Looking at the big picture for farming, once again Europe has failed to grasp the big nettle. Looking at dairy farming and particularly beef and sheep farming, putting aside the fixed grants that people get irrespective of productivity and as long as they have a very basic level of farming going on, the more intensively one farms, the smaller the profit that is made. When a farmer does up his or her accounts at the end of the year, the more intensive farmer will eat more into those grants. I have looked at endless …

Cuireann sé áthas orm deis a bheith agam labhairt ar an ábhar seo mar is ábhar thar a bheith tromchúiseach é agus caithfear rud éigin a dhéanamh. One of the issues that has come up in the Oireachtas Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community, of which I am a member, is that we have all the statistics. We have an idea of the scale of the problem. However, what we, and, more importantly, the Traveller community, need are solutions to the bottlenecks. It is fair to say there has been a huge problem in p…

Ó fuair an tír seo neamhspleáchas, rinneadh neamhaird ar an bhfarraige timpeall orainn agus ar an saibhreas aiceanta atá san fharraige. Is trua é mar tá i bhfad níos mó farraige timpeall na tíre seo ná mar atá talamh sa tír. Tá saibhreas ollmhór ann ach is gá é a úsáid ar mhaithe leis an bpobal. Is cuimhin liom a bheith ag feachtasaíocht in aghaidh ballraíocht na tíre seo san Aontas Eorpach. Bhí mé i mo mhac léinn ag an am agus níor thuig mé tuige an raibh muid ag díol amach ár saibhreas amach ón gcósta go deo na n…

As I have only three minutes, I will be brief. When making decisions, one must first look at the recipe. As the saying goes, "He who pays the piper calls the tune." Some 37% of the European funding has to be spent on climate and 20% must be spent on digital, which means 57% of the spend is tied up. When it is drawing up its plans, the Government will have to do so according to the rules laid down. Otherwise, it will not be able to draw down the funding. It would be a pity to leave €915 million behind us. I would li…

Beidh spéis ag an Leas-Cheann Comhairle san ábhar seo freisin. Tá baile Chill Rónáin suite ar Inis Mór nó ar na hOileáin Árann mar is ceart a rá. Tá scéim bheag séarachais i seilbh Uisce Éireann i gCill Rónáin a dhéanann freastal ar thithe comhairle contae a tógadh ansin blianta fada ó shin. Thóg sé píosa fada go dtí gur ghlac Uisce Éireann go raibh freagracht air i dtaobh na scéime seo a ghlac sé faoi dheireadh. Taobh amuigh de sin, níl aon scéim séarachais ar an mbaile beag seo, baile atá i dtaobh foráis faoi agu…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht na ceiste seo a thógáil, ach caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil an t-eolas a tugadh dó thar a bheith easnamhach. Mar a dúirt an tAire Stáit, tá €1.4 billiún do chaitheamh ar sheirbhísí uisce agus séarachais i mbliana agus ní beag an méid é, ach tá lúb ar lár anseo, in ainneoin an méid a dúirt an tAire Stáit. Nuair a chuir mise an cheist ar Uisce Éireann an raibh i gceist aige scéim séarachais ceart a chur isteach i gCill Rónáin a chlúdódh, mar shampla, séarachas na comhairle con…

I support the Bill. The last year and a half has been incredibly difficult. Mistakes were made and there is no question about that. I still cannot understand why we did not control people who returned from Italy in the spring of last year. We knew that was the main source. I still cannot understand why we did not say to people who went to Cheltenham that they would have to quarantine for two weeks. I still have serious misgivings on how the nursing home issue was handled, when people were discharged from nursing ho…

This question is very simple. Is it intended to provide ring-fenced funding to the Higher Education Authority, HEA, to ensure more courses are taught through the medium of Irish? I am not talking about courses teaching Irish but about courses provided at third level through the medium of Irish. There will be a demand for people who are qualified professionally in Irish or through the medium of Irish because of the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2019 Bill, which is going through the Oireachtas at the moment. Wh…

I thank the Minister for his offer of engaging with me bilaterally and I will certainly take him up on it. I listened to his reply but we are a long way from where we need to be. I have a pragmatic and practical view of this. It is worth noting that NUI Galway, or UCG as it was at the time, was only kept in the 1920s to provide an Irish language university. Even into the 1960s most of the professors had the capability of teaching a wide range of subjects through Irish and there was quite a bit of educating through …

When we engage with this issue we will do so at three levels: courses through Irish; courses teaching the Irish language; and courses in professional Irish for certain occupations. For example, GPs, veterinary surgeons, nurses, speech therapists and all the other practical professions working in the Gaeltacht would need to know the language of their profession as well as a general competence in the language. I accept that the Minister is positive about this matter. Can he give me some indication of when we might en…

I welcome this Bill. I did not get a chance today to count all the parliamentary questions I submitted over the years concerning when this Bill would be introduced. It was promised and promised, and yet, like many things, it never happened. The Minister of State is less than a year in government and she has already brought this Bill before the House. I congratulate her on doing that. Promises never fed anybody or solved a problem. Action is what was needed here, and action is what we are getting. In this State, we …

What is the progress made to date in resolving the low pay issue in the Defence Forces? The operative word in that question is "progress". I listened to the Minister addressing a parallel issue to this earlier and it seems there are plenty of commissions but no progress. Can he give an indication of when we might see progress in the only area that makes much of a difference, namely, pay in the pockets of those serving in the Defence Forces?

We are great at lauding the Defence Forces of this country, and we rightly laud them. The Minister referred to some special allowances but they are allowances and not basic pay. Most of the other increases he announced will be given to the public service in general. That does not address the fundamental issue. The Minister correctly pointed out earlier that the Defence Forces are unique. They are not compatible with the public service in general. For example, members of the Defence Forces cannot strike, as the Mini…

An international ruling was given that PDFORRA should be allowed to affiliate with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU. I do not think anybody wants this to be adjudicated in a court in this country. The Minister stated he had some difficulties with this. Will he outline what those difficulties are? Will he clarify whether he is considering changing the age limits for members of the Defence Forces or intends extending them? There are serious issues that must be addressed. Will he clarify exactly what the probl…

Tá an-áthas orm deis a bheith agam labhairt ar an ábhar fíorthábhachtach seo. Ar ndóigh, is fada atáimid ag caint air seo. Go minic, is mó caint a dhéanaimid agus is mó aer te a chuirimid ar fáil, seachas gníomh. Ní hionann dlíthe a achtú agus gníomh a dhéanamh. Mura ndéanaimid gníomh de réir ár mbriathar, beidh thiar orainn sa deireadh. Caithfimid a bheith cúramach faoin gcaoi ina ndéanaimid gníomh. Cé air a bheidh an t-ualach? Caithfimid a dhéanamh cinnte nach ar na daoine is boichte a thitfidh an t-ualach, mar a…

We all have the same objective, namely, to ensure that in the future farmers can continue to farm in a sustainable way that they know best on the peaty soil of these lands. Some of this is in the lowlands and there is a fair amount of it in places such as Connemara. Having sat down with the Minister today and considering the complexity involved with the different institutions, he is following a very clear path to ensure the objective of having farming continue in these areas. I accept that there are people outside …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht am a roinnt liom. Ceann de na hoidhreachtaí is mó a tháinig as 1916 ná áit na Gaeilge sa tsochaí agus is ceart é sin a chaomhnú nuair atáimid ag caint ar rudaí a chaomhnú. Bhí baint nach beag agam leis an MSAG, an coiste comhairleach a chuir an tAire ar bun. Bhí ar an gcéad choiste agus ar an dara coiste agus, go deimhin féin, bhí mé ann nuair a bunaíodh an coiste sin. Creidim go mba é an coiste an bealach is fearr chun dul ar aghaidh agus chun glacadh le moltaí an choist…

As the Minister can see, this question has been down for a long time because oral questions were suspended. I know the reports are published but it is very important for the Minister to give some good news regarding connectivity between the major towns in Mayo and Galway. I am delighted that funding has been provided by the Minister's colleague, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, for the passing loop in Oranmore. This really opens up potential to open the line down to County Mayo.

As I said, I welcome the passing loop into Galway. I also expect that the Minister will proceed with the railway line into Foynes. It is a great pity that the railway line connecting Waterford to Rosslare in Wexford was recently closed because, with the new European direct routes, it would also have been a vital link. The Minister is dead right however; it is all about a network. We do not have a railway network in this country. We have a radial network out of Dublin. That is essentially the way the powers that be,…

I am glad the Minister is going to reopen the Foynes line for passengers and freight but is it not absolutely ridiculous to even contemplate doing so, particularly for freight, without connecting Ballina and Westport, for example, to Foynes? We would have the port but not the connecting railway lines while we are talking about decarbonisation. Does it take an awful lot of study to do that? The Minister did not answer the question. For how long is this rail review to go on? There is a great trick in Departments. The…