Sinn Féin welcomes this legislation, which, by and large, seeks to formalise what many school boards of management already do. Much of that work is already happening and there is already transparency in that regard. It must be said that very many boards of management operate in a voluntary capacity. They put in a lot of time and effort to run schools throughout this country. The amount of funding by way of the capitation grant to schools is always a problem. It is for this reason so many schools need to fundraise a…

It was very appropriate that, in fairness, when the lockdown came in the Garda Síochána and many others recognised that it was going to be a time of great turmoil for many women in particular who were locked in situations where domestic violence was a threat to their safety and, in some cases, their very lives. That was made a priority, as was appropriate and right. Of course, those fears were borne out, as evidenced by the high number of calls and incidents of domestic violence in the past 18 months during the pan…

I understand the predicament the Ceann Comhairle is in. Many people did not turn up for their designated slots. I was due to have a slot at approximately 5 p.m. I am an hour and a half early. Most Deputies look at what is on the schedule and try to get here at least 40 minutes early in case a debate runs ahead of time but this is way ahead of what we have ever experienced. In fairness, the Ceann Comhairle should look at the reality of the situation. We are working between two buildings. Most of us are in Leinster H…

I too thank the Ceann Comhairle for his forbearance on the problem that has arisen today. There are a couple of issues I wish to raise with the Minister. I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the phenomenon we have seen in the past 18 months whereby the Government has become the last resort, if one likes, in terms of providing people's income. It is quite a strange scenario. Governments all over the world, many of which are very right wing, are actually doing things that are very left wing as a result of th…

I welcome the legislation. We were all surprised a few weeks ago when it became clear that much of the work that was done by people around the country who set up beer gardens and outdoor drinking areas for which, in many cases, they received grants from the State was actually done in the absence of proper authority from the point of view that the terms of their licences did not cover it. Of course, when we spoke to people who would know this, particularly solicitors, and indeed, many vintners, they were always susp…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 7, lines 23 to 25, to delete all words from and including “premises,” in line 23 down to and including line 25 and substitute the following: “premises, or (c) the manager of the premises.”. As I said on Second Stage, the amendment relates to the part of the Bill which defines the specified person whom a garda can hold accountable for a situation in a bar or outdoor space that is inappropriate and whom the garda can demand to stop people behaving in the way they are behaving, to dispe…

I am a little confused. Issues arise with regard to the licensee and the licensed premises because there are situations where the licensee is not the person who runs the bar. The bar may be leased by the licensee to someone else. The licensee applies for the licence each year but is seldom, if ever, on the premises and so it is outside of his or her control. The other issue is that often the outdoor seating areas are in a public place, on a street or a square, for example and are shared. People could order from the…

I thank the Minister for her statement. Every year we come to the House to examine the Offences against the State Act. The clear difficulty we have in this country with organised crime gangs, in particular international drug gangs, is something for which we all share an abhorrence, given the toll they take on communities the length and breadth of the country, especially in inner city areas where drugs are a serious problem. The legislation has come under scrutiny for many years from international players who identi…

Shane O'Farrell was from County Monaghan in the Minister's constituency. In August 2011, he was struck and killed by a car driven by a man who was unlawfully at large. Both Houses of the Oireachtas passed motions calling for a full public inquiry into the circumstances of his death. In February 2019, the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, announced that there would be a scoping exercise. When will it be complete? There has been delay after delay. The family are anxious that this situation be r…

I thank the Minister. The question to be answered here is how long is "shortly". The family have been waiting for more than a year. We expected that the report would be completed in May of last year, but we are now past May 2021. The scoping exercise will decide whether there needs to be a further inquiry. The Houses of the Oireachtas democratically voted on that. On the O'Farrell family's website, there is a long list of Deputies, Senators and MEPs who support a full public inquiry. What happened to Shane O'Farrel…

It is welcome that the Minister has engaged with Mr. Haughton and that progress has been made, if progress is indeed being made. We need a set timescale now. We need to know exactly when the scoping exercise will be complete. I appeal to the Minister. In the coming weeks, she needs to put pressure on Mr. Haughton to get this completed. She needs to contact the family and ensure that the tenth anniversary of Shane O'Farrell's death does not pass without a full public inquiry being put in place.

We are all very conscious of the mental health services and the poor provision in place before Covid even came along. Very many people were struggling to get assessments and services and to have a sense of continuance and a sense that services were going to be there for them in the future. That is a legacy the Minister of State has inherited. I know she is doing her best to try to cope with it under difficult circumstances. I have spoken to her about CAMHS in counties Sligo and Leitrim and some improvements have ha…

We all understand what the Bill is supposed to be trying to do, which is to bring together and consolidate into one Act various pieces of legislation on maritime law. The truth is that for most people, living on an island is something they very seldom think about or have any knowledge of. However, it is something that can have severe repercussions for us as an island nation if we do not get it right. This is why it is important that the Bill is taken at a proper pace and that the Government considers it properly, c…

I commend Deputy Carol Nolan and the Rural Independent Group for bringing forward the debate. Since I was elected in 2016, I have been involved in discussions around the whole issue of beef farming, the beef sector and the suckler sector, which are at the core of Irish farming and the family farm. All of us know the food we produce in Ireland is of world-class standard, from the family farm and from grass-fed, free-roaming animals, traceable from farm to fork. It is unique in that respect. Yet, the farmer, the pers…

As Deputy Cullinane said, the Bill is basically an extension of what we have had up to now. Deputies on all sides understand that measures have to be in place to ensure people comply with the regulations, which are about keeping communities and people safe. We all endeavour to do everything we can to encourage and work with people and make sure there is compliance with these measures to ensure we try to keep the Covid-19 pandemic at bay. At the same time, it is very unusual that we are in circumstances whereby we h…

We support this motion. It is an important issue for most of us who live in rural Ireland and we understand the importance of having infrastructure in place. The particular change happened when Irish Water came onto the scene. Towns and small villages that had group water schemes in place for many years suddenly found there was a change in policy and attitude towards what was being done. That is something that rings out clearly throughout the whole country. We need to see the investment go in and we need to see co-…

We welcome this long-awaited legislation. As colleagues have stated, the IFA, other farming organisations and business organisations have been campaigning for changes to the nursing home support scheme for many years. Their campaign pointed out that people who had built up assets from nothing over a lifetime are having those assets held against them when they try to get care in their old age. Many people have said to me that they worked hard and paid taxes all their lives but when they needed a service at the end o…

I support the intention of the amendment. The idea that secure creditors can block a deal from proceeding is an issue that needs to be dealt with, and I would be interested to hear what the Minister of State has to say about it. If there is an alternative way of dealing with it, that is absolutely fine. I appreciate that what Deputy Fitzpatrick has tabled tries to ensure the best interests of people who are in serious trouble, who have major levels of stress in their lives and who have to go through the indignity o…

I thank Ministers for taking these questions this evening and commend the many people who are working so hard to try to resolve this issue. I extend our solidarity to the many people throughout the health service who are suffering as a consequence of it. I will ask several questions and then allow a couple of minutes for some replies. The Minister said that clearing out the systems and getting them going again is basically what is happening. I would like to be assured that, in addition to getting them going again, …

I welcome the Bill. Sinn Féin will support the legislation. It is slightly overdue, in that the pandemic has been going on for more than a year now. The vast majority of measures in the Bill deal with issues that have arisen because of the pandemic and the delays people have had, not being able to meet and that type of circumstance. Many of the key things outlined in respect of section 14 around the court and going to an appeal probably constitute the big stuff that needs to be dealt with because it has had negativ…