The Taoiseach promised me some time ago that he would meet with Councillor Kieran Bourke and his Fianna Fáil colleagues on Tipperary County Council regarding the scandalous closure of St. Brigid's hospital, in Waterford. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, met them yesterday armed with HSE officials, who said the hospital was closed because it might flood. The existing hospital has been there for 140 years and has never flooded. There are such diatribes and lies coming out of the HSE, and the Taoiseach is hiding …

A virtual meeting.

I offer my thanks and congratulations to the Minister of State, to the Department, to the social welfare people who are out there dealing with this, and to Revenue for this excellent scheme. It has provided very valuable funding for businesses that have grown over the years, which are businesses that give huge employment. I welcome that the scheme is extended to 31 March. I want to ensure, however, that we have reasonable debate in advance of that date to extend it further since we are not going to be out of this i…

I must go back to the issue of capacity in our hospitals and to a question I put to the Taoiseach previously that he refused to answer. I refer to the closure of St. Brigid's hospital, Carrick-on-Suir, a wonderful facility that is over 200 years old. HIQA has deemed it unsuitable. However, it was deemed suitable for use as a Covid-19 hospital by HIQA at the beginning of the pandemic. If it was deemed suitable for Covid patients, how is it not suitable now for providing respite and palliative care? It is a 14-bed ho…

I do not know why the Tánaiste cannot answer the question I asked. I accept that he does not have up-to-date information on St. Brigid's but I asked why a hospital that was deemed to be suitable for Covid patients last March was deemed unsuitable for any overnight patients in November. That is a simple question. I also ask that Ministers and the HSE stop sending out letters that are untrue. I do not want to use the word "lies" but it is untrue to say that Clogheen is available because it has now been designated as …

I ask the Tánaiste and the Government to try to intervene in a situation where the regional newspapers are being gobbled up. The Clonmel Nationalist has been serving the people for generations with excellent journalists and excellent reporting always, even through the Covid pandemic. The journalists work from the kitchen table and bring the news to people's homes. People love these newspapers more than ever, particularly in Covid times. Last Friday evening, with less than 24 hours' notice, two journalists with 40 y…

As with Deputy Collins, I have very significant issues with rural planning and with planning in general and how slow it is. There needs to be transparency around the Part V and the Part 8 process operated by the county councils. Some councils are very fluid, lax and bullish about it. There is a Part 8 process in Tipperary town currently for road works and 291 submissions went in. These were sought and are to be welcomed but then the officials fly in the face of submissions and refuse to listen to the 75% majority t…

I wrote to the Minister after a debate in October or November. The residents are being forced to take legal action. That is not right. The county council kept on building these houses. We are all for houses but in this area the only green area they had was taken up. There are heaps of other sites. There is one site down the road with 25 or 30 acres on it. They insisted in building on a green area and the residents have been forced to go to court. The county council kept building in spite of the fact that they were …

Many of the Taoiseach's responses have been illogical and inconsistent. Since the start of the pandemic, I have raised the issue of utility companies and pass through charges. Every business, from hairdressers to big hotels to shops, which is closed is paying a fortune on these charges to utility companies. One businessman wrote to me, telling me he pays €4,000 a month on gas and electricity, just for the privilege of them coming to his door. Why does the Taoiseach not pass legislation in emergency measures to stop…

I am happy to speak on this Bill. I want to send my good wishes to the Minister for Justice. Looking at the Bill and listening to the Minister of State, when the European masters want something done, we jump. They say jump and we ask how high. However, there is much legislation languishing in the bowels of the Department of Justice that has not been implemented. The Minister of State is new and I wish him well. I often worked and debated with his father, who I also wish well. This legislation is necessary. Any way …

Can there be an immediate review of the HSE priority list for the vaccination programme? There are a number of inconsistencies in the HSE's own guide for vulnerable people. There are seriously vulnerable people, such as those with cystic fibrosis, family carers and people who provide home help. In Tipperary, there is the case of Valerie, a wonderful young woman who had a terrible accident some years ago. She has 24-7 care, which her parents organise for her in a private capacity on foot of an award she got from the…

In view of the failure that has happened with customs, the rigmarole at the ports, food being dumped, drivers being incarcerated and held up, and hauliers being destroyed, will the Minister appoint an outside facilitator with experience in trading, IT and business to bring this together and to knock heads together? The Government was warned by Deputy Verona Murphy and many more of us that this confusion and disarray would happen, and that is what we have. It is too serious, and our industry is too important, to all…

I am here, like everybody else, trying to help. I believe that for those with special difficulties in education, we must find the road map forward. Deputy Ó Cuív and others have suggested the Minister would go into a tunnel with the teaching bodies, the SNA representatives and the parents’ representatives. I know of some traumatic situations for parents, as we all do. Their children need this special education. Special needs teachers and SNAs want to impart their expertise and their love and caring attitude towards…

I note that the Minister has left the Chamber. With no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, this happens all the time when my group speaks. She is not interested in what we have to say. I am interested in the humanity of it. The Government does not respect nurses in general, let alone the student nurses. We saw Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party voting down a motion to pay and recognise the gallant work done by those angels of mercy. We are so fortunate to have those young ladies and gentleme…

On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I also support that request. We have to get this sorted. As we know, it is a very sensitive issue. I hope it will be a case of third time lucky. I hope that all of us together can sort out this issue and that this very important cohort of students can be brought back into education with the agreement of all groups. We need some time to debate the matter.

I want to raise again the unbelievable closure of St. Brigid's District Hospital in Carrick-on-Suir by the Taoiseach, his Minister, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and to raise the refusal by the Taoiseach's and his Ministers to meet with Councillor Kieran Bourke, with the activist groups and with nurses and nursing staff there to explain why this was done in the middle of a pandemic. St. Brigid's is a wonderful institution that clearly was good for step-down beds during Covid, the use of which the Govern…

I too am glad to be able to speak here today. I am really quite sad. The Minister and I have spoken about this several times. Indeed, I attended a number of briefings with him and the then Taoiseach throughout 2019 and earlier. I know the Minister has put endless hours, including hours of debate, into this matter. It is a massive blow to our economy, our agriculture and fisheries sectors and trade more broadly. Shortly before Christmas, Deputy Verona Murphy, who was formerly involved in the road haulage business, a…

The Tánaiste might be playing little games with Sinn Féin, but I want to go back to the banks. When is this Government going to deal with the banks? The Government removed the moratorium and thousands of small businesses and homeowners are now being threatened and intimidated. Many of them are trying to engage with the banks but they can get no clarity on what is going to happen going forward. Some of those who are able to pay want to pay a lesser amount now because of the lack of income. European interest rates ar…

It is time that the banks played their part and that the Government showed some interest in making that happen.

I know the Minister is doing her best but last week I left Government Buildings at 6.20 p.m., having been there from 4 p.m. meeting the Taoiseach. By the time I reached Bray, the Government's decision had been overturned. We were assured that special schools were going to reopen and that leaving certificate students were going to be brought back. However, within 20 minutes, that decision was pulled and there was utter confusion. I am delighted to hear that the Fórsa trade union will advise SNAs to co-operate with t…