That is more scaremongering.

If what is happening in the UK is repeated here, as expected, there will be an Omicron surge. That is clear. It will probably be when schools return in January. Last night, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly warned that it was entirely possible that the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variants meant that the number of Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations could exceed the spike of last January. Once the children take their Christmas holidays next week, are plans being made for 2022? I welcome the funding fr…

The Ceann Comhairle knows he is always welcome. I would love to have as many Members down as possible.

I appreciate being given the time to raise this important issue. The indicative LEADER budget for 2023 is €180 million for the period 2023 to 2027. The new programme is €36 million per year, as opposed to €50 million. No matter how we dress this up, that is a reduction. The Irish Local Development Network, ILDN, made a submission to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine because it is the formal managing authority for the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and, therefore, LEADER. In effect, the Minister i…

I thank the Minister of State. I feel there is a big communication issue. I welcome the further meetings scheduled with the ILDN this week. That is so important. I am getting different figures from what the Minister of State is giving me. I welcome the commitment from the Government to invest in rural Ireland. I see in my own community in Carlow-Kilkenny the community spirit that this important funding has brought. However, we need more communication and information on it. There is definitely a breakdown there. I a…

As Christmas approaches and we think of children at this magical time, I wish to ask the Taoiseach about child poverty. I know families in my area with children who have been moved from one school to another where the hot meals programme is in place. I feel I am addressing this issue constantly. I call for all schools to have a hot meals programme. I see people come into my clinics looking for food parcels. I ask the Taoiseach that we work on this. We cannot have children or families looking for these food parcels.…

The Minister of State might have seen the beautiful piece in the Irish Independent this week on Carlow, highlighting the great enterprise, education and innovation going on there. I am very proud of that, as a Carlow woman. I ask him for an update on the south-east regional enterprise plan.

It needs to be done.

I welcome that. The Minister of State mentioned Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford. I welcome the job announcements for Kilkenny and Waterford this year but Carlow got none. Carlow really needs to be looked at. We are the smaller county. I ask the Minister of State to do what he can. I welcome that he will be launching the regional plans and, in particular, the one for the south east. I have been working with IDA Ireland and I welcome that there is a new build for Carlow. I understand that facility will be ready in Jul…

I thank the Minister of State for that. I welcome the action plan which is very important. These regional plans are very important so that we look after our smaller towns, such as Bagenalstown, Tullow and Hacketstown in my area, where I hold clinics. Broadband is another issue we need to address, along with that of keeping our small companies going. However, jobs are the big thing particularly now that we are going to have a technological university for the south east. We have so much to offer. Carlow will be a maj…

I welcome that the Christmas bonus is being paid this week. I also welcome the €5 million announced by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, for community pantos. I spoke to her about Striking Productions in Carlow, a community panto which has lost a great deal of funding. Christmas is about families. Why is the assisted human reproduction Bill being delayed? We need to recognise families engaged in international surrogacy. Our society now knows there are many…

As no other Deputies are offering, I invite the Minister of State to respond.

I agree with previous speakers about consistency and guidelines within local authorities. There are huge issues there. We have to wonder whether planners realise the effect they can have on people's lives when they make decisions that they just cannot stand over. Young people who have emigrated to America, Dubai and so on and want to come home are faced with obstacle after obstacle. We should have a plan in place to bring back our children to this country when they want to come and encourage them. Instead of that t…

I thank the Minister for giving me the opportunity to ask him about the progress made in establishing a national memorial and records centre under point 7 of An Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. I note it is an area the Minister is working on and is very committed to.

I am delighted to hear that. It is important that the survivors play an important role in this. We have all learned from our meetings with survivors the importance of access to records and that there are no barriers. That is our commitment from this Government, that we will make sure no survivor who wants to access his or her records encounters barrier after barrier. I am delighted that the Secretary General of the Government will chair this. That is very important. Like other Deputies, I have been working with sur…

I totally agree with the Minister. Access, whether online or through one's local authority or the HSE or whatever, is important. The message we have to send to survivors is that we are here to help them access their records if needed. Does the Minister have a timescale for this? I welcome the funding allocated but timing is very important here in the context of all the work the Minister and the Government have been doing. I know we on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and…

In October the mandatory hotel quarantine system was no longer considered necessary and was wound down and mandatory home quarantine requirements were removed. Now, we need them again. Omicron is among us and we have to do what we can to protect the whole of society. When the power to make regulations was introduced it was not expected that the Covid-19 pandemic would last for so long, restrictions would be so intrusive or things would change and we would have to react. Our recovery and fight against the Covid-19 p…

I am delighted that counties Carlow and Kilkenny will get walk-in booster clinics from the end of next week in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Carlow and the Cillín Hill Conference Centre, Kilkenny. However, there is some confusion and people have been ringing me. My understanding is that there must be a five-month interval following vaccination before someone can get the booster. I ask the Taoiseach to clarify that. There is a bit of confusion about it. I also want to raise the issue of GPs. There is no permanent GP in…

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett has 20 minutes.

I welcome this important legislation. It delivers on a key programme for Government commitment not to extend the current fast-track planning arrangements for SHDs. The new planning process for LRDs will replace the SHD provisions. I welcome this. The new process will ensure the delivery of housing developments of 100 or more homes, both public and private. That is so important. We all know we need a sustainable housing system. The reforms in this Bill will restore decision-making powers concerning large residential…