I thank Deputy McHugh for raising an issue that is foremost in all of our minds across the Government right now. I know Deputy Cannon was working with the Deputy on it earlier in the week. I assure the Deputy and the House that along with officials in all Departments, including the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, on behalf of which I am participating in this Topical Issue debate, I share the Deputy’s concern. We are all working on it. We are monitoring the situation very closely…

The Government will not be found wanting in supporting the Ukrainian people. The 2016 census showed that 3,000 Ukrainian nationals were resident in Ireland at the time. They all have loved ones about whom they are greatly concerned and they may be looking to bring them here. We are taking a whole-of-government response to ensure we offer them all the supports they need. As I mentioned, there is the initial support of social protection and the supplementary welfare allowance for child dependants. Similarly, the HSE …

The household benefits, HHB, package comprises the electricity or gas allowance and a free television licence. The Department of Social Protection will spend approximately €273 million this year on the HHB package for more than 484,000 customers and their households. The package is available as a supplementary allowance to those in receipt of various social welfare payments, including but not limited to the carer's allowance, the State contributory and non-contributory pensions, and the widow, widower's or survivin…

I thank Deputy Martin Browne. All Deputies deal with carers in our constituency offices and in the course of our daily work as parliamentarians, and we are in awe of the fantastic work they do. That is why the State provides supports for people on fixed incomes who are providing such a vital service to a loved one. The State recognises that this service is of huge value. I accept there are difficult challenges. There is the impact of the conflict in Ukraine. The increase in the cost of living was a problem before t…

It is not only the €200 payment. As I said, we also have a community welfare system. In individual cases that do not fit the norm, community welfare officers provide support that may be needed for a time, including to meet exceptional needs. I outlined many interventions the Government has made since the budget. A record budget has been provided to the Department of Social Protection for 2022. An additional €500 million package was announced in February to mitigate the cost of living. We also had a cut in excise du…

That is why we are supporting them.

I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this important issue in his constituency. I am responding to this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. As the Deputy will be aware, the programme for Government sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging set of commitments in relation to walking and cycling, supported by an increased multi-annual budgetary allocation amounting to some €1.8 billion over the lifetime of the Government. From 2021 to 2025, we will see 20% of our total transport budge…

Deputy McAuliffe has an offer to bring back to the chief executives. It is on the record of the House that the offer of support is there and we need them to drive on the project now. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter and making his contribution to the discussion today. It is great to see investment in active travel starting to bear fruit. The Government is keen to accelerate the delivery of sustainable transport modes as we come out of the majority of Covid restrictions. It is vital that we do not allow a r…

I will start by thanking Deputies Burke and Cairns for raising this important issue. The illegal invasion of Ukraine places the people of Ukraine and the dreadful plight they currently face foremost in our minds. The related grain and fertiliser supply issues have led to discussions across Europe on the issue of food security and the associated disruptions to supply lines. These issue were discussed by EU agriculture ministers at an extraordinary AGRIFISH Council meeting last week. An appropriate response is being …

I thank the Deputies for their follow-up questions. To respond to Deputy Colm Burke regarding the EU response and the deviation in crop rotation, these issues are being looked at and the potential response to them will be worked through. Everything is being examined at EU level. There is also the area of set-aside being talked about, as well as the ecological focus areas. If they could be ploughed again, that would, over a period and over a large area of the country, give us considerable extra ground. These are all…

I thank Deputies for their contributions throughout what has been a very important process, not just the statements in the last hour or so but the questions and answers with the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, prior to that. I thank the House on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, for the invitation to address the House on the roll-out of the national broadband plan and for the views expressed by the various Members throughout this discussion on the matter, which is one of absolute nationa…

I thank the Deputy for his question and ongoing interest in this area. While the immediate threat of Brexit may have passed, we must continue to prepare for the full reality of our new trading relationship with our nearest neighbour. The promotion of Ireland's high-quality, safe, nutritious and sustainably produced food is a core objective of my Department and the relevant Government agencies, especially Bord Bia. This has been a particular interest of mine since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibil…

The Deputy is dead right. There are significant synergies. There is a need for interdepartmental co-operation and co-operation with our State agencies. I am aware of several Ireland House-type arrangements, particularly in the EU, whereby the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia are all in under the one area. In recent years in my Department, there has been a really significant investment in agriculture attachés, who are based in embassies in our key markets. When travelli…

Both Deputies are right. Already, about one third of our food and drink exports go to the EU. There is potential for further growth. I witnessed that at first hand when I attended the Anuga Food Fair in Cologne in October. The European team of Bord Bia was there engaging with many companies across the spectrum. When Deputy Carthy talked about the premiumisation of the market, he was absolutely right. It is the Government policy, as outlined in Food Vision 2030, which refers not only to environmental sustainability …

I thank the Deputy again. Brexit has presented a range of challenges for the agrifood and fisheries sectors. The trade and co-operation agreement reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom at the end of 2020 did, however, provide some welcome certainty around the future EU–UK trading relationship, including in respect of tariff-free trade. The fact that the UK is no longer in the EU Single Market or customs union still creates significant extra challenges for Irish food companies trading with the UK.…

There have been a number of changes, many of which are in the hands of the UK. The UK has been changing the goalposts by pushing them out. It has postponed the next stage of the import control regime on two occasions, including on 14 September. The most significant element of the most recent UK announcements was that the requirement for pre-notification of agrifood imports will be introduced on 1 January 2022 as opposed to 1 October 2021. The new requirements for export health certificates, which were due to be int…

We could do with half an hour for this debate because there is so much to cover in it. To respond first to the Deputy's last point, we have seen exponential growth in sailings and movement of Irish goods directly to mainland Europe, specifically France, because of the challenges with the land bridge, but the land bridge is still important. That is an example of everything we are doing in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which aims to recognise that the UK is still a very important market for us. …

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and one which, I know from my discussions with him, is of major concern to him and his constituents in Cork. Under the general medical services, GMS, contract, GPs must be available to provide services in their practice premises or by way of domiciliary visits, as appropriate, for their medical card and GP visit card patients for 40 hours each week. They must also make arrangements to enable contact to be made with them, or a locum-deputy, for urgent cases outsid…

It is important to state the Government acknowledges the vital role GPs have played, particularly during the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and, more generally, in providing essential healthcare in the community. We, as a Government, are committed to ensuring that patients across the country continue to have access to GP services, including out-of-hours services such as those the Senator has raised. A package of measures to support general practice was introduced in March 2020 in order to take account of the i…

I thank Senator Cummins for raising this issue, which is important nationally but obviously in the area of Waterford in particular, as the Senator has outlined. I am acutely aware of the financial and emotional burden faced by farmers after a TB breakdown. We must do everything we can, working together as a sector, to tackle this problem. I come from a suckler farm in south Kildare and I remember more than 20 years ago, when I was a schoolboy, the devastation that hit us by having a reactor. It really is devastatin…