Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I add my voice to those voices calling for the extension of maternity leave for women. If this pandemic has taught us anything it is the importance of family life. The call is loud and clear in terms of the extension of maternity leave by 12 weeks. The Minister must take that on board as quickly as possible.

I also wish to be associated with my three colleagues who raised the poor conditions and poor pay the members of the Defence Forces have to put up with at the moment. I heard with horror this morning on my local radio station, Kfm, that up to 1,000 members of the Defence Forces have already bought their way out of their contracts at an average cost of €500. This shows the great problems we are experiencing in the Defence Forces at the moment. I urge the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to come to the House to debate the issue. We are all aware of the great work the Defence Forces do for us, not just in this country but in peacekeeping in foreign countries as well. It is also time for the Minister to accept and allow the request of PDFORRA for affiliation with ICTU. That is essential to the pay and conditions of the Defence Forces. It is gone beyond time that that was allowed by this Government. It was considered by the previous Government and it must happen.

In the time allowed to me I also wish to speak about regional development. The issue has been raised by a number of other Members. I was made aware today of the just transition fund that is available. It has a very short window of opportunity. It will provide €11 million in funds but it is only open until 17 July. It is for counties that surround my county of Kildare - places such as north Tipperary, east Galway, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath. It is intended to generate sustainable employment in green enterprise in those regions and to support communities in those areas. We are all afraid and aware of what will happen as the just transition becomes a factor in all those counties. In Kildare, in areas such as Kilberry, Rathangan and Allenwood in north Kildare, there is serious concern about what will happen in the coming years. I encourage everyone to get involved and to examine this particular fund. It is essential that there is a major take-up of it. I welcome the provision of the fund and I hope it solves the worry those communities are going through at the moment and that we get the much-needed employment in those midland counties. I look forward to continuing to work with a number of groups that are looking at the fund at the moment.