I was not aware that raising a Topical Issue matter could have such an impact. I certainly was not aware of the power of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs. All of those are welcome. It is good news that those concerned will not have to sit a test. It is really important that the process the Minister of State is initiating is free of bureaucracy or a financial penalty or cost on those involved. Like Deputy Darren O'Rourke, I urge the Minister of State to ensure that Irish citizens who happen to live acro…

I am sharing time with Deputy Martin Browne. At the outset, I want to disassociate myself from those who have attacked the fact that this debate is even taking place. No organisation, body or sector can receive tens of millions of euro in public money without expecting public debate on the expenditure of that money. Having said that, we know that the greyhound sector plays an important social and economic role in many communities. It is made up of many good individuals who care for their dogs and contribute positiv…

On 8 February, when voters went to the polls, a large proportion of them voted for a new direction. They voted for a new direction in housing policy. They voted for universal healthcare. They voted for the age of retirement to be maintained at 65. Above all, they voted for change. Part of that change undoubtedly meant a break from the old, stale insider politics that defined successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments. Following the election, those two parties, rather than recognising the appetite for change, …

This Brexit omnibus Bill sets out in stark terms the challenges that face our country in trying to mitigate the impact of Brexit, particularly a no-deal or bad deal Brexit. In essence, this Bill is the lowest common denominator in terms of Brexit readiness. The truth is that we will be powerless in terms of many of the damaging aspects that will arise as a result of the British continuing their current reckless approach. In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic it might be easy for many to lose sight of the Brexit stea…

On 20 May, workers at BD Foods in Glaslough, County Monaghan, got the devastating news that their parent company, Henderson Group, had announced the merger of its recently acquired companies into its operational base in Mallusk with the loss of most of the jobs. Will the Tánaiste indicate whether the Department has been active in trying to save the jobs in the first place or, subsequently, secure alternative employment for the workers involved?

A lot of what the Tánaiste said is factually correct but will be of little comfort to the workers involved. On 18 August, I wrote to the Tánaiste asking him specific questions that the workers in BD Foods had asked but to which they had not received satisfactory responses from the other Minister, who the Tánaiste has managed to mention three times in his response. One question was in regard to the back to education grant. These workers are currently on the Covid payment and if they go back to education, that paymen…

The Tánaiste referenced the number of engagements of his Department and the Department of Social Protection. The workers at BD Foods tell me the engagement they have had with the statutory bodies, including the two Departments, has boiled down to the webinar to which the Tánaiste referred, which was essentially informing workers how they could claim social protection payments. My questions to the Tánaiste relate to the fact that, in the beautiful small village of Glaslough in County Monaghan, this is a huge employe…

I thank the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, for being here to take this Topical Issue. This matter is of crucial importance for many people who have applied for the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, but who have encountered what can only be described as a bureaucratic mess. Initially, the pandemic unemployment payment was a flat-rate payment of €350 per week. It provided solace and support to tens of thousands of workers and business people who had been forced to close their doors. The Governmen…

I thank the Minister for her response. She has outlined how the system is supposed to work and should work, but new cases are coming to my attention daily. We need to get this matter resolved because I cannot go back to these people, whom we both know in many cases, and tell them essentially that the Department says it is their fault they have not received payment. These are hard-working people who want to open their businesses in the first instance. They want to get back to work. That is their primary objective. I…

-----and hard-working people within her own constituency. I encourage the Minister to forget about the gutter politics and instead sort out the unresolved issues that relate to her Department. These are business people, employers and the backbone of local communities in our constituency. They deserve support, and I ask the Minister to make sure they do not face an unnecessary wait to receive their payments.

This is the Finance Bill which followed on from the budget. We will recall the budget announcement when we heard one Government spokesman person after another cry out that this was the largest budget in the history of the State. We were all deafened by the assertions of that statement and yet it is ironic that that statement has been met by the numbers of people who have told us in the days and weeks since that the only thing the budget did for them was to make them poorer. It was a completely missed opportunity on…

I wish the Minister good morning. I hope no one planning to tune in tonight is accidentally watching the US presidential results instead. I thank the Minister for being here so late. My first question relates to the ViraPro product. Was the product physically tested by the Department in advance of it being approved? What was the cause of delay in recalling the product? Will the Minister refer to the subsequent issue pertaining to 50 other products being recalled from our schools?

The question I asked was whether the product had been tested before it was approved by the Department. That is a crucial issue. We know, for example, that the HSE purchased 3 million units of this product, some 1 million of which were being sent to healthcare centres, including nursing homes and perhaps even hospitals. That is above and beyond the issue pertaining to schools. What is the process for these types of products? Is it that the Department simply receives written documentation from these companies and the…

I welcome that clarification on the legal obligation. The question remains: is there then recourse for the State to recoup the money that was spent on a product that was subsequently found to be deficient? The Minister told the Dáil he was informed of this issue on, I think, Thursday, 22 October. We know that the recall happened on 20 October, the previous Tuesday. We know that previously, on 16 October, the Department had recognised that this product was harmful. On 8 October, I think, there were signals that all …

The only aspect of food production that has been severely curtailed during the level 5 restrictions is the operation of marts. I have never seen an issue cause so much antagonism, anxiety and frustration among the farming community and the marts. The current system is not working. I am sure the Minister has heard the stories from several marts around the State. This needs to be addressed. Will the Minister intervene and urge easing of the restrictions to allow some physical activity to take place in our marts?

It is not good enough. Deputy McConalogue is the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. He needs to stand up for our farming communities. Let us take some things as given. Marts are doing everything in their power to ensure that the online facilities are up to standard. They are the people telling us they are not working effectively. The people calling me - they must be calling the Minister as well - are farmers from right across the country who are telling me stories of how their animals have to be taken h…

There is a touch of naivety in the Minister's response. In my county, County Monaghan, for example, 48% of households do not have access to adequate broadband. That is the Government's own figure. I would imagine, and I think everyone would accept, that if we were to take the farming community alone, that figure would be much higher. Where does the Minister think these farmers are buying, even when they go online? They are meeting in car parks and in cars. Many people are congregating in a small space with one youn…

A number of rules are imposed by factories on farmers. Many of them date back to the period of the BSE crisis. The most renowned of them are the 30-month and four-movement rules. They cause huge consternation for the farming community. They are seen as a way the factories manipulate prices and the market. Does the Minister have a view on these rules? Will he engage to ensure such rules are not used to distort the market?

The Minister is saying that these are just private matters that the factories have control over and then, on the other hand, that the beef task force will look at it. The two positions do not relate. I am disappointed even with the terminology the Minister is using. He is basically reciting the factories' propaganda. They call it a bonus criterion. Every farmer I know calls it a penalty because it is one. It is not a bonus that people who meet the criteria get, it is a penalty those who do not must pay in the form …

In case the Minister is in any doubt, I wish to state clearly that we will work with whatever is put in place. The food ombudsman is something to which he has committed. I hope he does it quickly and I really do hope it works. I still have my doubts. A food ombudsman can only implement Government policy and if that policy is to turn a blind eye to these type of practices by the factories then the food ombudsman can do nothing about it. These practices go back to 2009, a very different time. Many players in the reta…