May I correct the record?

I want to address this. I have a number of questions on the issues I put to the Minister. Can the Minister obtain data from Pfizer or Moderna demonstrating that these vaccines will significantly reduce hospitalisations?

Nobody wants to personalise the debate. We are all here to serve the people and to do the best we can throughout this crisis. Last July in this House, I was one of the first to call for PCR testing at our airports and ports. We want to keep our country open for business and we want to do it safely. PCR testing was only introduced in December. Members on this side of the House have provided good ideas but they have not been taken on board by the Government. The Government has no real solution for Covid except lockdo…

I thank the Minister of State and I thank the Senator for raising such an important matter.

I thank the Senator for bringing up such an important issue this morning and I am glad to hear a review is under way.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, to the House.

Councillor Frank Roche in Cork and Councillor Brendan Fay in Cavan have asked me to request an extension to the hedge cutting season by two weeks due to poor weather conditions, as called for by the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors of Ireland. The hedge cutting season ends on 28 February so urgent clarification on this issue is required for farmers and hedge cutting contractors. I was greatly dismayed to learn that Ulster Bank is winding down its operation in Ireland. My first thought was for the 2,800 …

I thank Senator Craughwell for bringing this matter to the House today. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for coming to the Seanad to take on board our considered views on the role and remuneration of councillors. Since I have been elected to the Seanad, the inadequate pay structure of councillors has been high on my agenda. I was told by the Leader of the Seanad that a day would be set aside for my colleagues in this House to discuss the Moorhead report. A Private Members' motion had to be br…

The Minister is very welcome. Regardless of one's viewpoint on it, I welcome the publication of the final report of the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes. I wish to put it on the record of the Seanad that the stories of the victims and the survivors behind this report will be locked away from the public eye for 30 years. This conflicts with the Government's and Fianna Fáil's illusion of transparency. Only the victims will have access to their own stories, and should they wish to share them with…

Does the Acting Chairperson mind if I ask the Minister one thing? He gave a commitment at the committee on children-----

I was looking at a graphic yesterday that illustrates how appalling the progress of our vaccination programme has been compared with that of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, our nearest neighbour. We have vaccinated only 5% of our population with the first dose of an approved vaccine whereas in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, they have vaccinated over 23% with at least one dose. That is over 15 million people. Looking further afield, the US has vaccinated about 15% of its population. Leading the way is …

I welcome the Minister of State to the House again. I am grateful to have the opportunity to address her and my colleagues on a matter of grave importance. There is surely not a family in this country that is not affected by the issues of mental health disorder, dementia or intellectual disability. Mental health is an often overlooked and neglected aspect of healthcare in this country. Our history is not an enviable one in that regard. To our shame, this failure is not merely a feature of our history. It continues …

I thank the Minister for coming here this morning to reply to this matter. Last year, I addressed him in this House on the matter of apprenticeship schemes. In particular, I proposed that he provide funding to revive and reinvigorate local authority apprenticeship schemes. I was very encouraged at the time by the Minister's favourable response to this proposal. What progress has been made in implementing policy in this regard? With unemployment soaring again on account of the economic impact of lockdown, measures t…

I thank the Minister. I fully welcome the work that the Minister has done to date in making my suggestion a real, live project throughout this country within local authorities. It is an untapped source. We have 31 local authorities in the country. Even if each of them was to create 100 apprenticeships over the next five years, that would be 3,100 apprenticeships created by his Department alone. Most people say that Governments do not create jobs but will create the environment. We can create the environment but thi…

A matter of deep concern to me over the course of this pandemic has been the cessation of cancer screening, delayed cancer diagnoses and the disruption to the treatment of cancer patients. I raised the matter of the shutdown of normal healthcare services in response to Covid-19, in addition to many other questions, in correspondence to the Minister for Health dated 16 November. To date, almost three months later, I have received no answers. The silence is as deafening as it is revealing. I had to write to the Minis…

Hear, hear. Well done.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I appreciate that. I have scant regard for the recent apologies by our political leaders regarding mother and baby homes. Those leaders are predominantly male, I might add. They have failed women and children all too often. Apologies mean very little without meaningful action. We must reach out to survivors and provide every assistance and support possible. We must help people to heal and rebuild their lives and we must make amends for the harm suffered. I will be keeping a close eye on t…

I welcome the Minister. I have every confidence in him to deliver for the homeless in this country and I believe he is going to do a great job as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I draw to his attention an issue that has been overlooked by his Department. The issue arises where a tenant of a county council house may wish to buy. I understand all of the local authority housing departments are currently using a circular that was issued in 2019 to evaluate the price of local authority homes, yet th…

I, too, wish everybody in the House a happy Christmas. I thank Martin, Bridget and all the staff here for making me feel so welcome over the past six months. I say to all my colleagues in the Seanad that I have enjoyed my time here over the past six months. The work is certainly challenging. These have been the most challenging of times for us all. One can hear the pain felt this morning by Senators Casey and Crowe and all those in business at this time. We have to be a little kinder in how we deal with people in b…

I will try to be as quick as I can. Since I have come into the House, I have been advocating for councillors' pay. Today the ladies and gentlemen of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party will pass this Bill. Why do they not just amend it now to include the issue of councillors' pay? They should stop talking and walk the walk. They have the power to do so. They should not pass this Bill today. They should get the issue of councillors' pay into it. Today is their day.