I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute on the Bill. I commend the work of Fáilte Ireland, but I want to say to the Members from rural Ireland, some of whom spoke before me, that I am not certain of the benefit of a ramble around their own county, listing bed and breakfast accommodation, because I do not know how many international tourists tune in here to get their travel advice. I am sure if they did, it would be beneficial to them but perhaps their time could be better utilised, although that is a matter…

I thank my colleague, an Teachta O'Rourke, not just for the important motion, but for all of the work he is doing. The Taoiseach spoke directly to the 378,000 people who are on prepay meters and told them that they would not be cut off, but then the Minister's party colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, appearing on a television programme at the weekend, told people that maybe they can go to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul or a community welfare offic…

The level of service that is provided by Go-Ahead for the people I represent in north County Dublin is nothing short of disgraceful. Buses are being cancelled at the very last minute and no explanation is being sent to passengers. This means people are missing appointments and they are late for work and late for school. It is happening constantly. We have contacted Go-Ahead I do not know how many times and the answers we get are of absolutely no comfort at all. I very much welcome what the Minister of State is sayi…

The 33A, 33B and 102 routes are vital links in my constituency, linking Malahide to the airport, Malahide to Swords and Skerries to Swords. People rely on these services but they have been left at the side of the road. They have a choice at that point - to miss their hospital appointments or be late for work or to get into their cars and drive. If something is not done about this, we will be forcing people into a situation where they will either be constantly late for work - the Minister of State knows what the con…

I join with others in congratulating the Ireland women's soccer team. Very clearly, they have come an awful long way in the past five years since their meeting in Liberty Hall. It is a testament to the value of trade union action and collective action, which speaks to the heart of this motion. I thank the Deputies for bringing it forward and giving us the opportunity to have this important debate. The people working in homeless services, health and social care services and child and family services, though the Mini…

I wish to share time with Deputy Ó Murchú.

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak to this legislation. This is a very important area, one that we need to get right. This Bill is a challenging, technical, and lengthy piece of legislation. I acknowledge the work of the officials in the Department. A not inconsiderable amount of effort has gone into producing the Bill. I understand the need to modernise our employment permits legislation and Sinn Féin wants to see progressive legislation to improve the system. We support the fair and sensible use of empl…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the opportunity to speak this evening. Much of what is in this Bill would not be before us and we would not be debating it if not for the fact that the Government has been compelled by the EU directive on work-life balance. Some of the changes are welcome but we must note that the Government has a great deal of flexibility in how it is going to implement this directive. It can take the measures as far as it wants. The Minister did not address this in his opening remarks but m…

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, announced last month that the Government had approved the domestic violence leave report. Recommendation 4 of that report states that employers should retain the right to request proof of abuse from a victim seeking leave. This recommendation reflects the disappointing and regressive position contained within IBEC's submission to the Department. Such a provision would be deeply inappropriate and totally unnecessary. When questi…

I agree 100%.

It is very welcome to hear the Taoiseach say that. Will he comment on the leave entitlement of ten days?

I am glad to see the Minister of State in the Chamber to take this debate. The Government was warned that the legislation it introduced previously was not going to be enough. It was warned by an Teachta O'Rourke and others in the Opposition and yet it persisted. It did not accept reasonable and decent amendments that were tabled at the time but chose to ignore them and press on. I hope that now we are again discussing this matter the Minister of State will see the value of the amendments tabled by an Teachta O'Rour…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. I offer my thanks to all those who have worked and continue to work on it. I echo the sentiment expressed by the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, in respect of the former Minister of State, Deputy Troy. I know that a very significant amount of engagement went into the production of this Bill. On behalf of my party, I offer our qualified support for the legislation, which will not surprise any of the Members sitting opposite me. We believe amendmen…

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for the opportunity to speak. Delivering a budget - or delivering an alternative budget, as many Opposition parties do - is challenging and onerous, and they are pretty difficult to put together. Therefore, while I do not agree with much of what is in the Government's budget, I wish to state for the record that I recognise that the elements I disagree with are the result of the Government making poor political choices and not the result of any effort on behalf of the of…

I thank the Minister of State for attending to take this debate. This issue is not unique to anyone's constituency, but I hope to hear from the Minister of State what I can tell my constituents when they ring my office. I will provide an example and call the woman involved "Mary". That is not her real name, but I am sure she does not want her name used. Mary has multiple sclerosis and lives in Swords. Last June, she needed to attend a dentist. She is a medical card holder and she tried every dentist in her local ar…

I thank the Minister of State. I will highlight one of the sentences in her reply: I have been assured by the HSE that the local services on the ground will assist any persons who are still experiencing problems in accessing a service. I refer the Minister of State back to the direct experience of the woman to whom I spoke. She said she contacted the HSE about the dentist and the medical card issue and was told there was only one dentist in Balbriggan. That was the extent of the service. The Minister of State said …

I welcome the newly appointed Minister of State, Deputy Calleary. I wish him all the very best in his role and I very much look forward to working constructively with him over the remaining period of government, although we all may wish different things for the duration of it. I wish him the very best. I am grateful to have an opportunity to say a few words on this important Bill. It is extremely technical but it is also political in its nature in the context of geopolitics and ensuring the security and safety of t…

I am dealing with this on behalf of my colleague, an Teachta Doherty.

I rather think my colleague is the lucky one since I am here and he is elsewhere, but we will talk about that another day. I will speak to the amendments and the Bill generally. Amendment No. 1 appears to be a technical amendment clarifying that given payments will be made to the IMF by the Central Bank, payments shall be made from the Central Fund to the Central Bank under the guarantee that underpins the arrangement. Amendment No. 2 appears to apply to specific transactions, which I would appreciate the Minister …

Listening to the tales of woe of people who have bought electric vehicles, bikes and cars, they seem like some very unlucky people. A number of my friends and family have had very positive experiences. I do not dispute for a moment the cost of replacing batteries and I am sure they have all broken down but it really strikes me that that is a lot of very unlucky people who may just be out of kilter with the rest of people's experiences. I would be cautious in respect of these amendments on giving powers to override …