I thank the Minister. The other side of the coin is that we need to work with employers. We need to fully support employers so that if anybody is looking to avail of any of these types of leave, but in particular the domestic violence leave to which my question goes, there is no question of hesitancy on the behalf of employers. It must become normalised so that if somebody finds themselves in such a situation, the State and employers are there to help them. Certainly in today's workforce, that is absolutely appropr…

The last time I was knocked down, I was dressed as Big Bird. I do not quite mean that literally but I am 6 ft 1 in. and I was dressed from head to toe in bright yellow. I was going through a roundabout when a driver came in, ploughed into the side of me and I went out over the bonnet. I received the SIDNY apology, that is, "Sorry, I didn't notice you." It therefore does not necessarily matter how much hi-vis you are wearing. The last time my children were nearly knocked down, it was while crossing at a signalled pe…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I will make the usual refrain that notwithstanding the excellence of the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, I know that this is not an area within his Ministry. It is a pity that none of the relevant Ministers is in a position to be able to attend the debate this evening.

I will not swear blind that I do not have a notification in my inbox but most Deputies have more to be doing than watching their inbox all day long. If it has arrived, I certainly have not seen it. This is a welcome opportunity to discuss another in a series of excellent reports from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, detailing our water quality. The latest is titled, Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2022. Broadly speaking, the EPA has been doing an excellent job in assessing the quality of water in our rivers…

Notwithstanding my initial frustration, I recognise that the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, is well placed to understand the imperative for action, in particular, on urban wastewater. I often use the analogy of high blood pressure as opposed to having your front teeth knocked out. Someone who has their front teeth knocked out will act on it straightaway because everybody can see it. However, people will live with high blood pressure for years and, eventually, it is what will kill them. It is very similar with …

With the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use completing its deliberations recently, it prompts two questions. First, how can we ensure that the very good work our citizens' assemblies are producing are not just reports that are idly left on a shelf and that the recommendations are actually implemented in a meaningful way? Second, another citizens' assembly promised in the programme for Government is one to look at the future of education, ensuring that the voices of young people and those being educated are central to …

It is entirely understandable and correct that the issue in Palestine has dominated this debate so far. However, I draw attention to the fact that Opposition speakers have so far concentrated entirely on that issue to the exclusion of all else. We have other issues coming before this European Council that are maybe not as pressing or urgent but are as important. There is no mention at all of nature restoration. There is no mention at all of the mid-term review of the multi-annual financial framework. The Acting Cha…

I wish to ask a question about the plans to formulate new schools for veterinary medicine and pharmacy within our third level sector. The Minister will know I have a strong regional interest in this in that South East Technological University has strong bids for both courses. It is one of the things the university sector is very much looking forward to. There are a number of institutions, not just South East Technological University, SETU, looking at this. What is the progress in this regard, what is the timeline a…

We will not be unhappy with the idea of increased capital funding or increased capital costs because the university that has been founded in the south east to serve the needs of the region is crying out for capital investment. I know it has acquired the Waterford Crystal site and is acquiring another site in Wexford, but it will have to develop on it. Kildalton college stands ready to be a part of this offering. We have a strong agriculture sector in the south east. We also have the strong horse-racing element, whi…

I am not at all surprised that the likes of SETU has provided something that has proved to be independently viable. Waterford Institute of Technology, as it was, had to punch above its weight for years. It was forced to do so and to behave as though it was the university for the south east because it effectively was. I am delighted to see that ambition remaining under the new configuration and management. It is vital for the region. Some 600,000 people live within a one-hour drive of Waterford. That figure relates …

I thank Deputy Paul Murphy for his work in this area, for co-ordinating the briefing in the AV room and for co-ordinating this Topical Issue debate. People living with long Covid do not feel heard. They do not feel supported or believed. I have been open about the fact that I meet a person with long Covid every day as I live with one. These people look fine and healthy. When they report to their GP, there is no test they can take for long Covid so everything else is ruled out. People suggest that they are a little …

I will pick up where Deputy Murphy left off. If our health provision for long Covid is hit and miss, then it is substantially more miss than hit. The actual services provided in the long Covid clinics that exist are uneven at best. There absolutely needs to be an underpinning in terms of social protection for those people suffering in the long term. The reliance on PCR diagnosis misses the large number of people who are diagnosed through a red line on an antigen test. There is no register of people who are sufferin…

We very recently marked the centenary of Ireland's accession to the League of Nations, our first faltering steps as a newly formed nation on the international stage and our first subscription to the idea of an international rules-based order. This was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace, founded in the aftermath of the calamity that was the First World War. It turned out to be a morning without noon, with Europe again descending into warfare less th…

I understand I am sharing with the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, who is doing his best to get here on time.

Yes. Five and a half minutes each.

Very good. The first test I run on any budget is a progressivity test. I feel strongly that a budget should do the best to provide the most benefit to those who need it most, so that the money goes to the least well-off, rather than the well-heeled. In that respect, rather than taking either my word for it, as a Government backbencher who will surely say it is the best budget ever, or that of Opposition speakers, who will always say the opposite, I am looking at the preliminary review of budget 2024 by the Parliame…

The Department is running a very successful campaign in Your Journey Counts. Has the Minister considered a similar campaign, one that focuses in particular on the dangers of engine idling outside schools and public buildings, and the dangers that are associated with being reliant on cars to get children to and from school, to complement the roll-out of the Green Schools and the Safe Routes to School programmes? The two can go hand in hand.

I also addressed this issue in a Topical Issue debate just last week, when I talked about the EPA report on air pollution and the impact that is having on public health, including excess mortality in our communities. Up to 1,400 people a year die as a result of air pollution. Although it is a very stark figure, it does not take account of the number of people who suffer adverse health impacts from air pollution. In the case of kids going to school, they are at the wrong height in terms of tailpipe emissions. I have…

Investment in this type of awareness campaign but also the physical infrastructure the Minister of State talks about is mission critical. It is not just an environmental or climate action policy; it is also a public health policy and a social justice policy. If we invest in infrastructure in this way, it is good for the kids. They get to walk or scoot to school. They arrive more awake and have cleaner air. It is good for the parents that they are not dropping the kids to the school gate. It is also good for our wid…

This question relates to the smarter travel programme for workplaces and campuses. It is focused on how we get people around business parks, for example. They are very often out of town and are very expansive. Many of the companies based in these business parks want to lean in to facilitating public transport or active travel options, but I am not sure the infrastructure or the planning provision is quite there yet and so I wanted to ask the Minister about it.