I echo that sentiment. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, said February is a good month to announce grants. As I think every month is a good month to announce sports capital grants, the sooner we can get the announcement better. I commend the Minister of State and his team in the Department, who have been excellent at liaising with us. I echo the sentiments of Deputy Carey. I ask the Minister of State to give an indication of how much he requested from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. If he cou…

Front-line healthcare workers will receive a €1,000 tax bonus for their work during the pandemic under plans agreed by Cabinet today. I welcome this wholeheartedly and it is good to see people get the recognition they deserve. They have worked through the most testing of times. Healthcare workers, front-line workers including hospice staff, cleaners, porters, clinical staff and private nursing home staff are all to be included. I believe student nurses are also to be considered for a pro rata payment. Will the Taoi…

I thank the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, for being present to deal with my question. This is a matter we have spoken about privately on a number of occasions. I acknowledge that she has always been constructive in those discussions and in her deliberations with me. I always appreciate her time. At the outset, I will acknowledge that there have been a number of improvements in the whole area of special education over the past few years. We have seen record investment in special education. I think that inves…

The response gives me an update on the figures but it still points out a concerning ratio in the provision of ASD places from primary versus secondary school. In Cork, we are now at 228 at primary level and 81 at post-primary level. There is, therefore, still almost that 3:1 ratio of ASD provision from primary versus secondary, particularly in Cork where the pinch point is. It is when kids are transitioning from primary to secondary level that parents are finding it extremely difficult to get access to ASD places a…

I welcome the announcement this morning by the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, of €3.7 million for charities that deal with animal welfare. I know he is currently reviewing the animal welfare strategy in his Department. What does the Government plan to do in its lifetime in terms of improving rights for animals? I refer in particular to the issue of horse welfare in my constituency. At present, there is no full-time designated official in Cork City Council or Cork County Council looking after animal welfare issues, t…

Has consideration been given to converting oil heating systems to run on ecofriendly HVO biofuel instead of kerosene and other fuels?

That is an encouraging response. As the Minister of State is probably well aware, there are 700,000 oil-burning boilers at present in the country and nearly 700,000 gas boilers, not to mention 100,000 liquefied natural gas boilers. It is important for that fact to be recognised. There is a gain to be made in the short term here. We can reduce CO2 emissions by between 80% and 90% by converting many of those gas and oil boilers and availing of HVO. It goes without saying that up in the North technology is being trial…

As I stated, it is welcome, but I wish to put on the record that these boilers can be converted for as little as €200 and will reduce emissions drastically. Carbon tax is not a very popular topic in these Houses but, of the €9.5 billion over the life of the national development plan, approximately €5 billion will be reinvested into retrofitting programmes such as those we are discussing. I ask the Minister of State to provide clarity regarding the SEAI and the grant system it currently runs. Am I right in saying th…

I ask the Minister of State about plans to expedite legislation to amend the Litter Pollution Act 1997 and Waste Management Act 1996 to provide a lawful basis for local authorities to use CCTV to detect and prosecute illegal dumping.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. As he said, none of us wants to drive through rural Ireland or even the outskirts of Cork city in my case, where we can see sofas, washing machines, dishwashers; you name it and it is there, unfortunately, in many of the ditches and dykes, especially on the county boundaries with the city. The Minister of State mentions the response of the local authorities and all the local authorities I deal with are excellent in cleaning up initiatives and anti-littering units. The…

It goes without saying the Minister of State will have overwhelming support for that Bill when it comes before the House. Does the Department have details on the numbers of offences and prosecutions that have been taken by Cork city and county councils over recent years? That would be illuminating. I recall sitting on Cork County Council with Deputy Cairns, when the numbers of prosecutions initiated or cases that came before the courts were minute. That is a cause of concern for me and others. This is about providi…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for taking this matter. I want to discuss the use of cash for the purchase of property, including small parcels of land and sites. It is important that such financial transactions be evaluated, controlled and monitored, with particular attention needing to be paid to high-value cash transactions. I pay tribute to the agencies of the State tasked with the control of illegal money and money laundering. The Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, the money laundering investigation u…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I recognise that this is a difficult issue and I must be careful in what I say. I expected the type of response he has given. As stated, the issues fall between a number of Departments. The crux of the matter is that individuals are able to pay large sums of money, whether €70,000 or €80,000 for a site or much more for a house, and can, in effect, go to their solicitor or whatever representative is acting on their behalf and make a financial transaction far in excess …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I acknowledge the work done by former Deputy John Brassil in preparing this Bill. The Bill essentially replicates the good work John undertook in the previous Dáil. I am eternally grateful to him for his efforts in this regard and his support over recent months. I also acknowledge the good work of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I am aware that he has to go to a Cabinet sub-committee meeting now, but since he has assumed office he has provided the…

I thank everyone who has contributed on this debate. It is great to see that the Bill has universal support and I look forward to it going to Committee Stage. Deputy Colm Burke and our own Deputy Lahart are on the Committee on Health. They are passionate about this topic. I will make a couple of comments in summary. There are a few inescapable truths. One is that these drugs are expensive. Of that, there is no doubt. The second inescapable truth is that we as a country make people wait much longer than they probabl…

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis an Teachta Colm Burke.

I would like to also raise the issue of PCR testing. Undoubtedly, there is a massive surge in demand at the moment and there are difficulties in catering for that demand. I would specifically like to ask the Minister about the possibility of opening an additional PCR test centre in Cork Airport. The local media was reporting recently that RocDoc is operating there at the moment and there were reports the HSE was going to avail of that facility in the interim. If the Minister could clarify that in his closing statem…

I raise the issue of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, services, especially in community healthcare organisation, CHO, 4, of which Cork is part. I acknowledge the great work of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, in progressing the assessments of need. We have seen a dramatic decline in the length of waiting lists nationally but there are still a number of black spots across the country of which CHO 4, including Cork, is one. More than 200 children are awaiting assessment. The difficulty that I have is that we sti…

I am hoping the Minister can give us an update on the implementation of the national recovery and resilience plan. We know the importance of the plan, given the hefty investment available for battling climate change and the digitisation of local economies. Will the Minister give the House a progress report?

I thank the Minister for his response. As he said in response to an earlier question, we have a moment to talk about 16 investment projects and nine reform measures. What triggered my asking this question is that I noticed in recent days that the Spanish Government has made an application for disbursement. It has applied for an initial €10 billion of the €69 billion it has applied for. I am seeking a timeline for how we will go about the disbursement of our own moneys. Do we have any timeline in mind? I have a part…