The Minister of State is welcome back to the House this morning to discuss this Commencement matter regarding the taking in charge of housing estates and the input required from Irish Water in that regard. Irish Water states that it is co-operating with the planning authorities nationally to access the taking in charge of residential estates and the transfer of water services assets located in those estates to Uisce Éireann for ongoing operation and maintenance. Unfortunately, however, all over the country, residen…

I am a bit disappointed that there was no acknowledgement of the fact that we have a problem, which we clearly do, not just in County Monaghan but throughout the country. I would be grateful if we could look at some measure to try to something about the backlog not just in Monaghan but elsewhere as well. People's lives are on hold as a result of the delay. In regard to developer-provided infrastructure, there does not seem to be any green light. I propose the Department look at providing ring-fenced funding in orde…

I request that the Deputy Leader ask the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to come into the House at the earliest opportunity to discuss the report published yesterday by the so-called independent commission on the North-South interconnector. As Members will be aware, this is a high-powered electricity connection which will link the networks in the North and the South. We have been talking about this project for the last 15 years, as the Deputy Leader knows well. My colleague, Senator Cassells, also mentioned this subject tod…

I welcome the Minister of State to discuss this very important issue. Death is an unwelcome and uninvited guest that calls to all homes from time to time, bringing with it a sense of loss and heartache. When that death comes in a sudden manner it adds a different layer to the grief. When that death comes violently it adds another layer on top of that again for the families concerned. Then when that violent death results in a family not having somewhere to pray and speak to their loved ones, that is an entirely diff…

The Minister of State is welcome back to the House. I would like to raise the ongoing delays with taking-in-charge applications that residents of housing estates and local authorities are encountering. The taking in charge of residential estates is the statutory responsibility of the planning authority under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. However, Uisce Éireann, Irish Water, has particular responsibility for the servicing of these estates. Irish Water states that it is co-operating with plann…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I appreciate he is just taking this matter on behalf of someone else but, unfortunately, the response does not even mention the question in hand. We are wasting everybody's time in many regards with this very disappointing response. It leaves me in a situation whereby I do not know where to go from here. Will the Minister of State follow up on my behalf regarding the question I raised that has not been addressed in his response? It is very disappointing, not just for …

I thank the Minister of State.

I also welcome the Minister of State to the House. I just listened to Senator Clonan and I commend him on tabling the amendment. I look forward to the Minister of State’s response. From where I am sitting he seems to have identified a serious gap that needs attention.

I welcome the Minister to the House and at the outset, I would like to give credit to him for this legislation and I am delighted to speak on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, along with my colleague Senator Clifford-Lee. Fianna Fáil believes in the delivery of fundamental public health services to the highest standard through investment, innovation and reform. It is critical that when things go wrong, patients are compensated and reforms are made so that the same harm does not occur again. This Bill would not exist…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber. Unfortunately, I am again raising the issue of ambulance delays which, sadly, has become a perennial issue. Ambulance and emergency responses are critical to the survival of many patients. Therefore, initiatives to solve the problem, or at the very least alleviate it, are crucial. In recent years communities have fundraised to purchase defibrillators and people in those communities have spent many hours training themselves to use them. I am sure the Minister of …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome the fact that new positions are being created which is vitally important. It is also vitally important that citizens in communities the length and breadth of the country have confidence in our health service, particularly our ambulance service, so that in the event of an accident happening, or somebody being taken unwell, that, based on experience, they have the confidence to know it will come out and be there in sufficient time to address their clinical nee…

There are 42,300 people on a public waiting list for eye care in this country. The National Treatment Purchase Fund figures released in December last year showed 33,268 were on the outpatient eye care waiting list, with more than 12,100 of those waiting longer than a year. There were 9,108 people awaiting inpatient eye procedures, with nearly 1,000 waiting more than a year. These figures have further increased to 9,463 at the end of last month. The figures show many of our children and adults wait too long for publ…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss the role community pharmacies could have as key players in providing healthcare to our communities. We are all aware of the pressures experienced by many GPs across the country. GPs are oversubscribed, we do not have enough GPs and people cannot get added to a GP list. We are well aware of this issue in many parts of the country, including in my own county of Monaghan, where many young people who moved back from college or whatever are finding it difficult or …

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response. I am very heartened by it. It would appear that the Department of Health's door is certainly open for discussion as to how best we can utilise our community pharmacists, with a view to alleviating pressure on our GPs and accident and emergency departments. I am heartened by that. We can take a lead from best international practice, as to the different ailments that could be treated by the community pharmacist. I came across some information recently with…

I wish to raise the plight of some 44,500 HSE workers, including hospital porters, doctors, physiotherapists, caterers and others, who are still waiting on increases in their pensions. Thousands of retired nurses, social workers and many others are missing out on pension increases due to a problem with the HSE updating its computer system. Under the Building Momentum pay deal, these retirees are overdue two pay rises, one of which dates back to February last year, which is now a year ago. I understand the reason fo…

Last week in the House I raised the plight of workers at the Nuremore Hotel and Country Club in Carrickmacross. These workers and their families have been left high and dry by their employer, who appears to have disappeared into thin air and people are finding it very hard to contact him. These workers have no work and are owed wages, holiday pay and redundancy payments. I commend them for the stance they are taking. I also commend SIPTU, which has been assisting the workers in their plight. I call for the Governme…

I welcome the Minister of State. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, I welcome this legislation. I commend my friend and colleague, Senator Martin, on bringing forward this worthwhile Bill. The Bill, as Senator Martin outlined, seeks to amend the Domestic Violence Act 2018 to protect victims of coercive control. We look forward to the Minister of State bringing forward further legislative changes to protect a broader group of victims of gender-based violence as they move through the legal system. The unlawful killi…

The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber this afternoon. A number of years ago the Nuremore Hotel and Country Club in Carrickmacross hit the headlines for hosting Mr. Jack Charlton and the Irish soccer team back in the heady days of the successful Irish soccer teams we used to have. Hopefully, it will not be long before we have such days again. Unfortunately, today the hotel is hitting the headlines for more negative reasons. Central to the local economy of Carrickmacross and regional tourism generation for many…

I thank the Minister for his response. It is news that this investor programme will be closed down as and from tomorrow at the close of business. In more general terms, what motivated that particular decision? My main concern is the workers attached to the hotel and what recourse the State has through the Department of Justice or others in respect of non-compliance with commitments given by the applicant at that time. I would like to think there is some recourse and to know what that is. The Minister could liaise w…

I echo the comments of my learned colleague from County Louth about how a decision made by his party might not have been the wisest. I acknowledge his acceptance of that and the need to consider restoring town councils. They should never have been abolished in the first place. I would encourage such a debate. I refer to the ongoing discussions about possibly restoring the 9% VAT rate to 13.5%. The Government introduced the lower rate in November 2020 as a worthwhile measure to address the challenges the hospitality…