I greatly welcome the opportunity to participate in today's debate. I strongly oppose the Bill before us. We in Ireland have just come through a seven-month period which has been appalling for many of our older and more vulnerable citizens. Tens of thousands of them have been confined to their homes and have seen a huge decline in their morale, health and quality of life as a result. Many have been cut off from their families and their communities. Hundreds of our older people were left isolated and alone in nursin…

I am taking the four minutes.

What is happening in Canada is the same as what happened in other countries that introduced euthanasia, or assisted dying as some people insist on calling it. Once the law permits the ending of life, very soon it is no longer confined to the so-called hard cases. The door to unrestricted euthanasia is thrown open. Using phrases like "a very restrictive Bill with lots of safeguards" does not make it so. The only thing that matters is the text of the Bill and the Bill before us this evening would open up the door to …

During the past six months, we have been faced with probably the greatest challenge this country has faced in our lifetime. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be the focus of our efforts. It has taken a very heavy toll in lives but also on our day-to-day lives, the economy and society. This is a battle we are winning and one I hope we will look back on and learn from. In the midst of this, we still have to deal with Brexit, which, unfortunately, has not gone away. We did not vote for it, and nor did our neighbours …

The Ceann Comhairle always says that many members of the public watch Oireachtas TV and I agree with him, but votes on motions will be taken here tomorrow evening and only a selected few Members from each group can vote. It is very important that when the votes are taking place tomorrow the public is aware that not everybody can vote for the simple reason that they are taking place in this Chamber. If they were taking place in the Convention Centre Dublin all of us would be able to vote. Many people are engaging wi…

First, I again put on record my complete admiration and support for all our front-line workers. In recent weeks, we have seen more than 1 million students return to school and we must pay tribute to the teaching, caretaker, administrative and special needs assistant, SNA, staff who made this possible. Unfortunately, we are seeing Covid-19 numbers on the rise again and we must ensure that our front-line health staff get all the support they need. They have been through a traumatic time in the past six months and we …

As I am sure the Taoiseach is aware, there is great concern and anger about how leaving certificate grade inflation, which we witnessed on Monday, will impact more than 20,000 Central Applications Office, CAO, applicants who are using the previous leaving certificate results. I had assumed that the calculated teachers' estimated marks combined with the standardisation process, overseen by the Department of Education and Skills, to bring these grades more in line with previous years would have resulted in more consi…

I agree with the Taoiseach that this is a unique year. This group has a lot of questions and I feel he has not answered them. It is clear that the CAO points requirement will be greatly inflated this year due to the predicted grades system. A level playing field is needed. Grades increased in 2020 by 4.4%. This Government is, like the previous Government, always asking for solutions. A real solution is that students who did exams in 2019 and previous years would have their results increased by 4.4% so they would be…

There is no doubt that we are going through one of the most challenging times in our history. We are now facing another massive challenge as we attempt to get our children back to school safely. I would like to put on record my complete admiration and support for the way teaching professionals and support staff have risen to the challenge of making our schools safe for students and staff. We must not underestimate the challenge they face. I have visited many schools in my constituency, particularly in the Dundalk a…

Over the last number of years, when the Tánaiste was the Taoiseach and Jim Daly was Minister of State in the Department of Health, I raised the situation in the psychiatric unit in Crosslanes. I have visited that unit numerous times with people from Dundalk and the surrounding areas and the service there was absolutely dreadful. I once brought a young fellow up there with his mother and six hours later he was running around a car park in the nude. We ended up in the Garda station and we had to get a doctor to secti…

Can we get an investigation in the Crosslanes, the amount of money spent there and the number of people who have committed suicide?

No.

I welcome the opportunity to speak this evening. First, I wish the Minister the best of luck in her new role. She is taking on the position at probably the most difficult time imaginable and I assure her she will have my full support should she undertake measures that will make our schools safe for students, staff and parents. The health and welfare of our students must be our number one priority. We cannot afford to take any chances with the well-being of our students and we cannot put a price on it. Whatever meas…

I welcome the opportunity to take part in the debate. I support the Bill and welcome the fact that is now back on the agenda. The background to this Bill is that it was passed by Seanad Éireann on 19 June 2019 and referred to select committee in the Dáil on 11 December 2019. At that stage, the then Government said it would make minor amendments on Committee Stage. There was cross-party support for this Bill, support from industry and there is a commitment on it from the current Government in its programme for Gover…

I come from a Border area in Dundalk, and last weekend more than 500 people could attend GAA matches just 2 miles or 3 miles across the Border. The Taoiseach is a big sports fan, as am I, and sport does a great deal for mental health issues and everything else. I am also chairman of the Louth county board. Last weekend we had to be strict, with only 30 players and 60 spectators. It is the wrong thing to do at the moment. There are 41 clubs in County Louth, and each of them could take 5,000 or 6,000 people with no p…

I welcome the opportunity to take part in today's debate. Access to healthcare should not be based on ability to pay but on medical needs and requirements. Undoubtedly there is a two-tier health system in Ireland. I welcome the Government's commitment to Sláintecare and look forward to seeing it implemented during this Dáil. The Bill's proposals include the framework for the further phased expansion of GP care without charges for all children ages 12 years and under on a three-phased basis, and an increase to gross…

Last week, the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response met representatives from the Irish Primary Principals' Network and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals with regard to education provision in September. I have been contacted by a large number of special needs assistants, SNAs, who have expressed their deep disappointment and despair that they were excluded from this session. As the Taoiseach knows, SNAs have the closest contact with pupils in schools. They effectively look aft…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Only for the fact I am a pioneer I would buy you a drink. I thank the Taoiseach because he realises that special needs assistants do a fantastic job. It is important that their opinions and concerns are given expression. The people of County Louth, especially the Carlingford area, are concerned about what is happening at the moment. We see so many motor homes and the number of people coming to the Border area at the moment is high. It is okay for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tra…

I would love to see the Minister, Deputy Cowen, come before the Dáil but, in fairness, he has served his punishment and there is an investigation going on at the moment. He should be given an opportunity to clear his name outside here and then he should come before the House. I would appreciate it if the Minister were to give a commitment to the Taoiseach that he will come before the House to answer questions after the investigation is over.

Last week I raised the issue of patients using private hospitals who are being charged fees for Covid-19 testing. I also told the Taoiseach about a constituent of mine whose daughter is getting chemotherapy and has to pay €250 per session. The Taoiseach gave a commitment that himself and the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, would look into the situation. He used a very strong word and said that no private hospital should be profiteering. I agree with him. I got a phone call yesterday from another constituent of m…