How much time do I have?

I welcome this debate. I will confine my comments to two areas, namely agriculture and transport. On agriculture, I have a basic and simple principle. We encouraged farmers, particularly those on the dairy side, to be more productive and increase cattle numbers. We have to find a way to support the productive farmer. If there are other areas where people wish to scale back, we need to support them in doing that. We need to find a model to preserve a sector that is highly efficient in global terms but contributes a …

-----have to ensure we put charging infrastructure in place and address cost. We need to get to the point where people will choose an electric vehicle the next time they change their car.

I want to raise the issue of the leaving certificate and of having certainty about what the leaving certificate will be about going forward. I note that the Minister has received the advisory report from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA. When does she expect to make a decision on it? We saw that the hybrid model worked in the last academic year but it had the consequence of points going up. When will we have certainty around this area? Students need to know from first year on what they will …

Does the Minister believe that the hybrid model for the leaving certificate in June of 2021, which involved calculated grades along with students being able to sit the examination, was a success and does she believe that is the type of future model that will be laid out when she issues her direction in respect of the advisory report she has received? When does the Minister expect to come to a conclusion on it? At this point, students of all age groups in secondary school, and more particularly, their parents, need …

As a parent, and having put four through the leaving certificate in recent years, it is a hugely significant examination for students. In the past year, there was the hybrid model. While people may accept the point about memory retention, I believe there is scope for both. People have to be able to perform in an examination but, equally, they must be judged on their continuous assessment. Does the Minister consider the most recent leaving certificate, that hybrid model, a success and is it something that will feed …

This matter follows on from the issue of leaving certificate reform. I liked the hybrid model used for the 2021 examination. The Minister will be aware that I conducted an online survey of parents in Limerick prior to the leaving certificate. They were very much in favour of this model and I think it has worked. I know the State Examinations Commission is due to report but will the leaving certificate for this current year be the same type? Points went up slightly last year and it is critical there is certainty.

The Minister might just give us her view on the hybrid model that was in place for the 2021 leaving certificate examination. What did we learn from that? I believe in that combination of continuous assessment and written exam for those students. I like the aspect of anonymity in the latter, but we have to give certainty to students. What did the Minister and the Department learn from the hybrid model of calculated grades combined with written exams used for the most recent leaving certificate?

Little did we think that two years after, we would still be very much living with and having to deal with Covid. We may have to do so for a number of years. Does the Minister believe the hybrid model that was adopted last year will be sustainable during any Covid period?

University Hospital Limerick, UHL, caters for the medical needs of the entire mid-west, including my constituency of Limerick City. The region also has St. John's, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals, as well as Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, but UHL is the large cog in the system. On Tuesday, 16 November, 95 people were on trolleys there, which was the highest number since the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, started recording the figures. Fortunately, the number has reduced to 58 today. It is still a very high figure but it …

I acknowledge the 98 additional beds that have gone into UHL. Some 60 modular beds, for which I campaigned over a long period of time, are in place. However, that 60-bed ward is being used as a Covid unit. It is not being used for that which it was really intended, which was to relieve the existing pressures in UHL. We have 49 patients in UHL with Covid. That is in the top three in the country. We are the top hospital in Ireland in terms of trolley waiting lists. I believe in trying to manage a situation, rather th…

I will raise two related matters concerning Covid-19. There is a six-month interval between the second vaccination and the proposed booster. Has the Government considered asking NIAC to see if the interval can be brought back to five months? It is officially six months but the committee indicated it will consider an interval of five months. The Taoiseach has already referenced a cohort, including those who got the AstraZeneca vaccine, and through no fault of their own they will get a booster much later than people …

I asked specifically about a five-month interval.

Would the Taoiseach-----

I welcome the publication of this legislation. Along with my colleagues on the transport and communications committee, which I chair, I engaged in pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. We are very much involved in it. E-scooters were not included in the original draft where pre-legislative scrutiny was concerned. We covered the matter as best we could. We ask that, in order to have substantial pre-legislative scrutiny, all aspects of a Bill be made available. The e-scooter aspect is quite substantial and should hav…

I thank the Minister of State for attending this evening's debate. I have raised this matter previously. Ultimately, we need to build homes, but we also need to ensure the national density guidelines are in keeping with ensuring that we get sustainable development. The national density guidelines recommend between 35 and 50 units per hectare. In many cases they are well above that now. At above 35 units per hectare, only apartments can be accommodated, in many cases very high-rise apartments in mature areas. In man…

I welcome the commitment from the Minister of State and that the review is under way. When will the review be complete? The Minister of State must write to local authorities, as from my perspective in Limerick, local authorities seem to be taking the view that if they give planning permissions in line with local area plans of the order of 35 units per hectare or less, it will be overturned by An Bord Pleanála. There is a need for real clarity around the matter. I invite the Minister of State to come to Limerick to …

The issue of insurance was raised previously and I wish to focus on a specific aspect. Insurance brokers are telling me that there are serious concerns about general insurance people being able to get insurance from next year and about the views being taken by underwriters in the UK. I ask that there be direct engagement by the subgroup in the Cabinet with the Central Bank. The Central Bank needs to engage with the underwriters in the UK as to what is their concern, be it related to Brexit or other issues. SAVA Ins…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: (1) notes the agreed Report of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications under Standing Order 133 on the following six proposals: — Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC as regards aviation's contribution to the Union’s economy-wide emission reduction target and appropriately implementing a global market-based measure, COM(2021)552; — Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Re…

I am sharing time with Deputy Durkan. I am going to focus on a specific aspect of the Bill. I have raised this matter previously with the Minister and his officials. It relates to the living city initiative, particularly in the context of Limerick city. When the initiative was introduced in 2015, €20 million was budgeted to be drawn down by people availing of the scheme. By 2018, only about €1 million had been claimed in tax relief under the scheme. Limerick city is unique in that our footprint as a city is Georgia…