I am very conscious that in speaking about the aviation sector I am speaking about the future lives and livelihoods of more than 140,000 people around the country who work in this sector, along with a huge number of ancillary service providers who themselves offer significant employment. The sector, pre-Covid, was worth €4.1 billion to the Irish economy. In 2019, 38.1 million passengers passed through the airports. The changing threats that Covid has presented have reduced passenger air traffic in and out of Irelan…

I wish to speak in support of the amendments Deputy Naughten has put forward on behalf of the Regional Group. I have a particular concern around the agricultural sector. There has been discussion in the media in recent months that has tacitly steered towards the identification of the agricultural sector as a big problem in terms of climate. I do not think that is entirely justified. We have previously spoken about the issue of biogenic methane. New Zealand has come up with a construct that separates biogenic methan…

I do not doubt the Minister's bona fides in his desire to bring in this legislation and to see just transition in the process. I put it to the Minister, however, that I am not sure he is listening, and especially to the agrisector. I am close to the agrisector and I have heard a lot of the concerns. I can tell the Minister there are a lot of farmers who feel that while something must absolutely be done in terms of climate, it must be fair. A cheese factory expansion in Belview in Waterford has been held up by An Ta…

Why do we still need public ownership of Shannon development? Should the Western Development Commission still get more than €2 million of public money year after year on the nod, to add to its €72 million investment portfolio? The regional problems those organisations set out to address are fully resolved. One might question if they are now victims of their own success. It is hard to argue against the recent €108 million endowment of the just transition fund for the midlands and another €28 million for the Border f…

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the psychological well-being of many in our society. In many cases it has been indiscriminate to age, gender or financial standing. We have all had to accept the necessity of business restrictions and lockdowns at the early stages of the pandemic but the effects of constant isolation, financial pressures, sickness, and loss have taken a significant toll on many of our population. As we try to navigate our way out of this pandemic the resulting full psychological impacts are only starti…

I do not propose to take up the House's time for very long. I am speaking in support of amendments Nos. 2 and 51 put forward by the Regional Group. As Deputy Naughten said, the only reason we are here having this debate in the House is because of the sunset clause that was promoted by the Regional Group. We are discussing the need to ensure that public health, transmission and infection data continue to drive thinking. However, it has to be said the restrictions we have put in place are almost draconian. Others hav…

The Bill speaks not just to fairness and transparency, but also to equitable justice and national competitiveness. It is an attempt to hold insurance companies to account in the first instance and associated intermediaries in the second. The legislation calls for significant data available from the Central Bank to be provided in a clear format so we can assess the insurance reform measures proposed in recent months to see if they are having the desired effect in the market. This House has been debating for some yea…

My question relates to the funding of sensory rooms and special needs assistants in the disability sector, especially at preschool and school levels. I know it is a Government commitment but will the Minister outline his plans for the life of the 33rd Dáil and any capital allocations that have been approved to date?

I know the Minister is more than aware of the challenges being faced every day in the education sector. I point out again the significant delays in getting psychological evaluations for children. Large schools might have only two slots in a year. These are schools with up to 600 students. I have no wish to ascribe a proportion to this as there are teachers who can do that, but it is a significant problem. I highlight to the Minister the difficulties schools experience trying to accommodate sensory rooms where they …

May I flag one more project with the Minister? I refer to a new disability centre at John's Hill, Waterford. It has been developed in conjunction with a support group, Touching Hearts. It was announced some months ago that this project was going to be approved under the capital allocations. Families in Waterford who are, at present, accessing services in John Street in Waterford are being told that they now have to travel to Dungarvan, including some who receive occupational therapy up to three times a week. That s…

Public health has introduced many measures on Covid-19 since the start of the outbreak. Many measures were called for by medical professionals before public health or the Government reacted. Masks are a case in point, as was the early adoption of testing and tracing. Mandatory hotel quarantine was requested for a considerable period of time. I am glad, as the Minister and previous speakers noted, that it has had a significant effect in protecting us from incoming variants. We are possibly in a very tough position n…

I welcome the debate. Everybody in the House agrees it is time to see more transparency in terms of understanding our agrifood sector overall and the challenges facing primary producers in particular and also understanding how what we make finds its way to end markets and the supply chain considerations in that regard. There is a need for a significant review and analysis of the agrifood sector, but particularly of the challenges facing the beef sector. We have had significant discussions in the House in recent wee…

I congratulate the Minister of State for progressing this legislation which was a commitment in the programme for Government. It is very welcome, particularly for rural communities, farm families and people with businesses. The fair deal scheme has been successful, very important and vital in providing community care settings for people. As the Minister of State knows, the scheme has been criticised in the past for the difficulties with qualifying and the numbers that are on it. It is a sad demographic fact that ou…

I thank all Members of the House and all political parties this morning for supporting this motion, and the Government for agreeing to accept it. Will the Ministers of State, Deputies Noonan and Peter Burke, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, facilitate a meeting with the Regional Group further to this motion where we might be given an unvarnished and unbiased assessment of Irish Water and how we might help? The past 15 months have proved challenging for the country. Covid has exposed many national vulnerabi…

The Taoiseach shares my regret at the decision by An Taisce to object to and appeal the planning permission for a continental cheese factory at Belview, near Waterford, a move that is damaging the economy of the south east. In An Taisce's observations, it does not query the water treatment on site but, rather, it appears to be signalling its ideological resistance to any intensification of the dairy sector in Ireland. My colleagues in the Regional Group and I have tabled amendments to the climate Bill, first to sep…

I am happy to take part in this debate, not only on affordable housing but on the crisis in housing. There is a crisis in terms of supply, affordability, sustainability, planning and the long-term economic effects of housing policy as it is operating at present. In terms of supply issues, other speakers have referred to the ability to develop land but I am not sure they understand the real difficulties in this regard. A commercial developer looking at a parcel of zoned land must first consider the scale of developm…

I first want to associate myself with the remarks that the Tánaiste has made just now on the treatment of the Palestinian people by the Israeli Government. The commitments made to our national recovery include one of the largest tranches of capital investment ever announced in the State. Some €10 billion is to be spent on capital projects this year with Government projections indicating upward momentum in capital spending, with an additional €15 billion to be spent by 2025. This is great news for every child in sub…

I would be quite happy to sit in on Cabinet meetings to see whether not being at the Cabinet table has an influence. I believe reporting from Departments is inadequate for the House to discharge fully its responsibilities of budgetary oversight. The Government needs to do more in terms of demonstrating equitable investment decision making and providing the evidence that supports it. I point out to the Tánaiste that Dublin has one quarter of the population yet it receives approximately half of all capital investment…

I welcome this Bill, which proposes to allow the Ministers for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Agriculture, Food and the Marine to enter into agreements with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland to implement a loan guarantee scheme for small and medium enterprises, including many of our primary producers. The financial gearing of this scheme could deliver up to €330 million in available lending at an Exchequer cost of €29 million. Primary lenders may access the funding with an 80% loan guarantee from t…

We are now firmly living in an age of digital advancement. The change this is bringing to our lives is evident in every sector, community and home. Digitisation and technology development are greatly improving many aspects of our social, economic and cultural lives. However, they are also creating a national vulnerability that Ireland cannot manage on its own. This is true of every other European country too. Therefore, our defence to cybercrime lies in a pan-European cybersecurity response. What was once deemed fa…