I am very pleased to welcome the Bill, which will end many years of heartache and the taking advantage of enthusiastic concert goers and sports fans. It will mean that sporting and music fans benefit from a fairer sale system for tickets for live events, matches and concerts when the country reopens. Ticket touts have been a scourge for many years, ripping people off, forcing up ticket prices and raising barriers to getting a ticket in the first place. This new law will make sure that everybody gets a fair price. I…

It is very good to see that we now have momentum on the vaccine. I am especially pleased that our vaccine centre is open in County Longford. I thank the Minister for his commitment to opening the centre. From the very outset he was committed to a centre in Longford and it is good to see that it is now open. I thank the staff at the centre, in particular the centre manager, Carmel Breaden, and I wish them the best of luck in their endeavours. They have worked tirelessly to have the centre up and ready and open for v…

I welcome the publication of the White Paper to end direct provision and the establishment of a new international protection support service. We have heard many harrowing back stories leading to direct provision. We are all too aware of the shortcomings of the process and the urgent need for reform. Behind the campaign for change and the necessity for reform are real people. These are real people, often lost in a seemingly endless cycle of uncertainty and fear. One of these people is a man well-known to me, Malik A…

Notwithstanding the issue with supply, we are making real progress on the vaccine roll-out. I was delighted to take a call from a woman from Lanesborough in her 70s this morning who told me she was finally getting her vaccine this afternoon. I thank the GPs and their staff who have put in a massive effort and who are performing a real national service in the roll-out of the vaccine programme for the over 70s. I am delighted our vaccination centre in Longford will open on 3 May and will be administering more than 90…

I am sharing time with Deputy Cathal Crowe. The best environmentalists are not to be found behind a computer or in a lecture hall. One will find them on the small farms in County Longford and other rural counties. There is probably no body of people better placed to know that we need to transition towards a climate-resilient, biodiversity-rich, environmentally sustainable and climate-neutral economy. It is very important that we debunk the many myths that have grown up around this Bill. There are no plans, covert o…

The House will be aware there are a large number of small and family-run car dealership businesses in a state of turmoil post Brexit given the interpretation of the Union customs code regarding returned goods relief. There are a number of these businesses in County Longford, and they include the family-run Clonfin Car Sales in Ballinalee. This business has extensively researched the issue and clearly set out a number of anomalies in the current Revenue interpretation of the legislation. That Revenue interpretation …

I welcome the Children (Amendment) Bill, which will rightly lift the blanket ban on identifying children who were killed as a result of the perpetration of criminal offences. Only a parent who has suffered the loss of a child can truly comprehend that loss, and it is surely compounded when a child or a young sibling's life is taken in a heinous act. For many, the pursuit of justice is a key part of the grieving process. So often we have seen heartbroken parents and families on the steps of our courthouses desperate…

The public has put significant effort into the battle against Covid and has placed significant faith into the vaccination programme. The Minister and I both agree that we simply cannot disappoint these people. NPHET and the Government have significant decisions to make over the coming days but the reality is that the public needs to see the start of a pathway out of lockdown. At the end of the month, we will be 13 weeks into the current lockdown, and businesses need to know a start date, whether that is May, June o…

There was great excitement in Longford this week with the confirmation of the allocation of €10 million plus in URDF funding. It has come a number of months after €1 million was allocated to the Longford-Westmeath Education and Training Board, ETB, to develop a digital learning hub in Longford. The ETB is located on the Battery Road in Longford. It is at the very heart of the Camlin Quarter regeneration plans and it currently services 150 post leaving certificate, PLC, students there. There is a fantastic opportuni…

I welcome the Land Development Agency, LDA. It will be an important mechanism as we look to undertake a strategic review of State lands and fully utilise these lands with the aim of building sustainable communities and affordable homes. I know that the Minister and his Department are passionate about affordable housing and committed to delivering it for Dublin and for other major urban centres. However, I have, on a number of occasions, reminded the Minister that there is a need for a not-dissimilar scheme in six t…

I welcome the Minister's increased supports for urban primary DEIS programme schools that are catering for our young people experiencing the highest level of educational disadvantage. The additional supports will assist four primary schools in Longford town, including St. Michael's National School, St. Joseph's National School, the Gaelscoil, Scoil Eimear, and Sacred Heart Primary School in Granard. Any additional investment in the DEIS education model is widely welcome. It is never more welcome than in the midst o…

In recent days, I have been dealing with numerous calls from elderly people in County Longford. They are frustrated and anxious and they are questioning and wondering about the validity of the vaccine roll-out. To put it in context, there are 2,000 people over the age of 85 in County Longford and a further 8,000 over the age of 65. All present accept that those age groups are the priority for vaccine roll-out. Approximately 1,500 of them have been dealt with through nursing homes. I know of an 86-year-old woman who…

It is critically important that we highlight the challenges being faced by many of our small and medium-sized businesses as a consequence of Brexit. We have a raft of companies which are directly affected by certificate of origin issues and are dependent on products and materials that are being trafficked through the UK. I have one case of a construction firm in Longford of which I have already apprised the Ministers of State, Deputies Troy and Byrne. If this issue is not addressed, it will affect building costs an…

The Minister will be aware of Longford IFA's innovative roadside billboard campaign at the moment to promote farm families and to highlight the value of local food production. The Minister will have seen the billboards as he went through Longford on his way home to Donegal. The campaign is promoted by the local IFA chairman, Gavin White. The posters emphasise the diversity of the sector in County Longford with beef, sheep, chicken, tillage and egg producers all featuring prominently. A number of the posters feature…

I am increasingly concerned about the plight of family carers. I was contacted recently by one such carer who was especially keen that I would outline her case to the Minister to give some context to the challenges she faces. In essence, this Drumlish mother is the carer to three people. She cares for her elderly mother who lives a short distance away but is isolating and is totally dependent on her daughter. She also cares for her son who is in his 20s and is autistic. Unfortunately he has been hospitalised no few…

I am extremely worried about developments at the paediatric diabetes clinic at Mullingar hospital, where services and appointments have ceased as a result of a farcical recruitment issue. There are 130 children attending this service, with 41 on insulin pumps. Based on those numbers and international standards, there should be two clinical nurse specialists, CNSs, attached to this service. A former CNS was due to retire in May 2019 but remained working on a part-time basis until November 2019 to ensure the service …

I welcome the response, but I take issue with parts of it, specifically that the current service consists of a clinical nurse specialist. That is not true. I appreciate that a position has been offered but the reality is the person cannot take up that position until 2022. In effect, there is no clinical nurse specialist attached to this service. I refer to Professor O'Grady's recommendation and business case for a second clinical nurse specialist for this service in line with international norms. I acknowledge that…

Covid has visited significant pressures on mental health services. For all of us, isolation and restrictions have been a considerable challenge, but for those battling their way through life, it has been nothing short of a nightmare. In August, I first spoke in the House about the following young constituent. His family desperately wanted to get him out of seclusion, but at the time, St. Loman's Hospital in Mullingar was not in a position to manage that process. Months passed and this man spent 110 days in isolatio…

A review is under way into the access and inclusion model, AIM, but we are unlikely to see an outcome from it for another two years. In the interest of vulnerable special educational needs, SEN, children in particular, it has to be fast-tracked. I am aware of an early age manager from County Longford who has been in touch with the Minister and the Department. She is desperately seeking funding and support for two children with special needs who, unfortunately, are not yet of ECCE age. It is clear we need a strong s…

I also feel it is very important to send a message to the staff of the Department of Social Protection that underscores how appreciative we are as a nation of their tremendous work and commitment over the past ten months. While they are not directly on the battlefield, as such, they are very essential front-line workers and they responded tremendously to a national emergency, pulling out all of the stops. We are fortunate to have a large social protection office in Longford town, under principal officers, Christine…