I also thank the Social Democrats for bringing this motion before the House. In chapter 10 of the commission’s report, which deals with county homes, there is a reference to an inspection report from 1952 which noted that 20 of the 34 children in the Kildare county home were members of families admitted because of a failure to procure accommodation or other temporary cessation of home life. Almost 70 years later, we have many more children spread throughout the county and the country who are in emergency accommodat…

I will be as brief as possible. The Government states it will embed ageing-in-place options for older people in the planning system as the county and city development plans are drawn up this year. Has any directive been issued to local authorities regarding this? What are the Government's plans to address the matter?

I thank Mr. Daniel Hurley, parliamentary researcher, for his very informative digest of this Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to transpose an EU directive to make provision for three EU instruments dealing with the authenticity and fitness checking of euro banknotes and coins and measures for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting. The deadline for transposing the directive was 23 May 2016 so this legislation is a long time coming. Ireland is the only member state of the EU, apart from Denmark which in n…

Page 23 of the programme for Government states that the Government will review whether the legal provisions surrounding collective redundancies and the liquidation of companies effectively protect the rights of workers. There is no need for lengthy reviews; the dogs on the street know that the current legislation is inadequate. The Duffy Cahill report has been gathering dust on a shelf somewhere in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for almost five years. With all due respect, that is the Tánaiste’s…

I, too, thank the Minister for her presentation. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important but quite technical Bill. The main purpose of the Criminal Procedure Bill 2021 is to provide for the introduction of preliminary trial hearings. These hearings deal with certain matters before a trial begins to ensure that the parties are ready to proceed on the day of the trial and to minimise interruptions while in progress. Part 3 of the Bill deals with the provision of information to juries to assist them with …

I welcome this opportunity to speak on this motion. In other years, attempts were made to dispose of this matter without debate and I am pleased the Government has not tried to go down that road this time around. I also accept that there will be occasions when money will remain unspent. However, some of the areas where spending has not occurred are inexcusable. I have many concerns about the 2021 Revised Estimates for the public services. I am concerned that we underspent in our current and capital spending on hous…

I commend an Teachta Pringle on bringing forward this Bill. In particular, I commend his persistence. I believe this is his third time introducing an economic, social and cultural rights Bill. It has been voted down each time by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, yet here we are again hoping that the Government might finally do the right thing for its citizens and allow the legislation to progress. Last year, Fianna Fáil's election slogans saw it looking for "An Ireland for All", while Fine Gael was "Building a Republic of…

Page 76 of the programme for Government states: Family carers are the backbone of care provision in Ireland. They deserve support and recognition from Government. The Government commits to "Review and update the National Carers' Strategy " and to "Develop a pension solution for family carers that recognises their important work". When will the national carers strategy be updated and when will a pension solution be proposed so that our carers will feel appreciated in some small way?

On Christmas Eve, a Brexit deal was announced and hailed as the answer to all our problems, but many people who have been in touch with me and my office disagree with this. Many people's daily lives have been affected by the fallout from Brexit. One lady was told that her car cannot be repaired because there is a problem getting parts from the UK. Her car is safe to drive but will not pass the NCT because there are diagnostic lights on the dashboard. She now has to risk driving the car to get to the shop to buy bab…

I too thank Deputy Cullinane for bringing forward this motion. It is often said that nursing is a vocation, but this pandemic has proven this much more. I have been contacted by many student nurses over recent months and the stories I have heard are shocking. Many student nurses work for free during the day and then work nights and weekends as care staff to pay for their fees and expenses while they are on placement. While they work in hospitals they might receive up to €50 per week if their placement is far enough…

I thank front-line workers for their service in difficult circumstances since this pandemic landed on our shores almost 11 months ago. The definition of a front-line worker has rightly expanded to include all workers who kept vital services going, not just hospital workers. We are grateful for their efforts. Bad as things have been, they could have been much worse had it not been for the workers' sacrifices. Their roles are too many to list and, at the risk of leaving anyone out, I will not do so. The people of Ire…

I will ask three questions quickly, since I am aware of the time. I will ask them constructively and respectfully and I hope the Minister will understand why. When will the public inquiry into deaths in nursing homes due to Covid-19, as recommended in the final report of the Covid-19 committee, be established? Will the Minister provide funding to section 39 organisations to account for their inability to fundraise? I have been contacted by a family whose father received a cancer diagnosis before Christmas. They are…

How will we keep screening and treatment open? Can we ensure that they will remain open and that there will be dignity for those undergoing treatment?

I was contacted by a family whose father had received a cancer diagnosis, which was being discussed on a public ward via phone. There is no dignity in that. Can dignity be maintained and can we ensure that our health services are kept open for screening and treatment?

The pandemic has had a detrimental effect on our economy and, more importantly, on our society. I spoke to a lady who brought her elderly father to an accident and emergency department last weekend. After waiting in a chair for eight hours wearing a mask, he was seen after midnight, was kept in and is still in hospital. He has not had any visitors, he has received bad news and his family has not been allowed in to see him. I ask Deputies to imagine getting a cancer diagnosis and having no family member to provide c…

I also thank my colleague, an Teachta Ó Broin, for bringing this Bill to the House. It provides a legal definition of "persons at risk of homelessness" and gives the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the local authorities the power to provide them with supports to prevent them becoming homeless. Prevention is better than cure. Last week, a gentleman contacted my office to say that he had been given notice to leave his accommodation by this Thursday, which is one week b…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. The credit union movement has been a huge force for good across the Thirty-two Counties, in almost every small town in addition to the bigger cities. I commend the staff and volunteers of credit unions, who have been instrumental in helping individuals and small business owners to keep the show on the road throughout the pandemic. I commend the leadership on its constant development of new ways to help its members. The credit unions are rivalling the big banks …

I also thank the Deputies of the Regional Group for tabling the motion. I have spoken in this House on a number of occasions about the need to balance mental and physical health as we deal with this pandemic. I recently spoke in the debate of a Bill tabled by my colleague, an Teachta Ward, regarding parity of esteem for mental health. It called for mental ill health to be given equal status to physical ill health. If we are serious about this, we must also give both types of ill health equal consideration from a pr…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on the annual Social Welfare Bill, which gives effect to proposals announced in budget 2021. The Bill allows self-employed people in receipt of the PUP to earn up to €480 over a four-week period while retaining the payment. We in Sinn Féin would like to see an increase in the amount that can be earned to €960 over a rolling eight-week period. This amendment is supported by the Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland and would allow greater flexibility for entertainers …

The Bill concerns an issue dealt with every year in similar Bills to provide risk equalisation. Risk equalisation is a mechanism designed to support the objective of a community-rated health insurance market whereby customers pay the same net premium for the same health insurance product irrespective of age, gender or health status. The Health Insurance Acts have provided for a risk equalisation scheme for the health insurance market since 1 January 2013. Under the scheme, insurers receive risk equalisation credits…