I echo the concerns of Senator Gallagher in respect of the Longford-Roscommon division, which has been expanded into counties Longford, Roscommon and Mayo. The concern we have on the ground relates to the districts where there are 24-hour stations, in both Longford town and Granard, where there is now one superintendent covering both areas. There is a fear that the service in one of those 24-hour stations might be reduced, with some of the services moving west, farther from my county. I too wanted to flag my concer…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and will start by acknowledging the good work he has done, especially in recent weeks, on behalf of this State. He has worked hard on behalf of this State since entering political life, but he has done a great service to our country recently and it is important to put that on the record. I also acknowledge the work of the staff in the Passport Office in very difficult circumstances. They are the subject almost daily of negative media commentary in newspapers and on the radio. I…

It is apt the Acting Leader is in the position she is in today on St. Brigid's Day. I will raise a couple of issues. First is the Covid bonus payment. I was at St. Christopher's Services yesterday week with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and met a number of staff, etc. It is an issue that needs to be looked at. It was welcome for our front-line staff but we have to look at such staff across all services, be they the section 38 and 39 employees who did tremendous work and kept people safe over 18 months or …

I wish to raise the issue of the age threshold for parental leave. From September 2020 each parent is entitled to 26 weeks' unpaid parental leave. However, they must take that leave before the child is 12 years of age, or 16 if the child has a disability. I recently wrote to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to ask if his Department would consider increasing the age limit to 14 or 15 years. I have been approached by a large number of parents who are struggling with childcare especially during school holidays. In 2019,…

I welcome the Minister of State. It is important to point out that we cannot underestimate the decision that was taken by my party in government, Fine Gael, a number of years ago with regard to broadband. It was a very positive decision against much opposition at the time. It is clear through Covid-19, in particular, that it was the right decision to make. We are all delighted that was done and that the infrastructural work that needed to be done to ensure every house has broadband available to it started earlier. …

I welcome the Minister of State. I concur with the comments made by Senator Dolan relating to the leaving certificate. As she said, the advisory group met recently to discuss proposals. One group that is represented on the advisory group is the National Parents Council Post Primary, which comprises the Catholic Secondary Schools Parent Associations, CSSPA, representing 342 schools, or 40% of the total; the Education and Training Board Schools National Parents Association, representing 271 schools; the National Asso…

I concur with the comments made by Senator Dolan. We need a decision in the next week. Parents and children have contacted us as public representatives and I am sure they have contacted the Minister of State. We want a final decision to be made in the next two to three days as it would let everyone know where they stand. I would prefer a hybrid model but that may not be attainable due to the junior certificate having been sat, so we need to put an alternative leaving certificate in place for students. We have to ta…

I wish to raise the better energy warmer homes scheme that delivers a range of energy-efficient measures free of charge to low-income households vulnerable to energy poverty. The scheme is funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. By March 2021 over 142,000 homes had received free upgrades, leaving their occupants better able to afford to heat them. The scheme provides support for attic, internal and external wall insulation, draug…

I wish to share time with Senator Dolan.

The Minister is very welcome. I concur with the comments of other Senators about the Minister's visits to all 26 counties. I was in Granard mart when the Minister visited. He gave his time. We did not agree with everything that was said but everyone got to say what they wanted to say. It was important that farmers' views were heard. It is important, leading into any decision with regard to the emissions percentages in agriculture, that there is a full discussion with all farm organisations. I have a couple of issue…

I welcome the Minister of State. Like other Senators, I find it disappointing that the Minister for Education is not here today but I know discussions are taking place. Nonetheless, I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, in regard to my Commencement matter on Meán Scoil Mhuire, given he knows the area and he knows Longford very well. This is an issue I have raised on six or seven occasions since I was elected and it was a priority for me to work on this. I have raised it on the Order of Business, put forw…

I echo those comments with regard to the work done by the Sisters of Mercy. I am disappointed that the reply did not contain an answer to my question. However, the Minister of State did say that the Department is working closely with CEIST, as the school patron, on the matter. I am on record as asking the Minister for Education the following question a number of times. I again ask for her to arrange a meeting between herself and her officials with both of the Oireachtas Members who represent the county and the prin…

I wish the Leader and all our colleagues a happy new year. As stated earlier, the State Examinations Commission is meeting today to discuss the leaving certificate examination. I support the calls made by the Leader and other Members for the introduction of the hybrid model. I agree with the call for two years of full uninterrupted learning for students to take place before we return to the original structure of the leaving certificate. As discussions are taking place today, and I think the National Parents Council…

I apologise for being late. I was dealing with another issue with the Transport Infrastructure Ireland announcement I saw this morning. I welcome the Minister and concur with the comments made on paternity leave. It is something I did not get when any of my kids were born but I welcome that for local representatives. It is going before the Oireachtas joint committee. That is the right place for it to go and I hope we get cross-party agreement on it. I concur with Senator Casey on the EWSS. It is an issue we did not…

I echo the comments of Senator O'Loughlin and thank everybody here, including the Cathaoirleach, Martin Groves, Bridget Doody, all the staff, the ushers and everyone who works here and in the background in Leinster House for the support they have given me and to Senators and Deputies. I wish everyone a healthy and happy Christmas. We look forward to a more positive 2022 after what has been a difficult year. We must remember those who passed away over the past 12 months. A number of my colleagues have had bereavemen…

The Minister is very welcome. I concur with the comments of Senator Cassells regarding the fact she has had one of the most challenging Departments in the past 18 months. I thank her for the work she has done. There are still issues outstanding but she has done a serious amount of work across a broad spectrum. It is important to recognise that the sector has been totally devastated by Covid-19, be it as a result of social distancing, travel restrictions, closures or the 50% capacity restriction. The events sector a…

I will be seeking for all pantos to be covered. I welcome any such scheme. I am heartened by the Minister's concluding remarks, where she stated support will continue unabated. I welcome that. I am not trying to be critical of her. I welcome the work she has done and the fact she stated support will be there for the coming year.

Older people in Ireland may have no choice but to move out of their own homes because they cannot access the care and support services they need to live independently. That is a big statement but it is definitely true. I am receiving calls on a daily basis from families who have been approved for home care support hours but for whom the HSE has been unable to provide staff to carry out the care. The sheer volume of people telling me about their hardship in securing the basic amount of home support hours for their l…

Senator Higgins made a few comments. The reality is that in the early 2010s we were precluded from purchasing houses and leasing was the most cost-effective way to provide them at the time. For us to develop or build housing, we need investors and we need people to develop it. It is the same in Longford as it is in Wicklow. It is a mixture of local authority housing plus private investment to make sure that we deliver the housing we have proposed. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, provided some figures ear…

I want to repeat what I said five minutes ago and I would love to hear a comment from a Sinn Féin representative on it. The fact is that between 2016 and 2021 Fine Gael delivered more houses in the programme for Government than was in the Sinn Féin proposal prior to the 2016 election. What answer does Sinn Féin give to that? We exceeded the proposals Sinn Féin put in place and we failed? If Sinn Féin had been in government we would have an awful lot more problems. Sinn Féin's housing spokesman, Deputy Ó Broin, migh…