We talk about the rising cost of fuels and worry about the upset this is causing people. I am being contacted by people who worked on the front line during Covid-19 wondering if there are any details on when and to whom the bonus will be paid. While Ministers are kite-flying about further restrictions to the eligibility, people are waiting on this and are relying on it in some cases. There are still no clear signs of when they will get it and who will get it. These decisions need to be planned by the Government bef…

We all know apprenticeships have been a scandal over the last ten years since the financial crash. I welcome some of the points the Minister has made about how we are now looking at options but he gave 2021 figures of over 8,000 apprentices signed up. Does he believe that is enough? What is the figure we need to reach every year? I am talking to builders, plumbers and carpenters in small and medium family-run businesses. They are looking for support to take apprentices on, including financial support. Will the Gove…

Will the Minister consider expanding funding to the citizen science mapping project?

OpenLitterMap is a citizen science project established in Cork city, following a very simple concept. People see litter and they record it. This project has the potential to assist local authorities in targeting areas where there is constant litter and also in helping communities to identify litter black spots. This research gets no funding from the Department, which is very disappointing. Despite applications to SFI and IRC, they did not get funding. I ask the Minister to make contact and consider additional fundi…

As I said, in the 1990s the derelict sites register was established and after speaking to the Department, we still do not have data about the derelict sites that are littering every community in the State. That is where a citizen science mapping project would be vital. Citizens could take photographs and upload them to a central database. We would be engaging with the community to tackle a huge issue. We are in the middle of a housing crisis now. We could use citizen science mapping to support local authorities and…

The Keltoi rehabilitation unit was closed in March 2020. We were promised at the time that it was a temporary closure due to Covid-19. It is still closed today. Why? There are serious issues with addressing dual diagnosis in this State. Addiction is often caused by trauma, but so too are serious mental health difficulties. When they are presented together, people often have nowhere to turn. Keltoi is a one-of-a-kind facility that has helped people in these situations. It must be reopened now. There were warnings th…

To be honest, I am shocked and flabbergasted by the comments of the Minister of State. Keltoi worked with people in addiction or with serious and complex mental health issues. He has come in here two years after its closure to tell us it will remain closed. That is not good enough. These are people who have serious issues. Is the Department of Health or the HSE using Covid-19 as a way of closing down Keltoi? If that is what is being done, it is not acceptable and Sinn Féin will certainly oppose it. We should be see…

That is a cop-out.

This is the closure of a facility by the back door using the cover of Covid. It is scandalous.

The Affordable Housing Bill 2021.

The houses are built.

The houses are built. People want to buy them.

At the end of January, the National Treatment Purchase Fund reported that there were 72,684 people on waiting lists in Cork hospitals. Almost 30,000 of those had been waiting more than one year for treatment. To be clear, these people are not waiting for minor treatments. They are waiting on life-changing and, in some cases, life-saving treatments. More than 100 people alone are waiting more than one year for cardiothoracic surgery in Cork University Hospital, CUH. People with heart and lung disease are desperately…

I ask the Minister to provide an update on the roll-out of the NBP in Cork city and county.

Steady progress is being made as the Minister says but there are huge parts of my constituency that are still without broadband and that are waiting for it. We rely on the Internet for so much, including security, education, entertainment and working from home. People who are without broadband are at a distinct disadvantage. I am hearing from my constituents in areas like Blarney, Tower, Kerry Pike, Donoughmore, Glenville and areas of Glanmire that not having broadband has serious implications for them, especially …

I also want to raise an issue experienced by those waiting for high-speed fibre to the home. Thanks to ComReg’s decision D10/18, Eir will not tell people when they will have high-speed Internet. It will not give people a timeline beyond saying, for example, that it will be in 2026. I fully understand the need for fair competition but some compromise has to be reached on this because there are apartment blocks in the centre of Cork city with over 160 apartments that have no high-speed Internet connection. For those …

But there is no timeline.

I was extremely disappointed last week to learn that Blackpool, in the heart of my community, will not be included in the town centre first policy and therefore will miss out on any funding that will be available. Blackpool is a beautiful and historic village in the heart of Cork city that has so much unlocked potential. I have previously invited the Minister to come to Cork and look at the levels of dereliction in this area, but he has refused to do so, saying he has already seen it. No one who has walked through …

Like my colleagues, I congratulate Deputy Kerrane on introducing this Bill and on her Trojan work in representing lone parents as Sinn Féin's spokesperson on social protection. Her Bill would be a step towards ending the victimisation of lone parents and stop them being forced to go to court, which is hard on people physically, mentally and financially. They have to take time off work, organise childcare and travel. All of this adds up, especially in contentious situations where there can be multiple court cases. D…

In summer 2020, Cork City Council took the very welcome move to pedestrianise a number of streets and to allow on-street dining. This was revolutionary for businesses in light of the Covid-19 restrictions. It also greatly improved the atmosphere of the city and was the start of a return to some sort of normality for both the business community and the people of Cork. Unfortunately, this decision involved the relocation of several disabled parking spaces, but this was done with little consultation with the disabled …