Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the new Ministers who are before us today and wish them luck in their positions. I was across the corridors from the Minister, Deputy Martin, for the past four years and thankfully we had a lot of conversations and I hope we can work together going forward. The Deputy has the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and in my own constituency of Cork South-West the Gaeltacht and culture are very important. I am disappointed somewhat that the Gaeltacht and the islands have been split. It is a very big mistake. I come from a constituency where there are eight islands and great people have worked very closely in islands like Cape Clear, where the Gaeltacht is very strong. It was imperative that those areas of responsibility stayed together, and unfortunately they have been split. It will lead to the weakening of the islands.

Our heritage and culture have been eroded more and more. An Irish neighbour of mine who visited Chicago over a year ago for a holiday told me that there were so many Irish men, women and children openly Irish dancing on the streets of Chicago and showing how proud they were of our Irish heritage. My neighbour told me it was a joy to see and that Irish-Americans are truly more Irish than we are in Ireland today.

We need to look at our culture and heritage and build on what is there in our communities. We can do that. We need to invest in Irish culture. There are fabulous Irish musicians both North and South of the Border who are going through a terrible time with the loss of income during this Covid crisis. We need to support these musicians, singers and dancers who sell Ireland all over the world, including Nathan Carter with his song, "May the Road Rise to Meet You". Tourism Ireland use this to sell Ireland and musicians are selling Ireland all over the world to people who love our culture and heritage. We should be proud of what we have achieved and where we came from to be where we are today. I would appreciate if the many singers and artists who are selling Ireland all over the world were seriously considered in any stimulus package. This is what people around the world love about Ireland and these artists should be enabled to continue to do so.

I will touch on verge and hedge cutting on roadsides, as opposed to farms, in rural Ireland as the matter is also in the Minister's brief. I know the Minister has visited west Cork because I have met her there, and she is familiar with the beauty of the area. Hedges grow on to roadsides and this has led to deaths and serious accidents. We are always looking at the bigger picture of road deaths caused by factors that come under other Departments, but in the peninsula and constituency I represent, from Innishannon all the way west to Skibbereen, Clonakilty and Bantry, people are asking that hedges on roadside verges be cut for safety reasons. It can look like people are trying to interfere with our natural beauty but that is not the case. They are asking that verges be maintained so that people are safe.

In the event of a second wave of Covid, what contingency plans are in place for the centenary commemorations in famous historical places such as Crossbarry and Kilmichael? The Michael John McLean memorial in Lowertown is right outside my door. What contingency plans are in place if things go wrong?

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