The former Minister, Deputy Creed, spoke in terms of this being a temporary and unavoidable setback. Most of us here would agree that it is an issue which is not going away. Whatever legislation is put forward, good or bad, is useless without resources. The industry employs 12,000 people, mostly in rural areas. It is worth €2.3 billion. It highlights the Government's lack of understanding of rural Ireland. It does not get it and does not have a plan. We need to look at what can be done to try to resolve the crisis …

We would all agree that we need to create an environment that is aggressive in tackling those who would scam, cheat and con Irish people. Many of us who are active in our communities will be aware of the amount of drug intimidation that is going on, and it is happening daily in many communities throughout the State. It normally involves vulnerable people, or maybe their sons or grandchildren, who are possibly on the edge of criminality and are involved in drugs or whatever else. I have heard cases of people having …

I have a copy of the Minister of State's speech. I think there is general agreement that this is happening earlier and earlier each year. I do not know why it is happening particularly early this year. Deputy Ward said that in his constituency it started in June or July this year. It was July or August in my area. The explosive noise of the bangers seems to be louder than in previous years and I do not remember them ever starting this early. There seems to be greater availability of them. I do not have answers as t…

I congratulate all of the drivers who took the time to take part in the protest yesterday. It highlighted the importance of unity of purpose and action. Like a lot of other Deputies, I have been asking questions of the Government about how we can help the taxi industry to remain viable in the midst of the Covid pandemic. I have to say I am not impressed and, more importantly, taxi drivers have not been impressed with the vague promises. They ask simple questions about safety measures for themselves and their passen…

For me this debate is very personal. In October 2014 I was told I had prostate cancer. Perhaps it would be relevant if I focused on this in the couple of minutes I have. At that time one got a biopsy up the back passage. When I was told I had the cancer, I was told they would probably monitor it for six months. I asked the doctor at the time whether it would be possible to get a transperineal biopsy, which is much more accurate. My cancer was at the top of the prostate and very difficult to get to. For years I had …

In her speech, the Minister spoke about a significant commitment to schools from Government. I remind the Minister that it is Irish taxpayers who are paying for this package rather than the Government parties. From day one of this pandemic the Government has been all over the place and has lacked direction in its response to the issues facing the education sector. Since March, I have been asking questions of two Ministers for Education and Skills and trying to get answers as to how schools would be able to reopen, …

I thank my colleague, Deputy Funchion, for putting forward this timely motion. We all agree that childcare is the keystone that holds together the building blocks of our economy and society. Unfortunately, it took the dual crisis of outrageous insurance premiums, which almost shut the industry down permanently, combined with a global pandemic for some in this House to understand how important the sector is for workers and families. This wilful ignorance has for too long created a system that is creaking at the seam…

There is common agreement that we all need to do more as a country to combat climate change and that Ireland has dragged its feet and been a laggard in that fight for far too long. Having said that, we need to bring people along with us and we need to engage with the public. It is a huge local, national and global issue, but the biggest impact it has globally is on communities that are already marginalised. That is where I am coming from on this issue. The Minister of State spoke about some of the projects that are…

It was announced in budget 2020 that the weekly income limit for medical card eligibility for people over 70 would be increased by €50 for a single person and €150 for a couple from July 2020. The legislation to increase the income limit has been published but it has not been enacted. When will this be signed off and when will we see it enacted?

I congratulate the Minister. The way this goes is that we will ask her questions and she will read from a script. All the Deputies in the constituency are concerned about the move. There was no real consultation with the school itself. I have tabled parliamentary questions on that, and I will be interested to hear what the Minister has to say about it. Roughly 40% of the students have special needs and the school is unique in that sense. The idea of moving the school from Firhouse to another location 10 km down the…

The big question is how to get 40% of the students up to another site. That is the big difficulty and challenge. The school's representatives are saying to us that it is not viable for the school in the long term to put parents into that situation. Those parents are going to move their children out of the school and that will put pressure on other schools in the area. Logically, if one looks at the distances involved on a map, it does not look that far but the reality is that it will mean a lot for parents. There a…

I will share time with Deputies Carthy and Andrews. It was suggested by the European Commission that the next EU budget should have €6.5 billion for military spending. Many of us in this House, as we heard in earlier contributions, oppose this direction. The increased militarisation of the EU and the moves to create a standing army have to be opposed. It is a negative development that undermines Irish neutrality and is the wrong direction for the EU to go. Ireland should remove itself immediately from these plans a…

I am unsure if we will be discussing this issue later. Has the Minister for Health been in contact with or met his European counterparts? Are EU-wide health meetings planned? One of the issues to have been brought up is the possible cancellation of flights and travel to certain regions in Europe, particularly in northern Italy. Has this been discussed at EU level? Is there a possibility that borders might be closed and travel stopped? The Tánaiste said he was heading off on a flight to Zagreb to meet foreign minist…

We all touched on the refugee crisis. Has the Tánaiste been in touch with his Greek counterpart? I heard him state that he was trying to get broad agreement on responses to the crisis but I do not think he will do so. Is there a view on what can be done by those who are willing to help? We have seen the shocking scenes. There is a crisis there and it will get worse. We need to do something. We need to stand in support of the refugees but also to support the Greek people who are facing this huge challenge. I do not …