I support Senator Dooley. I am a member of the IPU and would have raised that issue in this House. I fully support him in calling for the Minister to come before us. It is important that we support the network. I also wish to raise the issue of the certainty of funding for development officers in various sports partnerships throughout the country. The challenge for sports partnerships is that they only have certainty of funding for a period of one year. As a result, there is no option but to employ development offi…

I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his role. I also welcome his announcement and his comments regarding the amendment the Government is tabling. I commend Senators Craughwell, Norris and Boylan on their work on this extremely important Bill. They have the collective support of the House to see its provisions implemented over the next 12 months. I am the father of three beautiful sons. Senators McCallion and Bacik spoke earlier about the heel prick test, which reminded me of being a very nervou…

I want to be associated with the remarks concerning members of our Defence Forces and their service to the UN. I agree with Senator Craughwell that the issue of pay is something that must be addressed. Members of the Defence Forces give great service, not only to this country but also the UN. I ask that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, come to this Chamber to discuss support measures for farming ahead of the budget. It is important that we get an opportunity to advocate for exp…

I have spoken to the Minister of State about an issue brought to my notice which concerns appeals. Section 26 of the Forestry Act 2014 makes provision for a replanting order by the Minister. There is no provision in the Bill for a right of appeal of such an order, part of an order or conditions attached to it, which is quite unusual. It leaves an individual with only one option, which is to challenge a replanting order through the courts system. I will send details on to the Department and ask the Minister of State…

I feel I must come in here and support the comments of my colleague, Senator Dolan. Senator Boyhan made outrageous remarks to accuse the Minister of State of being influenced in putting forward this legislation today. He should withdraw his remarks because that is what he said. This legislation has been put in front of the House because 12,000 jobs in the sector are at risk. The Minister of State has already stated that all the comments and the 8,000 submissions will be put in place when they are dealt with in time…

Many of the issues I was going to raise have been covered already. I want to speak about two issues in third level education. I welcome the additional places made available for third level courses throughout the country in recent months to deal with the increase in the number of students seeking to go to college. I want to ask about 2021. I realise I am looking into the future but we are all aware of the serious circumstances of the large number of students who sat their exams in 2019 and who have not got a place i…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. Like others, I take this opportunity to pay tribute to her, school principals, teachers and departmental officials for getting our schools opened. I would like to comment on a number of issues, the first of which is the students who sat the leaving certificate in 2019, deferred going to college that year and did not get offers this year owing to the inflation in points. Is it proposed to put in place any provision for the leaving certificate students of 2020 who defer going to…

I welcome the Minister of State and wish her well in her appointment. Some Members have criticised the fact that she and her Department have swiftly brought this legislation before the House. I commend them on bringing the legislation so swiftly. We have a major issue in the forestry industry with jobs at risk and the knock-on effect it has on the building industry. We have vexatious appeals stalling the entire process and putting up to 12,000 jobs at risk. I particularly think of Glennon Brothers Timber from Longf…

I wish to discuss the future of the 30 county childcare committees throughout the Twenty-six Counties. On 27 July, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy O'Gorman, announced a review of the current model to support the delivery of accessible, affordable and high-quality early learning and care and school-aged childcare services. Part of the review was to examine the architecture of the administration of the various childcare schemes and institutions, with a remit to recommend improvements based on the …

I wish Senator O'Reilly well. I will support him. I am not from Cavan but from Longford. They are neighbouring counties and rivals on the football field. I have family from Cavan who have known the Senator for many years and have been great supporters of his. Everything has been said here today. I came in when Senator Wilson was speaking and he epitomised Joe in the way he spoke. Well done to Senator Wilson on his comments. "Gentleman Joe" has been said, and he is a pure gentleman. I wish him well in his role. I wi…

I wish to raise the lack of speech and language therapy and occupational therapy for children, both in the early intervention system and when children leave that system at the age of five and are catered for by the school age team. In 2018 a joint initiative of the Department of Education and Skills and the HSE introduced specialised therapeutic services in schools. Some 19 speech and language therapists and 12 occupational therapists were recruited in a pilot programme, with each therapist supporting a cluster of …

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and congratulate him on his new role. We worked together in Longford-Westmeath for a number of years and I know that he is an extremely capable public representative. He will do an excellent job in the Department and I wish him well. I will back up what Senator Davitt said. Having been a member of the local authority in Longford for the last ten years, I have seen the support that has been given with regard to purchasing housing within the county. This is real money, u…

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate him on his appointment. I wish to compliment the Government on the comprehensive range of financial proposals in the Bill. They are extremely welcome for all sectors, workers and businesses. I concur with Senator O'Loughlin's comment on the local enterprise offices. I compliment my own local enterprise office in Longford, where a lot of work is being done to support businesses through these difficult times. I will concentrate on a couple of elements of the stimulus. …

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Acting Leader. I would like to raise an issue that has been debated in both Houses in previous times. I refer to the 1,700 independent, not-for-profit, section 39 organisations. In particular, I am speaking of St. Christopher's Services in Longford. These organisations provide vital services for thousands of people throughout Ireland with various disabilities. These services are not focused on making profits like the private sector but rather on improving and sustaining our communi…

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and congratulate her on her appointment. I am more than confident that she will serve her new Department with distinction, as she did her previous Department. I also compliment the Government on the swift action it took in March in getting payments out to hundreds of thousands of people who lost their jobs. I concur with the Minister with regard to the huge work done by staff members who worked through weekends to ensure those payments were made. I also compliment the Leade…

I have a query about the community employment schemes, which the Minister mentioned. I know my local scheme is struggling to get people to fill positions when others leave. Only recently, two people who turned 60 on a scheme received a letter and have seen their participation discontinued. I thought there was to be an extension so somebody over a certain age could serve up to five years on the scheme. These people were sent a letter indicating they cannot stay on the scheme. There are three positions now on the sch…

I congratulate the Minister on her appointment and look forward to working with her in the coming years in her various briefs. I have been chairman of the County Longford tourism committee for seven years and have been involved in developing the product in our county, which had the lowest tourism numbers for many years. I was heavily involved in the development of the start of the Royal Canal, which next summer will run the whole way from Spencer Dock to Cloondara in Longford. We hope it will be as successful as th…

Today marks a significant milestone in Irish sport, with competitive action recommencing after nearly four months of lockdown. This is very much welcome for the mental and physical health of the nation. Owing, however, to the pause on phase 4 of the roadmap, the limit on attendance at outdoor sports events remains 200, to include all persons at the venue, instead of 500, as had been hoped for. NPHET has adopted a one-size-fits-all approach when this situation clearly is not one size. Crowds are gathering in parks, …

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and wish him well in his brief. I welcome the Bill and the increased funding for the climate action fund. I come from Longford, one of the areas that has been hit with the closure of the plant in Lanesborough. Thousands of people in our area relied on jobs from Bord na Móna and the ESB over the past number of decades. We were hit with a hammer blow by the decision by An Bord Pleanála to turn down the ESB's application, and it has brought forward massive changes in our community…

I echo the concerns many Senators have expressed about the pub industry following yesterday's announcement. Gastropubs, restaurants and supermarkets are all selling drink and adhering to social distancing rules. I do not see why that could not have been put in place. A number of local publicans near me have spent substantial money in the last week stocking up in preparation for next Monday. That this announcement was only made yesterday was wrong. The suppliers will need to give extra credit to these publicans who …