I am sharing time with Deputy Fitzpatrick. I am delighted to be able to speak on this legislation. As I was a councillor before being elected to the Dáil, I know the vagaries of the planning system and the differences that can apply in how people take on the legislation that is there. Fundamentally, we need to look at how we are dealing with rural housing. I ask the Minister to look at that because several issues arise. One concerns people from a farming background not being able to build a house on that land, unle…

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak again on this Bill. I wish to raise a number of matters. The first relates to the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme and how we are dealing with it and landlords. I will put a twist on it. It is important that the landlord is protected as much as the tenant. In some cases if the tenant is not able to pay his or her part to the county council, the HAP scheme will not pay the rest of the money to the landlord. This becomes a problem for everybody. We should conduct an o…

I wish the Minister of State well in her role in this very important sector within the health service. I am delighted to see her in the role because I worked with her over the past four years in the previous Government and I know how dedicated she is to whatever she does. I have great confidence that together we will make life and mental health services better in the State. Her decision in government to support our motion is an indication of this all-of-government approach to an issue that is above politics. Certai…

I compliment the Department of Social Protection on its work since Covid-19 emerged. We have seen unprecedented demand on the Department. It is important that we think about its staff, the Minister and the people running the Department. They have done Trojan work under severe pressure in a short time to ensure that most people affected by Covid-19 have been dealt with. When the Covid restrictions were introduced by the previous Government, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and I discussed some of the anomal…

Coming from a rural constituency, I also welcome the measures being put in place by this section. Many accidents happen so it is important that every machine is equipped properly. The fact that we are going to support it by having accelerated tax incentives is a good bonus. We have many people involved in farming who have had accidents. I want to recognise here and put on the record the work of an organisation called Embrace, which educates farmers through the fact that its members lost limbs or were seriously inju…

I will speak to amendments Nos. 73 and 75 with regard to the carbon tax on agricultural diesel. Earlier, we spoke about safety on the family farm and the equipment and tax concessions or rebates. We were applauding one another on the fact this was being introduced and that it is a great move. What the carbon tax will mean for farmers trying to eke out a living for themselves and their families is that they will pay more in tax and they do not know when or how they will get the alternative. The alternative will be t…

I add my support in respect of this matter. The report is very frightening. The onus is on the Government and the Minister for Health to ensure that this report is examined. It is an independent report and it has not been commissioned by any particular group. The findings are horrific. I will not spell out the wording but there seem to be a significant number of anomalies in respect of the provision of pain relief and palliative care for aborted babies who are born alive. We really need to examine the matter and to…

The response is an official response but it has dodged the questions. Quite simply, this is not something that should be treated as passing the responsibility to somebody else. We are legislators. We need to look at this. I would ask the Minister to look at the report that was done. It was nothing other than a report and an interview with the people who were carrying out these procedures. I would ask the Minister of State to bring this back to the Minister for Health. I know well he will. I respect that, but I must…

I thank the Members who brought the motion before the House. As a Deputy living in and representing Galway East, I have received many letters and emails from student nurses and midwives and their parents and families, brothers and sisters, because we are simply doing something that is wrong. Many of the nurses who have contacted me are young people. They are the youth of our country and our future. They took on the career of nursing because they are young, bright and brave. They want to contribute to our society an…

I wish to speak to amendment No. 95 and the help-to-buy scheme. I have continually said we should look at this in the context of expanding the scheme to include first-time buyers of properties that are vacant in our towns and villages. It is something we must examine. The housing market in this country is dysfunctional. The private sector is not building houses because developers cannot get the required price. People cannot buy houses because they cannot afford the required mortgages that are a function of the cost…

Remote working has been established as a way of life through Covid-19 and it will continue to be thus post Covid. We have been making preparations for this in the last number of years, including through expenditure on the national broadband plan and I acknowledge the Minister's efforts in getting the contract in place. It is important now to look at where we are going into the future and how we are going to deal with it. This amendment seeks to incentivise employers and employees to enable people to work remotely a…

In response to what the Minister said, I too would be seriously concerned if we are talking about the centres of cities only. As I stated earlier, we must also consider the centres of our towns and villages. One must also take into account the lack of balance in this country. The European Commission has written to us to tell this Government that the north west and western region has been downgraded to a region in transition. We need to make sure that we address that and that we positively discriminate in favour of …

When we talk about regional development, the programme for Government is laced with the issue of regional development. I want to bring that closer to home and comment on what is actually happening. If we take the north and west region, which consists of eight counties, namely, Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal, it has the highest level of regional inequality in Europe. That information is coming from the European Commission. The EU Commission has also noted that Brexit will worsen…

I wish to raise, in the context of Covid-19, the issue of publicans throughout the country. In recent days we have heard talk of new legislation being brought in to stop people from selling drink from pubs for consumption off site. This has been looked at and is creating a frenzy within the family of the publicans who do not know what is happening from day to day. The see the reaction to the scenes from last weekend as a knee-jerk one. If we want a safe environment for people to have a social drink in, the best way…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. To be clear, I am not advocating that we change anything. I, too, acknowledge that the people of this country have made a huge sacrifice, and continue to do so, and that all the restrictions that are there are necessary. I would also say that what we saw at the weekend, with crowds gathering, is unacceptable and is flying in the face of what the majority of people are trying to do. My concern, and the concern of publicans, is not so much that they want to be open for business bu…

I compliment Deputy Michael McNamara on putting together this motion. It is important for the region in question. I live outside Tuam, within 55 minutes of Ireland West Airport Knock and 45 minutes of Shannon Airport. Connectivity is, therefore, important to me. If Galway East, including Tuam, is to develop, we need to have proper connectivity with the outside world. Back in 2007 and 2008, there was a crisis in Shannon Airport because Aer Lingus was proposing to transfer the Heathrow Airport routes to other airport…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to contribute on this debate. I am struck by the level of debate and what is being discussed. Galway East, which is a rural and urban constituency, faces many issues. It has been stated in this debate that we are wasting our time. Although we must have it, we will have lost a great deal of credibility as politicians if we do not return to the real job we must do. We have to bring the country out of the pandemic. We got the good news yesterday that there may be a vacci…

My question also relates to the warmer homes scheme and its effectiveness. In view of the fact there is a two-year delay in SEAI inspectors visiting homes, never mind getting the work carried out, I would like more insight as to how we will deal with this. As the Minister says, construction is an essential service and I do not see why the delays are not being dealt with. All I hear is that in my constituency there is a two-year waiting list for an inspector to come out.

I thank the Minister for the reply. The answers I receive from the SEAI are that it takes up to 24 months. We also have a situation whereby people have an expectation but are being told they have to wait two years for the inspection. There seems to be a huge amount hinged on the fact that all of this has to be carried out by the SEAI. I cannot understand why local authorities are not being used. They administer the housing adaption grants and the mobility aid grants. Why can this not be administered at that level? …

I am delighted to hear some movement has been made to try to streamline the whole process. It will be a pity if we do not take the issue on board with regard to the panels we create for the SEAI-approved contractors list. It is something I notice in my own area. Not many contractors are on the list because they are not interested in it. We have to make it more attractive for the local contractors to get involved. I was looking on the website today and I think I would have to go to Mayo to get a contractor for Galwa…