The Labour Party is supporting this Bill and we thank the Minister of State for bringing it forward. It will provide a considerable amount of alleviation for farm families. Who among us has not had a person from a farm family on the telephone telling us about how a loved one is filling out the forms for the nursing home support scheme and expressing deep doubt about the process? Some of that doubt is because it is the end of the road in terms of being able to care for somebody at home. It is often the last resort f…

There is a Minister of State here.

I thank the Minister of State for his presence. Forestry will play a key role in climate change mitigation. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release pure oxygen. Forestry filters and cleans the air we breathe. Young commercial plantations along with sequestering carbon quickly over their lifetime, will, when harvested, lock carbon away in wood products and when replanted will begin another cycle of carbon storage. The end use for the timber will offer alternatives to fossil fuels and a possible r…

I welcome that my party has tabled this motion. I welcome the fact the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is here to address the issues specifically, as is her colleague the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. The Minister of State referred to 1,860 cases. I ask her to respond to this later in the debate. The HSE has advised me that on 8 April, the number of overdue applications for assessment of needs was 5,078. On the face of it, there seems to be a contradiction between the figures the Minister of State mentioned this e…

The Labour Party welcomes the Bill. We will support it but will table amendments to it to make it more robust. I will start by acknowledging the countless emails I have received from my constituents in Cork East in respect of the Bill. There are one or two points that I would like to see addressed in it, as reflected in the emails from my constituents. The first relates to the Climate Change Advisory Council and the adequacy of the 2050 net zero target. It is vitally important to reflect the fact that climate chang…

The clock has ticked down on me, I fear.

I welcome the Minister's speech. By any objective analysis, the White Paper has resulted in clear action on the part of the Government. He has come before us today to articulate those areas where progress is being made, especially concerning access to education. That aspect is a key element for every young person in the direct provision process. Education is the key to building for a future where we integrate people and give them the rights to which they are entitled by dint of any international standard. I, theref…

I did not realise that I had so little time. Gabh mo leithscéal. I ask the Minister to address that point, because these are issues that are stumbling blocks to the progress that we are trying to make.

The Labour Party will be supporting the Sinn Féin Bill. It so happens that the Labour Party also has a Bill on this very issue which is winding its way through the Seanad as we speak. The Labour Party Bill, which is very similar to the Sinn Féin Bill, comes with a proposal by the Government to issue its own Bill so, in effect, we will have three Bills on this very issue before long. That speaks volumes about the intent of the Houses of the Oireachtas to legislate for this issue. We would hope that, ultimately, comm…

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after “scope and jurisdiction”: “— issue an enhanced medical card to all survivors who presented to ‘Mother and Baby Homes’ for any length of time, including while pregnant or on a post-natal basis.” I support the motion. We welcome the motion and the fact that the Government is not opposing it, nor the proposed amendments, I assume, and the Labour Party proposal to extend access to the medical card to applicants. I will speak on that momentarily, but I welcome the fa…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to make provision for a statement of principles to inform the interpretation and administration of the Social Welfare Acts; to provide for a social welfare charter; to impose a duty to promote the take-up of social welfare entitlements; to set out certain rights to information, advocacy and support for social welfare applicants and recipients; to confer additional functions on the Citizens Information Board; and to provide for related matters. As set…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Will the Minister give a synopsis of where stands the beef task force at present? We are all receiving communications from the Beef Plan Movement where there is a clear ask for the appointment of an independent regulator. It would be very useful for us if the Minister in his response could give us an up-to-date position as to where the task force is at present. On the status of horticulture, Bord na Móna has made a decision on harvesting peat. As we move down the levels of public health guidelines and garden centre…

It was very interesting to listen to our friend from Limerick and our friends from Kerry speaking about the Labour Party motion. They reminded me of the missionary priests who used to come to Mallow when I was a boy in the 1980s. Those priests would preach fire, damnation and brimstone and engage in fine rhetoric. I am not sure the Deputies' rhetoric was so fine but there was plenty of it. However, there was very little enlightenment at the end of it all and I often wondered if it was more about spectacle than subs…

And Jan O'Sullivan.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to give security to local authorities, by way of creating a charge on the land concerned, in relation to the expenses incurred by the local authority in order to give effect to measures which the local authority considers to be necessary in order to prevent the land from becoming or continuing to be a derelict site, for that purpose to amend the Derelict Sites Act 1990, and to provide for related matters. I seek leave to introduce the Derelict Sites …

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

My first question relates to the roll-out of the vaccine. There are queries coming into my office from parents of children who have very specific highly dependent needs and where carers are coming into the home or particular settings. They are asking me if any consideration is being given to vaccinating children within the "disability sector" - that might be an unfortunate use of that phrase but I mean where there is a high level of disability and dependency - so that we are vaccinating the child being cared for. I…

I thank the Minister. I appreciate his response and I certainly will do that. We have sight of the survey that took place in relation to the early years sector, which I am sure the Ministers have also had sight of. Some 2,000 professionals took part in the survey. It found that 22% of early years educators earn more than the living wage of €12.30 per hour and 90% of all professionals struggle to make ends meet with difficulty or great difficulty. There is an online strike this Friday. The Ministers will be aware of…

It will be about money flowing into the sector if the Government decides to improve the pay and conditions. The question arises as to the balance of the onus: is the onus on the employer or on the Government through funding via the schemes into improving pay and conditions? That is the question that will be asked.