It is very hard not to be.

This House is well aware of the significance of the power generation facility at Moneypoint in west Clare and of the impact it has had on the economy of the country and on the growth and strengthening of the economy of County Clare. It has now been in operation for 34 years. It was commissioned in 1987, construction having started in 1979. It has had a very significant impact over those 42 years. There is no doubt that it secured the State's electricity supply, helping in no small way with the growth of the Irish e…

I welcome the clarification that, at least, the ESB is looking at the classification of the plant. The reality is that will probably require approximately 30 employees. However, compared with the height of having 600 employees at the plant, it is no compensation for the wider community. Yet again, it protects the State's requirement to have a back-up electricity supply. What we need is targeted investment under the just transition fund and a portion of the €77 million that has been provided by the EU to support the…

Like other Senators, I refer to Ulster Bank and call on the State to intervene yet again. We did so ten years ago and it was the right thing to do. We must intervene again. We must do so for the customers and the workers and to ensure that there is a competitive banking sector in this country. Our previous intervention was aimed at ensuring that we had an effective banking system. We cannot allow a situation to develop where effective competition is reduced to the point where we do not have an appropriate marketpla…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute. Like others, I found the report harrowing reading. It documents what the vast majority of society knew but did not talk about. It was a different era, that we all recognise. There was a level of social conservatism. There was no place for women to express themselves; none whatsoever. Men ran the show. Women were, by and large, subservient, and children were expected to be seen and not heard. In truth, the same was expected of women. Men organised the meetings, they ran commu…

I welcome the Minister of State and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. Mental health has always been the Cinderella of the health service in this country, or until recently anyway. It has been underfunded and under-provided for. I have great confidence that the Minister of State, with her knowledge and background and the experience she has brought to her role, will do everything in her power to address that. Mental health has never been more to the fore, because of the pandemic in which we find…

I thank the Minister of State for her outline. There is little doubt that this pandemic has probably had a greater impact on young adults, students and schoolchildren than any other element of society. There are, for sure, people whose incomes have been affected, who have lost their jobs and businesses, but in terms of real stress points, and there are many, the younger cohort has undergone the greatest degree of stress and pressure. Those young people did not have worldly experiences to assist them through it. The…

I have been contacted by ten concerned primary school principals in Ennis and its environs. They are calling on the Minister for Education, school patron bodies and the National Educational Welfare Board to find a solution to this continuing crisis regarding second level places. I know from personal experience that many students and parents cannot find a second level place. It happens year after year, notwithstanding additional accommodation having been provided in recent years. It is putting enormous pressure on s…

I join others in congratulating the Minister on her venture into grandmotherhood. I am sure she will do as good a job there as she has in every other role she has held. I welcome baby Arthur and wish her family well at such an important time. Sadly for the Minister, she will not get to spend the same kind of time with them as she might under normal circumstances because of the work she is doing. I join others in thanking the Minister for the leadership she has given her Department and all the departmental staff who…

Like others, I want to reflect on the fact that the Covid pandemic continues to ravage through society, albeit hopefully with an end in sight with the roll-out of the vaccine taking place. We all look forward to the day when it comes to pass. There is little doubt that virtually no section of society throughout the world has not been impacted by the pandemic. There is no sector more impacted than our young adults and teenagers, who effectively have had their lives on hold, not having had the experiences that others…

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his, as always, very thoughtful presentation and for sharing with us his ambition. Maybe I am not as taken as others by his presentation today because I have had the benefit of working with him on committees for years, and I have seen the diligence and the approach that he has taken, which has continued here today. I thank him for that. There is no shortage of ambition and no shortage of desire among the Irish public about addressing climate change. That, to me,…

It is well recognised that today is a momentous day in the fight against Covid with the first person on the island of Ireland having received the latest vaccine at around 8 o'clock this morning. Hopefully, that heralds the beginning of the end of this enormous crisis that has bedevilled societies right across the globe and impacted on the lives of so many. We have seen many lives lost and many lives affected through the loss of loved ones and the economic upheaval that the crisis has created right across the globe.…

We are all well aware of the importance of community employment or CE schemes, particularly in rural areas and villages. The schemes provide significant employment support to day-care centres and crèches, for maintaining graveyards, basic grass-cutting and upkeep of local villages, working with Tidy Towns committees, and maintaining sports grounds, particularly GAA and soccer facilities. They provide an important value-for-money service to communities. It is work that the local authority would not be in a position …

ComReg will be before the committee next week.

Earlier this week, the Government announced over €100 million in funding for bog rehabilitation in the midlands under the just transition programme. The programme is aimed at addressing the very significant economic impact of the decision of the State to move away from the burning of peat as our contribution towards the reduction in carbon emissions. The decision to invest €100 million in the midlands is a good one. It is the right decision for the environment and for economic activity in the region. It is about en…

The pubs in Galway will not be opening for a while so.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate and welcome the Minister of State, Deputy English, to the House. I thank him for the work he is doing in dealing with a difficult sector of the economy that has gone through a difficult period in recent months. There is some light at the end of the tunnel as we begin a process of coming out of the latest level of lockdown and it is incumbent on all of us to show leadership in how we manage that process. The State stepped in, as it had to and should, in protecti…

As the Taoiseach and the Government take on the unenviable task this week of further relaxing restrictions around Covid-19, it is imperative that consideration is given to the capacity of people to live with Covid for the coming weeks, while at the same time having some semblance of a Christmas experience. Retail, barbershops and hairdressers must open without delay. We also have to ensure restaurants and pubs get an opportunity to provide their services in a safe and efficient way over the coming weeks. It is clea…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. In 2019, the then Department of Education and Skills entered into an agreement with Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board to provide seven classrooms and ancillary accommodation at Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg in Ennis at an estimated cost of €3 million. The project had been agreed, a design team was put in place and plans were drawn up, the normal procedures for the development of such a school. I express my appreciation for the work the team in Gaelscoil Mhíchíl…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. The effort made by the board and principal of the school at the time to get the development that was needed was substantial. The school was working out of temporary accommodation. The only option available to the school was the additional school accommodation scheme, which is what the authority was told. Regardless of what scheme the project fell under, there will be 20 teachers, associated classes and a two-stream school when the structure has been completed. I know …