Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. I start by wishing everybody a very happy St. Patrick's Day next week. This is our last sitting day before that. It is wonderful to have a day where people throughout the world celebrate our country, our nation and our people. I am really pleased that the Taoiseach has committed to using all the diplomatic engagements that will happen to raise the plight of the people of Ukraine.

I wish to raise an issue with birth registration. During the week, a lady contacted me to tell me she was trying to have her baby registered. She could not get through via the phone line for a number of days. She was then told that she needed to present at a particular meeting. However, there is a two-month delay in getting that meeting. A parent cannot claim child benefit until the baby is registered. Obviously, the first few months are the most expensive time for new parents. The system is wrong, in that it is not supporting the parents of newborns in this situation. It should be possible for somebody to register their child remotely. We have done so much remotely over the past two years and having to wait two months is simply not good enough. I ask the Leader to take that up.

I also raise the issue of emergency tax. People are coming from abroad to fill urgently needed vacancies in retail and health and are being crucified with emergency tax while they wait for a personal public service, PPS, number. There are delays in getting their PPS numbers. It I believe we should do away with the whole notion of emergency tax because that money is eventually paid back anyway. The cost of living is very high, particularly the cost of accommodation, and we are not helping by having this.

I wish to raise the issue of food security. I note the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been meeting farming organisations and has committed to set up a group on this. As an island, we were very self-sufficient. I spoke to a farmer yesterday who told me about a former Minister for Agriculture standing in his farm and telling him not to bother growing wheat because we would never have a shortage of flour and it is cheaper to import it. We must do better to address food security. At the moment, our farmers are getting very mixed messages about the direction they should take. These directions involve different skill sets etc. We need to support them to deal with rising fertiliser prices. That should be an absolute priority for us.

I express my condolences to the family and friends of Paulina, who died in the Ashbourne House direct provision centre in Cork. There are concerns that she may have died four days before she was found. There must be an investigation into this.