First, I echo what Deputy Sherlock said, notwithstanding issues that Cork and Kilkenny have had on the pitch in recent weeks. It is very sad for a rural dweller to watch wild ash trees all over my part of the country dying in hedgerows, not to mention the plantations the Deputy referred to and the failure to introduce an adequate scheme. This is a timely discussion on a subject that is rarely discussed in any detail in this House or, indeed, in most national platforms outside it. That is particularly unusual in the…

To pick up on one of Deputy Durkan's points, he referred to the importance of how this crisis is handled in terms of the impact on both refugees and our own citizens. In the past few weeks, I have noticed on social media, particularly WhatsApp groups, memes and jokey picture messages with an underlying, insidious element of racism, to be perfectly honest, in pitting refugees against people in Ireland who are in need of a home. I am glad the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has clearly outlined on…

I join others in welcoming the Bill. This is fundamental. It is the basis on which we are here as Members of this House. The same can be said of those in the Upper House and local authority members across the country. Like so many things in Ireland, aspects of our public life that work well often go unremarked upon. I remember my first visit to the franchise section during my time in the Custom House, and discovering that our entire democratic process was dependent on ten or 12 people in a cramped office. Those peo…

I, along with the Deputy Kenny and other speakers, welcome the Bill and express my support for its provisions. I wish to make a couple of points. First, I will start where Deputy Kenny finished. We need to ensure the additional powers and responsibilities being conveyed upon the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, are followed by sufficient funding and resources to ensure they are implemented. I welcome the changes being made to allow officers extra powers of investigation and, in certain circumst…

It did not.

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to the energy question for a few minutes in this Second Stage debate. I support the Bill and acknowledge, as others on both sides of the House have mentioned, that energy prices and fuel costs in general comprise one of the biggest issues facing citizens of the country and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Many previous speakers have outlined the increases that have taken place in the past few months but it is quite clear that the outlook and projections for the n…

I was going to stop him myself, a Cheann Comhairle, but thank you for that. I begin by agreeing with Deputy O'Dowd's request about nursing homes and a review of the processes and procedures that led to some of the examples he gave. I join other Deputies in commending our front-line workers and commending other people involved in the services sector in particular who worked at their post, if you like, throughout Covid-19. Previous speakers have referenced how working patterns and lives have been changed forever by t…

At the outset, I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, and the work his Department has done since its establishment. In many respects, that seems like a long time ago, because of Covid-19 and everything that has happened in the intervening time. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has really hit the ground running. This legislation is evidence of that. I agree with some of the points Deputy Richmond made, although they might not directly relate to this leg…

I join others in extending my sympathies to the family, boyfriend and friends of Ashling Murphy and, indeed, other female victims of violence not just in the recent past but over many years. I agree with those who have welcomed the detailed set of proposals that the Minister, Deputy McEntee, wishes to introduce with the help and support of both Houses of the Oireachtas to deal with some of those matters. I will limit myself to a couple of issues. I listened to last week's debate and to Deputies Bruton and Whitmore …

In some villages, one, two or three property owners may own a number of derelict sites and are just sitting on them. That is replicated across the country. Compulsory purchase order, CPO, powers in cases where a building is derelict would allow local authorities to purchase these properties. On the specific point raised by Deputy Griffin about the new scheme the Minister flagged over the weekend to grant-aid people who are buying derelict homes, will that apply to one-off derelict homes in rural areas as well as de…

I will do so.

I wish to reiterate, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, and his colleagues, the importance of rural housing guidelines for much of the country. There are many communities around the country that are dispersed in nature, as the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, mentioned. It is possible to live in a community that is not in an urban setting. There is always an ongoing review of city and county development plans. Many of them are taking place at present. Each county council provides its own guideli…

I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter and the Minister for being here to respond to the debate. It is fair to say the title that has been given to the matter raised is an abbreviated version of the question that was asked. It was prompted by the publication last week by HIQA of the overview report of statutory foster care services 2019-2020. On its publication last week, the report got some coverage. It was very critical in places of the services that are provided in parts of the count…

I thank the Minister. On that last point, I would be interested to know if Tusla is actively engaged in trying to recruit Irish graduates who are overseas. We are all public representatives and we are all social workers with a small s and w, and we deal with people who are often at the most difficult times in their lives. I understand it when the Minister says that unallocated cases still receive social work support. I know he understands the point. In his comments, he spoke about the link that can be established b…

I am sharing my time with Deputy McGuinness, if that is agreeable to the House. I agree with Deputy Nash’s opening comments on the importance of the housing issue. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, and wish him well, along with his colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in dealing with the issue. This is the issue on which everything else will turn for the country in the coming years. I listened to most of the contributions to the debate made both yesterday and ea…

I apologise for not being in the building for the Minister’s introduction to this legislation. I must admit that I find myself badly torn on this legislation because for a long time I have been a strong proponent of trying to get the hospitality sector open. However, I have concerns on some of the issues that have been raised by others, namely, the sharing of medical data with third parties, in this case with businesses, and the demands that will put on those businesses. I am also concerned about the implementation…

I find myself in the rare position of not only sharing time with Deputy Ó Cuív but also agreeing with a few of his points. From first-hand experience, I am aware of what has happened to some of those involved in intensive farming, particularly farmers with dry stock, as a result of the fact that prices in the beef sector had been low until recently. Those in this group who were more involved in intensive farming tended to lose more money and were obliged to dip more into their single farm payment in order to keep t…

I thank the members of the Business Committee for agreeing to have this discussion today. As I have not had a chance to speak yet in this Dáil, I want to place on the record of the House my own sympathies for those who have been bereaved in the current crisis, as well as my appreciation for those on the front line both in the health service and right across society, not least in the local government sector, which we are going to spend the next two hours discussing. Our local authorities have been part of the front …

I will have to forward the Deputy's questions on housing to the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. We had housing questions in the House recently but today's session is not specifically about housing. However, I will get the Minister to directly answer the questions Deputy O'Brien has raised. The restart grant is being funded through the local authorities and local enterprise offices and is a rebate of rates. I have encountered some businesses that might have a very small rates bill or do not have much of a physical p…

I will try to answer as many of the questions as I can. On the non-rates shortfall, one of the issues that is unique to the refund of the rates loss for every local authority is that there is no local authority in the country that collects rates at a level of 100%. The refund will be 100%. That is with the intention of offsetting some of the other costs. These will vary from local authority to local authority, including in regard to parking charges and planning fees. There are many smaller sources of income that ha…