I appreciate the opportunity to contribute briefly to this very important debate, nominally about the national recovery and resilience plan. We know from the Minister's remarks that it also includes the national economic plan, the various measures announced yesterday, the measures that have been announced throughout the pandemic and a few early pitches ahead of the budgetary cycle. The one area I would like to focus on, however, is the national recovery and resilience plan submitted by the Government to the Europea…

I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this debate and, of course, I wholeheartedly support this extremely important motion. Before I talk to the topic at hand, I want to state that this motion replaced statements on the post-European Council on the schedule. I have asked my party’s representative on the Business Committee that that be on a future schedule of the Dáil because it is a requirement under the Lisbon treaty, in terms of subsidiarity, that our national Parliament receives a report on the European …

Obviously, some major decisions will be made by the Government today and tomorrow on the next stages. I was wondering if consideration will be given not just to the trial roll-out but to an eventual roll-out which will see live crowds return to our sporting and cultural events around the country this summer. I know all our sports organisations, fans and supporters but particularly the players are very concerned to see them reopen in a safe manner, bearing in mind the very successful tests that have happened in the …

I will try to keep my supplementary questions to one minute in fairness to the other Deputies. With regard to the shared dialogues, the Taoiseach said that hundreds of people have participated. Is it possible to get the specific number of how many people have taken part so far? The Taoiseach addressed what issues will be discussed. Is there scope to move to either blended or in-person dialogues? At what stage is this hoped to occur? Ultimately, what will be the result of the shared dialogues? Where will the reports…

I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak. I thank the Minister and the vast majority of Deputies who made such considered responses, although I was struck that Deputy Paul Murphy, who is leaving the Chamber, demanded mandatory hotel quarantine for Great Britain but made no mention of what the impact of Northern Ireland having an open border with Great Britain wold be. I question his cynicism in placing ideology at the heart of this debate when the vast majority of us would like to work together on a sector t…

I am taking this question on behalf of Deputy David Stanton. I wish to ask the Minister of State about the supports provided by the Department for the maintenance and enhancement of community facilities, the way in which local community groups may access this funding and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I am very grateful for the thorough overview of the many supports available from the Minister of State. In asking this question, Deputy Stanton has asked me to convey the very clear point that over the past year we have all spent a lot more time close to home in our local communities which has allowed us to take full advantage of the amenities available to us, including community facilities and groups, as the Minister of State outlined. While many of us have relied on these groups over the past year, it has been ve…

I thank the Minister of State for that thorough answer. I agree with the closing line, which is so important, but there is a job of work to do to ensure groups know who their LCDC, are. We take it for granted because we work in this area every day, be it as county councillors, Senators, Deputies or Ministers of State such as the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien. However, given how stressed and up against it these groups have been for the past year, and Deputy Stanton agrees, there is a huge amount of work still to…

My question follows on from those of Deputies Kerrane and Dillon. What is the status of the Minister's work on remote working, as per the Our Rural Future rural development policy? I refer in particular to the commitment to have 20% of the public sector workforce working remotely or from home by the end of this year.

I assure the Minister that my cousins in Cootehill, Ashfield, Newbliss and many other places will understand the importance of this proposal. While I represent a Dublin constituency, it is one that includes a large swathe of a rural area throughout the Dublin Mountains. The programme the Minister is championing is important to the revitalisation of every aspect of rural Ireland, be that in Dublin, Monaghan, Cavan or any of the townlands previously mentioned. The crux of the matter for those of us representing Dubli…

I reassure the Minister that there is much excitement in Newbliss regarding the renovation of the building mentioned. As someone who represents a suburban constituency, it struck me that since the outbreak of the pandemic I am the only person on my suburban street of 40 homes who has been regularly travelling into the city centre to work. The vast majority have been working from home in a blended manner and many look forward to the opening of a remote working centre in Stepaside in the coming months. While we are o…

I want to raise the issue of drive-in cinemas, particularly Retro Drive-in Movies in Leopardstown in my constituency and the absolutely baffling news it has been closed down for supposedly being in breach of Covid regulations. This has come as a surprise to the businesses as it did to many of us, including me, who attended one of these drive in cinemas on Friday night. Previously under SI 219 of 2021 of the Health Act 1947, cinemas were listed as not permitted but drive-in cinemas were listed as an exception. It ma…

I appreciate the opportunity to contribute on this timely and poignant debate. In my brief time as a Member, I have never been more struck by a debate where there has been such a unified opinion across the Chamber as well as such genuine compassion for the people at the heart of this scandal, the bereaved families of those ten innocent people who were murdered in Ballymurphy 50 years ago. That they had to wait so long to get vindication and justice for their relatives is a damning indictment of everyone involved in…

Before I begin, I am very lucky to have known the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, for quite some time. We were on the county council together and it is very reassuring to see his professional background being used, so I take the opportunity to pay him credit, as I do all the HSE staff for their response in this area because it is often overlooked. My questions follow on from some of those asked by Deputies O'Donnell and Gannon. Can we get clarity on the robustness of the systems in place across every level of Gove…

Both the Minister of State and the Minister alluded to this being a new variant of a known attack. What is the increased threat intelligence now?

Much of what I have to say is complementary to what Deputy Costello said but comes at it from a slightly different angle. The main issue I have to raise is access and inclusion model, AIM, staff for children with ASD in early years education at the very start of their national school education. For a Montessori school to take on a child with ASD, it requires AIM staff who have further qualifications than most childcare workers to work one-on-one with the child. It is obviously crucial for children with ASD to atten…

I thank the Minister for the thorough reply. I ask her and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to collaborate with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, to determine where there is a clear need for a joint approach. When there is early diagnosis and early intervention, children are not getting the supports they need to allow them to enter mainstream education in the best possible way. That is why we need to see support for Montessori workers in the early childho…

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak on this vitally important legislation. I thank the Tánaiste for speaking on it. In preparation for this debate I looked at a very old picture of a fresh-faced Deputy Denis Naughten with my predecessor, a Deputy for my constituency, Alan Shatter, preparing legislation in this area; that was not today or yesterday. I pay particular credit to our colleague, former Deputy Noel Rock, who spent so much time and effort in the last Dáil on this legislation along with the curren…

Many of us have been absolutely shocked by footage circulating in recent weeks of violent anti-social behaviour incidents across the Dublin region. In particular, a racist incident involving children in my own constituency in Leopardstown last weekend has shocked many. In that context and as per the programme for Government, what is the status of the forum on anti-social behaviour and where is the youth justice strategy that has been promised?

As ever, I thank the Taoiseach for his full response. There are number of key issues to discuss but like others, including Deputy McDonald, I believe it is important to note the verdict of the investigation into the Ballymurphy massacre and the need for continuing engagement between the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister on all issues relating to legacy and the slightly worrying comments out of the Queen's speech to Parliament today. Specifically, in respect of this question, I wish to raise the absolute need…