Indoor hospitality proposals
Later tonight, I will be voting against the measures proposed by Government under the Health (Amendment) (No.2) Bill.
When does civil disobedience become legitimate
I asked the Taoiseach when he thought civil disobedience became legitimate if democracy is reduced to a tyranny of a narrow majority.
Indoor hospitality proposals
It becomes clearer that this is a coercive rather than protective measure. It also becomes more arbitrary in its discrimination.
Fair price for produce
We need to ensure that Irish farmers are adequately protected for producing an environmentally sustainable product and that they are not expected to sell that product below the cost of producing it. I questioned the Beef Taskforce Chair and Dept of Agriculture on the issue today.
Pillar 2 environmental measures
I asked the Minister for the Environment and Climate whether Government would fully co-fund Pillar 2 environmental measures and whether farmers who were already farming in a sustainable way would be required to reduce herd numbers by the same percentage who were not.
Indoor air filtration
I pointed out that there would continue to be transmission of Covid-19 regardless of vaccinations and asked what was done and would be done by the Government to improve air filtration in light of Expert Group reports to the Department of Health in February and March.
School Transport Refunds To Be Issued From Today
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has received confirmation from the Department of Education that school transport refunds will be issued on a staged basis over the next six weeks.
Responding to a Parliamentary Question by Deputy McNamara on the matter, Minister Norma Foley confirmed that Bus Éireann will from today (30 June) commence issuing refunds to families who are due to receive a refund for the unused portion of their ticket for the period of school closures arising from public health measures/Covid-19 restrictions in the 2020/2021 school year.
Deputy McNamara, who first raised the issue of refunds with Minister Foley in Dáil Éireann on 3rd March has welcomed the news.
“This is the correct decision by the Department of Education as thousands of parents will have paid in advance for transport to schools which were shut through no fault of their own or the Minister,” he stated.
Deputy McNamara added, “The refund due for each primary school student is €31, with the figure rising to €108.50 per post primary school student. From today, families will receive an email from Bus Éireann if they are eligible for a refund. The refund will be automatically made to the bank card used to make the payment, or by cheque if a card wasn’t used. Bus Éireann says refunds will be issued to all entitled family account holders starting from 30th June until mid-August.”
In response to Deputy McNamara’s Parliamentary Question, Minister Foley confirmed, “School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.”
Further information is available from the Bus Éireann website at https://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=710.
Wasting taxpayers money on Convention Centre sittings
€1.8 million in taxpayers money has already been wasted sitting in the Convention Centre. I today called for the Dáil to be returned to Leinster House.
Social housing waiting lists
The income limits for eligibility for social housing need to be changed to enable working families to apply in circumstances where obtaining a mortgage is beyond their reach.
Builders, forestry owners and suppliers facing logjam
The meaning of the word “logjam” is now clear to builders and those building their own home. Forestry owners can’t get a felling licence so timber mills can’t get logs so builders can’t get timber so homes can’t be built. I asked Government to tackle this.
Ireland out of sync with EU on antigen testing advice
I asked Junior Transport Minister Hildegarde Naughton why the medical advice being obtained by the Department of Transport is so clearly different from the medical advice being given to the European Commission and other member states.
Climate Action Bill debate
It is a pity that the Dáil couldn’t have a proper debate on an appropriate response to the climate emergency.
Statement on the ongoing CAP negotiations
I made a statement in the Dáil today on the ongoing CAP negotiations.
Antigen testing and air travel
Given the establishment of another task force on Shannon and the failure to implement previous reports on aviation and on antigen testing, I asked the Taoiseach who’s running the country and for whose benefit.
NPHET and Rapid Antigen Testing
NPHET’s confirmation that it hasn’t even discussed the Government-commissioned Report of the Covid Rapid Testing Group and its reluctance to accept the EU Commission’s common list of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests demonstrate an intent to maintain Ireland’s outlier position on international travel and antigen testing compared to other EU states.
Unsustainable borrowing by Ireland
I fear our borrowing levels are as unsustainable as our GDP, which is reliant on corporate tax structures that are being targeted by our EU and US allies.
Opposing the extension of Government’s emergency powers
I spoke against the Government’s bill to allow for the restrictions and lockdowns to be introduced until at least November with the possibility of a further extension thereafter.
Covid financial supports for nursing homes to end in late June
The Government’s response to the pandemic has been blunderbuss and one of the few targeted measures is being removed. None of the Covid-19 Committee or Expert Panel recommendations regarding nursing homes and care of the elderly have been implemented.
Vote on emergency pandemic powers
Given the Government’s proposal to extend far reaching and extraordinary emergency pandemic powers, the least we could do is allow for it to be fully debated.
Opposing Mandatory Hotel Quarantining
Speaking against Mandatory Hotel Quarantining today, I acknowledged the threat posed by variants. However, the current system does little to combat that threat.
Ireland’s Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage Site status
The Department is seeking applications from Local Authorities, State Bodies, community organisations and individuals, for sites or properties of natural and/or cultural heritage which are considered to be of outstanding universal value, for inclusion on Ireland’s new Tentative List for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Read MoreThe power of the beef processors
Beef farmers are being screwed by processors who control the market, aided and abetted by Department of Agriculture practice and policy over the years.
Opposing emergency legislation
I am voting against the proposed extension of emergency legislation because it allows for the restrictions to basic human rights and ordinary human activities to be rolled over indefinitely.
McNamara seeks clarity on transatlantic air travel
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has told Government that the proposed reopening of the Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland must be accompanied by the resumption of transatlantic flights to and from Ireland.
Read MoreTransatlantic Air Travel
I told Foreign Minister Simon Coveney that planes that flew from Shannon to North America were now based in Manchester and explained why the proposed reopening of the Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland must be accompanied by transatlantic flights to and from Ireland.
RTÉ – Housing Crisis
No one measure will provide a magic bullet to the housing problem. We need to get people back living in the streets of our cities, towns and villages and local authorities building houses.
RTÉ – Irish agri-food sector
Increasing intensification has been the only option for Irish farmers for decades. It has suited some but not all. The Department of Agriculture needs to promote a broader range of options in food production.
Recovery Plan for Irish Aviation Sector
140,000 workers in the Irish aviation sector cannot live on hope alone. An aviation recovery plan is urgently needed. I raised the matter with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar during Leader’s Questions today.
Maternity benefit
Pregnant women who receive €350 through the pandemic unemployment payment currently face a reduction to the maternity benefit of €245. Maternity benefit must be increased so that women are not financially penalised for giving birth.
Taoiseach on Mandatory Hotel Quarantine
How can the Government defend a policy of mandatory hotel quarantine – to the European Commission or before the Courts – that it stated to be impossible to enforce here and not proportionate?
Tánaiste on Mandatory Hotel Quarantine
When a Government knowingly breaches citizens’ rights because it’s politically expedient to do so, it loses the moral authority to compel people to adhere to the measures it adopts.
McNamara critical of Government’s Mandatory Hotel Quarantine strategy
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has criticised the Government’s Mandatory Hotel Quarantine strategy, which he described as “a half-baked exercise in optics” and a “flawed measure” in the context of an unchecked border with Northern Ireland and when the majority of persons arriving in the state whether by air, sea or over land are not tested for variants of Covid-19.
Read MoreRural Ireland needs more than vague plans
Rural Ireland needs more than vague plans without any funding or targets. “Our Rural Future” is a misnomer in the absence of the maintenance and development of services like broadband, banks, post offices and wastewater treatment.
Penal provision relating to religious services
I asked the Taoiseach if the Health Minister would correct the record of the Dáil where he wrongly said there is no penal provision relating to religious services.
Vaccination Programme
Given that vaccine demand greatly exceeds current supply I questioned why the Government is prioritising people who, according to HIQA, the US CDC and scientists across the world, have an immunity from infection arising from having contracted and recovered from Covid (which can be verified with an antibody test).
Quarantining and opposition stance
Opposition parties complain about the obvious consequences of policies they advocate. Speaking on the Health (Amendment) Bill 2021 on 25th February, I warned that making Belfast Airport the busiest airport on the island would be only thing the Bill would achieve.
Government’s restriction of rights
The Government’s restriction of rights, including the right to freely practice one’s religion, in response to Covid is unparalleled in Europe, and puritanical in its willingness to impose great social and economic damage in pursuit of the unattainable ideal of Covid elimination.
Central Bank and Bank of Ireland
I am shocked to learn the Central Bank Governor did not request a meeting with the Bank of Ireland CEO following BOI’s notification to the Central Bank of its plans to close 88 branches, given its impact on banking on Ireland and banking services in the affected communities.
Clare FM – The State’s response to Covid
The State’s response to Covid-19 must be less about arbitrary interference with people’s fundamental rights, and more focused on promoting public health and trusting people.
Penal provisions relating to religious services
Did Stephen Donnelly even read the regulations that he signed into law, which contained penal provisions relating to religious services? Now that priests are being fined, I am calling on him to correct the record of the Dáil.
Newstalk – Government abdicating decision-making to its advisers and civil servants
The problem is not the Deputy Chief Medical Officer – public health doctors worldwide are advising caution. The problem is a “government” abdicating decision-making to its advisers and civil servants, pushed out for daily press conferences instead of developing options to feed into a real strategy.
Read MoreRTÉ – We need a strategy to enable us to live with Covid
We need a strategy to enable us to live with Covid.
Interview on RTÉ Primetime – Tuesday, 16 March 2020.
St. Patrick’s Day greening of World Heritage sites puts Ireland in the shade
Ireland’s efforts to green global historic sites such as the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Pyramids of Giza for St Patrick’s Day is in marked contrast to “lacklustre efforts to win recognition for historic sites in our own country”, according to Deputy Michael McNamara.
Read MoreRTÉ – St. Patrick’s Day greening of World Heritage sites puts Ireland in the shade
Ireland’s efforts to green global historic sites such as the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Pyramids of Giza for St Patrick’s Day is in marked contrast to lacklustre efforts to win recognition for historic sites in our own country.
Derelict buildings in towns and villages
The Government must develop a nationwide strategy to bring derelict buildings in our towns and villages back into use.
Concerns over Land Development Agency Bill 2021
We need to make sure that the powers proposed for the Land Development Agency cannot be abused.
Tonight Show – Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland has let down customers and communities across Clare and across Ireland.
Ryanair routes announced at Belfast International
The Government, supported by most of the Opposition, is strangling the aviation and tourism sector in this State, and driving business to Northern Ireland. We’re told the virus doesn’t recognise borders. Neither does the Government or most of the Opposition. Businesses have to.
Significant increase in domestic abuse incidents in 2020
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has expressed “alarm” at new figures showing a significant increase in domestic abuse incidents across Ireland during 2020.
Read MoreTonight Show – Get back to living
Young people will have to be allowed to congregate safely this summer unlike last. Equally, older people will be seeking to get back to living once they’re vaccinated.
Return To Education Declaration Form
I sought clarification from the Minister for Education Norma Foley about the text used on the Return to Educational Facility Parental Declaration Form that parents had to sign before their children returned to school.
School Transport Ticket Refunds
I asked the Minister for Education if school transport ticket refunds will be issued to parents in light of the school closures.
School Transport Ticket Refunds
I asked the Minister for Education if school transport ticket refunds will be issued to parents in light of the school closures.
McNamara criticises Bank of Ireland closures
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara says Bank of Ireland’s decision to close its branches in Kilkee, Miltown Malbay and Tulla and at 85 other locations throughout the Republic of Ireland underpins the financial sector’s push towards online banking at the expense of many people in rural Ireland.
Read MoreExcessive cost of Gaeltacht teacher training course
Glad to receive confirmation that the Government will examine the cost of the online “immersive Gaeltacht course” required by the Teaching Council.
Today FM – Living with Covid cannot be reduced to a Health v Wealth argument
Living with Covid cannot be reduced to a health versus wealth argument.
Newstalk – Exiting Lockdown
We now know the UK Government’s strategy for exiting lockdown. In Ireland, we only have vague aspirations and no criteria for reopening any part of normal society.
Broadband network
In tandem the National Broadband Plan the Government needs to develop a strategy, in conjunction with existing telecom providers, to ensure they expand their broadband network.
Antigen Testing in Ireland
Antigen testing will be a key tool when Ireland begins to reopen, and the EU Commission, EU Health Committee and U.S. CDC have already promoted the useful role of such testing.
Board appointments
Following the appointment and resignation yesterday of a Chair of Shannon Group plc, I asked the Agriculture Minister how it was deemed that the same candidate had the expertise required to be appointed to Bord Iascaigh Mhara (Irish Sea Fisheries Board) despite having no obvious background in fisheries.
Beef Taskforce
I asked the Minister for Agriculture why the Beef Taskforce, a talking shop set up to end the beef protests in 2019, isn’t meeting.
Clare FM – Lockdown Level 5
Government needs to plan for all eventualities because an indefinite lockdown throughout 2021 is not sustainable nor is any future return to lockdown.
Review of Offences Against the State Acts
Clare Independent TD Michael McNamara has received confirmation of a review the Offences Against the State Acts, which he described as “black mark on the Irish justice system in their current operation.”
Read MoreMainstream media coverage of Covid and impact on mental health
Some mainstream media coverage in Ireland is adding to the high levels of stress and anxiety amongst the population.
Nationwide eir outages ‘unacceptable’
The widespread network outages being experienced by eir customers across Ireland today are being branded as “unacceptable” by Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara.
Read MoreRapid antigen tests
The Government must expand the use of rapid antigen tests, which can detect when people with COVID-19 are infectious as opposed to the detection of persons who are no longer infectious.
Role of Vitamin D in the fight against Covid
I am glad to note that over the past fortnight the Tánaiste has appraised himself of the considerable scientific research concerning the benefits of Vitamin D in the fight against Covid. Hopefully, this will lead to the government following the example of other European states in providing Vitamin D supplementation to vulnerable persons.
Challenging Department decisions in the courts
I spoke about the prohibitive cost of challenging administrative decisions by Government Departments in the courts which puts it beyond the reach of most homeowners and farmers in Ireland.
Inclusion of tourism providers and events companies under CRSS
I requested the Minister for Finance to include adventure / outdoor activity tourism providers and events companies under the COVID Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS). The Minister said he will review the matter.
Extracting Water from the River Shannon and Piping to Dublin
Plans to extract water from the River Shannon and pipe it to Dublin are prompted by the capital’s leaking water infrastructure system and reluctance to fix it due to the disruption that’d be caused to commercial activity. With little commercial activity at present, it’s time to repair Dublin’s leaking water infrastructure.
Vaccinating people who have contracted Covid
I asked the Minister for Health how many people who have contracted Covid have been vaccinated and whether it is proposed to vaccinate such people in light of the suggestion that they may enjoy some protection arising from their previous infection.
Essential Workers and Foreign Travel
Essential workers who recently contracted Covid but have since recovered and are no longer infectious are being unnecessarily prevented from travelling, as I explained to the Tánaiste today.
Unrestricted access to ROI via Northern Ireland
Testing at our airports while unrestricted access to Northern Ireland and across the border is maintained is like trying to keep the cold out of the house by closing all the windows but leaving the front door open.
Vitamin D supplements for vulnerable people
In light of the UK Government offering free vitamin D supplements to 2.7 million vulnerable people across England, I asked the Tánaiste if a similar initiative could be considered in Ireland.
Eir, service outages and customer service
I cannot say for sure that Irish telecoms providers have the worst customer service in the world. But, to paraphrase Brian Clough, they are in the top one.
Antigen testing, elderly in receipt of home care and the winter flu
I questioned the Health Minister about prioritising the vaccination of persons in receipt of home care and their carers; the winter flu; and rapid antigen detection tests.
Opposing the CETA and Mercosur agreements
In the Dáil today, I outlined why I am opposed to the CETA and Mercosur agreements – their impact on Irish agriculture, food standards, the environment and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms.
Alternatives to some of the more idiotic Covid restrictions
Instead of some of the more idiotic #COVID19 restrictions, we should be empowering people to test themselves at home to reduce the transmission of COVID.
Moneypoint’s role in Ireland’s energy future
Instead of importing offshore energy from Denmark, we should be developing our own offshore energy sector utilising the existing transmission network from Moneypoint.
Alternatives to residential care for older people
Having launched the Sage Advocacy ‘Choice Matters’ report this morning, I questioned the Taoiseach about the lack of support available to older people at home or in the community which is leading to people with little choice but to go into congregated settings.
Use of rapid Covid-19 antigen tests
A rapid antigen test that people can do at home themselves offers huge potential benefits as an addition, not an alternative, to other measures.
Increased powers for ComReg
Good news for telecoms customers. Having pursued the matter for months, I welcome confirmation that additional powers to impose additional sanctions on service providers are on the way. The matter will go to Cabinet before Christmas with a view to passing legislation in February.
Data on mental health in Ireland is inadequate
Data on mental health is inadequate. The HSE and Irish College of Psychiatrists need to explain why, given they receive taxpayers’ money to collect and collate it. Data on suicide is adequate because of the lack of a centralised coroners’ database, a shortcoming highlighted 20 years ago this month.
Banks refusing mortgages to persons employed under Wage Subsidy Scheme
Banks are refusing mortgages to persons employed under Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. Up to now, the Government has insisted that these were sustainable jobs, temporarily affected, but now it seems this is no longer the Government’s position. Many of these jobs are in sectors shut down by the Government.
McNamara questions Education Minister about open windows in classrooms
Michael McNamara, Independent TD for Clare, has received confirmation from the Minister for Education that updated guidance has been issued to schools in relation to ventilation practices in the classroom.
Read MoreRTÉ – New Guidelines for Covid-19 Testing and Quarantine of Air Travellers
I spoke on Drivetime RTE about new Guidelines for Covid-19 Testing and Quarantine of Air Travellers, published jointly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
Nursing Home and Hospital Visitor Restrictions
The proposed practice of allowing only one visitor per week for those in nursing homes and hospitals needs to be reviewed, particularly given the possibility of screening to mitigate risk.
Publish The Data
As we are being told to follow the science, the science should be clear. That requires more transparency and publication of data, evidence and assumptions upon which modelling is based.
State’s response to COVID-19
I spoke in the Dáil debate on the final report of the Special Committee on COVID-19 Response.
Registration fee for nurses and midwives
Today in the Dáil, I asked whether the Government would cancel the annual registration fee for nurses and midwives this year in recognition of their ongoing service.
Implications of a no-Brexit deal
I raised the implications of a no-Brexit deal for Irish agriculture and spoke about the wider ramifications for Ireland’s relationship with the EU.