In fairness, we support this legislation, which is clearly necessary. It addresses a shortfall that Deputy Louise O'Reilly would have pointed out at a very early stage. There is support for this right across the House because it does not make sense that there should be a scenario where workers would lose out on reckonable time relating to redundancy on the basis of being on the pandemic unemployment payment for a time. All the supports provided by the State to workers and businesses were about ensuring we could kee…

Gabhaim buíochas. Everyone here accepts that there is an absolute crisis here in the cost of living. We have all engaged with people and realise what they are going through. We have all seen the prices that are going through the roof whether it is people buying their regular weekly shopping, at the fuel pump, or home heating oil. It does not matter because prices are just going through the roof. We know that there are many reasons for that and that the Government does not have full control over it. We know that the…

I am very glad to see a Minister taking a slot on a Thursday evening. The graveyard slot, I think, is what people call it. This is an incredibly important issue. As with an awful lot of issues relating to Northern Ireland politics at this time, it is nearly a different question we need to ask since the Topical Issue matter was submitted. What Edwin Poots has done as Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in ordering an end to agrichecks is obviously a complete breach. From what the Minister, Deputy …

I am very glad that the Minister finished on the absolute need for the British Government to uphold the law, uphold the agreements it has agreed to and provide clarity. We have all heard it from business people we have spoken to before. Even today the representatives of the retailers and manufacturers have all given commentary. They want clarity and solutions to whatever difficulties they have. I believe Maroš Šefčovič said previously that he would stay at the table. Obviously, Liz Truss was not going to provide wh…

There is an element of agreement across the board on the relevance and necessity of FOI and the significant part it plays in us having a proper, accountable and transparent system, which has not always been the case. There have definitely been failings at State level. In fairness, I have heard the Minister make promises to increase transparency. That is making as much of government available as possible through earlier publication of records and such. All of that is sound and necessary, but Deputies Clarke and Mair…

I also thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. I think every Member of the House agrees, from a human point of view, on where we need to get to and that we are not starting from where we want to be. Plenty has been said about the need to move properly to Sláintecare and a universal healthcare system that is free at the point of entry and provides care from cradle to grave. All those statements we make from time to time can seem somewhat trite but it is about a decent health system that works fo…

There has already been much talk regarding the 2022 leaving certificate examination. Deputy Ó Laoghaire and others have put on the record where we stand with regard to the fact that the hybrid version is the only viable solution students and their parents wanted to hear about. They are dealing with a huge level of stress. What engagement was there in trying to deliver it?

It is not the first time that reply has been read out this evening. The Minister talked about three out of four of the asks having been delivered upon but, as I said earlier, the most important one for an awful lot of students and parents has not been delivered. That has been said, however. I do not expect to get a different answer from anybody else. Those mitigations the Minister talked about with regard to the examination are necessary considering the difficulties. Deputy Ó Laoghaire and others spoke about the fa…

I thank the Minister. I have no difficulty that she is repeating the answer. I accept some of it. The bit I do not accept is that it was impossible to come up with a solution in this regard. The other question I put related to the fear that students are being short-changed at this point by not being offered the hybrid model. I accept those other necessary mitigations are occurring. The fear is that the Department is wedded to the leaving certificate as is, however, and that the reform that is necessary, which every…

All across the House accept Brexit is a disaster. The Irish protocol was a necessary mitigation. Every apparent one step forward is two steps back. We are dealing with cul-de-sac unionism and any threats it makes. The Minister has already spoken about the unhelpful commentary from Boris Johnson, even if some of that may be diversionary. We have heard from Maroš Šefčovič that discussions with Liz Truss may be more cordial but they may not be going where they need to. There are also issues around getting state aid an…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. We all thought there might have been change when Liz Truss came into the role. I had an opportunity in Strasbourg to talk to Maroš Šefčovič about this. In fairness, I did not intend ever to talk about what he said but it is all in the public domain. I refer to the suggestion of more cordial relations. The fact is Liz Truss has put the ECJ, state aid and some of the issues people thought were sorted back on the agenda. We do not know what the outworkings are going to be in relation to …

Time is very important and I accept we have that window. I welcome the clarity and the reiteration this is not for renegotiation. That is the difficulty. It is to be hoped Liz Truss is there as a dealmaker and other factors will not impact on that. I accept that sometimes with these questions we are asking the Minister to look into a crystal ball, which I assume he does not have. I also reiterate some of what Deputy Jim O'Callaghan said about both the Minister and Maroš Šefčovič having said that, in dealing with st…

I raise an issue of which the Tánaiste is aware, that is, the case of the 100 jobs in fulfilment operations in National Pen. Those jobs will be gone by January 2023. What engagement has the Government had with the company? This is not the first time we have been down this road. Communications between National Pen and its workers have been dreadful over many years. There is a fear around its promises and commitments. The Tánaiste also spoke of an attractive redundancy package. There is a fear in that regard among ma…

I have just come running from a meeting with NBI. I will deal with two major questions. We have all seen the commentary, particularly in the Business Post , on the financial structures involved here. David McCourt has spoken about looking at different corporate structures or investors and there will be an element of communication with the Government on that. We need to ensure we can deliver the project, that the vehicle is fit for purpose and that this will not impact on NBI's ability to deliver. At this time, it l…

Is the Minister of State happy that NBI is fit for purpose on the basis it has sufficient money to do business and there is no cash flow problem at this time?

I spoke to NBI about what can be done with regard to acceleration. Some 34,417 premises have now been passed. NBI says it will pass 60,000 by the end of March, although that was meant to have happened by now. I asked about the Covid delays and the acceleration. NBI has suddenly got rapid response teams and it can be done with them but there is a difficulty in dealing with Eir's "make ready" process. NBI says it will need Eir to be able to deliver quicker, or else it needs a self-install product whereby it could do …

Does the Minister of State think he can deliver the self-installed product and ensure that Eir deliver faster? NBI is absolutely reliant on it.

I will add my voice to what my colleagues have said. Sinn Féin is in support of this legislation. Nobody would be against good governance, particularly in higher education. There are obviously issues of accessibility and Deputy Conway-Walsh has already spoken about some of the proposals that were made by Sinn Féin during pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill, particularly relating to the cross-Border aspects. As much as we welcome the increase in board sizes and so on, there is still a need to deal with the issue of…

Whether we are dealing with youth mental health services or adult mental health services, it only works if we have every slot in the process that is necessary. We have all spoken about our own constituencies and constituents who have come to us and cannot get appointments, assessments or follow-up services. Some of them will have had difficulties in how they were treated by the service, and the services will have their own difficulties in that they do not have the positions. Members have spoken about clinical psych…

A considerable amount has been said and I can do nothing but agree with it. This matter is straightforward, as many of my colleagues said earlier. We all accept the major difficulties with building regulation. We all know people who have fallen foul of the lack of both regulation and redress. We need to facilitate those who are being impacted by the travesty and tragedy of mica, and 100% redress is the only thing that can deliver in that regard. We all know how much people strive and struggle to get a home together…