I bring to the Minister's attention an issue that was raised by a constituent regarding delays in completing apprenticeships. The correspondence states that the constituent's electrician apprenticeship is supposed to be a four-year programme, but there is such a waiting list to move on to the next phase that apprentices such as this person will spend more than five years doing the apprenticeship. My constituent and I want to know if the Minister will look into this and solve the problem so that the apprentice can q…

I wish to raise a very sensitive and emotive issue relating to the delivery of home care support services. Changes to the disability home support packages are causing immense distress and anxiety to many families who avail of these services. A constituent of mine contacted me last week regarding her daughter, Fran. Fran is 31 years old and profoundly intellectually disabled. She has refractory epilepsy. When unwell, she can have a seizure every five to ten minutes. She also has epidermal nevus syndrome, a rare skin…

I thank the Minister of State for her empathy. She can only feel as I do. There was all of what the Minister of State described to me, but it took a week and I made further inroads. I will not mention the HSE official's name, but I found somebody who was empathetic, who took charge of the situation and who said it would not happen again. However, the letters the Minister of State referred to were particularly cold and callous, and I would never like to see them again. In that regard, I hope I will not be referring …

I have five minutes and I am sharing with another Deputy.

I am certainly not in the habit of correcting colleagues but the reality is the review released this week by the Irish Maritime Development Organisation, IMDO, has certain cohorts under the illusion that extra ships have been brought on and I would like to correct this miscommunication. At this point in time, no extra ships have been brought on to service land bridge traffic. The review included factors such as an overview of freight volumes through Irish ports, focusing in particular on land bridge traffic, which …

I want to ask the Taoiseach a quick question with a “Yes” or “No” answer. Does he understand the difference between lo-lo and ro-ro freight?

If he does, he will not, as part of Government, be endorsing the Irish Maritime Development Office, IMDO, report or review that was carried out for the Department of Transport. Given my 30 years in logistics management and my experience, let me explain what logistics management means. It is the part of the supply chain that plans, controls and implements the efficient and effective flow of goods and services from the point of origin to the point of consumption to meet the customer's requirements. That is not contai…

It is too late.

Everything that the Taoiseach has said is misinformed. The IMDO is not informing the Government; it is misinforming it. The IMDO says there is enough capacity on the direct route but I will inform the Taoiseach what happened on Saturday. Eight vehicles were left behind on the pier in Rosslare Europort. I happened to be there. It happened because the ship that should be in Rosslare is anchored off Holyhead because the crew have Covid and it is quarantined for two weeks. These are the issues that the IMDO do not info…

One fear that many people have facing into difficult economic times is that schemes such as the LEADER funding programme would be abandoned, suspended or reduced in value. I know the Minister is aware that the LEADER programme is a vital tool which allows many organisations in rural Ireland to develop. What is the status of the LEADER funding programme and are there plans to run this programme or have it extended to 2021 and beyond?

I am delighted to hear that. LEADER is a French acronym which, when translated, means links between actions for the development of the rural economy. It is an initiative to support rural development and projects initiated at local level to revitalise rural areas and create jobs. I understand that the LEADER programme is co-funded by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, but it has benefited Wexford to the tune of €10 million over the 2014 to 2020 period. That is greatly appreciated but I am not sure tha…

They can be assured that they will be kept busy and that is where I am coming from. We have two well-known food businesses in Wexford that were helped through the LEADER programme to the tune of approximately €250,000. They are Kelly's Bakery in Wexford town, which is now a household brand, and Wexford Home Preserves in New Ross. In the climate of Brexit that is about to be upon us, these companies need as much help as possible to be able to market their product in the future. To clarify, did the Minister say the t…

I am amazed at the announcements this morning from the NVRL at University College Dublin, of which Dr. Cillian De Gascun is the laboratory director. The Ministers have to decide who is going to take care of the shortfall mentioned in this announcement. We have lost the capacity for 30,000 tests at the laboratory. We do not know who will do them instead or what preparations have been made while we lock down the country and tell people that it is their fault. We have heard Deputies say that we, as citizens, have to t…

The post office network is vital infrastructure for many in rural and regional communities. Almost 950 post offices are operational throughout Ireland but unfortunately this number is decreasing. The sector has seen significant cuts in recent years with the closure of hundreds of post offices, most of which were located in small rural communities. County Wexford has 52 post offices but unfortunately this number is getting smaller. They serve all types of communities, from the larger ones in our main towns such as B…

There is proposed legislation to introduce fines for breaches of restrictions the Government has put in place to deal with Covid-19, when in effect the biggest contributing factor is the Government's inability to set up an effective contact tracing model. In the face of assurances in May from the then Taoiseach and now Tánaiste, it was stated that the method of living with Covid would be to isolate, test, trace and treat. What is the plan for six weeks' time to ensure we can live with Covid-19? What legislation doe…

There has never been a more uncertain and worrying time for SMEs. Ensuring that the conditions are set out for the sector to thrive is vital to the economy and its recovery. When the Tánaiste chaired a meeting of the SME growth task force on 25 September last, he said we need to set out a long-term strategic vision for SMEs. With that in mind, and particularly with Brexit preparations in mind, can he provide an outline of what the SME growth task force has done so far and explain the long-term vision for supports f…

I thank the Tánaiste. I hope the blueprint will include transport for the SMEs and businesses that will require it. The Tánaiste will have seen yesterday that in preparation for Brexit, the UK Government has invested just under €80 million in four European ferry companies to safeguard their trade in products being imported and exported post Brexit. Particular mention was made of medical products and medicinal appliances. All medicines may be in short supply due to our inability to prepare a daily direct ferry servi…

If we take seriously a report that was produced by the Irish Maritime Development Office, IMDO, in 2018, and if we add up the figures of the current land bridge traffic having to travel direct post Brexit, we will see that we currently have six daily ferries. According to the IMDO figures, post Brexit we will need 15 services to replace the land bridge traffic. Some 40% available capacity now does not add up to 15 services a week. We need to go back. This matter has been under review for a long time. We have grown …

Five months ago, I stood in the House and asked the Minister at the time for a roadmap on testing. My understanding was that in June, as we began to open up the country, the system of testing, tracing and isolating would begin in earnest and every person who needed to be tested for Covid-19 would be tested. I understood that was how the Government was going to contain the virus while being able to keep the country open. To me, test, trace and isolate means that positive test cases would and should be isolated. Then…

The Tánaiste says that we need not blame anyone. I am not blaming anyone. I am pointing out an ineffective system of contact tracing. I am inundated with calls locally. I will give one serious call as an example. It is the most harrowing one I have heard to date. It is about a young man, a GAA player, who tested positive but had not actually been contact traced for six days. His girlfriend, with whom he lives, works in a nursing home. That nursing home is now infected. It took six days to contact trace someone who …