I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this important debate. It is an important debate for society in terms of how we live with Covid and how we ensure we get society, industry and our economy back on the road. There are so many aspects to this debate that we need to start talking about, including how we are going to reopen Ireland as a society, but also the vaccines and vaccine roll-out. It is important to acknowledge that the miracle of the vaccines was a miracle of science. We are so lucky. Luck was o…

Today, Daffodil Day, is important. In a normal scenario, we would be seeing daffodils sold on every street corner. This day is an important day for society. We all have stories we could tell about what the Irish Cancer Society has done for our families and how great a support it has been to them. I would like to mention my brother Ger, who died of skin cancer at the age of 37. The Irish Cancer Society was a great support at the time and the nurses in particular were just amazing. It is important that we acknowledge…

This morning I wish to raise the issue of Sacred Heart Secondary School, Clonakilty, to discuss the need for an urgent update on the progress of the proposed extension to the school. Sacred Heart Secondary School, Clonakilty, is one of the key cornerstone secondary schools in the town. Not only does it take in pupils from the Clonakilty town area, but it also has a large rural catchment area. There are over 550 students at the school and 47 classrooms. The school was established 80 years ago, in 1941. One of the ke…

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response. The big issue here is about clarity. Unfortunately, in 2019, the school was taken out of the partial bundle that had a set line with a project manager because of the complex nature of the build and the building and what is required of that site. It is important that we get progress. I am delighted that the school has been informed of the progress that has been proposed to date. The appointment of the architectural team is essential here. That is the key …

I thank the Acting Chairperson, Senator Keogan, for allowing me to contribute to this important debate. Home ownership and the rental issue are probably the biggest issues society faces. How we tackle them will define this Government and society itself. There are issues with regard to rent in which we must engage and talk about. Supply is key and it is the biggest issue in the rental market. The supply of housing and how we stimulate the market will be most important. There are issues and we have spoken about the p…

I second Senator Ward's proposal. We are expecting a major protest in Cork tomorrow. This is a big issue that could, but hopefully will not, affect many people in Cork in the next 48 hours. There is great fear in the city about what is going to happen. We saw in the media what happened in Dublin last weekend, where there were 23 arrests and several gardaí were hospitalised. There is a great fear that something similar will happen in the southern capital of Cork tomorrow. It is a real concern that people may be prot…

Last week, we debated the important issue of the remote working strategy. My office was overwhelmed by feedback on that debate. A large number of people are looking for a place where they can use this strategy to change their quality of life and want to engage with it. A digital hub strategy is being rolled out throughout County Cork. Towns such as Bandon, Skibbereen and Bantry all propose to have digital hubs. Unfortunately, Clonakilty does not have that opportunity at the moment and the lack of digital hub is a d…

I welcome the Minister and welcome also the publication of this plan. It sets out targets for reducing fertiliser use, encourages low-emission spreading and how we are going to promote organic farming and tillage. The document sets out a roadmap for how we are going to reduce our emissions over the next decade. A total of 35% of our emissions come from greenhouse gases. There is a huge issue in the agricultural community about how we are going to move forward over the next few decades and it is probably going to be…

I thank Senator McGahon for sharing his time with me. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Burke. This is an important topic. The Moorhead report has been a topic of considerable debate within the council and community for a long time. Action is required to implement the report's recommendations. The two main issues for councillors that the Minister of State probably hears about is pay, but also the lack of powers. We have seen an erosion of powers in recent years. We have done some of it ourselves. The introduc…

I wish to raise the issue of beef prices and where they are going at the moment. We have seen an alarming decline in beef prices in the past three or four weeks. I had beef farmers on to me yesterday absolutely devastated that there has been a further decline in prices of 10 cent per kilo this week alone in the factories. Taking into consideration that fertiliser prices and grain prices are going up and beef prices are going down, the industry is going into crisis. We have had beef protests over recent years; we ha…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. This is a very important debate. It has been ongoing for a while but it is important that all Members of the House have the opportunity to express their views on this report. I took time this morning to read again the paragraphs that I was going to talk about. I will refer to chapter 28 which deals with the county home in County Cork. There were two homes, the Bessborough home, which is a few miles away, and the county home in County Cork, St. Finbar’s. The reading of the 27 p…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I want the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to report on what stipulations have been made on the Airbnb website regarding the regulations that pertain to level 5 restrictions. This is a very serious issue. Obviously the Covid-19 crisis has afflicted this country for the last 11 months. It is a very significant issue that has had a major impact on many parts of society. We are now in the middle of level 5 restrictions that have meant a comp…

I note the Minister of State's response. It is important that we deal with this issue, but there is not enough clarity in the response and I am not happy with the clarity that has been provided. The time has come to take down this platform. Within level 5 restrictions, Airbnb must be asked to restrain advertising on its platform. As far as I can see, there is no logic or sense in a platform that is advertising accommodation throughout this country, mainly for tourism purposes, to be operating under level 5 restrict…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber for this very important debate. I acknowledge the proposer of the motion, Senator Currie, as it affects all parts of Irish society, including rural and urban areas. It is a key because society has changed so dramatically in the past year. We are now catching up with how society is working. The motion encapsulates the view of the public, so it is important we have the debate. Many elements of the remote working strategy must be discussed but I will touch on just three b…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for his kindness. I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge my party colleagues for sharing time. It is very appropriate and very helpful. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. In many ways, she has what is one of the most burdensome jobs in public life at the moment - trying to ensure that children have the opportunity to go back to school. That will be a very significant issue. I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has done in this very important area. Ov…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy. Has the consultation process begun for the new national women and girls strategy? Has a committee been put in place and what are the proposed timelines for putting the new strategy in place? As the Minister of State is aware, the national women and girls strategy 2017-2020 was launched by the then Minister, Frances Fitzgerald. It was considered at the time a crucial framework of actions to address issues regarding women in the workplace and women in society. Last year, …

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. He stated that the 2017-20 strategy would be extended by 12 months and work would be done this year on putting a new strategy in place from 2021 onwards. I welcome that as we were unsure of what was happening with the current strategy. I do not have the Minister of State's script, but did he say that more than 130 actions had been examined? Will he provide written details on those actions and how far they have been progressed? I do not expect him to have…

I raise the issue of the Covid restrictions currently in place. They have been very effective in many ways but there are issues we need to have a debate on as soon as possible. I refer, in particular, to the activity seen in my part of the world in the past ten days where houses have been rented at the weekend for the holding of parties. We had a situation in Kinsale, which the Garda Síochána publicised, where seven lads from Cork city came down and rented a house, bought alcohol, were cautioned by the gardaí and s…

I wish everyone a happy Christmas. It is great that we have reached this stage of what has been an amazing year. Some of us have fought a general election and a Seanad election, we have endured a pandemic and have been locked up at home for long periods. It has been a year that none of us will ever forget. I wish to acknowledge the courtesy of the Cathaoirleach and thank the staff of Seanad Éireann for their kindness over the past six to eight unusual months. I also thank the Leader of the House and the Members who…

Where public representatives fit into our debate on class K is important. In many ways, we need to broaden the debate because we must attract people to participate in public life. In my part of the world in Cork, the five youngest members in local government from 2014 to 2019, across all parties, refused to run for re-election. So the young people who were elected when they were in their early 20s and early 30s decided to step out of politics after just five years. I am friendly with all of them and am aware there …