I fully acknowledge that the only way we are truly going to beat Covid-19 as a society and country is through the effective roll-out of the vaccine. Thankfully, we are already starting to see that the vaccine is highly effective in preventing the spread of this deadly disease among those already inoculated. As those most at risk of contracting Covid-19 and falling seriously ill from it are vaccinated, the risk and threat of the disease naturally starts to reduce. However, it is vital that complacency does not set i…

National Broadband Ireland is tasked with the roll-out of high-speed fibre broadband to most rural parts of the country. There are people living in townlands in County Tipperary who have been told that it will be two or three years before their areas are even surveyed. They will then be looking at a similar timeframe before the network is rolled out in their areas. I acknowledge that this is a complicated process that will take time. However, surveying these areas can surely be done in a faster timeframe than three…

The past year has been difficult for our third level students. They have sacrificed so much during a very important time in their lives, mostly to protect the health and safety of others. This age group has missed out on key milestones in their early 20s as a result of a year of distance learning. I will raise with the Minister two higher education issues affecting my constituency of Tipperary, particularly my home town of Thurles. Thurles is well-known for its highly regarded educational institutions both at secon…

Thankfully we are seeing clear evidence that Covid-19 vaccines are working. Now that those most at risk in nursing homes and the elderly in the community are becoming increasingly protected from the dangers of Covid-19, it is time to do what we can to tackle loneliness and isolation among older people. It is time to ease the restrictions on nursing home visits. I fully accept these were needed in the past. The general population sees signs of hope that the vaccination process is working. I would like us to reopen o…

I want to make some points to the Minister. It is more than a decade since the people bailed out the banks. Unfortunately, we are getting badly thanked for that. Bank of Ireland has announced 103 branch closures in recent days, three of which are in my country. Templemore will now have no bank in the town. Cashel and Cahir, two strong tourist towns, are now to be left without a Bank of Ireland branch. Businessmen will have to travel significant distances with wads of cash to lodge to night safety deposit boxes. Our…

I would like to make a point to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on vaccine availability for carers. She has given this serious consideration. I would like to lend my voice to those comments. The past year has been very tough for many people. During this lockdown, in particular, it is clear that many people are feeling lower than ever before and are really struggling this time around. Loneliness, isolation and the loss of loved ones has taken its toll on so many. There is light at the end of the tunnel and we …

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to prohibit the ownership of veterinary practices by persons other than those persons who are veterinary practitioners and to provide for related matters. I appreciate the opportunity to move the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill. It proposes to amend the Veterinary Practice Act 2005. For a number of years the interpretation of the Act was that corporate bodies could not own veterinary practices. A number of years ago that interpretation was chang…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Earlier this week, I had a Zoom meeting with a number of musicians, artists, performers and dance teachers in my constituency. I am here to make a case for these performers, artists and individuals, who bring so much entertainment and creativity to our lives. I would like to start by providing the Tánaiste with a case study of one of the individuals I met earlier this week, to prove to him how much some of these businesses and individuals need financial supports. At this stage, it is over a year since most performe…

I also want to raise the issue of point-to-point racing with the Minister. That industry is at a critical juncture. This is regarded as an amateur sport, but a significant amount of money is involved. The cornerstone of the National Hunt industry is point-to-point racing. Many small operators have considerable investment in bloodstock and point-to-point racing is their shop window to sell their horses. The people involved are professional trainers even though they are amateur in name. All these horses are sold betw…

I appreciate being allowed to ask a question, a Cheann Comhairle. I wish to raise beef prices. We set up a forum to address the crisis in the beef industry. One of the key demands of stakeholders is that there would be price transparency. In the past two weeks, meat processors have dropped the price by 15 cent a kilo, while all the market indicators are that prices should be on an upward trend. Can the beef forum deliver transparency for primary producers?

I want to raise a number of separate transport issues relating to my constituency of Tipperary. We constantly hear of the need to move towards a more sustainable, greener form of transport, yet Tipperary is losing services, left, right and centre, and a lot of what remains is unreliable, inefficient and needs major improvement. The people of rural Ireland deserve adequate public transport links. Nenagh and Roscrea in north Tipperary lost the Bus Éireann X12 service at the end of January. This was the main bus route…

This is a difficult time for the aviation industry. I wish to discuss a number of concerns that have been raised with me by constituents in recent weeks. They are worried about the future of the aviation sector in Ireland, the continued lockdown and the impact of Covid-19 on the sector's financial viability. They have raised with me their genuinely held concerns that if airlines are not financially supported, they will abandon routes to and from this country, leaving us less connected internationally. As a small, o…

I welcome that the just transition commissioner is engaging with peat harvesting contractors, but how are our horticulture industry and our nursery industry going to survive economically without their access to peat and compost? These are essential. Will we find ourselves importing this natural raw material we have in this country for these industries to be able to survive and prosper?

Thankfully, this scheme has helped many people during the financial hardship which the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has imposed on them. I raise issues in respect of two groups that have contacted me, and who believe the conditions of the scheme discriminate against them. The first group consists of approximately 80 travel counsellors, most of whom have been refused access to the CRSS on the basis that the premises which they operate do not meet the eligibility criteria. I spoke to one such travel counsellor in …

I compliment the Minister and Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on their work. Mental health is a huge issue within the Covid-19 scenario, one that we cannot underestimate. We are in a loaves-and-fishes situation in terms of the administration of the vaccines. I propose to focus on the prioritisation of particular sectors within my community that have made representations to me. A couple of weeks ago, I was criticised in the national media for making representations on behalf of front-line workers at Nenagh hospita…

I raise an issue concerning the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020. Some of my constituents have found this legislation very beneficial to them, but it will not be possible for people who do not have arrears on their private residences to use this legislation to try to sort out their financial problems. Farmers, especially, would not have mortgage arrears on private residences because all their financial liabilities would be attached to their lands. This is an omission in the legislation. Will the Government…

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for their presentations. We heard a Sinn Féin Deputy talk about the spots that Fianna Fáil always wore. Their frustration is born out of the fact that we are now in government and building houses. That is where their frustration is coming from. Sinn Féin cannot bear to see all the housing projects that have started in the past six to eight months. That is where that frustration comes from. I am proud to be a Fianna Fáil Deputy because we are addressing the housing cris…

First, I want to acknowledge the stimulus we had in November and the huge amount of money that has been put in by this Government to try to protect people who have been severely financially hit by Covid-19. The health of our citizens is obviously the paramount thing we must protect but financial well-being also has an impact on the mental health of individuals and is a huge cause for concern. In the past couple of weeks, I received numerous calls from constituents who are unhappy with the way the banks have treated…

Last week, point-to-point racing was removed as an elite sport. This will have serious implications for our world-renowned national hunt industry. What plans for a financial rescue package are in place? Our whole national hunt breeding industry will be severely impacted. Point-to-point racing is the shop window for selling the majority of our national hunt young horses. This will have a severe impact on all sales during the summer for three-year-olds down to yearlings and foals. There are severe financial implicati…