I am sharing time with Deputies Michael Collins, Danny Healy-Rae and Nolan. Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá ar an mBille seo. I compliment Deputy Ó Snodaigh and Sinn Féin on bringing forward this important Private Members' Bill. Unfortunately, we are seeing the typical political stances taken by the main parties, especially Fianna Fáil. I note from research that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, when he was a Seanadóir, brought forward a Bill on which the legislation we are discussing today was modelled. As the…

A national group seeking reform in the area of insurance has reacted with dismay to the guidelines recently published by the Judicial Council. Hard-pressed people and organisations, including business people, charities, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and small businesses, are severely affected by payouts for minor injuries. We see this effort by the Judicial Council to reduce payouts, but it is half-baked. They are not to be reduced by nearly enough. As we know, businesses are str…

I add my voice to the concerns. I note what the European Commissioner said. We have been feeble and inept in applying for funding. Our small and medium-sized businesses have suffered more than anybody else. We have received the second lowest level of EU supports; of the 27 member states, only one is behind us. We are getting crumbs from the table. I am disappointed that the Taoiseach could not stay and listen to all our views this afternoon. We need to take leadership in this debate. We have had no leadership whats…

Hear, hear.

Bank bailout.

I am delighted to have some time to speak about this Bill. It is important that we have proper legislation in this area and it is too late for many people. The flexible working patterns which have existed are interesting. Cross-country comparative research on parental leave shows that in Ireland there remains a substantial gap between the end of leave, including the merging of paid and unpaid leave entitlements and early childhood education care entitlements as well. We must have a broad suite of facilities that wi…

The clock started wrong.

I have a question for the Acting Chairman. I have never received a written answer to my questions from the Minister for Health or his colleagues, despite having asked for them since last September. We ask for answers and do not get them. It is an abdication of his duty. We are elected by the people to ask questions. I want to speak about An Garda Síochána. Members of the Garda are front-line workers who must deal with every situation and have done so gallantly. Community gardaí have stepped up to the plate. They ar…

A number of driving instructors have begun a campaign to allow essential driver training, EDT, lessons to continue during the extended level 5 restrictions. We know how long that will go on for. They are also trying to set up their own union. Currently only essential workers who have been allocated driving tests are allowed to do the pre-test lessons. Surely if it is safe for one cohort of essential workers to do their lessons, it should be safe for them all, including the compulsory 12 EDT lessons. Another group o…

I too am happy to speak in support of the Bill. I did so during its passage through the House. I welcome it. Deputy Tóibín raised an issue today but the Leas-Cheann Comhairle stopped him from pursuing it. She was correct in that regard because we must protect people. However, all is not well in the Department of Justice. I have been writing to the Minister of State, the senior Minister and the Secretary General about issues in the Prison Service but my letters have not even been acknowledged. Members of this House …

I accept that totally. I wanted to raise this issue because we elected representatives are not getting answers and that is very bad.

I too listened quite carefully to what the Minister said and I support the amendment. I agree with what Deputy Howlin said. I imagine that is true of any of us who have had experience of a jury trial. I thank everyone who does jury service because it is an onerous task. It is a fair and good system. Courts, and by extension jurors, can be held up for months. In most cases, people do not get remunerated while they are on jury service. Public service workers do, but those in the private sector do not. One can underst…

I also support the amendment. The Minister's response was that the period will be one year. A day is a long time in politics, as is a week, but a year for the Courts Service could be minuscule. I have personal experience of being in and out of court. The Circuit Court in Tipperary only sits three times a year, when it sits for eight days in a fortnight. My case could not be dealt with in eight days so it was put off until the next sitting, and the next one and the one after that. It could have gone on for five year…

I am disappointed that the Minister is not engaging properly with this reasonable request to ensure good legislation and, more important, to ensure that all legislation that has been passed will be subject to a timely review and timely reports. A period of one year is certainly not enough. All legislation must be accessible and must deal with what it was intended to deal with. Any unintended consequences should be erased and amended, without waiting 20 years to do it. I reiterate that that is justice delayed and ju…

I thank People Before Profit for tabling this motion. The debate is a timely and interesting one that we should have. Ar an chéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil do na daoine a bhíonn ag obair i SUSI. They do a very hard and dedicated job and they are very helpful. SUSI has settled down now from when it started. There is significant discrimination against rural people. While Covid was a calamity, it should have given us the opportunity to catch the third-level education sector by the scruff of the …

I too compliment Deputy Funchion and Sinn Féin for bringing forward this badly needed amending legislation. I wish the Minister well. He is open-minded and fair-minded regarding this, in spite of what has gone on in the past six months. I compliment RTÉ - I do not do so often - and the "RTÉ Investigates" programme for the brilliant exposure it did in bringing it out in the open and the facts being laid bare to people of what went on. It was horrific what happened. Obviously, there are two sets of rights here to be …

This issue concerns intern doctors in Clonmel, many of whom were employed last year in the teeth of the Covid pandemic. There were 19 of them. Ten of them are to be let go shortly. Last year, in the middle of the Covid pandemic, all the newly-qualified intern doctors were employed in Irish hospitals. This year, in 2021, none of them are going to be taken on, meaning that many of them, both international and Irish interns, will have to go abroad for work. South Tipperary General Hospital, Clonmel is under pressure, …

There is huge inequity in the scheme of funding to support artists, especially single artists, arts centres, dance schools and other groups like that. This scheme is under the remit of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin. The application process is the same as under the old system we had prior to the pandemic. It needs to be adapted and changed because the Arts Council and several other larger groups have got huge funding, sometimes from two or three differen…

I demand of the Chair that we receive answers to our questions in writing. I never got answers when I asked questions here. I have asked the Minister five times here about the roll-out of the vaccine for the flu. Only 1.4 million of the 2 million available could be accounted for. I want an answer in writing. The UK has 20 million vaccinated, including 600,000 vaccinated in Northern Ireland. What are we doing wrong here? Could the Minister please answer the question as to why gardaí, who are on the front line, and o…

I want an answer.