I thank my colleagues in the Regional Group for tabling the motion. It is clear that Irish Water's delivery of new wastewater treatment plants is simply not working. We need a clear strategic plan to make regional development a reality by investing in water and wastewater infrastructure in our towns and villages. That is a must. The latest report of the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has shown that many towns and villages simply do not have adequate water and wastewater treatment services. The report is also…

I will first talk about the Bill and then nursing homes. I welcome the Bill, which introduces a three-year cap on the financial contributions of family-owned and family-operated farms or businesses when calculating the cost of nursing home care. The cap applies where a family successor commits to working the farm or business continually for a minimum of six years and commits to working the farm or business not less than 50% of their normal working time. The family successor must also have worked on the farm or busi…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 10, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: "Amendment of section 102 of Principal Act 14. Section 102 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (6)(f) by the insertion of "without the agreement of the secured creditor" after "security".". The Personal Insolvency Act was introduced to address deficiencies in the law and provide for fair and reasonable settlement of debt without having to resort to bankruptcy, which was then the only solution available in Ireland. In most …

As the Minister of State said, the solution I am looking for is for people who are 50 and over because everything else in insolvency law helps younger people. I know many people in my area and other areas in the country who are in their 50s and the last thing they want is to lose their homes. It is very important that legislation looks after all citizens, no matter their age. The thing that really annoys me is that the bank says the solution I am looking for is complicated. How do you tell a family who is losing th…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute. I welcomed the introduction of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 at the time. It brought a structure and a recognised framework through which people could address their debt issues. In hindsight, however, it is clear that, in many cases, those people got into debt as a result of actions over which they had little control. We all remember when the banks were throwing money at people with no regard for their ability to repay. The debt boom was fuelled by the banks and the fact …

I wish to raise minimum unit pricing for alcohol, a measure the Government is introducing. I fully support any measures taken to tackle the problem that society faces with alcohol. I was a member of the health committee when this legislation was examined and I fully supported it then. This legislation is right but it comes at the wrong time, as our friends in the North do not appear to have any appetite to introduce similar legislation. If the legislation is to be successful, as we all want, it must be introduced a…

As I stated, I fully support the legislation but its provisions are being introduced at the wrong time. The bottom line is that once the provisions are enforced, the price of alcohol in the South will almost certainly be double that in the North, and this will have devastating effects on local businesses, particularly in Border areas. Will the Taoiseach commit today to speaking with Northern Ireland authorities and urge them to follow us with this legislation? I support this measure being introduced on the island o…

In the programme for Government, a commitment was given that affordable housing, in particular rented accommodation, would be pursued. Rents have never been higher in Dundalk and they show no sign of levelling off. It is getting to the point where it would be cheaper to repay a mortgage on a three-bedroom family home than it would be to rent it. This situation is unacceptable. I have no hidden agenda but I have promised my constituents that I would ask the Taoiseach this question. What measures is the Government ta…

I welcome the opportunity to speak today and I welcome the Bill in principle. The full effects of Brexit are not yet being felt. Coming from a Border area, I know the real consequences of Brexit will be enormous. We are starting to see that already as the cost of goods is starting to rise. I know from speaking to people in many businesses in the construction sector that there are substantial price increases on the way, for example. Raw material prices are increasing across the board by as much as 30% and 40% in som…

As I stated as recently as last week, I welcome each and every opportunity to discuss the rental and housing crisis we now face in this country. The rental situation in Ireland is now at a crisis point. In my constituency of Louth, as far as I am aware, rent has never been higher. In my home town of Dundalk, it is normal for a standard three-bedroom house to have a rent bill of between €1,200 and €1,600 per month. To put this in perspective, that is the equivalent of between €280 and €370 per week. This puts rentin…

It is only right the Dáil gets an opportunity to debate these issues as regularly as possible. My colleague, Deputy Naughten, raised the important issue of private landlords refusing to refund rents to students who were forced to attend colleges by means of an online course and, therefore, did not require accommodation. It is not right that these landlords, many of which avail of the Government's support schemes during this current pandemic, refuse to refund rent deposits to students. This is happening in every par…

I am sharing time with Deputy Tóibín. I welcome the opportunity to take part in today's debate on an extremely important Bill. The Ellis decision raised a number of very important issues over what is an appropriate approach to sentences in certain cases, which in turn has led to significant delays in processing such cases to conclusion. I appreciate that the Bill is intended to remedy the faults in legislation that arose as a result of the Ellis case. There is no doubt that those on the Government side will highlig…

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. I thank those responsible for bringing it before the House and raising this very important issue. I have long advocated that mental health needs to be treated more seriously. Time and again, we hear those in government talk about the challenges of tackling mental health and the many actions they will bring to deal with the issue. The truth is that the Government is not taking the issue seriously enough. Mental health issues, particularly among our younger generation…

The programme for Government promised that healthcare would be a priority. It was promised that healthcare, in particular dental care, would be available to all citizens. I have been inundated with calls from constituents in Dundalk who are angry and frustrated because they cannot access dental care during the pandemic. The problem is particularly difficult for those in receipt of a medical card. They claim dentists are not accepting medical card holders for treatment. Will the Taoiseach give clarity on this? What …

I again wish to raise the issue of the Covid-19 vaccination programme. I do so because, like so many colleagues in this House, I have been inundated with calls from constituents who are deeply concerned about the roll-out programme. The vast majority of correspondence to my constituency office relates to the vaccination programme. As the Tánaiste will be aware, my constituency office is located near the Border. As things stand, the North will, in effect, be leaving lockdown at some stage in June, just like other pa…

I thank the Tánaiste. The bottom line is that the North is way ahead of us in its vaccination roll-out programme and, as a result, will open its society much earlier than us. As I said, this will cause untold damage to the economy in the South, particularly to businesses along the Border, in areas like Dundalk. I asked the Tánaiste about members of the Garda, teachers and SNAs. The Government made promises to those groups and it has failed miserably to deliver them. In June, when the North opens up, we will depend …

I did not make a promise to gardaí and teachers. The Tánaiste made that promise.

The "Prime Time" investigation was shocking. What was uncovered has truly angered people throughout the country. The programme has shown that the Department of Health secretly gathered information from private medical consultations to create files on children with autism who were involved in legal actions against the State. The files, which include sensitive medical and educational information of children involved in long-dormant court cases, were compiled and maintained by the Department of Health over several yea…

One of the main consequences of the current pandemic is that many people have been forced to work from home. Will the Minister explain what measures the Government will make available to these employees who have been forced to work from home, including financial supports to convert an area in the home to a proper working space? Will the Minister confirm what measures will continue to be made available in future?

I thank the Minister for his reply. I have been in contact with many people, including couples, working from home and the common theme is that while working from home, they require more supports and they are not happy with the supports they are getting. These people have needed to adapt certain spaces from which to work. Many people forced to work from home do not have access to reliable broadband, which is absolutely necessary for the vast majority of people working from home. I know one person who must wait until…