Is there new legal advice on this issue?

I ask the Minister to give details on the foreign birth registrations, the significant backlog of applications and when is it intended to start processing this very significant backlog again that has built up over the past year and a half or so?

I thank the Minister and I appreciate that he had to prioritise where staff work, what is processed and what is not. Unfortunately, there is a massive backlog of more than 31,000 applications still to be dealt with. It is concerning that the Minister has not been able to give a date for the resumption of the processing of those applications. Essentially, he has given the same response I have received from him to parliamentary questions I have tabled in recent months. It is essentially the same response I received f…

It is not satisfactory for the Minister to say that in several weeks he will have more clarity on a timeline. That is simply not acceptable. There is a massive backlog of 31,000 applications to be processed. Before the pandemic, there was, understandably, a turnaround time of between 12 and 18 months. The website of the Department has not been updated. It still states that is the processing time but people are now being told it will take more than two years. I refer to the implications this has for people. I know o…

-----and the 31,000 applicants a specific timeframe for when those applications will be processed and how the backlog will be dealt with.

I acknowledge the work of the staff within the Passport Office, who have done extraordinary work under very difficult circumstances. What has happened here has been a real failure to plan for the expected demand for passports, not just in terms of Brexit and the expected increase in applications in that regard but in a post-Covid situation and with the opening up of international travel. There was a failure to put in place the staff that would be needed. The number of core staff within the passport service is about…

One of the major failures has been the inability of people to get accurate and timely information from the service. Even looking at the website today, it is saying that the turnaround for renewal for children is 15 days. I am dealing with many families who have had to cancel holidays because the parents have been able to get their passports renewed but the children's, even though all the documentation has been furnished in a timely manner, have taken months to turn around. That is in contrast to what is on the Depa…

There are many issues facing members of the Defence Forces that are leading to what can be only described as an exodus of members. These have been widely articulated by representative bodies such as PDFORRA and the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, and they include issues such as post-1994 contracts and the working time directive. I ask the Minister to update me on the full implementation of the working time directive.

We are aware that accelerated provisions were introduced on two fronts with regard to rest after a specific period at the weekend. That is to be welcomed. We have been told on many occasions that there is ongoing engagement with the representative bodies with regard to the implementation of the working time directive. Unfortunately, the last meeting with the representative bodies was on 24 July 2019, despite repeated attempts to have a meeting convened. Every two months, requests for a meeting are made but no meeti…

There may be engagement between the Department and senior military management but there is no engagement with the representative bodies. The Minister will be aware of the initiation of legal proceedings such is the frustration with regard to the lack of engagement. This is fundamentally a health and safety issue that cannot be ignored any longer. The failure to implement the working time directive is directly leading to the burn-out of members of the Defence Forces, as outlined by the representative body, RACO, at …

It is a safety issue, but it is also leading to an exodus of members.

I also want to raise with the Minister of State the serious issue of the escalating cost of providing insurance cover and the negative impact it is having on communities right across the State. I am speaking specifically here about County Wicklow and the impact it is having on a small successful business, Squirrel's Scramble, which had to take the difficult decision to close down temporarily because of the escalating insurance cost. This is primarily down to the greed of the insurance industry but it is also a star…

How many insurance companies are providing this form of insurance?

To use the Minister of State's own words, he is not offering any panacea. Indeed, he is not offering any hope either. That is what is needed here. Unfortunately, it is the dragging of heels by this Government and its predecessors that has resulted in the crisis we see on the ground. The Minister of State is out of touch. Brokers are trying to shop around. Indeed, the insurance provider that provided the cover to the company last year has pulled out of the Irish market. There is no competition there. Virtually zero …

-----businesses are closing right across the State, including Squirrel's Scramble. I look forward to attending that meeting with representatives of Squirrel's Scramble and the Minister of State-----

Hopefully, the Minister of State will have solutions at that stage.

It is unfortunate that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, is not here to listen and partake in this debate. That speaks volumes as to the regard in which he holds the fishing community. This Bill is being rammed through without-----

I am glad to hear that the Minister is en route . Hopefully, he will be here for my contribution. This Bill is being rammed through despite the opposition from all of the main fishing representative groups. Fishermen are yet again being told what to do rather than being consulted and listened to in order that the necessary compromises can be found. In my contribution I want to outline my serious concerns with regard to how the Minister and Government treat the fishing community. I will specifically refer to the cas…

That is a serious charge.

Your time is up too. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, may well be the person in the dock today, but what is on trial is a culture of privilege underwritten by the widespread practice of political cronyism within Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The roll of shame that has preceded this scandal is too long to recite. I could go back for many decades. The history of this State is steeped in scandal surrounding both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, the latest scandal being that surrounding Katherine Zappone this summer and the revers…