustainable, nationwide post office network as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. An Post is statutorily obliged to provide a postal service and needs a viable network to deliver on its mandate. The company had commenced a transformation programme designed to modernise the business practices in post offices, attract greater footfall and complete more transactions. However, the anticipated 36-…

I assure the Deputy the Government is committed to ensuring a viable network throughout the country. Part of the work I have been doing across government relates to that focus and exploring the potential for a one-stop shop approach to delivering Government services. As the Deputy knows, the Government is also, as part of our programme for Government, preparing a national strategy for the digital transformation of the public service. Many people will always need offline service and access to that. I see An Post pla…

To respond to Deputy Stanton, I have had regular meetings with the IPU, and its representatives are in constant contact with Department officials. I am considering options with officials at the Department and everything is under consideration. As I said, NewERA has assessed the proposal from Grant Thornton, while An Post has also come forward with a proposal. The Grant Thornton options have been assessed and are being considered at the Department with officials. I assure the Deputies that the sustainability and via…

I thank the Senators who have contributed to this debate. I also thank Senators Boylan, Ó Donnghaile, Warfield and Gavan for bringing forward this Private Members' Bill, which deals with an important aspect of the civil legal aid process. I am pleased that the Government, during its meeting last Friday, approved the Minister for Justice's proposal not to oppose the Bill on Second Stage. Civil legal aid helps people of insufficient means with legal representation to resolve their civil and family disputes. I am sure…

I thank the Senators for their contributions. This debate presents an opportunity to underline the importance of the Irish Coast Guard’s aviation service to Ireland as a maritime nation and I welcome the opportunity to set out the current state of play in terms of the ongoing procurement process which is being managed by my Department. The motion tabled by Senators Craughwell and Boyhan relates to the coastguard contract. As Senators are aware, the Government has tabled a countermotion which we contend clarifies so…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue today. I am glad to speak on a topic of concern for many public representatives, both local and national, and for people from the Galway area, as outlined by the Deputy. I spoke this afternoon to members of An Garda Síochána in Galway about the recent event in Salthill and events that may be planned for this weekend or other future dates. I also have spoken to the Galway city manager about this event. While the Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is operation…

I reiterate that I spoke to the senior members of An Garda Síochána in Galway and they have assured me that there is a dedicated policing plan in place for this weekend and for any future events. They are monitoring social media and will be deploying extra Garda resources in the Salthill area or indeed any area where that deployment is needed. If anyone has concerns, the Garda asks that it be contacted directly and to be alerted to any anti-social behaviour. I have also received the assurance of An Garda Síochána t…

I join the Minister in thanking the House for allowing us to address the matter of international travel and aviation. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the announcement by Aer Lingus last week regarding its Shannon base. It is very regrettable that Aer Lingus has decided to close the Aer Lingus cabin crew base at Shannon Airport and to temporarily close its base at Cork Airport as well as embarking on a review of ground handling arrangements at those airports. However, it is also noted that many airlines acros…

I thank all the Deputies who made important contributions. I assure them the Government is acutely aware of the devastating impact Covid-19 is having on the aviation industry, on families and workers and on those who are impacted by the sector. I thank the Oireachtas joint committee for the work it has carried out in keeping this topic in the spotlight over the past 15 months through the various meetings that have been held during this time. This week, the committees, the Seanad and the Dáil have assisted in our un…

I thank Senators for their contributions and for giving me the opportunity to address this important motion. I agree with many of the sentiments expressed and recognise many of the positive social and economic benefits provided by the post office network. I also agree that there is enormous potential for the network to provide a better range of financial and e-commerce services. This is set out in the programme for Government, as many colleagues have noted, and it is part of our commitment to a sustainable nationwi…

Legislation to provide for the introduction of the mandatory quarantine system recently entered into force. Contractual arrangements have now been finalised and it is the intention of the Government to commence the operation of mandatory quarantine this week. The Department of Health is leading this process, supported by officials from several Departments, including the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Transport, Justice and Public Expenditure and Reform, as well as the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, …

As I outlined, more than €200 million of supports has been granted to the aviation sector. The airports and airlines have had access to that funding, which includes the temporary wage subsidy schemes and other supports. As a result of the very difficult circumstances the aviation industry is experiencing, the Government agreed a revised funding package of €80 million specifically for Irish aviation in 2021. A part of this package, more than €21 million is to be provided for the regional airports programme. That giv…

I assure the Deputy that this issue is being taken extremely seriously at Government level. All Members understand the importance of aviation for Ireland as an island nation, including for foreign direct investment, tourism and connectivity as an island. I chaired a special meeting of the steering committee of the NCADF. My departmental officials maintain regular contact with the sector. The NCADF was established through the recommendation of the national aviation policy in 2016 and brings together all the key stak…

As I said earlier, the aviation industry is absolutely critical for Ireland and its foreign direct investment, tourism, economy and for the functioning of an island nation. This Government acted quickly when the pandemic broke last year and offered a large range of supports. The airlines and aviation sector have benefited from more than €200 million of that suite of supports. This is, obviously, an evolving crisis. It is going to take a number of years for the aviation industry to reach pre-Covid-19 levels of inter…

I must remind the Deputy of the uncertainty we are facing. We were all hopeful this time last year that we would be out of this pandemic within a number of months but that has not been the case. As I said, the Government acted fast by putting in supports and those measures are still there, including the PUP, the EWSS, and the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS. All of those are also available to the aviation sector. I know many people have lost their jobs. It is a really difficult time for many families. We ne…

I am equally concerned about protecting people's jobs. That is why I am engaging with the aviation sector, those who are at the coalface within the industry, around what that reopening will look like when the public heath advice is there. Now is the time to be working on that and to protect as many jobs as possible. That is the work I am doing with my officials within the national civil aviation forum. There is a subgroup relating to bringing back proposals around what that reopening will look like. I must reiterat…

The current public health emergency has had a profoundly disruptive effect on the learning and testing system in this country. I can assure the Deputy that the Department is very aware of the challenges facing the Road Safety Authority, RSA, as it works hard to manage the backlog in the driver testing and theory testing service. The driving test service is not currently operating as normal due to the impact of Covid-19. Tests are only available, under level 5 restrictions, to essential workers. This has had a signi…