I oppose the continuation of these emergency measures for the proposed six months. I feel that time is excessive given that a sizeable proportion of the population is now being vaccinated, including the older cohort and those deemed vulnerable to the disease. In fact, the majority of people contracting Covid-19 now are those in the younger age groups and, for the most part, are not experiencing significant health implications. Many have no symptoms whatsoever. While I am not suggesting that all restrictions be drop…

We are all united in our opinion that what was happening in Palestine, and Gaza in particular, had to stop. We all welcomed the ceasefire announced last week, but how many ceasefires have there been over the 54 years of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory? How long will this ceasefire last before Israel starts stealing Palestinian land again, while continuing to commit war crimes and forcing the Palestinian people to continue to live in absolutely dreadful conditions? A statement from the Government con…

Has the Minister raised, or will he raise, the issue of the shortfall in skilled mental health staff with the Higher Education Authority with a view to expanding the number of places available in the subject area in third level institutions in this country?

I was concerned by information I received in reply to a parliamentary question I submitted recently regarding services for persons with eating disorders. The reply I received indicated the HSE had developed an approved model of care for eating disorders. It was launched in 2018 but, to date, out of the proposed eating disorder network of eight adult and eight child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, teams, only three teams have commenced recruitment and are delivering a service. Two are CAMHS and one is …

I thank the Minister. I will point out there is a significant budget. Out of some €5.7 million made available, only €1.77 million has been invested. Something should be clearly earmarked at this stage. Money is not being used. The money is there, but all the money in the world is useless if there is no availability of trained personnel. It is a matter that should be actioned immediately to try to get the number of trained clinicians needed. Unfortunately, some people die from eating disorders every year. Some 200,0…

I have been contacted by the residents of Mountnugent in County Cavan, who are shocked and concerned by plans by Eir to erect a 12 m mast in the centre of the village. There has been no communication or consultation with local people. Mountnugent is a beautiful village, but if a mast is constructed there it will totally dominate it. As one local said to me, it will become known as the village with the mast. Eir was refused planning permission for a mast on this site around 20 years ago. It is now trying to install …

I welcome this amendment to the nursing homes support scheme. I am happy to support it and it is long overdue. For years, many families with small farms or businesses have been charged 7.5% of the value of the farm or business to pay for nursing home care. It is draining those farms and businesses and making them unviable. I am happy to see the 7.5% will be capped to three years. However, I believe it will not be retrospective, which is quite unfair because of the length of time it has taken this Bill to come to th…

Countless people have contacted my office about the lack of affordable housing in counties Cavan and Monaghan. Perhaps the Minister could advise me on what to say when constituents contact me wondering what they should do when the local authority informs them that they are over the threshold for social housing. Perhaps they have got a few extra shifts at work or had their hours increased and so they no longer qualify for social housing. However, that means they no longer qualify for any sort of housing support paym…

While I support the Bill, I am concerned about a couple of issues. For example, if a parent, guardian or grandparent approaches a teacher or member of a school's personnel to try to influence grades but does so without the knowledge or consent of the pupil, the pupil should not be held responsible or accountable. A fine should be imposed on the person making the approach instead of the student being denied a result. I will point out to Deputy Ó Ríordáin that Labour voted in favour of the Sinn Féin amendment on this…

A number of my constituents who registered for the Covid-19 vaccine and entered their Eircode postcode received a text telling them that they will be getting the vaccine on a particular date and at a particular time but they will have to travel 60 km to 100 km from their home to a vaccination centre in either County Meath or County Dublin and not in County Cavan, where they live. Not only do they have to travel, but people from the same household are being given appointments several hours apart. Why, if the HSE is …

I wish to raise the issue of boarding out regulations which comes under SI 225 of 1993. As the date suggests, these regulations first came into operation in 1993. They allow for individuals or families to take care of elderly people in their own home. This is suitable for an older person who is not able to live independently or with family members of their own, or does not want to live alone. Boarding out is not suitable for the care of people who need high levels of medical support but it can reduce social isolati…

I welcome the fact that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has asked officials to give this model of care more consideration to determine if an expansion of the scheme is warranted. That is good news. However, the issues I have outlined need to be addressed for those who are currently providing care under the scheme. Providers of boarding out facilities are currently working for less than the minimum wage. They are doing an immensely important job in helping our older generation to continue living in the communi…

While Sinn Féin supports this Bill there are aspects of it I am concerned about. A just transition must occur if this is to work. I live in the heart of rural Ireland and am very concerned about the effects that initiatives under this Bill are going to have or indeed are having on people living in rural Ireland and on the farming community in particular. The vast majority of people generally agree we need to change the way we live to save the planet, we all know it is at crisis point and Ireland, as small as it is,…

I fully support the motion tabled by the Labour Party and commend the party on so doing. It deals with a very important issue that I expect has been raised with every Deputy. I want to highlight a number of school-based issues affecting children with autism. Many children diagnosed with autism are given a place in an ASD unit or special class only to find that the person teaching them is a mainstream teacher and does not have a qualification in special educational needs, SEN. Some of those teachers will do addition…

I am very concerned about the statistics released this week which state that one in five detected sexual crimes reported to the Garda involved minors as both victims and perpetrators. This is extremely worrying, as it involves those so young, most of whom I am presuming are in their teens. I do not want to think that they could be younger. As a former teacher in a secondary school, I am aware that inappropriate comments and touching may happen regularly, to female students in particular, but they seldom report it. …

On those who are housebound and still have not received the vaccine, there are many in my constituency affected by this. I have a case of one woman who is 99 years of age, turning 100 in August, who had difficulty receiving her vaccine. She was notified there was a vaccine for her at beginning of March. However, she was not able to go to her GP and nothing happened. In the end, her family, with great difficulty, managed to get her to the GP to give her the vaccine but it caused a lot of distress. Will the Minister …

I was very concerned about the lack of availability and affordability of housing in Cavan. There are virtually no properties available to rent privately and the few that are available are not affordable for most families, even with the housing assistance payment, if accepted by the landlords. This highlights the absolute need for social and affordable housing to be built. Cavan County Council had an opportunity recently to have 24 social houses constructed in Cootehill on council land but five of the six councillor…

The revelations on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme were shocking. The collection of information, especially medical and treatment information on vulnerable children and their families, was despicable. None of us would like to think that our personal information, which we had shared with a professional, was there for all members of a certain section in the Department of Health to see. In the first instance, no families should be required to take the State to court over the right to a proper education. Second, the S…

It is estimated that family carers in Ireland number in excess of 500,000. Our carers do incredible work. They look after family members who are ill, have dementia or have a disability. It is estimated that carers save the State €20 billion every year. However, our family carers feel forgotten about, ignored, taken for granted and, in many cases, worthless. The past year has had an unprecedented negative effect on carers. This time last year, when schools and day services for elderly people and those with disabilit…

I support the Bill. It is a very important Bill for parents of young children to allow them time to bond with their child, regardless of whether they are the birth parent or adoptive parent. This past year has been incredibly difficult for new parents. They have had to do without the support of family and friends on whom they could normally rely for assistance when welcoming a new member to the family home. Parent and toddler groups were not able to meet. New parents could not rely on their own parents, siblings, n…