It is great to see the vaccination roll-out. Today, all 57-year-olds can register for their vaccine. What happens to those who do not register on the day their age comes up? What if they miss it or do not know about it? Can they register later? Will they be accommodated? If, for example, 220,000 60 to 69-year-olds did not register, can they do so now or must they wait until all ages are complete? What is the plan for vaccine apathy, that is, those people who may not get around to a vaccination right now? According …

We will each take three minutes. I am sure Deputy Cathal Crowe will be here shortly. I thank the Minister of State. First, I congratulate the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and her husband, Paul, on the birth of their baby son this morning. That is really good and I congratulate both of them. Today gives us great hope. Restrictions on inter-county travel, masses, hospitality, click-and-collect services, barbers and hairdressers are to be loosened soon. This is really positive. For people's mental health, it …

I also welcome the White Paper, which is most important. When a person turns 21, there are balloons and celebrations. However, it is pretty shameful to say that 10 April 2021 marked 21 years of the brutal system of direct provision. To me, that is horrendous and unacceptable. I welcome the Government's move to ensure that we do not continue with this system. That is why the White Paper is so welcome. I have been concerned to learn of Covid-19 outbreaks in the confined settings of direct provision. I was concerned w…

In April 2016, in a parliamentary question to the Tánaiste, who was then Minister for Health, a proposed primary care centre for Tullow in County Carlow was queried. In the reply and on record, he stated: "The HSE proposes to deliver the primary care centre for the Tullow, Rathvilly and Hacketstown area using the direct/own-build mechanism." Therefore, in 2016. it was stated that the centre would be delivered. In a HSE reply on the matter at the time, it stated that its capital plan would fund the centre. Five year…

I too thank the Minister and the Minister of State for their hard work. I also commend the HSE on the vaccination roll-out, which is so important. It was announced today that the portal would be open tomorrow for the 60 to 64 age group. That is so important. I have had many queries about the HSE's number, which is really good, because some people do not want to use the portal. I welcome that. The vaccination centre at Carlow IT opened yesterday, which was very welcome and important. Communication is the key here. T…

Supports for businesses are very welcome and have been a lifeline for so many over the pandemic. I agree with my colleagues. I have spoken to taxi drivers, those in the hospitality sector and small and medium-sized businesses, SMEs, in particular. I have a case in my area where a man has machinery that he bought over the years. He cannot hire out that machinery because there is no work and yet he does not get any grants as he does not have a fixed premises. That is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. We will h…

Vaccination should have been done on age, with healthcare workers, those with underlying conditions and those living in residential care being vaccinated at the same time. We should continue with the plan to do this on age and at the same time prioritise those on the front line. We all got letters from teachers about their concerns. Schools have been a priority for us and that is great to see, but I ask that we consider a priority list for gardaí, SNAs, childcare workers and those in essential retail. They are a pr…

I will ask the Minister of State a few questions and she might come back to me. April is Autism Awareness Month and I am so sad that we are here discussing the revelations revealed about how families with autistic children were treated so terribly. I want to take this opportunity to thank Shane Corr for highlighting these practices. I appreciate that these revelations came as a surprise or even a shock to people. I appreciate that the Minister of State has only been in her position a short time and that she is doin…

We have had a slow roll out of vaccines. We are now seeing increased cases among young children of school-going age. We have no vaccination for teachers or early childcare professionals. While we wait for them to be vaccinated, are there any plans to roll out antigen tests in school or childcare settings? We must do everything to protect these settings. These tests are cheap and can be another tool to combat this pandemic. Perhaps the Minister will come back to me on that. With regard to information gathering, ther…

I want to be associated with this. All of us know the work done by CE supervisors. It is absolutely marvellous. They deserve to get their proper pay and increments. I know the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, is working on this. I ask the Tánaiste to speak to him. This is very serious because the CE supervisors need it to be sorted.

The next group is the Regional Group whose speakers will have ten minutes. I call Deputy Grealish who will be followed by Deputy Shanahan. The Deputies have five minutes each.

I want to support the Bill. It is important. Just this week, Chambers Ireland and UNICEF Ireland issued a call to action for more family-friendly workplaces. They launched a guide adapted from a document released by the International Chamber of Commerce and UNICEF which includes measures that business leaders can take to achieve short and long-term positive impacts in the workplace. In the guide they state that by giving working parents the time, information, services and resources that they need to cope with crisi…

I want to raise the issue of headstones. I have been contacted by people in Carlow who are looking to have headstones placed on the graves of loved ones but who are experiencing difficulties in so doing. Particularly this year, it is a very sensitive issue. My understanding is that some local authorities are allowing it and others are not. I am just asking for guidance on this matter. No one wants to break the level 5 restrictions, but it is important that people who are grieving are allowed to get this work done.

I also wish the Minister the best on her maternity leave. I hope she takes care of herself. I called for section 252 of the Children Act to be amended to allow for the identification of deceased children who are victims of crime. My colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, and I published legislation similar to this Bill. I commend Senator McDowell on sponsoring the Bill, which will achieve what we set out to achieve. I also thank the Seanad for progressing Senator McDowell's proposed amendment so quickly. This will allo…

I welcome the new arrangements announced recently by the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, for those with medical prognoses of up to 24 months to be eligible for a medical card. I would go further in this regard and state that all cancer patients, regardless of their prognoses, should be automatically approved for a medical card. Cancer patients can be given a discretionary medical card, but there are no common rules for applying that discretion and there are delays in the application system. I ask the Minister of…

That is not acceptable. If a patient has a medical card or GP visit card, he or she should be entitled to a free blood test. I compliment doctors. I know how hard they have worked, particularly in the past year with Covid. It has been very difficult for everyone. Even so, vulnerable, often elderly, people who have medical cards have approached me on the matter. When someone has a medical card or a GP visit card, he or she should automatically be entitled to a free blood test. I do not accept the Minister of State's…

I welcome the three-year strategy launched by the Department in recent days with the objective of ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, age, gender or address, achieves their best potential, whether that is through education or the workforce. This is welcome. I will raise with the Minister the technological university for the south east. As we move into the final stage in this crucial week, I want to say "well done" to everyone for their hard work. I know how hard everyone is working on this. As the Min…

We have been asking people to spend local and stay local for the summer, but a few weeks ago Fáilte Ireland announced support schemes for outdoor dining and infrastructure with local authorities. My issue is they picked eight areas, namely, Dublin, Killarney, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Cork, Athlone and Kilkenny. They forgot the Carlows, and small counties like my own are struggling to make ends meet and are being forgotten when there are grant supports like that in conjunction with local authorities. Will the Tá…

I thank the Acting Chairman. I have three minutes. I thank the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for answering our questions. Last week, we were told that there were operational issues in the vaccine roll-out to over-85s to do with ordering and the delivery schedule. That problem was identified but I am concerned that such operational issues will continue and that every cohort will see some GP surgeries, in the same town, getting their vaccines while others do not. That ha…

I ask that carers be moved up the list. It is so important that family carers get the vaccine.