The Taoiseach asked me a question and I gave an answer.

I am not saying it is not. We have failed the people.

We have failed them. There are 90-year-olds having to go to Northern Ireland.

It is not happening.

Ireland has the lowest employment rate for people with disabilities in the EU. It is almost 20% lower than the EU average of 50.8%. Some 27% of the homeless population have a disability, which is double the rate in the general population. More than 1,400 people with disabilities under the age of 65 are inappropriately placed in nursing homes. Services are carrying more than €40 million in deficits. Last week, Mr. Sean Abbott, the chairman of the National Federation of Voluntary Service Providers, said: People with …

A few days ago, the Taoiseach mentioned the possibility of addressing rising numbers of Covid cases in four named cities on a citywide rather than a countywide basis, which I fully understand. In one electoral area in west Cork we have had fewer than five cases in the past 14 days. As this is based on per 100,000 population and the population of the local electoral area is fewer than 25,000 people, this effectively equates to less than one case and most probably none. Since the Taoiseach spoke last week, on Sunday …

I wish the Minister of State the very best in her new position. Some 12,000 jobs are at risk, all in rural Ireland. Forestry and timber are critical for anyone who cares about rural development and rural jobs. There are 500 jobs on the line in GP Wood in Enniskeane and its associated companies, where hours are being reduced next month. Forestry is an industry worth €2.3 billion. The industry estimates that 2 million tonnes of timber are held up in appeals and the licensing application process in the Department of A…

I fully support Deputy Fitzmaurice's amendment and reject everything Deputy Boyd Barrett has said. He assumes that we in rural Ireland love to butcher trees and never plant them. That is totally wrong. It is unfortunate. The Deputy needs to spend a little bit more time in rural Ireland. I know he comes to west Cork sometimes. I will take him for a spin the next time he is down there and show him some beautiful and careful planting done by people who respect the environment. He should also remember that if we do not…

It looks as though the Minister of State is going to reject every amendment proposed tonight. She did that in the Seanad, where she rejected all but one or two. She has her own agenda. I spoke to her in a call on Zoom last week. While I welcomed the Bill, it was weak. That is fair. It was put before us and we had the opportunity to put down amendments, which now she will reject one by one as if they were not relevant. It has been made quite clear tonight that while we were here to help, the Minister of State is not…

I will be speaking to the amendment once again. I will be pointing out to Deputies Boyd Barrett and Connolly that the whole point of the amendment tabled by Deputy Fitzmaurice is that we would speed up the appeals; it is not that we would not have appeals. Many appeals are quite questionable, but that is not what his amendment is for. It is clear what his amendment is for. It is to speed up the process. People can read all the percentages in the wide earthly world about how many appeals are being made or how many a…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this excellent motion. There is a centuries-old legal dictum applying in our Irish common law system, overlaid by the requirements for the administration of justice under Bunreacht na hÉireann 1937, that no person can be a judge in his or her own case. Accordingly, it is not the duly appointed judges of Ireland who prosecute people for alleged infringements of the law but the statutory, separate and independent Director of Public Prosecutions, who presents all relevant and adm…

I have a few more minutes.

Patrick Murphy, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, which represents 490 fishermen and their families, spelled this out starkly when he said that the recent decision by the then acting marine Minister, Deputy Micheál Martin, to sign contentious statutory penalty points legislation for fishing breaches into law was dismaying. Mr. Murphy said that two members of his organisation challenged this legislation in the High Court and won. He said that the then Minister, Deputy Creed, tr…

Some 12,000 people in Ireland suffer from Parkinson's disease. Each and every one of them lives with the disease without much State assistance. Local county-level Parkinson's groups have operated in Ireland for many years. In Cork, one of these has been making the lives of Parkinson's sufferers somewhat easier. It raises funds locally for research and equipment for patients and last year purchased a minibus to take Parkinson's sufferers to events. This group keeps people with Parkinson's together so they can share …

I thank the Minister for staying on for the full debate. It is rare to see that happening in the Dáil. I attended the annual general meeting of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation in the Maritime Hotel, Bantry, last Saturday in order to educate myself on the crisis that Brexit will be for our fishing industry. Brexit has created fallout for the industry and it is already visible with a huge increase in numbers of foreign boats and their increased efforts in Ireland's exclusive economic zone, EEZ. I…

I agree with my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group. It is a bit rich of the Labour Party to put this forward today, when it absolutely destroyed women's pensions. It comes before me in my constituency every week because of the Labour Party's errors and what it did to persecute the women of this country. It has forgotten that quickly but we have not forgotten it because we have to face it daily and the women who worked hard have to face it, because of disgraceful decisions made by the Labour Party. Every empl…

During the recent election campaign, the Taoiseach's party issued written reassurances on the future of Bantry General Hospital and the anaesthetist post there. In the programme for Government, however, no specific commitment was made on Bantry hospital, even though commitments were made for many more hospitals. Almost two years ago, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, visited Bantry General Hospital with the usual fanfare to announce funding to start the build of an endoscopy unit. Two years later, not a …

I know that school transport does not fall under the Minister's brief but it is a nightmare throughout my constituency in Cork South-West. I am getting calls from frustrated and angry parents from Kinsale to Mizen Head. Coaches and buses are available. Drivers are available because they are not driving tourists around Ireland. Why can those vehicles not be used to transport our children to school? Fianna Fáil promised changes when it was in opposition but the situation has got worse. I hear of situations of childre…

The setting off of fireworks in and around a home must be terrifying for anyone who has to tolerate the behaviour of those who show scant regard for people and their property. We must go back to the root of problems as it is mainly our youth who involve themselves in these mindless acts. Not all youth are involved in disruptive behaviour, however. This can be seen from the Garda youth awards in west Cork. Year after year, we see great young people win awards for their excellent work in their community, thanks to th…

Hear, hear.