I raise the issue of workers in Rehab Enterprises in Raheen, 37 of whom have been told they are going to be made redundant shortly. This is truly concerning because these particular workers suffer from a range of disabilities. Some have visual impairments, some have learning difficulties and some have Down's syndrome. These people have given decades of service to Rehab Enterprises in Limerick. One can imagine the huge blow it is to them to find that their jobs are going but to also find that the long-established an…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in this afternoon. She will not be surprised that I want to discuss Shannon Airport. We have had a number of conversations on the topic and I know she is well aware of the impact this crisis is having across all of the sectors. I want to acknowledge, in fairness, that supports have been put in place to date although, clearly, we will need to go further. The situation in Shannon Airport is more intense because of a deeply flawed structure that has operated for the past eight …

I may quote Senator Mullen on that later.

Like several other Senators, I wish to raise the issue of Ulster Bank. It is particularly concerning that 2,400 good jobs may be lost. There may be significant implications for mortgage holders and small businesses across the State. I was not encouraged by listening to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, this morning. He seemed to be speaking in terms of a hands-off approach. I hope that will not be the case. There was a more encouraging response from the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, yesterday in terms of the n…

Well said.

I do not know how to deal with this matter in just six minutes, particularly as it involves such a history of evil collusion between church and State institutions. I want to begin by dealing with Manor House in Castlepollard because I am from a place just down the road from there. It is interesting to focus on how Manor House came into existence. It came into being because a local government inspector asked the congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary to set up the home. So the home was established on foo…

I am sharing time with Senator Warfield.

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I congratulate my colleagues in the Labour Party on introducing this excellent, simple and straightforward Bill. This issue really should not be occupying our time because it should have been sorted out long before now. It is about fair, reasonable and sustainable rates of pay and allowances. This issue was first raised with the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, by Sinn Féin on the floor of the Dáil in July 2020. A Sinn Féin motion before the Dáil last month calling fo…

It is nice to see Senator McGreehan in the Chair and to have the Minister of State, Deputy English, in the House. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I welcome this motion. There are lots of positive messages around remote working that we fully support. Like my colleague from the Labour Party, however, I am concerned about the aspirational nature of much of what is proposed as opposed to there being nuts-and-bolts provisions in terms of protections for workers. I will deal with that point presently. As we all know, when the pa…

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There is not a right to collective bargaining.

It is the first time I have met the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in the Chamber since her appointment. I wish her well and congratulate her. I will be critical of the Government but I do not doubt the Minister of State's personal commitment to this role. I would argue the Minister of State's job is certainly among the toughest of any Minister in the Government. Where should one begin with this topic? Extensive research shows that there are massive challenges in this area. To cite some of the statistics, the HS…

I want to raise the crucial issue for Limerick of the Coonagh to Knockalisheen road. I am sure that many Members will have heard about this over the past weeks. Let me begin by saying that anyone who knows Moyross will know that it is among the most socially disadvantaged and socially isolated communities anywhere in the State. There is a tremendously brave and united community there building and forging a better future for themselves and their children. The community is at a complete loss as to why this Government…

I will begin by wishing the Cathaoirleach a happy Christmas. I thank him for his guidance during the year. I also extend Christmas wishes and thanks to Mr. Martin Groves, Ms Bridget Doody and all the Seanad staff as well as to the Leader, whose constructive approach thus far must be acknowledged. I was struck by the comments of Senators Casey and Crowe and my heart genuinely goes out to them. I cannot imagine how hard it is for the hospitality sector at the moment. I appeal to the Government to review this constant…

Sinn Féin will support the Bill. The purpose of the Appropriation Bill is to give statutory authority for the amounts voted by the Dáil during the year as required by the Constitution. The Appropriation Bill must be enacted by the Oireachtas in December. Otherwise, there will be no authority to spend any voted moneys from the start of 2021. The amount of €69.7 billion in respect of net voted expenditure in the Bill includes the original Estimate, Further Revised Estimates and Supplementary Estimates presented to th…

I want to speak on two issues. First, I concur with what everyone has said on several occasions in this Chamber over several years about councillors' pay. I am genuinely puzzled because, in my naïveté, I had assumed this problem would have been dealt with by now. I suppose I have an interest in the Sinn Féin councillors, in particular, because most of them tend to be full-time councillors. The problem we have is that it is almost impossible to live on the salary of a full-time councillor. It is part of the ethos th…

I will raise two issues. The first I have raised before, along with Senators from all sides of the Chamber, and that is the plight of the student nurses. I quote some voices from the front line, which were contained in a powerful article in The Irish Times yesterday: So far I have washed and fed patients, emotionally supported them and have been on the ward as two patients have died ... I’ve worked 12-hour shifts back to back and been so tired I’ve been physically sick. A second student nurse said, Since I commence…