This is a serious issue with implications for many communities. The geographical size of the county has to be taken into consideration. LEADER funding is vital for rural areas, and many community centres, playgrounds and local amenities are only possible with such funding. Many communities do not even have the basics of a playground. I am working with Bandon and Skibbereen family resource centres, neither of which has a home and they are essential services. I raised it recently with a Minister who directed me towar…

The scale of abuse, terror and cruelty experienced by thousands of women, children and infants in mother and baby homes is almost unimaginable. This includes unexplained infant deaths, disappeared children, illegal adoptions, incarceration, forced labour, illegal medical experimentation and emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Both the church and State have responsibility for these abuses and their legacy. The religious orders and pharmaceutical companies must be held to account and pay their share. The extent of …

The latest Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, report on wastewater has highlighted major issues with poorly treated sewage continuing to harm the quality of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. The damage the report reveals is being done to our waters is incredibly worrying. Some 51% of Ireland's sewage was treated to the European standard set to protect our environment, well below the EU average of 90%. There are areas across the country that failed the EU treatment standards, but half of them are in Cork: Clo…

Unfortunately, that is the exact stock answer I have come to expect. This is a pressing health and environmental issue. Raw sewage and poorly treated wastewater impact on local ecology and has public health implications. Wastewater in Kinsale and Clonakilty, two of Ireland's major tourist destinations, has failed to meet EU treatment standards and raw sewage is being discharged into picturesque Castletownsend. These areas need Government investment, rather than the Minister of State passing the buck to Irish Water.…

As a regular visitor to Cork South-West, the Taoiseach will be aware of the desperate need for a bypass for Innishannon and for the development of the Bandon relief road. Both communities have been waiting years for these vital projects. Innishannon is basically divided in two because of the amount of traffic and the tailbacks in the morning and evening are only getting worse. In Bandon, heavy goods vehicles and other large vehicles are being forced through the centre of the historic walled town because of the inad…

No.

The programme for Government commits to supporting small food producers with "on-farm diversification enterprises and investment in local processing facilities". The reality is that small farmers, fishers and producers are very vulnerable to the prices set by the larger retailers and the processors. They are being squeezed between rising operating costs and fluctuating prices, then they are getting prices that in no way reflect the expenses and the work that goes in to producing food. When will producers see the be…

Government policy needs to recognise the unique role of small farmers and producers, who provide incredibly high-quality food but are highly vulnerable to economic forces. While we pay lip service to this model of agriculture, as in the Minister of State's response, the reality is that farmers are being forced into fewer and fewer areas - mainly dairy - because it is the only way to make their farms viable. It is so short-sighted. Crucially, in terms of food security, greater diversity creates greater resilience. T…

In relation to small food producers, inshore fishers are important and often overlooked food producers. They offer guaranteed fresh fish that is sustainably caught. Those are the basics of the unique culinary landscape in places like west Cork. One of the issues that is really affecting them at the moment is rising fuel costs, which is having a severe impact on the inshore sector. I know that other countries are supporting the sector specifically in terms of fuel. Is the Department considering that option? The seaf…

With the time limit, perhaps the Minister will respond to my question about the Common Fisheries Policy.

With the time limit, perhaps the Minister will respond on the Common Fisheries Policy, which barely mentions the inshore sector. It is all for the bigger boats. That will obviously be Ireland's position as it goes into negotiations in Europe.

They were ripped off with the mackerel quota, for example.

I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges: — that all survivors of Mother and Baby Homes, County Homes, related institutions, unlawful or forced adoptions, and abuse in boarding out and adoptive placements deserve immediate and fair redress; — the Report of the findings of the Consultation with Survivors of Mother and Baby Homes and County Homes, also known as the OAK Report, to which nearly 550 survivors contributed via written submissions or calls; — the findings of the Annual Report of the Special Rapporteur on Ch…

Ms Mary Harney is a survivor who will be familiar to many of us as one of the women whose statutory right to comment on the draft findings of the commission of investigation was wrongly denied. She once said, "I am not a survivor. I am a small, yet mighty, resisting worker for justice." She has had to spend much of her life fighting for her rights, for her identity and for justice. Unfortunately, the Government, like its predecessors, is continuing to force people like Mary to fight in the courts. Thousands of surv…

Almost two people per day die in Ireland as a result of drug-related deaths. That is more than 1,700 people since the Taoiseach took office. Our rate of drug-related deaths is almost five times the figure of those who die in road traffic accidents and is twice the European average. This is a national disgrace. There is no urgency because of the continuing stigma that attaches to the communities primarily affected. People with addictions are treated as criminals rather than receiving medical care. Grieving parents a…

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I too welcome the motion. Successive Governments have outsourced and undervalued health and social care work. Some of the most important State services around supporting vulnerable people, care for older people, addiction services, specialised health interventions and disability services are provided by dedicated and severely underpaid workers. Organisations such as CoAction and EmployAbility in west Cork fall into this category, as do other community care groups, homeless services and community employment, CE, sch…

This week we learned that the religious orders involved in mother and baby homes have no intention of contributing to the redress scheme. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, continues to stand over the flawed commission's report, which absolved the church of any responsibility. The State and church perpetuated some of the worst human rights abuses in our history, including illegal adoptions, illegal vaccine trials, mass graves and the abuse of children. The Gover…

We need legislation that reflects social realities. Employment law needs to recognise the complexities of life, including those encountered in contexts such as caring for one's family, the importance of one's health and the experience of the victims and survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. Compared with other European countries, Ireland has poor workers' rights. We lag behind many other jurisdictions in family leave policies, with low rates of payment and a short duration of leave available. Greater fle…