I am glad to speak on this Bill. It has many good elements but we all know what the real issue is with rental properties. For the first time in the history of the State, 80% of serviced zoned lands in Wexford and many other rural constituencies are to be effectively dezoned. It makes no sense. It will drive up the price of land, increase the cost of housing and magnify the current housing crisis in rural towns. Extraordinarily, the first thing planners will say is that commercial considerations are not planning con…

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority is one of a number of quangos responsible for the operation and regulation of our fishing industry. Based on what I have seen and heard in recent weeks, it may possibly be the most inaccurately named quango ever formed in this State. From its name, one would think that its main aim was to protect the fishing industry, but if one was to describe what is happening as a result of its activities, there would be a strong case for renaming it the SFDA, the sea-fisheries destruction …

I have stood on the floor 15 times since being elected in as many months to request that a child psychologist be appointed to the child and adolescent mental services in Wexford, in Arden House. I am pleased to say we are at the stage where a letter of offer has been made and that position will be filled by July. I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Butler, and the Government. I have addressed the Tánaiste on the matter and I thank him. Please God, we will see that fulfilled in July. In…

Our fishing industry has been on the receiving end of many body blows in the past 50 years. There have been increased regulations, reduced quotas, the opening of our waters to outside competition and many other impacts. In fact, the whole treatment of the fishing industry by this and previous Governments has been a disgrace. We have abdicated all responsibility to the EU. When I or other politicians raise the serious concerns of those in the fishing industry, we are usually met with handwashing, buck-passing and fi…

Would it be possible for me to come back in please?

That is fine. I left out two pages by mistake. I realise I did not address the Bill. If there is still time left in the Regional Group slot, would it be possible for me to contribute again?

I am sharing time with Deputy Shanahan, who is probably on his way. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the Bill. I commend Deputy Doherty on all of the work he has done over many years in highlighting issues in our insurance industry. He has brought to light many important issues and has been relentless in his efforts to try to deal with them. This Bill would require insurance companies to provide information to the Central Bank for each of the next four years, outlining how the cost of claims have fallen as a …

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this very important issue. Last week my attention was drawn to a very serious and concerning issue, namely the discovery of black grass on a Teagasc plot in Oak Park, Carlow. To help myself understand more about this I listened to a very informative podcast on the Irish Farmers' Journal website discussing the issue. For those who are not aware, black grass is an invasive weed which spreads very easily and very quickly. It can be found in a variety of se…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. What we need is a proactive approach. We normally see reaction, so I think we have time here. There certainly needs to be that type of engagement. If we have no certification process for imported wild flower seeds, that needs to be changed. We also need some form of social media campaign because there are so many community and voluntary groups involved in biodiversity, particularly at local county council level, that there should be a campaign that makes them aware of…

I want to discuss Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, reform, in particular eco-farm schemes alongside convergence. Ireland is an agricultural country with the best farm producers of quality food in the world. Farmers were encouraged over the years to invest in good faith, with the belief that they were being progressive and their hard work and the food they yielded was and still is recognised as the best in the world. They were assisted by Teagasc and other semi-State bodies to become gold standard producers. The CAP…

I thank the Taoiseach. I am very concerned when he tries to devolve responsibility for dealing on behalf of Irish farmers to the EU Council of Ministers or whatever it is. What comes to mind is what my mother used to say, namely, if they jumped in the river would you? The reality is that the farmers of Ireland depend on the Government, regardless of when the process began, to negotiate on their behalf to ensure that convergence does not go beyond 75%. Our fishermen are holding a protest in Cork today because this G…

We are an agricultural nation.

If they jumped in the river, would the Taoiseach?

The Minister denied his own figures.

As the Covid-19 situation was developing, I voted to give the Government these special emergency powers. I did so in good faith in the belief the powers would be used in good faith. Unfortunately, there have been too many examples of these restrictions being unnecessarily draconian and going beyond what I consider reasonable. This has been shown on many occasions, not least when the Minister for Health said that priests would not be punished for saying mass only for that very thing to happen just a few weeks later.…

I am delighted to be able to propose and speak on this motion as part of the Regional Group. I concur with everything my colleagues have said on the floor. We all know the importance of top-quality water infrastructure. Unfortunately, much of our water infrastructure needs upgrading. This presents us with an opportunity to plan carefully; to fast-track infrastructural development in our towns and villages to create balanced development; to create a strategic plan for water investment; and to put in place a transpar…

Page 46 of the programme for Government pledges to invest in healthcare. In Wexford, we have no MRI scanner despite having raised €250,000 towards the project. There are 791 children who have been on the orthodontic waiting list for more than 48 months. We have two applicants for a psychologist position which is to be filled to serve the 40 children on the waiting list for child and adolescent mental health services. We cannot get those applications pulled out to receive a letter of offer. I am asking the Taoiseach…

I am happy to see this Bill come forward. It has much to do with the Minister of State's progress since taking office. When we talk about farming, we are often limited in what we can say and do within the parameters of EU rules and regulations, often to the detriment of farming communities. However, with the fair deal scheme we cannot blame others or pass the buck on the treatment of farmers. Successive Governments have been solely responsible for this unequal treatment of farmers and it is welcome that steps are f…

I thank Sinn Féin for using its Private Members' time to table this motion. Over the past week, the housing crisis has come back to front and centre on the political agenda. We have had much debate about cuckoo funds, vulture funds and housing policy. The Minister has said that he is committed to providing family homes - semi-detached or detached houses with front and back gardens, as he declared on air with Ms Claire Byrne last week. The truth of the matter is that all of this is rhetoric. Fine Gael wants people t…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I also welcome the opportunity to speak on this topic as the Bill is presented today. Months ago, when it became obvious that the leaving certificate would not be able to proceed in its usual format in 2021 and there was much debate on what should be done, I called for a choice to be given to the students between estimated grades and sitting the examinations. I am pleased that the Government is proposing such a system and is taking the steps as part of the implementation process. The re…