The programme for Government acknowledges that the impact of Covid-19 has been particularly difficult for our older people. It rightly states, "Learning from Covid-19, we will assess how we care for older people and examine alternatives to meet the diverse needs of our older citizens." When will the promised commission to examine care and supports for older people be established? Can we help develop a plan to ensure our older people are included in society this Christmas? Older people feel they are lost at the mome…

I thank an Teachta O'Reilly for bringing forward this Bill. Its purpose is to amend the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to make incidents of Covid-19 infection notifiable to the Health and Safety Authority. This is an important change which, if it had been in place before the pandemic, could have prevented many instances of infection from spreading. I am thinking, in particular, of the meat plants. Back in August, I received an email from an employee of a meat plant in Kildare who told me that 60 other …

I thank my colleagues, Teachtaí O'Reilly and Kerrane, for bringing this motion to the House. In 2011 in their first year in coalition Government, Fine Gael and the Labour Party legislated for the phased increase in the age at which people could access the State pension. The age was increased to 66 years from 2014. It was planned to rise to 67 years from 1 January 2021 and to 68 years from 1 January 2028. This cannot be allowed to happen. We now have a Pauline conversion by the Labour Party, which seems to be oppose…

Page 62 of the programme for Government states that the Government will work on a package of reforms with approved housing bodies, AHBs. Will the Government consider allowing AHBs to sell their housing stock so that those residents who wish to, and are able to, put down permanent roots can do so? I also call on the Government to ensure money is ring-fenced so that housing units are not affected. I ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to meet with residents of AHB housing in south Kildare. The…

I thank my colleague Deputy Ward for introducing this Bill. It is a very simple Bill, which I hope will have a positive effect on mental health services. We need to place mental health on a par with physical health and improve the provision and quality of mental health services. I have spoken in the House previously about a man whose son was experiencing mental ill health. He felt it would have been better had his son been diagnosed with cancer because at least then there would be clear path to care. Any family tha…

I commend the small business owners throughout the country who are struggling during this pandemic. Small business owners are the backbone of rural Ireland in particular. They provide badly needed employment where larger companies believe it is not feasible to do so. They need to be supported and we need to ensure they survive this crisis. It is a matter of survival at this stage because it is a crisis. I received an email from a gentleman at 10.30 p.m. on Sunday. The time it was sent will give an idea of how stres…

Page 51 of the programme for Government sets out an objective: "Task local authorities to work with ... [various stakeholders] and Age Friendly Ireland on the development/redevelopment of older-person housing." Every effort must be made to ensure that older people live in their communities for as long as possible. I am thinking of my 90-year-old uncle and his wife, who live independently in the town of Portarlington in County Laois. There are many others who would love to live in their communities and we must consi…

I too would like to thank the Chairman and members of the committee for all of their work and allowing me to speak at some of the meetings. It was important for me to do this, particularly at a time Kildare was the only county in lockdown so that I could share the experience of my constituents. Covid-19 has turned our world upside down. We watched as strange situations like not being able to hold our loved ones or shake hands became the new normal. My hope is that we will never consider changes like this in any way…

I have.

As a former shop steward, I, too, thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this Bill. It is a Pauline conversion by the party that facilitated the imposition of austerity on ordinary workers and their families, but it is a welcome conversion nonetheless. Last week, my colleague, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on enterprise, trade, employment and workers' rights, Deputy Louise O'Reilly, introduced a similar Bill to give workers a legal right to disconnect from work outside their working hours. Covid-19 has highlighte…

I commend the members of An Garda Síochána on the work they have done in the trying circumstances caused by Covid-19. Unfortunately, they are being let down by underinvestment, neglect and a system that needs root-and-branch reform. The report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland was launched with great fanfare in September 2018. It was promptly left to gather dust on a shelf in the Department of Justice. The previous Government developed a habit of paying for reports on how to fix issues and then…

I thank my colleagues, na Teachtaí Ellis and Paul Donnelly, for bringing forward this motion. Anyone who has experienced the terror of scramblers and quad bikes being driven recklessly at speed in their community will know that the proposed legislation is long overdue. Every year we have warnings around this time appealing to parents not to buy scramblers and quad bikes for children for Christmas. It is about time the Garda had adequate powers to deal with this menace on our streets. In the period from 2014 to 2019…

It is stated on pages 12 and 13 of the programme for Government that the Government will prioritise a town centres approach to the regeneration of our villages, bring forward and expand the town and village renewal scheme, bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use and promote residential occupancy. Will this be made a priority so that towns like Monasterevin, Portarlington and Rathangan can have the blight of derelict buildings removed from their main streets and that these will be transformed into much-nee…

Page 61 of the programme for Government states that this Government will support a consultative process for sports clubs and voluntary organisations to recover and enhance their impact in the aftermath of Covid-19. Last week in Kildare town, we had a situation where St. Brigid's Boxing Club was locked out of its premises. The Taoiseach may not be aware of St. Brigid's Boxing Club but perhaps he should familiarise himself with it because it has 300 Kildare titles, 200 Leinster titles, 55 Irish titles, 4 European med…

The Government is co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and it is about time it took that role seriously. The full implementation of that agreement and subsequent agreements needs to be prioritised by the Government. Commitments such as the holding of a public inquiry into the death of Pat Finucane must be delivered upon. The Irish protocol must be defended at all costs. There are well over 700,000 people with Irish passports living in the North and there were almost 100,000 first-time applicants for a passport…

I am aware that there is much conversation about broadband, which makes me think that there is a serious problem. Included on page 61 of the programme for Government is a commitment to invest in infrastructure, including broadband, to support the development of rural towns and villages. Recently I spoke to a blind man who uses Alexa to set timers while he is cooking, but the Wi-Fi often drops, making this more difficult, as the Tánaiste will understand. I also spoke recently to a lady in Ferns Bridge in Monasterevi…

On page 46 of the programme for Government, it states there will be an increased focus on rare diseases. In response to a parliamentary question in June relating to the licensing of the drug patisiran for the treatment of amyloidosis, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, stated that once negotiations between the HSE and the manufacturer are complete, the drug will be formally considered by the HSE drugs group. Thousands of people have signed an online petition calling on the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to provi…

I have been inundated with individuals and groups over the last few weeks telling me how this budget has affected them. The general consensus is that it is a bad budget for rural people and certainly for older people. Older people have been left behind. In an €18 billion budget, the Government could not find any money, even a small amount, for pensions and for those who are most vulnerable to a pandemic. There is certainly no money to progress towards a living wage and lift thousands out of poverty, nor is there mo…

I thank my colleague, Teachta Ó Broin, for bringing this Bill before the House. It will scrap the power Ministers have to make sweeping changes to planning law without a vote of the Oireachtas. It will also ban co-living and the substandard design of build-to-rent properties for renters. We are told the housing Minister is conducting a review of co-living. While in opposition, the Minister labelled co-living as "bonkers". The current Taoiseach when in opposition referred to "battery cage-type accommodation". It is …

According to page 63 of the programme for Government, "This Government believes An Post has untapped potential to do more and make a further significant contribution across many areas of public, business and community life in Ireland." What are the Government's plans to prevent further post office closures? Post offices are essential services in our rural towns and villages. I recently found out from helping a constituent that just three post offices in County Kildare and one in County Laois provide the free addres…