The point I was making was that any ex gratia payment will require the sanction of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Accordingly, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has examined the options with regard to compensation and engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding the required sanction for compensation. The proposed compensation package will target those landowners - both farmers and people with forestry contracts - affected by the landslide. It is the inten…

The schemes are being dealt with separately in order that there will be no confusion on the part of applicants. The Minister, having visited the area, is fully aware of the stress this is causing. I appreciate it has taken some time, but the RPS Group report we mentioned, which was very comprehensive at more than 60 pages, was completed just over 12 months ago and published in February of last year. I accept that the discussions in the meantime have been extensive. I do not think the Department has an exact date at…

I will do that.

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on the European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to accept the following measure, Council recommendation on the conversion of hryvnia banknotes into the currency of host Member States for the benefit of persons fleeing the war in Ukraine, a copy of…

I thank the Seanad for dealing with this legislation in an expeditious manner both last week on Second Stage and in the debate today. There was cross-party agreement at all Stages resulting in no requirement for amendments from either the Opposition or Government side. We all look forward to the legislation being implemented as quickly as possible.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is timely to do so. Before I address it, I wish to give Members an outline of the extent of the school transport service. School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current year, as Deputy O'Rourke is aware, more than 121,400 children, including more than 15,500 with special educational needs, are transported daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. This was at a cost of €2…

I appreciate the Deputy's points. There are 6,159 vehicles operating services under the school transport scheme, of which 5,880 are operated by private contractors under contract with Bus Éireann. A high proportion of operators are private contractors. Bus Éireann is receiving a significant volume of calls from contractors inquiring about the financial situation. One or two contractors have formally indicated that they may have difficulty maintaining their contracts through the school year. We hope that situation w…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for disability, Deputy Rabbitte. I know that, as part of Deputy Moynihan's work on the disability committee, he has been very active in promoting this and other related areas. It is very important the committee continues to highlight his work. I am glad to take this opportunity to set out the position regarding the status of the national policy and strategy for …

I will ask the office of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to make direct contact with the Deputy on the funding provided versus what was spent, the areas to which it was allocated and the funding that continues to be available, as I do not have that information to hand. Neurorehabilitation services play a critical role in supporting recovery and maximising the ability of those with neurological conditions who will benefit from rehabilitation services in the community. The HSE is leading the implementation of…

I thank Deputy Pádraig O’Sullivan for raising this matter, which is an area in which he has shown particular interest and knowledge. As he noted, having met people face to face, he understands the issue. It is important that the views of those who have first-hand experience of the need for orphan drugs are adequately reflected in Dáil Éireann. All of us in this House fully appreciate how devastating a diagnosis of a rare disease can be for patients, families, and carers. I believe there is cross-party support for d…

I thank the Deputy for his reference to the note I circulated before I spoke, which deals with the HSE having sufficient scope from the legislation to consider the unique circumstances surrounding orphan drugs, such as small patient numbers. The evidence suggests these expensive orphan drugs are getting reimbursed even, in many cases, when they far exceed the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics QALI of €45,000 the Deputy already mentioned in this contribution. The pipeline for new medicines coming to market remai…

I thank Deputy Ellis for raising this important matter. As he may be aware, the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 was enacted with the primary purposes of reforming the law relating to the ownership and management of common areas of multi-unit developments and facilitating the fair, efficient and effective management of owners' management companies. These are companies registered under the companies Acts, the members of which are the owners of residential units within the development, which are established for the p…

I wish to point out, based on my earlier contribution, that there is extensive legislation in place to regulate the formulation of rules by management companies that cover multi-unit developments. The Deputy is suggesting there are issues of overregulation by some management companies in how they implement the rules but as I said, the rules have to be agreed at specially convened meetings of the property owners or their agents. People should always be aware of that. They must also be given 21 days notice of meeting…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the new national maternity hospital. It is important to acknowledge that women have been failed by the State for too long, which this Government recognises. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, published the Women's Health Action Plan 2022–2023 just a while ago. This puts women at the heart of the policymaking process for the first time ever. This women's health action plan is a landmark publication, which will enable us to offer better, more timely care to wome…

The essence of this debate is women's and children's health.

As I said, the women's health action plan deals with the issue of the national maternity hospital. There is rightfully a huge amount of interest in the national maternity hospital. The creation of the new national maternity hospital is the greatest infrastructure investment by the State in women's health. We have to recognise that we are building a once-in-a-generation world class national maternity hospital. We do not just have to look at Holles Street but also at the Coombe and the need for further development an…

I am pleased to introduce the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Retail Credit and Credit Servicing Firms) Bill to Seanad Éireann. It is generally accepted that there is a need to improve the regulatory framework governing the provision of certain new types of finance to consumers. The Bill seeks to do that. Its primary objective is to provide that any firm which offers credit, hire purchase, personal contract plans, PCPs, or consumer-hire agreements to consumers and other relevant persons will, unless already subj…

I thank the various Senators who have contributed to this constructive debate and for their general overall support of the Bill. It is generally accepted there is a need to improve the regulatory framework governing the provision of PCP and BNPL types of finance to consumers. The provisions in this Bill are designed to ensure the Central Bank of Ireland consumer protection code and any other relevant Central Bank code or regulation can be applied to all the entities that provide credit, hire purchase and PCP agreem…

I met with all of the representatives of the credit union organisations earlier this month and we have agreed a series of proposals in respect of the amending legislation that they are looking for. I encourage credit unions - as, I am sure, everybody else in this House would do - to avail of the opportunity presented by the closure of so many bank branches and the fact that some banks leaving the country to offer financial services to people in their communities who need them and use this as a way of growing the cr…

I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the annual rate of consumer price inflation, as measured by the European Union's harmonised index of consumer prices, picked up sharply over the course of last year, and stood at 5.7 per cent in February; — the key drivers of this increase are increases in wholesale energy prices as a result of the rapid rebound in global demand, global supply chain disruptions and the imbalance between demand and supp…