Any of us in rural communities know the importance of rural planning. Much work has been done by Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, who previously had responsibility for planning and local government, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien. I understand the draft guidelines are due for publication and for consultation with those interested across rural Ireland and those who work in the area, such as engineers, architects and planners, and have an interest in it. We have a severe housing shortage. The Governme…

The Minister is very welcome. I welcome the renewed focus on the NDP in the title of his role as decided by the Taoiseach in recognition of its importance. We know that the population of the country will continue to increase, as is projected for in the national planning framework. Some areas will grow faster than others but the national planning framework attempts to direct growth to other areas. For example, 25% of the growth is projected for Dublin, 25% in Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford, with 50% in other t…

I thank Senator Boyhan for tabling this amendment. I raised this matter last week. I know the Minister of State said that it was not in his mind to change it. For continuity's sake the word "monuments" would be important. The original National Monuments Act was in 1930 so it would be right to have that continuity. Whoever is here in 2070 or 2080 when it might be time to amend things again would appreciate such continuity. The Title is something that has been with us for a long time. Growing up we talked about prote…

I raised this matter last week. Is the Minister of State happy with the terms of the definition of the word "thing" as it relates to a number of sections, including section 13. For example, section 13(10) states: Subsection (6) shall not place the Minister under any obligation to cause a thing the subject of a return referred to in subsection (4)(a ), or the site of the thing, to be inspected if the Minister is of the opinion that— (a) the thing is not a thing to which this section applies... The meaning of "releva…

I concur with the comments of Senators Ahearn and Carrigy on the role of the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and indeed all who have been involved in getting this over the line, in particular, as I said, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Taoiseach, as well as the new British Prime Minister and those parties in Northern Ireland that have worked to support this. I welcome the announcements last week on the cost-of-living measures, including the hot school meals programme b…

I join with others in condemning the attack on the PSNI officer yesterday in Omagh. I extend solidarity to all his colleagues and family in the community as well. In Ireland, political parties and groups receive State funding largely based on the number of Oireachtas Members they have. This is a positive thing. It means we can help avoid the situation in other countries where money and politics are intertwined and representatives are forced to spend much of their time fundraising. However, with State funding or in …

Yes, I am asking for a debate on the matters of SIPO. Sinn Féin provided incomplete and inaccurate accounts to SIPO for 2021. These are very serious matters. They relate to trust and confidence, to standards in public office, to transparency and openness in our political system, and confidence which the public must have in those who receive millions of euro in public money. Right now, Sinn Féin has failed on all of these accounts. We urgently need a debate on the ethics and standards legislation and more importantl…

I welcome the Minister and acknowledge his drive, ambition and interest in this area. I will confine my contribution to the western rail corridor. I acknowledge the work of the West on Track campaign group which for a year has fought the fight for the western rail corridor. It was a difficult fight to maintain the line when alternative uses were being suggested for it. Part of that campaign on social media was quite nasty. In that vein, last week the Minister announced funding for the greenway between Tuam and Athe…

I welcome the recent allocations by the Minister for Transport to Transport Infrastructure Ireland for national roads and greenways. However I urge a certain amount of caution regarding cost inflation within road projects I am not just talking about the major national road problems. I am also taking about the ordinary road maintenance budgets the local authorities have to spend. They could spend more but the costs of these projects now whether it be in relation to labour, to bitumen or 804 crushed stone are all inc…

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate all involved in bringing forward this Bill. Having served for some time as Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, I know the Bill has been some time in the making. There was a unique scenario whereby it went through pre-legislative scrutiny when much of its content had already been written, although there may subsequently have been changes to it. The legislation was known as the monuments and archaeological heritage Bill in its ea…

I welcome the Minister and Deputy Niamh Smyth. I thank the committee members, including our colleague, Senator Carrigy, for their report. The committee is to be congratulated on taking on the work of hearing from representatives of the sector and initiating the report. The hospitality sector was identified in 2011 for inclusion in a stimulus package to boost employment and economic growth. That was done during a difficult period and the package formed part of the first jobs budget. Reports from groups such as the R…

I thank Senator Hoey and the Labour Party team for putting down this motion. Apologies, I was not here earlier. There is certainly no disrespect intended. It is safe to say the Fine Gael team on the Joint Committee on Health are active in terms of turning up, as are others as well. We had a good discussion on this important topic with the unions at the recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Health. The figures were stark. Indeed, the figures are worse than that because they are under-reported in relation to the l…

Garda vetting is a hugely important part of any job application, and rightly so, particularly for jobs that require people to work with children and I know there are always issues regarding delays. I have come across situations where individuals have worked abroad, for example in Dubai, and had to get the United Arab Emirates to provide that vetting. In one case, a person has run into difficulties in getting that in terms of logistics. The person worked in a similar position in the United Kingdom and did not requir…

The pandemic special recognition payment was agreed by Cabinet in January 2022 in recognition of the front-line workers across our State who did such valiant work during Covid. The Finance Act ensured that the €1,000 payment was tax-free. There was also a recognition of a special bank holiday on 18 March last year. For a long number of months, there have been concerns that people have not been paid the €1,000, which is the case. The list of people entitled to the payment includes healthcare assistants, support and …

I express my sympathies to the families of John Keenan Sammon, Wojciech Panek and Christy Stokes who died tragically at the weekend in Galway when their car entered the water in the River Corrib at Menlo Pier. My thoughts are with their families and friends at this difficult time. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse. Yesterday the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, dismissed the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland and in his proclamation given under his hand on St. Valentine's Day, 14 February 2023, he stated a number …

Happy St. Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, it is not exactly an issue relevant to St. Valentine's that I have to report. Nonetheless, he has gone and done it. He has dismissed the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has completed the work of the Department and the chief executive officer from last spring, targeting the board and finally getting rid of it. There will be celebrations in IFI headquarters in City West today, and in the Department headquarters in Adelaide Road. The ho…

I feel-----

Absolutely. The CEO had a statement out very quickly today after the board was sacked. He was delighted with himself. I feel for the hundreds of decent IFI employees with no leadership from the CEO, the Department or the Minister. There is no direction from anyone. I believe the Minister, Deputy Ryan, is a decent man but in this, he is totally misguided, and wrongly advised on purpose by his Department, and is standing over the targeting of an employee by the CEO. There is an absolute need for an independent invest…

-----a film.

The Minister of State is welcome. I thank the Office of the Cathaoirleach for choosing this matter. We debated this topic when sittings were taking place in the convention centre. In that context, I may be making the same speech several years later on funding issues relating to Galway County Council. Most of us are former members of local authorities. We know the range of services that they provide. These services, which relate to road maintenance, hedge cutting, community wardens, housing maintenance, planning enf…