I have been a building contractor all my life. When the Land Development Agency, LDA, was launched in 2018, it was to have two functions, namely, to manage State lands strategically to ensure they were being put to the best use, and to deliver 150,000 homes over 20 years. Those are the functions the agency should have managed. As I said, I have been in construction all my life. I have been a local councillor in the Adare-Rathkeale district. We also have the Kilmallock and Newcastle West districts in our rural area.…

I can hear it up here. If the LDA has the right structure, it will cover rural areas where there are currently poor water and sewerage services because they are at capacity. Oola has no capacity and people cannot build a house in the area. People in Askeaton have been waiting 30 years for a sewerage system. How many Governments have promised this in the past 30 years? Raw sewage is being pumped into the Shannon Estuary. This is what we are up against. On the other hand, if this role is given to local authorities, i…

I have paperwork in front of me here but I do not need to use it because I know what I am talking about. I thank Deputy Doherty. I have been listening to what he has been saying for the past number of years and it is 100% true. The Government has failed to tackle this issue and that can be explained by a look at the Cabinet. How many of them are self-employed? I am self-employed and have vehicles parked at home which I am being charged full price to insure, as is the case for every self-employed person at the momen…

Farmers will pay in the region of €25 million in carbon tax in 2021. However, not one cent of those taxes will go back into the agriculture sector to help reduce emissions. Agriculture sector farmers will pay €80 million a year towards carbon tax. More than 2 million calves will be born in Ireland this year, on top of the 2 million that were born last year. Some 27% of those calves were not exported. The UK Minister has not ruled out taking in beef from the US. South American beef is not the answer we want to hear …

This Bill is to be welcomed, as any protection of the euro and other currencies against counterfeiting will benefit all members of the EU. There is a great importance in ensuring that the euro coin and notes are authenticated. The introduction of a criminal offence and sanctions relating to counterfeiting of the euro and other currencies will be of benefit and a knock-back to criminals and crime. The only point I would like to raise is that the deadline for this Bill was 23 May 2016. Ireland is the only member stat…

I may be out of order but so was the Labour Party yesterday and as regards any employer in this country, and I will finish on this, and I will bring it back to make it relevant-----

I will make it relevant as I still have time on the clock.

This is about self-employed people who are not afraid to employ people and this should not be made personal-----

We hear at the moment about the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines. I am getting calls to my office from people who are saying that there are still front-line workers and carers waiting for their vaccines and yet there are people who are not involved in the health system getting a vaccine. What traceability is there for people who are not in health service and other front-line services and yet are getting vaccines? What will be there to ensure that this does not happen anymore? I got five phone calls yesterday about peo…

I also question the zero Covid-19 strategy by the Labour Party. It will kill the entire domestic economy. In Ireland, SMEs account for 45% of GDP and they employ 70% of the Irish workforce. If we are looking at strategies today, what we should be looking at is the roll-out of the vaccine. If we are to vaccinate the people who are over 70, that means from now until the end of April, when the Minister stated it will be done, 62,500 people over 70 will have to be vaccinated each week to reach that target. The United K…

I will start by giving two statements. First, I welcome the road in Limerick. It was a wise decision and I commend the Minister on that. The Government has committed to a 7% average reduction in overall greenhouse emissions with a target of zero emissions by 2050. Has the Minister ever driven by car from Limerick to Cork? He may think these are two random statements but believe me, they are not. We must be realistic here. First, we are looking at the Adare bypass, which has been prioritised yet has been ongoing for…

As a member of the Rural Independent Group, I find it very interesting to talk about this matter. Any Bill that can provide for the introduction of hearings to reduce interruptions to and delays in criminal trials must be welcomed. I am sure we have all served at some time on juries and we must realise the amount of time that can be wasted twiddling one's thumbs waiting for the legalities. Other Deputies have mentioned that self-employed people can be left waiting for a week or two. Therefore, I welcome any measure…

Yes, two and half minutes each, and that includes our questions and answers. Early years preschool and afterschool services are currently finding it very difficult. The providers are essential workers who have been asked to keep their premises open to look after children of essential workers and vulnerable children. A 28-page document came out yesterday stating that the services to be opened are getting funding, yet other services that are closed are getting the same funding. They cannot survive at 70% capacity. Th…

On many occasions I have brought up the matter of St. Joseph's Foundation, Charleville, which has been looking after children with disabilities since 1968. Deputy O'Donnell's father was a co-founder of St. Joseph's. It provides a service in north Cork and the south Limerick area. With a stroke of a pen it has been decided that the preschool children who have a disability will now be graded geographically. Limerick children have been sent to a facility in Limerick that has a waiting list of 180 for each service. It …

I am sorry that there is no time for answers.

For the most part, Covid-related payments in the area of social protection have gone very well for most recipients. I acknowledge the provision of information on this subject, which Deputies were then able to pass on to employers and employees. It was very helpful. However, major difficulties remain for employers and employees. Some employers who do essential work cannot get people back to work because those employees might have underlying conditions or they may have to stay at home because their partner, husband o…

I have two and a half minutes and I would like to get an answer on this if I can, please. With regard to the 2021 statutory regulation whereby "housing construction and completion works ongoing on the 8th day of January 2021, where such works are scheduled to be completed by 31st day of January 2021 and will render the home under construction capable of occupation by that date", we have big problems. The regulations provide that: "Essential works on vacant residential properties, owned or controlled by a local auth…

The Minister has just said that the hospitals were contacted to see how many vaccines they could take. Deputy O'Donnell has spoken of the 3,400 vaccines that came to Limerick. The Minister is saying that it is a management problem in some of the hospitals that they could not deal with the amount of vaccines. I give all the praise in the world to the front-line staff, from doctors, nurses, carers, porters and across the board. In Limerick, the area I represent, there are front-line staff in Covid wards who are not g…

On a point of order, the Ceann Comhairle called on Deputy Michael Collins earlier. He was on the list yesterday and the Ceann Comhairle called on him again today. I had put my name down behind Deputy Michael Collins and yet six Sinn Féin speakers spoke without the Ceann Comhairle ever calling my name. They did not walk up to the stage and singly put down their names while I was sitting in the Chamber. Is there somebody putting down block lists, therefore, to get their names down or are they going up singly to put d…

What is the Government going to do about the cartel-like system in the beef industry where the same feeder groups are getting the high prices? At the end of the year when they are audited and do their accounts, they have an average price, but if the company is audited and the beef factories are audited, it will show that the same suppliers all year round are getting the high prices and the beef farmers who want to sell their cattle are always getting the low prices. The Minister should take out the average price, g…