Many of the country's leading value-added food producers are increasingly concerned about likely threats and implications of the high-level border operating model for products of animal origin. We are fortunate to have a number of these significant employers based in County Longford. A number of those enterprises have sister facilities in the UK so are already well aware of the shortcomings with this system and have flagged some of their concerns in recent months. At the core of the stipulations to come into effect…

I am proud and pleased for the Minister. He made it his personal mission to get this legislation through. We made a commitment that it would be passed. I was a late addition to the housing committee. I sat through much of the debate on this Bill and noted the time the Minister gave to debate with us and Opposition Members throughout the committee hearings. At all times, he was courteous and took on board opinions. That is reflected in many aspects of the legislation that will frame the LDA. The LDA is, as Deputy Ca…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. This is an important Bill and I echo what my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, said. It is very easy to get emotional and bang the drum for rural Ireland, but in reality if one reads through the Bill one will find it is one of the most effective pieces of legislation to enable people to come back and live once again in rural Ireland. I come from County Longford, one of five or six counties that have a unique housing problem in that there is not so much an …

The Minister will be very aware the midlands region is set to shoulder the bulk of responsibility as we aim to reach zero carbon emissions by 2030. We have seen the closure of Bord na Móna and ESB operations and we were sold the specifications of an €11 million just transition programme as the catalyst for revitalising the region. Unfortunately, people in the region are currently disillusioned and worried the just transition process is simply coming apart at the seams. Almost a year on, just €116,000 in funding has…

I thank the Minister of State. I believe that the Minister of State will agree it is critical that we get just transition right for the midlands region. It is also critically important that the ESB is not allowed off the hook. It was extremely disappointing to hear the ESB's announcement last week that it plans to proceed with the demolition of the two power stations. There was a genuine expectation in both communities that the buildings could be retained and repurposed for alternative energy uses. A glib ESB state…

I welcome the Bill. I commend the Minister as this Bill will give some assurance to renters whose income has been affected by Covid. It is critical that we give vulnerable tenants time to recover their financial stability. While the number of people who have directly invoked this legal protection has remained small, the protection has provided a safety net to vulnerable renters. It is important that the mechanism has been put in place. Throughout Covid, the Government has stood resolutely behind renters. This is it…

I pay tribute to both Ministers of State, Deputies Madigan and Rabbitte, as well as to their teams for their commitment to the disability sector throughout the pandemic. I also want to place on record my admiration for the staff and management in the disability sector who put service users front and centre throughout what has been a national crisis. This year, just under 25% of the total education budget will be invested in supporting children with special needs education. While it is hugely welcome, I contend it i…

We all agree that housing, health and the Covid challenge remain the big issues for this House. The twin issues of CAP and the climate action Bill are very much banging on the door at the moment. For the farmers of County Longford and, indeed, rural Ireland generally, we must get value and a meaningful dividend from these CAP negotiations. The IFA has been in the vanguard of pursuing the interests of farmers. Over recent months, the CAP negotiations and the climate action Bill have manifested as the two big issues …

Longford County Council and the local development group in Edgeworthstown have pioneered the development of the co:worx remote working hub in what was formerly the Ulster Bank premises in the County Longford town. It is a visionary €1 million plus project, which really found its niche as the pressures of Covid-19 kicked in and we realised the need for spaces and places to facilitate remote working and high-speed broadband in rural areas. Next week, the project will be one of the finalists in the prestigious .IE dig…

I am delighted to see the Minister's enthusiasm for the project. I am also delighted that his Department is engaging with the project promoters and the county council to ensure the town, the hub and the library will get improved digital and broadband access, specific to the two projects that will come on stream towards the end of the year. I appreciate that Eir is a private company with investors' capital but we will all agree that it has been gifted the opportunity to develop our telecoms network, with the profits…

I am extremely conscious of the tremendous progress that we have made in the vaccination programme in recent weeks. It is hugely positive that we have gone ten days without a Covid-related death. I thank the three Ministers here today, as I know they have invested a huge amount of time, energy and passion in this. I commend their efforts and those of their Departments. I look forward to what I hope will be a positive update from An Taoiseach tomorrow. It is vital that we see a meaningful pathway forward for aviatio…

I thank the Acting Chairman for updating me on the time allowed. I am sure viewers watching Oireachtas TV will be delighted to hear that, notwithstanding that this is an important issue affecting so many people, particularly the aviation industry, I will not talk for the full 11 minutes. Covid and mandatory hotel quarantining are the twin axes which have wreaked havoc on the aviation and tourism sectors. They now put the very future of the Irish aviation community in doubt. I am deeply conscious that what I say tod…

Nobody likes rules, regulations or measures that affect our ability to live our lives as we please. To that end, it is understandable that there is some resistance to the planned extension of the date and the legislation. We have a very light-touch policing policy and that was reflected in the professional manner in which An Garda Síochána dealt with our public health crisis over the past 15 months. There is almost unanimity in the House on the extension of the date until later this year but it is important that th…

The death toll in the region has surpassed 200 as we look on in horror at the terrible violence unfolding in the Middle East. I welcome today's statement from the Minister and our commitment of €1.5 million in aid for the region. Our nation is no stranger to violence and mayhem and we are horrified and repulsed by the unfolding violence. I was heartened to hear the Minister restate our position and it is very clear. We call on both sides to de-escalate and stop the violence. The killing of innocent civilians and ch…

I apologise for not being here earlier. I pay special tribute to the Minister of State for her work on this Bill. It is an area she has been extremely passionate about for several years. She identified the many inequalities in this sector early in her political life and resolved to put them right. It is fair to say we have a great champion for our older, and often most marginalised, people. I digress somewhat, but I also take this chance to commend her on her hands-on role in the administration and management of th…

As I am conscious that a number of colleagues asked similar questions, I will paraphrase the question for the Minister. It is to ask the number of people, by county, in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment at present and the corresponding figures for those same counties last month. The question also seeks the number of people in each of those counties who have received the payment since its introduction and the total expenditure on such payments in each county over that time and if the Minister will make a …

Obviously, I and my fellow Deputies are very pleased to see the reduction in the number of people in receipt of the PUP as the economy starts to reopen. I commend the Department on the speed and efficiency with which this was rolled out and I commend the staff who, as the Minister rightly stated, have answered more than 10 million phone calls regarding the PUP. I know it is not necessarily related to the question I tabled - and the Minister alluded to it in response to an earlier question tabled by Deputy Kerrane -…

As the Minister mentioned, it is very important that we commend the staff across the country who have worked in the PUP section throughout the pandemic. Many new staff were brought in and trained up very quickly. I know from personal experience that the level of service and their interaction with Deputies, as public representatives, has been excellent. I also commend the staff at my local office in Longford, who have excelled throughout this period. The staff of the Department of Social Protection were one of the f…

The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, is well aware that the midlands is the battle line for decarbonisation following the fast-tracking of the closure of the Bord na Móna peat-production process. The just transition fund was introduced to compensate the midlands and help to ensure it will not be left behind, with its local economy being forced to adjust, as the rest of the country reaps the carbon-reduction benefits. Thanks to Center Parcs, the gas pipeline was extended to Ballymahon. As we seek to offset the im…

I thank the Minister of State. I know that he appreciates that the proposal from Longford County Council is far-reaching and on the button as we work on climate action and towards our hefty 2030 targets. There is considerable debate in County Longford on the future of the now dormant Lough Ree energy plant. Local man and engineer, John Hanley, has ambitious plans for an energy hub on the site. A transition to a renewable gas network for high energy use industries would certainly create the opportunity to potentiall…