Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad to outline the Bill. She has done so in a comprehensive manner and I thank her for that. I pay tribute to her because I know how committed she is to this issue. She has brought this Bill, which should be wrapped up shortly, to the House a little over one year after coming to office and this is to be commended. It shows a great focus and commitment to the issue and a commitment to the job. It is remarkable that she has brought forward this Bill and we commend her on her work, especially given the unprecedented year we have had in the Department of Health. All her colleagues and officials in the Department are to be commended.

This overhaul of the fair deal scheme has been long awaited. It is delivering upon a commitment in the programme for Government and it shows that the Minister of State and the Government mean business.

The pandemic has brought the issue of care into sharp focus. We will need a radical overhaul of the care system, especially in respect of care for our youngest, vulnerable people and older people in society as well as in respect of how we pay for that care and how we pay the people who deliver that care. These are all important issues and I am sure the Minister of State will address them during her tenure.

I am happy to see the measures aimed at protecting the family farm. This is an important measure for rural Ireland and for the communities that make up rural Ireland. It is also important for those of us who live in urban Ireland because the viability of the rural agricultural sector benefits all of us. These days we are all talking about sustainability and food security. It is vital that the farms in rural Ireland, which make a significant contribution to the economy and the well-being of our rural communities, remain intact. We must allow them to be passed down to other generations to care for these lands. I know plenty of farmers and farming families who say they are merely custodians of the land. They are there to protect it for future generations and to work it and deliver for their communities. That is what this Bill does.

I am happy to see the disincentive relating to vacant homes being removed. When people have gone into nursing care there has been a disincentive in respect of a vacant home and this has been removed. When knocking on doors throughout north County Dublin, I often come across vacant homes. We hear that so-and-so is in a nursing home and that is why a certain house is vacant. When we go back to the same area over the course of a couple of years we see the same houses lying vacant.I am sure this will have a significant impact on the available housing stock in Ireland. I wish the Minister of State the very best of luck with this Bill for the duration of its time in the Seanad. We in the Fianna Fáil group in the Seanad will certainly be giving it great support. I hope that we will get cross-party support in both Houses because this is progressive legislation from a progressive Minister of State.