This motion from Sinn Féin, which I fully support, calls for a full public inquiry into the deaths of residents and the quality of care in nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of any public inquiry is to establish the facts in regard to the specific circumstances. Those circumstances include the fact that more than 2,000 nursing home residents have died due to Covid-19. That means more than 40% of Covid-19 related deaths occurred in nursing homes. Those facts, along with the many different media …

I thank the Regional Independent Group for bringing forward this well-balanced proposal that outlines how we can help to sustain the post office network. The reality right now is that 900 postmasters are facing a significant drop in income. The Grant Thornton report said that €17 million per annum is needed to ensure viability of the post office network. However, An Post is speaking of investing some €8.5 million over 18 months. This is about 40% of what is needed. If that happens, as sure as night follows day, som…

The Taoiseach’s party made a general election promise to hold an independent inquiry into the historical use of sodium valproate, or Epilim, which, as the Taoiseach knows, is a drug used to treat epilepsy. Many children have suffered devastating neurological disabilities because their mothers were taking this drug. The Taoiseach promised to do this. I asked the Minister one year ago and the most recent response from the Minister to a parliamentary question, which was just two days ago, was that his officials were s…

We are told that one in every five women experiences violence, domestic violence and abuse in their relationships. That is a gut-wrenching statistic. If we really think about what that means, the eradication of domestic violence needs to be right at the top of our agenda. We are talking about so many women. Approximately 370,000 women will experience some form of violence or abuse in their lifetime. That is the population of counties Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Donegal and half of County Mayo. If we consider that pr…

I have tried to consider this issue based on where we were and where we are now. I remember when we debated the roll-out of vaccines and asked whether we would have enough vaccinators, etc. The truth is that we have heard largely positive outcomes in this regard. Admittedly, we have had setbacks but we have done well. It is important that all of us in this House recognise the incredible work of everybody - I am not singling out anybody - who has been involved in the vaccination process. There are two matters on whi…

I asked the Minister about nursing homes. He did not respond.

Will the Minister consider CHO 1, the Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan area, as one of the pilot areas to be included in the extension of the school inclusion model? As we know, this model is designed to give the necessary and appropriate supports to students with special needs within the school setting. It is a best practice model and offers the best option for inclusion, both inside and outside the school.

The Minister of State has just told me how excellent the school inclusion model is. The reason I asked for the CHO 1 region, comprising Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan, to be included in the next phase of the pilot scheme is the unbelievable situation in the Sligo-Leitrim area regarding children who are awaiting initial assessment, treatment and further speech and language therapy. It is not just unacceptably high, it is far beyond the limits of what any health service could defend. I submitted a parlia…

I thank the Minister of State for her response, and as she rightly says, those services are extra. I am making such a strong case for that region to be included because the services there are virtually non-existent. I mentioned the waiting lists, but that was not my only question. I also asked about the positions allocated and filled. Looking at the area of occupational therapy, only 84% of the positions allocated have been filled. For physiotherapy, the figure is 90%. For speech and language therapy, however, only…

Yes.

From today, the temporary assistance payment scheme, which helps to fund rigorous infection control measures in our nursing homes is being discontinued. Since the Government took the decision in this regard, a number of things have changed. First, the figures the Government received on Monday night, imperfect though they may be, clearly show that this pandemic is not over. Therefore, rigorous infection control measures in nursing homes are essential. Second, from today, the HSE has restricted visiting in certain nu…

I will concentrate on just one aspect of the future of banking: the role of credit unions. I acknowledge the Minister of State's positive comments on credit unions and those made by many other Deputies. The programme for Government makes the commitment to enable the credit union movement to grow as a key provider of community banking in this country. I ask the Minister of State what has he done and what will he do to ensure to deliver on that promise. Legislative change is essential to deliver on that commitment. I…

I am especially pleased to speak on this Bill and to support it. I thank Deputy Bríd Smith and all the organisations that worked on the Bill. There are many reasons to support the Bill but I will highlight two. First, this legislation would give a group of retired workers some rights when it comes to making decisions relating to their pensions. As one person who emailed me said, the Bill is not revolutionary but will go some way towards correcting a historical injustice to thousands of retired workers. It will give…

I listened to the Taoiseach's response regarding the TAPS scheme for nursing homes. This money is to ensure continued rigorous infection control measures are in place, quite rightly, demanded by HIQA. Some €134 million was provided, but every cost under TAPS was itemised and approved by the HSE, so it is not extra or free money. That money is still needed to protect residents and workers in nursing homes. The pandemic is far from over and saying that there are funds available if something happens is no good. We nee…

I have two and a half minutes so I will only mention one or two issues. The first is the €672 billion next generation EU recovery plan. The EU Commission has already issued positive assessments of recovery and resilience plans for 12 member states. The Taoiseach said our plan was submitted on 28 May. I have two questions. First, why were we not with the first 12 member states? Was there a delay and, if so, what caused it?

Second, can the Minister of State assure me that balanced regional development is fully taken into consideration in that plan and that those sectors, particularly the agriculture sector, which are hardest hit by Brexit and especially along the Border are fully supported in the plan? It is also crucial that all our fine words regarding the EU pillar of social rights and the Porto declaration are stitched into our recovery and resilience plans. When I was a Member of the European Parliament, I was proud to be able to…

I wish to refer back to the recovery and resilience plan. The Minister of State told Deputy Mattie McGrath that the application went in "when the Commission wanted it". Did the Commission want the applications from the other 12 member states first? Was there some kind of rota in operation? I am happy to accept the fact that there was probably no closing date and perhaps the Minister of State will confirm that. Was there a starting date and if so, what was it? It is not terminal that our application was not submitte…

I thank the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, for taking this matter. In October last, she hosted a Zoom meeting to consider the matter of core funding for Yeats Society Sligo. At that meeting, attended by the director, Susan O'Keeffe, board members and all the local Deputies, it was clearly outlined to the Minister and her officials the urgent need for core operational funding to keep the society on life support while it planned for and worked towards a post-Covid future. I do not need to convince the Minister of…

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply, from which it is clear that she is actively engaging with the Yeats Society Sligo, which I know, and that she and her Department are putting serious thought into this matter. It is always valuable to get a response from a Minister that shows that he or she is engaging rather than simply reading out a prepared speech. In many ways, the Minister made a better case for the Yeats Society Sligo than I did in my four minutes. I am pleased to hear that she is minded to con…

My first point is about convergence. It makes no sense that current payments are linked to production levels that obtained in 2000. That is illogical and unfair. There was a change in the previous CAP with 30% of Pillar 1 for greening. However, we pursued a deeply unfair policy whereby two farmers in the same county might be taking exactly the same actions under greening and one farmer could be paid €60 or €100 more per hectare. That is wrong. It impacted negatively in the Minister's constituency of Donegal, as wel…