I welcome the Sinn Féin motion before us tonight and the fact that we are debating this issue. It is probably the first time we have been able to hear from the Minister formally on the establishment of the pensions commission, outside of the normal parliamentary questions process. I welcome her clarification on the income supports for people retiring at age 65 and I welcome her statement that she will be introducing regulations to formally remove the current requirements for people aged 65 and over to sign on. Ever…

There is the great Denis Naughten, who was a Minister for two years and is now on the Opposition benches. I wish him well.

Many sports in Ireland, including greyhound racing, receive State funding. We share the concern of the many people who have expressed deep unease about the welfare of greyhounds bred for racing. We welcome any progress on the welfare of greyhounds but see any current measures as only the first step on a very long road. There is a long way to go before anyone can safely say that welfare issues have been addressed to everyone's satisfaction. For many years, the Labour Party has consistently called for higher standard…

I welcome the Tánaiste's statement to the effect that the Government will not oppose the Bill on Second Stage. That is a welcome move. We welcome the fact that the national remote working strategy group will meet today. That is important. What we want to do with this Bill is ensure we enshrine the right to switch off in law while at the same time recognising that flexibilities need to be built in for individuals in their workplaces as befits their circumstances and in concert with their employers. Nobody is arguing…

I received a response on 30 September to a question I tabled in respect of payments to student nurses in the first-year to third-year cohort. The response states: Supernumerary clinical practice placements were temporarily suspended during the initial Covid-19 pandemic response and a temporary scheme was put in place whereby these students were offered employment by the HSE as healthcare assistants. These supernumerary clinical practice placements will resume as expected, based on the requirement for undergraduate …

I appreciate that the Minister of State is coming at this issue from a higher education point of view. I acknowledge his indication that there is the possibility of taking it up with the HSE, the Department of Health and the relevant line Minister. The fact of the matter is that nurses are productive from the minute they go onto a ward or into an acute hospital setting. That is the point we are making. Student nurses are taking up the slack due to the lack of capacity at this time. There is a precedent in the fact …

I welcome the motion, which the Labour Party will support. I thank the Minister of State for making specific reference to Cork earlier. There has been much rhetoric in Cork and many harsh words from both sides in respect of this issue. People have become very entrenched and it has gone to law. That is people's right if they want to do that. I ask that calmness be restored on the issue in Cork. I believe that people everywhere acknowledge that the works have to be done but there is a contrast in how they should be d…

My question relates to the proposed amendment to the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2018 to introduce provisions to regulate the affordability clauses in hire purchase and personal contract plan, PCP, financing arrangements, particularly as they relate to the motor industry. More than 76,000 people are on PCP contracts and the value of loans outstanding is some €1.5 billion. The Tutty report in 2018 advised that legislation be introduced in this area. Many people who have such contra…

They have been expected "shortly" for a while.

I support the Bill. It is not the first time we have seen a Bill of this nature. I was doing research earlier and discovered that my former colleague, Willie Penrose, brought forward a similar Bill in 2000. The issue has been ongoing for a long time. With due respect to our colleagues in Sinn Féin, they are not the first to the party on this matter. There were attempts as late as 2016 by Fianna Fáil and Deputy Troy, who is now a Minister of State, to publish a Bill on this. Up until last March, Deputy Troy gave a c…

I welcome the Minister to the House tonight as it is a sign that she is giving this very important matter the recognition it deserves. I will speak to the future of the Tidy Towns competition. I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister on 17 September asking if the Tidy Towns competition would be allowed to proceed in 2021 under the current social distancing and public health guidelines. The Minister replied by saying the Tidy Towns competition has a unique place in Ireland's culture and since its incepti…

I am grateful to the Minister for her reply and it was worth staying up this late just to hear such an assertive and affirmative reply from the Minister. There is no ambiguity from the Minister about the future of the competition in 2021 and the more than 924 applicants that will be there will be delighted with the news. It is a very genuine competition and the people involved are the salt of the Earth. They do so much for their community and it is such a valuable competition. I acknowledge the role of SuperValu in…

The Ceann Comhairle speaks to the matter of reason and the importance of people listening and hearing, and seeks to have that principle applied to both sides. The tone of the debate here, unlike debates on other matters, has been measured from an Opposition point of view, which is the point of view I can speak from. We are being asked to legislate with one hand tied behind our backs because we feel we are speaking to reason in seeking more time for more deliberation on issues. One issue that is pertinent to this Bi…

I note with interest the point made by Deputy Connolly about the creation of Tusla. It is a word that does not trip off the tongue easily. I do not even know if there is a statutory basis for the name "Tusla". I believe it is called the Child and Family Agency. We would all do ourselves a favour if we were to continue to refer to it as the Child and Family Agency. I do not know when the marketing people came in and decided to give it this glossy title. Perhaps this is something that should be reviewed and revised. …

It is very seamless between ourselves and the Social Democrats. We work nicely together. I welcome and support the motion. The Grant Thornton report is actually a good report and well worth reading. I am glad it was commissioned. I am particularly impressed with the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, SWOT, analysis element of it. The report refers to the strengths of the post office with its premium brand recognition and positive public perception, being at the heart of the community, supporting loca…

I support this Bill. We welcome it. I wish to take the opportunity to remember the Buttevant rail disaster that occurred on 1 August 1980, those who were injured in it and the 18 who died. This is pertinent to this legislation because the response to the disaster by the community, emergency services and Iarnród Éireann, or CIÉ at the time, was absolutely tremendous. The event still haunts the community of Buttevant and the wider area. It is appropriate that we are discussing legislation on railway safety and the re…

It is very difficult to countenance supporting the Government on the Bill in its current form. I would characterise its passage as one of sowing additional confusion and obfuscation and having the effect of traumatising further the many women who look to the House and expect us to legislate on the basis of reason. The manner in which the Bill was brought before the Seanad and now this House leaves one utterly disappointed because the subject matter is so sensitive that the least we would have expected, and that the…

He has set a precedent.

I wish to address the same issue. It relates to Cork Airport and the loss of Ryanair jobs there. There is a call from the airport stakeholders that the EU's traffic light system for international travel be adopted because that would give a fighting chance to airports like those at Cork and Shannon. I raised this issue last week and ask again that the Cabinet give the green light to this system as soon as possible to give airports like Cork Airport a fighting chance so we can grow the routes again. I express my soli…

In the short space of time I have, I will begin with the area of agriculture. With regard to the agricultural budget, there has been much talk about new schemes, including agri-environment schemes. When one parses the document, however, it is very hard to get details. That difficulty characterises this budget generally. When one tries to delve into the minutiae of the figures and the wall of money announced in the last 24 hours, it is hard to find the devil in the detail. I will speak specifically about matters suc…