Will the Minister use budget 2021 as an opportunity to extend the home carer tax credit to single, or lone, family carers, who cannot avail of it at present? Will he also consider allowing carers to claim tax relief if they employ a care worker while, at the same time, they can avail of the incapacitated child tax credit or the dependent relative tax credit? I have a third question but the Minister will have received it in writing.

There is a considerable anomaly here. If a single carer, such as a widow or widower or someone who is divorced or separated, cares for a sister or mother, the carer cannot avail of the credit. Perhaps the person is doing it full time, or works eight hours part time for sanity or just to keep heat in the house. He or she cannot avail of the home carer tax credit. That is fundamentally unjust. I understand why it was put in place in the first instance, because it was intended that one person would work outside the ho…

I appreciate the Minister's acknowledgement that there is an issue and that he will come back to it at some point. In the context of more people working from home or doing blended working, this issue will arise more. Also, some people need a few hours outside of the home for their mental health and sanity. Those people would not be able to get the home carer tax credit. As I said, it is fundamentally unjust. I know the legislation was not put in place with that perspective in mind but as the Minister and I both kno…

I thank the Minister for his contribution, which I listened to from my office, and I thank him for waiting to listen to the debate. I am supportive of his and the Government's stance on the need to maintain the best possible relationship with the UK. Regardless of what happens at the end of this year, that relationship will be ongoing. It is not just about 1 January 2021, it is about 2 January and 3 January of 2021, 2022 and 2023. I believe we need cool heads and measured responses that are firm and unshakeable and…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this Bill on sick leave and parental leave for two main reasons. First, it addresses in a real, meaningful and sustainable way issues that workers, parents and guardians are facing around sick and parental leave because of Covid-19, which many of them will continue to face over the next six to 12 months. Regarding Covid, we have to accept that it may not be one's problem today but it could be tomorrow or next week. Many people who thought it would never be their problem…

I raise the issue of what happens when a member of a school community, be it a pupil or staff member, tests positive for Covid-19. I will give an example of what happened in a school in my constituency, for illustrative purposes only because it is a national issue. A member of that particular school community tested positive. The person has other family members in the school. It took five days from contacting the doctor to getting the results of the test. In the meantime, all members of the family self-isolated fro…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. The issue is that of clear communication and that parents and staff know what is happening. I am glad some sort of a template letter has gone out. It will help because in this situation the principal was completely on the back foot. If trust breaks down between a principal and parents or staff, it is very hard to rebuild that. I am glad we are making progress. There is extra pressure on teachers. Before students arrive in the morning, right through the day and during breaks, unt…

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, on his appointment and I wish him well. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this Sinn Féin motion which concerns the specific difficulties and challenges faced by the taxi industry due to Covid-19, and crucially, to agree with many of the proposals which will help the industry to survive in the short term, and importantly, to be sustainable in the longer term. We have already heard the statistics from many Deputies. It is worth reiterating the …

First, I congratulate my colleague, Deputy Collins, on bringing forward this motion because it lays bare the completely unacceptable and totally disgraceful situation whereby redundant workers are being deprived of agreed redundancy payments due mainly to the transfer of company assets. The core question that we are asking here today is how the law can protect employees during the redundancy process and help ensure that limited liability and corporate restructuring are not used to avoid a company's obligation to it…

I listened to the contributions of the Minister of State's colleagues. I agree with them that some of the supports that are now in place, depending on the sector, are helping to bring about a positive difference to people's lives and the economy. While many sectors are operating, albeit on a knife-edge, others remain horribly exposed to the effects of Covid-19. Earlier I spoke of the great challenges faced by the taxi and chauffeur sector and on other occasions I have addressed the challenges faced by the tourism s…

I formally congratulate the Minister of State on her new and most important role. I know she will bring intelligence, empathy and real commitment to her work because she is a woman who likes to get things done. First, I ask for the Minister of State's strong support so the forthcoming budget will provide adequate resources to support people with disabilities. Consider some of the headline issues, including the implementation of the UNCRPD. For many, that is just a document. The reality of it is that we have to have…

I thank the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins. My question concerns mental health and well-being. That has already been interrogated very thoroughly by Deputies Brendan Smith and Pringle. Rather than going over the same ground again, I would like to ask about the 2,700 additional places the Minister referred to and the further 800 that have been announced. The services are already overstretched and under-resourced. Is the Minister confident that the new funding he is all…

I thank the Minister. I have spoken to Sligo IT's representatives and the €120,000 will be most welcome and useful. That will mostly be used for mental health services but it will also go to other areas like access. I hear what the Minister is saying. The services were already overstretched. With the increased intake of students and the particularly difficult year students have had, we must seriously consider increasing resources for mental health services, perhaps in the budget or later. I would like to raise anot…

I will be briefer this time, because I did run over slightly. The Minister has said he will call this out. Recent media reports have shown that this is not confined to the student body, but extends to lecturers, professors etc. It is a problem throughout the sector. Calling it out is fine and I take the Minister's point about governing bodies. That will matter. However we will also need resources and programmes to help those who have been victims of gender-based violence and to prevent any incidences of such violen…

I spoke to the Minister earlier on this. I believe that the Connacht-Ulster alliance is on target to reach the qualifying metrics. I have two brief points. Extra intake of students means the metrics will change slightly with higher numbers required. The Minister might take this into consideration because it could happen that by the tiniest margin some colleges might not reach the qualifying metrics. There are three colleges - and I earnestly hope all three will reach the criteria as it would be brilliant for the re…

I fully support this Sinn Féin motion. If we implement its recommendations, we will save lives. Like many Deputies, I have received correspondence, particularly from women who are most anxious about the delay in BreastCheck and cervical screening. I accept that, because of Covid-19, we have major challenges but we need to strike a balance and respond in an equitable and efficient way to the health needs of all our population, Covid patients and non-Covid patients alike. In that context, I would like to emphasise th…

The Bill is a proportionate response to the situation companies and workers find themselves in during the Covid pandemic. We have had no pre-legislative scrutiny, but there has been widespread consultation. In that context, as a Parliament, we have to act quickly. The provisions in the Bill allow companies to hold their AGMs electronically in a suitable venue. The Bill also allows for an extension of the time period for the presentation of a report by an examiner to the High Court to 150 days. This is important bec…

I had expected to share but that's that is okay. I ask the Minister to seriously consider this. I know it is not his area and the Bill he has put in front of us today is important. However, his Bill is the second or third step in this process. I ask the Government today to look at the first steps in this process so fewer people or companies find themselves having to use the provisions in this Bill. Seeing that I have the floor unexpectedly for a little bit of extra time, I want to put on record my serious concerns …

I am new; I sincerely apologise. Several Members of this House were in the European Parliament at that time. I was going to mention them all, not just one, but I will not as the Chair has asked me not to. They will know that no matter what group they were in, right down to the smallest group, and some people were in quite small groups, they got an opportunity in the rota system to speak when their turn came. In other words, the largest group was followed by next largest and so forth. In this House that would be Gov…

I ask the Government, in that context, to make sure what it carries out is actually reform. Finally, I will return to the point on the Bill after my slight diversion. This Bill is worthy of support and it shows this Government and this House can respond in a timely and proportionate manner to some of the issues faced by companies and workers at this time. I also agree with Deputy Berry who spoke earlier about the fact that this is good legislation in its own right. When it comes to the end of this year, on 31 Decem…