I am pleased to support this Bill. I am especially pleased the Government will not oppose the proposal. This Bill will be warmly welcomed by victims of domestic violence who work outside the home. The figures on domestic violence in Ireland are shocking. We have heard them quoted several times tonight. Approximately 15% of women and 6% of men have suffered severe domestic violence. Of course, as we are all aware, it is even more shocking that during the Covid-19 lockdown those numbers increased significantly. I bel…

I wish to focus mainly on two issues with regard to the upcoming European Council meeting: Brexit and Covid-19. Like many people have said, we are approaching make-or-break time on Brexit. Deadline after deadline has passed but a final deadline is looming. Mr. Barnier has been urged by many EU leaders not to rush into an unsatisfactory trade deal with the UK simply because the final deadline is looming. He has been warned not to fall into the Brexit negotiation trap laid by the UK. This trap is where agreement on o…

I ask the Minister his view on the various different proposals that we might have immunity stamps on passports or, more likely, digital identities created to show that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19 for the purposes of travel, both in Europe and with long-haul travel.

I thank the Minister. I agree with his comments on Irish passports and their value when travelling. He spoke about the passenger locator form but that relies on goodwill and people following the rules. Many people follow them, and many more will, but it is not evidence-based. The aviation sector is so important to our economy, particularly our tourism sector and in that context, are there any discussions at European level on this? I know that it will have to be at that level. Are there any discussions around this i…

I agree with the Minister that we need more co-operation and co-ordination at European level. The Minister talked about the traffic light system and said that the passenger locator form is a legal requirement, which it absolutely is but the truth is that there is little follow-up. How do we know that the terms and conditions are being adhered to? How many people have travelled through Dublin Airport since we have put it in place and how many have been prosecuted for not filling it out? Some people do not, although …

I received number of emails recently regarding the severe difficulties being experienced by private nursing homes in recruiting and retaining staff, especially healthcare assistants. This issue is especially acute in small, rural nursing homes. The simple reality is that private nursing homes are not able to match the HSE in the context of pay and benefits, as well as, recently, more aggressive recruitment by the HSE and HSE-funded agencies. This is placing intolerable pressure on private nursing homes. I am a stro…

I thank the Tánaiste. I hear what he said and he made some valid points. When the former Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, addressed the Nursing Homes Ireland annual conference last year, however, he spoke about the changes in regulations and said that these changes had been "stressful" and "have come at a cost and you haven’t been remunerated for that cost." The Tánaiste's own former Minister for Health has recognised this. In my constituency in Sligo, public nursing homes cost 60% more; in Leitrim, 68% mo…

Everyone is affected by Covid-19, but some are badly affected. We can never forget about the grief of those who have lost a loved one, who never got a chance to say goodbye and, in some cases, could not attend a funeral. There has also been the everyday pain of people going to a window of a nursing home, just to try to be present. We need some regime, however strict, to allow at least some visits. I hate to say it but the budget let down family carers, worn out behind their own front doors. We need further support …

This debate is timely, given that it follows the publication of the Safe Ireland report, entitled Tracking the Shadow Pandemic: A report on women and children seeking support from Domestic Violence Services during the first 6 months of Covid-19, which makes for harrowing reading. Since the statistics have been well aired, I will not repeat them. I thank the former Minister, Senator Doherty, the Government and the Department of Social Protection for putting in place the emergency rent supplement pilot programme for …

I listened to the Minister, Deputy Harris, earlier. He had some good news. I was pleased to hear about the 58 new apprenticeship courses that are available, not only in traditional areas such as carpentry and plumbing but also in areas such as cybersecurity, accounting and supply chain management. I was also very pleased to hear that Ireland is now the ninth most innovative country in Europe. It really makes me proud to know I live in a country with so many innovative thinkers, doers and entrepreneurs across all se…

I listened to the Minister's remarks about the various moneys that have been spent. They are all very welcome, but we must also look at regional spend. I have repeatedly quoted the report of the Northern and Western Regional Assembly which looked at regional imbalances. The report was produced on foot of the downgrading by the European Commission of the region's categorisation from a developed region to a region in transition. There are many statistics in the report. I do not have time to go through them now but th…

Even though he is not here, I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs for his work on this issue so far. I saw it from a Brussels perspective as a Member of the European Parliament. I saw how sure-footed he was in his work and his negotiations. That was a great comfort and my colleagues in the European Parliament recognised that was happening. I also thank him for his assurances that he would fully co-operate with Members of the Opposition if they wish to propose relevant and well-founded amendments. That is really …

I congratulate the main sponsor of this motion, Deputy McNamara. I was happy to co-sign it. There is no doubt but that the timing of this motion and of the Government announcement of an €80 million funding package for the country's airport is not a coincidence. They are linked. At the very least, this motion has accelerated an overdue Government decision on supporting the aviation sector and regional airports. All in all, €80 million has been allocated. This represents an extra €48 million in spending on top of wha…

By passing on a document marked "confidential" to his friend, Maitiú Ó Tuathail, in the context of negotiations on a GP contract, the Tánaiste undermined that system of negotiation. It is worth noting, however, that the document concerned was partly, if not largely, in the public arena. The IMO had issued a five-page summary document which outlined the important financial and other components several days before the Tánaiste passed it on to Maitiú Ó Tuathail. Nonetheless, this was wrong. The document should at the …

I am sharing time with Deputy McNamara. I agree with many of the proposals in this Finance Bill. In the current context, the IMF has told countries that can borrow that they should do so to provide a safety net for citizens and businesses. In that context, borrowing is not only necessary but it is also prudent. Any finance Bill has to provide a safety net for those who need it and fund essential services, including social services, in addition to providing supports to businesses in all sectors and investing in them…

I fully support the proposal to establish a River Shannon management agency. Over many years, I have called for a single overarching authority to manage the Shannon. As an MEP, I represented eight of the 11 counties through which the Shannon flows, namely, Cavan, Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, Westmeath, Offaly, Clare and Galway. I have attended meetings in all those counties, dealing for the most part with flooding. For the past 20 years, at every meeting without exception, I have heard landowners, homeowners, busi…

I have a few points prepared on the implications of level 5 and the role the State has to play if we expect our citizens and businesses to take the hit and observe the restrictions. Our approach is unbalanced. Today we introduced draconian legislation under which we will impose fines and jail sentences if ordinary citizens do not comply. I did vote for it but begrudgingly. However, the State does not always keep its side of the bargain. We expect ordinary citizens to do it, but the obligations of the State and its …

When will Duodopa, which was approved for reimbursement in February 2020, be sanctioned for use by patients who urgently need it? Duodopa is manufactured by AbbVie, which has a number of manufacturing plants along the west coast. It seems we are very good in this country at manufacturing new medicines but we lag behind when it comes to making those medicines available to people living here. This medicine has taken 26 months to go through the reimbursement approval process. The HSE's drugs group approved it for reim…

I thank the Minister of State. Unfortunately, she did not give me a timeline or a date. It was very clear from my question and from what I have said that this is what the family are waiting for. This is a 26-month process. The Minister of State has quite rightly pointed out that it was the drugs group that made a positive recommendation last February. What has been the hold-up since then, especially since the Minister made all of this extra money available for new drugs and specifically spoke about drugs for Parkin…

I thank Deputy Martin Kenny for bringing this Bill to the House. I support it as it is an important Bill. I listened to the Minister of State and it was difficult to know exactly what she meant. On one level she seemed to agree with the principle of what Deputy Kenny was proposing but on another level, she claimed it was too complicated and would be a parallel system, etc. She spoke of a system that was working and of forestry policy, but we do not have a forestry policy. We have state aid, grant aid and tax incent…