Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A Cheann Comhairle, you will recall that earlier today I asked for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to come to the House and make a statement on the emerging news regarding ViroPro. We have been told the Minister will come to the House during this debate. However, I am disappointed that he has left it to almost the last Government speaking slot, when there is no opportunity for Sinn Féin or other Opposition parties to respond.

The questions that were put on the record still stand. I hope the Minister will provide answers to those questions, particularly regarding what the Department knew, and when, about the product in question, when other members of the Government were informed and, crucially, why there was a gap of two days in the information being disseminated, considering the chaos it caused. The final question I hope the Minister will answer in this regard is who will be held accountable for this. There have been too many debacles and messes throughout this crisis to have another in which it appears that nobody is held responsible. We only became aware of this issue due to EU counterparts informing the Department. Questions must be asked as to why we do not have the procedures in place to ensure that the products our children are using are safe.

The Minister must also address the many concerns that have been raised about the situation in marts. The Government decided at the onset of this pandemic, and rightly so, that food production would remain an essential service and area of work that would continue. We have seen that in some areas. The meat factories have continued operating. Despite outbreaks in the factories, they have continued operating notwithstanding the issues that have arisen in respect of their treatment of workers or otherwise.

7 o’clock

The only aspect of food production that has been shut down is the one where farmers themselves have control, namely, the marts. We heard Fianna Fáil representatives say this evening that the marts need to be open. They are in government, so they should make sure that whatever safety measures and regulations that need to be put in place are put in place so that we can allow farmers to try to make a living during these times.

We have all heard commendations for those who work in the health service. A set of very important workers continues to give their all during the pandemic and they do not even get a pat on the back. If anything, they get a kick in the backside. They are our student nurses, who are expected to work as hard as anybody else in the health service and not receive remuneration for it. From the very outset of this pandemic, Sinn Féin and in particular Deputy Louise O'Reilly, have been consistently raising this issue with the Government. An answer needs to be found. Many student nurses in normal times manage to keep themselves going through other part-time work but they cannot do that on this occasion because we are in the midst of a pandemic. My appeal to the Government is to ensure that student nurses are remunerated adequately for the work they do.

I am pleased to see the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Anne Rabbitte, will respond to the debate on behalf of the Government. I commend the Government on the financial package provided for disability services. While it does not go as far as is required, I hope it is a statement of intent on the part of the Government to address the inadequacies in disability services. It is in that vein that I want to ask again in this House about the group home for people with disabilities in Carrickmacross that has long been sought. The families of those who will benefit from it have been campaigning for it since before 2006, if I recall correctly. In late 2006 the HSE agreed that there was a need for this home. It took another ten years for the home to be built and it was completed in 2016, but it has been lying idle ever since because the HSE has not released the funds. Will the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, give an indication to the House this evening as to when the heartache of these families will come to an end and when the group home will be open?

See this speech in context