I want to record the tremendous achievement of our Taoiseach and Ministers in that we were able to trade on 1 January this year. We all feared that Brexit would be Armageddon for industry in this country. While there are snags, some of which we are raising here today, trade has continued in a fairly seamless fashion. I raise the milk processing industry. During the week, there were media reports that mixed milk, as we might call it, will not have access to EU trade agreements, whether with China, Morocco or other c…

Can issues relating to access to market supports and aids to private storage be overcome as well?

I want to raise the issue of St. Brigid's community hospital in Carrick-on-Suir. An announcement was made this morning about the future of the hospital. What part will the hospital play in the HSE's future plans for Carrick-on-Suir? How much money will be invested in it? What plans does the HSE have to provide respite and palliative care beds in the Carrick-on-Suir area?

We have 78,000 nurse and midwives and these must, by law, be listed on the register of nurses and midwives. The fee for such registration is €100. It would be good recognition of the great efforts front-line workers have made during the Covid pandemic if the State were to pay this fee for nurses and midwives this year.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for taking this Topical Issue. I received a reply from him in the past hour. This week, my office has been inundated with phone calls regarding credit unions and the regulations governing them. Several credit unions across the country need to hold annual general meetings in order to pay out dividends and interest rebates to their members. The members of those credit unions have included the payments in their Christmas budgets. They know that credit unions charge a frac…

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. We all accept that we are in an unprecedented year, but it is a pity that we have got to this impasse. Unfortunately, from what the Minister of State is saying, the credit union members and their families will be the losers and the money they had planned and budgeted for will not be available to them. Is there any possibility that a statutory instrument could be used to allow the AGMs to go ahead virtually? I accept that the Minister of State has got the le…

I wish to raise the fair deal scheme. Small businesses and farm families find it very hard to avail of this scheme in its current form. We have been promised legislation on it to make it more financially acceptable for both businesses and farm families. When will that be implemented?

I respect the right of the Social Democrats to bring forward the motion; we live in a democracy. Nevertheless, I strenuously oppose their views and will do so with every breath in my body. Yesterday, the party posted a video to social media that had been recorded at the gates of Leinster House. It featured a lurcher. It clearly illustrated the lack of understanding the Social Democrats have about the exact role that this industry plays in rural Ireland. I am privileged to have owned greyhounds and I also have the l…

I have been contacted by the management of a small to medium sized nursing home in Tipperary. There are approximately 20 residents in the home. Unfortunately, it experienced an outbreak of Covid in early October and five patients died as a result. The nursing home has taken a significant financial hit as a result of the outbreak. The total cost of the outbreak, including hiring agency staff to alleviate the pressure placed on staff numbers and incurring additional Covid related costs, was €72,000. The nursing home …

In recent years, our dairy processors, with the support of Enterprise Ireland, have made investments to diversify into new cheese categories such as continental cheese from Glanbia, mozzarella from Glanbia and Carbery and Jarlsberg from Dairygold. I read with concern in recent weeks references to such investments being made by such processors facing, and continuing to face, significant planning hurdles, which impacts on when they can make a tangible contribution to diversifying the Irish cheese product mix. We have…

I thank the Minister for his reply. Glanbia and other dairy processors are facing this significant difficulty at the moment. Feasibility studies have been done on routes to market and on acquiring suitable partners on the Continent for developing this product. A huge amount of money is invested. As I said in my original statement, eight weeks is usually the timeframe within which a judicial review should be heard after An Bord Pleanála's decision. We are now at 21 weeks. We cannot allow the legal process to delay a…

I will address rural and community development. I represent a rural constituency and, in the short time available to me, I will raise a few major issues regarding the need for investment in Tipperary. The first issue I will talk about is the urgent need for a link road for Tipperary town. The chamber of commerce has spearheaded a coalition of other local groups which has highlighted the great issues facing Tipperary. Jobs4Tipp, the recently formed task force, March4Tipp and other such organisations have come togeth…

Turtulla Cross is located just outside my home town of Thurles. It is located on the N62 between Thurles and Horse and Jockey. This junction is extremely dangerous and a number of very serious and even fatal accidents have occurred there in recent years. The infrastructure at this crossroads is simply not good enough. It is under the remit of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which, I understand, is looking at two possible options for works to be carried out at the junction. I urge that funding be made available so…

I wish to highlight the lack of delivery on the part of Eir in rural Ireland. The people I represent are extremely disappointed with the customer service Eir is providing and its approach to the roll-out of the national broadband plan. I receive complaints daily about the way Eir treats its customers and the manner in which it is supposedly connecting rural Ireland to high-speed fibre broadband. Eir regularly shows a complete and utter disregard for the concerns of the ordinary person in rural Ireland, its customer…

I wish to give a few more examples. A constituent of mine in Dolla recently built a new house. His next door neighbour has full broadband but my constituent was told he is in the amber zone and cannot get connected even though the fibre is only 100 m away. In Holycross in my constituency, there are three houses together in a rural area. The houses on the left and right have high-speed broadband but the one in the middle is not yet connected even though technicians have called to that house three times. It is the sa…

I will ask about FreeStyle Libre. There are 20,000 people in Ireland living with type 1 diabetes. They have been calling on the Department of Health and HSE for years now to reimburse people who wish to use a FreeStyle Libre device to best manage their condition. The device consists of small, round sensor that is worn on the back of the upper arm. A handheld reader or application on a smart phone can be used to scan the small sensor. This will provide the individual with an immediate reading of their glucose levels…

Epidiolex is a cannabis-based medication that can be used to treat two severe forms of epilepsy. It is available to children over the age of two and eligible adults. I have been contacted by the parents of a 14-year-old girl who has an aggressive form of cancer. She has been suffering from seizures and she drops suddenly to the ground when they take hold. She has an average of approximately five seizures per day and the parents have been told this is a long-term illness. She has been prescribed Epidiolex by her con…

Will the Minister accept two amendments to the Finance Bill 2020? Both are closely related. The first relates to an amendment to the provisions of the capital gains tax legislation to ensure that in a particular instance of partition or severance of land, property owners would not be liable for a charge. On the partitioning of land for a site, under the law as it stands, the relief provided for a parent transferring a building site to a child is defeated by the capital gains rules on the partitioning of an asset wh…

I welcome this opportunity to make a statement on Covid-19. The health of our nation is paramount. We have taken these measures out of necessity to protect the health of our citizens. We are facing into the bank holiday weekend. A couple of weeks ago, I suggested continuing with summer time this winter due to the scenario we find ourselves in. Unfortunately winter time will begin this weekend. That will have an impact. The Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people, Deputy Mary Butler,…

I congratulate Deputy Murnane O'Connor on her appointment as Acting Chairman and I wish her the best of luck in the role. I want to concentrate my remarks on the Ballybrophy to Limerick rail line which has been seriously neglected over many years. Reports about the line often focus on the cost of keeping the service open. Journey times remain too long and there is little uptake on a route that stops in four locations in my constituency. Until the issues facing this line are addressed, it will become increasingly di…