I raise the acute need for further Government stimulus for the retail and hospitality sectors. The way to introduce such a stimulus is through a gift card scheme in budget 2021. I ask that the Minister attend the House to discuss this suggestion. Covid-19 has impacted on the way businesses work. We have 292,000 people employed in the hospitality sector and 250,000 are involved in the retail sector. Further stimulus measures are crucial if we are to help these vulnerable businesses to get through what is becoming th…

I will be very brief because I just have one or two points to raise. The first is on the leaving certificate and how well we did with it. Looking at what some commentators in the media and some Opposition politicians were saying back in August, they were willing the Minister to fail. They were not giving us a chance. They were saying the leaving certificate would be exactly like the exam results in the UK, that it would be a mess. We absolutely sailed through it thanks to the Minster and her hard work. I do not bel…

Five days ago, the 59th anniversary of the Battle of Jadotville occurred. This topic has been raised consistently by Senator Craughwell whom I saw earlier in the Chamber, by our former colleague, Gabrielle McFadden, and at the monthly meeting of Kerry County Council by Councillor Jim Finucane. On 13 September 1961, A Company of the 35th Infantry Battalion found themselves under attack from the army of the Katangan government. It is a story that we all know extremely well. In essence, 3,500 enemy soldiers launched a…

I am pleased to follow the Leader of the House, Senator Doherty, and second the nomination of my friend and colleague, Senator Joe O'Reilly, for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach. My family's connection with Senator O'Reilly goes back to many years before I was even born. It started in 1980 when my dad first started to go out with my mam. They used to meet in a pub called Beagans in Seatown in Dundalk. Back then, a young Joe O'Reilly used to travel from Bailieborough over cross-country roads to Dundalk to meet hi…

I raised a couple of points on this matter when the Minister came before the House a couple of weeks ago. I want to keep my points brief as I have only about five and a half minutes. The first point I wish to raise concerns the help to buy scheme. I can talk about this because it affects my generation. I am 29 years of age. I cannot speak for Senator Gavan, but so many of my friends and people of my age bracket have benefited massively from the help to buy scheme since 2017. I remember when the help to buy scheme w…

We had a very detailed debate yesterday about tourism but it would be good to split that debate into various sections. When we come back in the autumn, it would be a good idea to have a debate about greenways. I refer particularly to the strategic implementation of greenways. Given that so much funding will come into them in the next couple of years, thanks to the programme for Government, what exactly is the Department doing to liaise with local authorities and make sure greenway projects are on time, feasible and…

I am sorry.

I am sharing time with Senators Kyne and Joe O'Reilly. We are each taking two minutes. On school planning, I would be grateful if the Minister could check with the Department's forward planning unit to see if the Blackrock and Haggardstown area outside the town of Dundalk is outside their radar for new school development. Louth county councillors are going through the whole process of drawing up the county development plan. Now would be an excellent time to sit down with planners and staff in Louth County Council a…

I raise the issue of the Kings River in Callan, County Kilkenny. I spoke last night to my colleague and friend, Councillor Joe Lyons, a representative in that area. The community in Callan is at a loss about what to do about the levels of silt that have built up between the two bridges in the town. It has reached a point where the riverbed has reached the same height as the riverbank. Kilkenny County Council published a detailed strategic flooding assessment in April 2019. A couple of years ago, the council provide…

Last week, I attended a meeting with my former colleague on Louth County Council, Councillor Colm Markey, about the closure of Scallywags crèche in Togher, County Louth. I will give a brief outline of the background. The Togher community project group has operated a community employment scheme and continues to run a community crèche in a rural part of County Louth. They took over the local parochial hall on a long-term lease to open and operate the crèche and it has been running as a not-for-profit company for the …

I welcome the Minister and congratulate him on his new role. As my party spokesperson on climate, communications, energy and natural resources, I am looking forward to working with him in the next couple of years. Indeed, I was talking to a former colleague of the Minister's in Dundalk a couple of hours ago, Mark Dearey, who is a former Member of this House. I worked very closely with him on Louth County Council and had a wonderful relationship with both him and Councillor Marianne Butler, so I am very much looking…

No, it is all right. I will be like Cicero. I will be brief, as the Cathaoirleach has said. The point of this climate action fund and reducing the NORA levy is to create far more projects that are sustainable, such as the seven already outlined. People from communities would be able to come to the Government or the Department and say they have an idea and run with it. It is such a wonderful way to engage local communities and it is definitely one of the big vehicles we can use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ove…

Next Thursday-----

Now.

Was that my first mistake in the House?

Do not mention mistakes.

Now.

At 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 23 July next in Leinster House.

I raise the issue of TaxSaver tickets for public transport. Every single day, thousands of people from Dundalk and Drogheda in County Louth travel down the M1 on Matthews Coaches and Bus Éireann services, or take the train to Connolly Station or Pearse Station. They use TaxSaver tickets to lessen the financial burden of commuting. They do this by getting tax relief on the ticket. An annual ticket on the Matthews Coaches service from Dundalk to Dublin costs €2,744. An annual Iarnród Éireann ticket from Dundalk to Co…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I welcome to the House and congratulate the Minister of State on his recent appointment in what will be a very challenging but no doubt rewarding position as we face into economic uncertainty on the horizon. I also wish to congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on his recent appointment as I did not get the opportunity to do so last week. He follows in the footsteps of a very impressive predecessor, former Senator Paul Coghlan. We can all agree that on New Year’s Eve 2019, when we wer…