I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak about Covid-19 and the recently-announced new restrictions. This is only my second time to address the Twenty-sixth Seanad. I am pleased to do so, and look forward to doing so again soon. When I spoke here last, in April, we were reopening the economy after a very difficult start to the year following the very severe Alpha wave. I said at the time that we wanted to avoid a fourth wave later in 2021 and that, this time, we wanted construction, retail, hosp…

It states, "Vote Emer Currie No. 2"

I thank Senators for their contributions. Storm Barra was mentioned at the outset and the Government has been informed that a number of businesses incurred water and wind damage as a consequence of the storm. Most companies will be covered by their insurance but where companies were not able to get insurance, they will be eligible for financial aid from my Department. We have restructured that scheme, which was previously run through the Red Cross and the Department of Defence; it has been transferred to my Departm…

-----rather than saying we are not doing enough here maybe to do the same in Northern Ireland. That might help to take away some of the arguments for a better scheme here south of the Border. On the tips Bill, the intention is we will have transparency on service charges. Restaurants or anybody imposing a service charge will have to say what is done with it and whether it goes to staff or elsewhere. When it comes to tips or gratuities they will go to staff and cannot be used to make up wages. On the issue of pay, g…

I thank the Deputy. I am afraid I have not had a chance to see the report yet. I have seen some media coverage of it but I have not read it myself. It is not my practice to comment on a report until I have had a chance to read it or at least read the executive summary, which I have not at this stage. It seems the premise of the Deputy's question is the report must be correct and therefore things are definitely going to turn out that way. I definitely do not accept that. How things turn out will depend on a number o…

Government investment in housing happens in many different ways. There is investment in forms of public housing like, for example, cost rental, which the Deputy did not mention in his remarks. That is now a reality and a scheme people can avail of. We need much more of that. The Deputy will see affordable housing schemes led by Government being rolled out across the country over the next few months. The first have happened already. There is also investment in social housing. I welcome that it is now widely acknowle…

I thank the Deputy for her questions. As she knows, NPHET will meet today. It will formulate its advice after that meeting and a letter will be written to the Minister for Health. Once the Government has received advice from NPHET, it will consider it and make a decision on its implementation. As part of those considerations, we will have to make decisions regarding the pandemic unemployment payment, the employment wage subsidy scheme and other financial supports that businesses may need. It is prudent to see what …

I am happy to give that commitment to the Deputy today. How we realise that commitment and what form it takes will depend on the advice we receive today from NPHET. It did not make sense to the Government to announce a set of financial supports for businesses on Tuesday, only to receive advice from NPHET on Thursday and then change supports again on Friday. It made sense to wait to see what the advice from NPHET is today. We will do that. I acknowledge the truth in what the Deputy said, which is that even though we…

I thank Deputy Canney for raising the important issue of LEADER programmes. All of us in this House are fully aware of the value and impact of the LEADER programme in towns, villages and parishes across Ireland and especially rural Ireland. Having had the opportunity to travel to most parts of the country, from Caherlistrane to Cahersiveen, I have seen first-hand the positive impact LEADER funding has on communities and I am pleased to see that a small, rural part of my constituency, the Westmanstown and Strawberry…

Some €70 million has been allocated to the transitional programme for LEADER for 2021-22. This transitional funding is in place due to delays at EU level in agreeing the new regulations for the CAP period running to 2027 and it has been ensured there is no gap in LEADER funding or provision due to the delay in agreeing the new CAP. An additional indicative indication of €180 million for LEADER has recently been announced, bringing the total allocation for 2021 to 2027 to €250 million. The Department of Rural and Co…

I thank the Deputy. The local improvement scheme is an important transport scheme. It provides for the improvement of roads all over the country which are not formally taken in charge by the local authority but which, were they in urban areas, probably would be because they access multiple households and, in some cases, multiple farms and businesses. A total of €10.5 million was provided for the scheme in 2021, which was double the allocation seen, for example, ten years ago. An extra €10.5 million was also granted…

There was a prolonged period during the recession when the LIS was suspended. Things have changed and the budget last year was €10 million, with an additional €10 million. It was probably the highest budget for the LIS in many years. I am not sure why Kerry did not get more roads done. I do not know the intricacies and details of that.

It is important that local authorities make submissions for additional money. There will be a budget for the LIS next year. It is important that the work gets started in the spring or summer and is not left until the end of the year when sometimes it is too late. I envisage through the course of 2022 that if we see there are underspends in particular Departments and those Departments are not able to proceed with certain capital works, this is an ideal scheme, among others, to put additional money into. I encourage …

I thank the Deputy. This is an important issue in my constituency as well as his. Many people, particularly living in apartments and high-density developments, face enormous bills which they often cannot afford to repair their homes and are stuck in a terrible limbo, even leaving aside the safety issues. The inability to sell on or move on until these defects are fixed is a huge problem for people living in high-density developments, in particular. I do not have a date for the publication of the report but I will r…

I will follow that up with the Minister for Health during the day. The point behind mandatory hotel quarantine, of which I am not a big fan, is that people are quarantined for ten to 14 days because they may be carrying a new variant of the virus. Unfortunately, while testing is very accurate, it is not 100%. That is the purpose of mandatory hotel quarantine and, for that reason, the definition of exempted travellers is narrow. It tends to be just people involved in, for example, being cabin crew, pilots or haulier…

I thank the Deputy. I am not sure if legislation or a statutory instrument is pending, but I will ask the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to contact the Deputy directly.

I am aware of it, but I have not yet had an opportunity to read it from cover to cover as it is about 60 pages long. The argument is that it could be legally possible for the State to purchase that land by CPO. I do not doubt that. I have said in this House previously that compulsory purchase of the land is an option, but it is an option that has consequences. It could delay the project and that would have a negative impact on women, children and staff and it might also result in the loss of co-operation with the p…

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is considering this matter at the moment. Deputies Carey and McHugh and others have made a similar case to that being made now by Deputy Pringle in regard to the sliding scale. The whole idea of having a cap per square foot, in terms of cost, is a sensible one so that we can contain costs and make sure the money is spent most efficiently. It is based on an independent index compiled by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. If a house is damaged or destroyed by lightening …

I want to acknowledge that even though the Government has not closed any hospitality businesses, hotels, restaurants or bars, nor have we advised against international travel, the reality is that the public health advice has caused people to behave in a certain way, which is the way we have asked them to behave. I hate the word "behave"; perhaps "act" is a better word. That has had a negative impact on the hospitality sector, tourism, aviation and events such as pantomimes. In a large number of areas, people are ex…

The EWSS may not be the best way to do it, but we will do something for sure.