We will. This is related to the fuels, cars and extra costs which have occurred for the ordinary working person. These extra costs are severe for the fishermen, contractors, the hauliers and the farmers, as well as for the ordinary mother and father taking their children to school and going to work every day. The people of rural Ireland - no one else - will have to pay this extra tax. The carbon tax and all this were designed to take money out of people's pockets in rural Ireland. I was totally opposed to it when i…

The funding is coming from this pot and it is not coming back to the people. That is the argument I am trying to put. That is why this amendment has been tabled. It is to get the Minister to understand there is no point in putting a carbon tax in place when the moneys raised through the taxes from fuel are taken back to Dublin to spend on big projects there as well as in senior Ministers' constituencies but the people on the ground in rural communities suffer. We need that funding from fuel to be spent in a fair ma…

The people of Ireland voted for abortion a couple of years ago but no one ever thought that there would be 6,666 abortions in 12 months. I met so many people who voted for it who are stunned by this. It is what it is. The discussion today is about late-term abortions. It is about what a new study tells us about late-term abortions and babies born alive after abortion in Ireland. A study, from UCC, recording the experience of ten foetal medicine specialists providing abortions for foetal anomalies in Irish maternity…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this Topical Issue debate. The Minister of State says the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, is aware. Is the Minister aware of what is happening, because if he is, the Minister of State has not got a proper response here? This is a very important issue. Babies are being born alive and there is no pain relief being administered to them. The Minister of State did not answer that question here. I would support any amendment that would help babies who are born alive and help th…

I fully support this motion. Nurses, student nurses and midwives have worked hard and deserve better. Their conditions are shocking, especially those of student nurses. I am inundated with emails on this issue from student nurses and their families. They work hard and pay their accommodation and student fees. They are front-line workers. Apparently the best thing the Government can do for them is to clap for them, pat them on the back and thank them. Empty promises and empty clapping are not delivery. The HSE has e…

The Government has the pubs ruined.

The publicans have served the people well throughout the length and breadth of rural Ireland. It is obvious to them that the Taoiseach is protecting the pubs in Dublin. He is afraid to open the pubs in Dublin but he is pointing the finger at every rural pub throughout Ireland. Their businesses are lying in ruin thanks to the Taoiseach. For four years, he was attacking them by backing up Fine Gael and that party's cuts and destroying them in every which way. Now, the Taoiseach is at the helm and he is doing the same…

They are putting more work on the Garda.

Regarding wet and gastropubs, many publicans have contacted me in recent days. This issue, or something close to the mark regarding what I am explaining, has been brought up already and perhaps it is one the Department could look at. I refer to publicans who had kitchens as such, but these are not deemed kitchens now in respect of allowing them to reopen. They are not entitled to avail of the CRSS because they served food previously. These publicans may not have a major kitchen in their bars but they were serving f…

I am delighted to show my support here today and discuss this important issue concerning the funding of the greyhound industry. Many people are running scared after last week's debate, where the opening statement and motion from the Social Democrats was very clear. That party did not want to see the increase in the budget for the greyhound industry by the Government this year and also wanted to phase out all funding by 2025, all based on a TV programme in 2019. In that opening statement, the Social Democrats ordere…

I too fully support the motion. The attempts by the previous Government, made up of Fine Gael backed by Fianna Fáil - the same crowd - to increase the pension age of 66 to 67 and maybe on to 68 really backfired prior to the general election. There was palpable anger on the doorsteps in my constituency and, I presume, those of other Deputies. People were rightly angered. They may have spent 50 years working and felt that their little time of relaxation after giving so much to their country was slipping out of their …

I am totally opposed to this Social Democrats' motion and resent the suggestion that those Deputies who support the greyhound industry and support those who own greyhounds are being lobbied. I certainly have not been lobbied by anybody. I will make up my own mind based on what the people of Cork South-West tell me. The people of Cork South-West have spoken to me, including people that own and love greyhounds. They love walking their dogs, minding and caring for them but they are being treated like outcasts who have…

The long-running saga concerning access to medicinal cannabis for sick adults and children goes on. It is a cause that has been championed by Vera Twomey on behalf of her daughter Ava and thousands of others in the country. I have always maintained that where credit is due, it should be given. I will give the Taoiseach credit today because he has helped Vera on more than one occasion over the past few years to jump the huge hurdles in her battle to gain access to medicine for her daughter and others. Unfortunately,…

We appreciate the Ceann Comhairle allowing this matter because it is of significant importance. The Minister of State is well aware of the cross-border directive that has been in place for a number of years and the fact that people have availed of procedures that can be carried out in the North. Has the Government put into the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020 a provision or an arrangement to allow the cross-border directive, under which more than 5,000 pe…

I appreciate that movement is taking place and it is urgent movement that is desperately required at this stage. I know that other Deputies and councillors besides those of us here are inundated with urgent phone calls from people. They are frantic to get to the North before 31 December because they are going blind. We need 100% confirmation that this scheme or a scheme like it will continue and that people can go to the private hospitals in the North regardless of where they are so that this can continue. I am not…

The decades-long lack of investment in education in towns like Bandon has this year led to the Bandon secondary school catchment area facing a crisis once again. I raised this on Leader's Questions in 2017 and every year since. The Minister who took the question in 2017 announced a big investment for St. Brogan's College in Bandon which would alleviate the waiting list. Up to 80 families have been refused entry to the school this year, which is at double the capacity. Children cannot attend Hamilton High School in …

I am sharing time with Deputy Mattie McGrath. As a member of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response, I take this opportunity to thank the Chairman, Deputy McNamara. He put a huge amount of time and effort into his role and was a very fair Chairman throughout the whole period during which the committee met. I thank the leader of the Rural Independent Group, Deputy Mattie McGrath, for allowing me to be part of the committee. We worked very hard and diligently and the Minister was part of that during the early sta…

I am delighted to have the opportunity to talk about working at home. To be honest, everybody's dream is to be able to work at home but, unfortunately, in my constituency it is not a reality. It is the type of country in which we live. Many other politicians have spoken to the Minister of State about communication and the need for a proper broadband service. We do not have a proper broadband service in west Cork. We must ask many questions about how ComReg acts because there are many issues with regard to Eir. My o…

The Ability programme provides funding to 27 local, regional and national projects throughout the country. It focuses on bringing young people with disabilities up to the age of 29 closer to the labour market. The Ability programme is co-financed by the European Social Fund and the Department of Social Protection and is administered by Pobal. The programme is due to conclude in 2021. It is of vital importance to many young people with disabilities in west Cork and throughout the country. What steps is the Governmen…

I came from the community sector myself. With no disrespect to the Minister, the Government relegated the Ministry for rural affairs when it put it on top of social protection. It has got lost. No one could argue that point when it was a stand-alone Ministry. It had a stronger clout with regard to delivering for the people of rural Ireland. No matter how good she is - we have many debates down through the years in committees - she cannot be good enough to run two portfolios. That is the way Fianna Fáil has looked a…