Will the Minister of State take my points back to the Department and ask it to respond to me on whether it has a timeline?

I move: That Dáil Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters entitled "Ensuring independent living and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities", on 10th March, 2022. I thank the members of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters for the major work and effort put into the report and into our deliberations over the past two years. Our members are extremely dedicated and committed to the challenges we face. Our committee is about disability mat…

It is great to have our American friends with us and I would like to be associated with the Acting Chairman's remarks. I thank the Members for their contribution to the debate. Deputy Martin Browne spoke about the overlooked or "passed over". It is a very good way to look at it, a very simple phrase that people are being overlooked or passed over. The Deputy put it very well. Deputy Cairns spoke about Article 19 which we have explored many times. It is a significant issue. Our Vice Chair, Deputy Tully, spoke about …

I welcome the opportunity to contribute the debate. It is important that we have a discussion on water services and wastewater treatment throughout the country. It is fundamental. In the few minutes available to me I will raise the issue of the wastewater treatment plants that are inadequate, and in some places non-existent, in some of the smaller villages. If they were to be prioritised and moved through the system, they could be a stepping stone to a huge amount of badly-needed housing in rural communities but al…

I wish to ask about the Minister's engagement with the European Commission and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in respect of the rewetting of land. There seems to be some misinformation circulating in that regard. Perhaps the Minister could make a statement on the matter.

I thank the Minister. We must ensure balance in respect of any decisions made at European level. We are producing food in an environmentally friendly manner in this country and we must ensure that is at the forefront of any discussions. The deliberations the Departments of the Environment, Climate and Communications and Agriculture, Food and the Marine have with the European Commission must involve a sensible proposal. We must ensure we are not curtailing lands and food production. We must ensure the people of the …

I ask what plans are in place to review the operation of the school transport scheme. Will the Minister outline the issue? I might come back to her with a supplementary question. Where is the review at? When do we hope to have a view of the review? When will it be published?

I thank the Minister. There are two issues, one of which is the ongoing review. Will it take into consideration the issues that arose this year in relation to concessionary tickets and making sure that as broad a school transport system as possible is in place? School transport ticks an awful lot of boxes in getting everyone who can get a bus to school to do so. Where children have special and additional needs are travelling to different locations for their school activities or places, some parents opt for a taxi s…

I assume that the issue of distance, particularly at post-primary level, is also in the review and if it is not, the Minister should make sure that it is. The mileage or kilometre distance is probably outdated at this stage and should be looked into in the review and in the final deliberations of the review panel.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter. It is the fundamental issue of our time. Housing is greatly important. I wish to hone in on a few things that can be changed. Rural Ireland has great capacity to build and expand housing. A great deal of work has been done in urban places for generations at this stage and it is now high time we examined building houses in rural Ireland. I welcome the Croí Cónaithe scheme and its extension to ensure it is available in rural communities. Equally, we must have an appr…

On Question No. 108, to expand on the points on working from home that have been made, the Department and Minister must take recognition of the benefit of working from home for people and to society. People had long commutes and then started working from home. We must accept as a State that working from home which, for want of better English, was a by-product of Covid-19, has such huge benefits. We want to make sure that when the State reflects on the paper on the Department's website, but also as we look at the po…

I take the point regarding the State but we also need to take recognition of the State employees who can work from home, provide the same service and do the same job equally well from home a number of days per week. The State needs to examine this and make sure it has have every incentive in place in order that people are not commuting from the likes of my area in Duhallow to other large urban centres, and that they can work from home and from the hubs that are being developed in some villages and towns. There must…

I support Deputy Tully. We are constantly hearing about this at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. The issues of disabled drivers and mobility need to be treated as a matter of extreme urgency by Governments and Departments to try to get a resolution to it. These people need a resolution of this point.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me the opportunity to discuss the village of Castlemagner in north County Cork. Castlemagner is a beautiful village situated almost midway between Kanturk and Mallow. There was significant development in the village more than 15 years ago. We have been working for some time with Cork County Council. Councillor Bernard Moynihan put considerable work in with the council and Irish Water. We were delighted that Irish Water announced earlier this year that Castlemagner would be i…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am pleased that he and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, are committed to the funding of the wastewater treatment plants in the small towns and villages growth programme. It was on the scheme in October 2021. The Minister of State outlined what Irish Water said. The initial steps involve the assessment of needs process. The correlation of data is under way. When will the data be ready? We welcome the commitment of the Government and the Minister, who visited the si…

Does the Minister intend to carry out a review of the medical card assessment process for people with disabilities? What shape would such a review take?

Week after week at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, disability advocacy groups and people with disabilities come in. They constantly say that the medical card is gold for a person with a disability. It is hugely important that it is maintained. In some instances people with disabilities can get therapeutic work. They can earn extra income on top of the disability allowance. There is a stop in the system whereby people lose their disability benefits if they are able to get part-time work, which would have …

In regard to the medical card, there is one other issue on disabilities. I do not wish to list the disabilities, but I refer to a person with a diagnosis of a lifelong disability and who got a medical card in his or her younger years. At some point, there is a review. The person's income has not changed as he or she is on disability, and probably will be for life. Documentation comes back and the person must submit again a letter from his or her GP or consultant outlining the specific diagnosis. The diagnosis is no…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on Deputy Cairns' motion. I also welcome the motion. I want to raise three issues. Week after week, the witnesses who come before the Joint Committee on Disability Matters talk about the medical card and the possibilities for people with disabilities if they were to get outside incomes. The medical card is gold for a person with a disability. Their fear is secondary benefits would be removed for disabled artists, writers, photographers or whatever. It is hugely important that that…

Will the Minister provide an update on the expansion of youth diversion projects and make a statement on the matter?