The Tánaiste managed to put somebody else in an impossible situation in which they were sending a document which was not for circulation. Did the Tánaiste instruct her to do this? Did he ask her to do it? He must understand what he did. The words "CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR CIRCULATION" were written on the document. The Tánaiste asked his PA to send it to Dr. Ó Tuathail. Did he ask her or instruct her? Was she in a position to say "No"?

It is like the Northern Ireland peace process.

That is according to the Tánaiste's speech. Has the Tánaiste or anyone in his office ever given a document marked "confidential" to a person or body in a manner which was "not best practice", to use the Tánaiste's own words, before this instance or since?

Earlier today the Taoiseach said that the Tánaiste said "No" to him. He also said "No" in answer to Deputy Pearse Doherty's question. When he answered my question, maybe because of the way I worded it, he said it had not happened to his knowledge. What is the Tánaiste's answer, "No" or "Not to my knowledge"?

I am asking on the basis of the kind of operation he runs - his close advisers, his circle, the one or two people he has had around him for years and years. Has a confidential document been sent in a manner which was not best practice, either with or without his knowledge?

We are getting a "to the best of my knowledge" answer again, whereas the Tánaiste previously stated "No" and the Taoiseach previously stated "No".

As has been outlined, the former Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, was asked for this document and he basically said "No". Why does the Tánaiste think the Minister for Health said "No"? Why did he say "Yes"? Why did Dr. Ó Tuathail write, "To be fair. Leo always delivers"?

There are a million and one holes in that tale. The NAGP was a basket case. It was not a credible organisation at that stage. The previous year, its entire council had resigned. Within weeks of the Tánaiste giving it this document, it had collapsed in on top of itself. Its motivation in getting this document was not to promote the document. That is obvious because it did not promote the document. In the words of Dr. Maitiú Ó Tuathail himself, "no doubt it will take the wind from the IMO's sails... I would love to d…

Again, the Labour Party finds utterly incredible the Tánaiste's explanation to this House and the Irish people that what he was trying to do was to promote the agreement, an agreement the NAGP did not promote among its members and which some of the NAGP members were saying it would use against the IMO. There are references in the text messages to what it was going to do with the 17 roadshows the IMO had planned. The Tánaiste stepped outside his area of responsibility. He stepped into a negotiated deal between the M…

I appreciate the opportunity to speak. I will speak to one particular issue. My party colleagues have spoken about the measures introduced today. We have supported the measures, although we do have reservations. I will speak in the main on the issue of hand sanitisers. I know the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is due to make a statement to the House shortly, during this time slot. I appreciate that the schedule could not be changed and that we cannot have a discussion back and forth on the issue. I k…

If the Department knew on Tuesday that this hand sanitiser was not safe and yet children were allowed to go to school on Wednesday and Thursday, that is very serious. There needs to be some accountability for that. We are all learning as we go and doing our best. Schools are doing their absolute best to keep children safe and to remain open under very challenging circumstances. I urge Government to be as open as it can and to find the facility for questions to be asked and answered on this matter. If this is how th…

The Tánaiste made reference to the Covid restrictions support scheme earlier. I know he was hoping for a chance to expand on the issue. The scheme is to run from 13 October. The details are to be included in the finance Bill which is to be published shortly. However, thousands of businesses are locked out from today. When will they be able to apply for the scheme? Can they apply from today? When will they receive a cash payment? As the Tánaiste knows, they have bills which must be paid immediately.

I must tell the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, that the contribution of the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, was one of the more disappointing ones I have heard in this House since February. We live in an age where one would hope that the ordinary to and fro and over and back of party-political jibing would perhaps be put to one side when there are greater issues at stake. There have been moments of great clarity from Government over a number of issues and in its ability to reach across the aisle and work …

The change in the pupil-teacher ratio announced on Tuesday was very welcome. I am sure the Tánaiste will agree that the power and funding of the Department of Education and Skills would be best channelled to infants in disadvantaged schools. The anomaly we have now is that no disadvantaged primary school with infants will benefit from the change in the pupil-teacher ratio because the staffing schedule for DEIS schools is different from that for mainstream schools. I ask for a change to be made as soon as possible. …

Often in these speeches, Opposition Deputies come into the House to make speeches and there is a feeling that we are going through the motions. I want to appeal to the Minister with responsibility for children, disability, equality and integration, Deputy O'Gorman, particularly as a member of the Green Party, to deal with one issue in the budget that needs to be rectified. We are living through a great sense of hopelessness at the moment but if anyone ever wants to get a sense of hope, they should walk into an aver…

The Minister said that while not her fault directly, the 2020 leaving certificate was a difficult process for all involved, not least for the students. Will the Minister facilitate an independent investigation into the entire 2020 leaving certificate, which would examine the circumstances leading to the cancellation of the written exam, the design and implementation of the calculated grades system and the errors and omissions in order that we can learn from this for the leaving certificate class of 2021?

That is to be welcomed. We do not need to fall out over words such as "investigation", "inquiry" and "review" but I would be interested in knowing who the Minister intends to charge with responsibility for overseeing the independent review. I am sure she will agree that if the students of 2021 have to face the same type of system, which we all hope will not happen although we do not know what will happen in the coming months, similar mistakes should not be made. Is the Minister in a position to outline the nature o…

I am happy to welcome that and we are happy to work with the Minister. She inherited this situation. She has had successes. Opening up the schools has been a success. To a large degree, yesterday was a successful day for the Minister. On the staffing schedule the Minister announced yesterday, involving a reduction in the pupil–teacher ratio to 25:1, which is welcome, will the arrangement apply to DEIS primary schools? They have a different staffing schedule. The worry we have is that if the arrangement does not app…

It is refreshing that a number of Private Members' Bills and motions dealing with the issues we are discussing this evening have been put forward by Opposition parties and groups, including the Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, Solidarity-People Before Profit and the Labour Party. I have made a number of speeches on these issues in the House in recent months. That is to be welcomed. As previous speakers noted, there is a direct correlation between the fact that our economy is underpinned by poverty pay - with 23% of Iri…

The Taoiseach will know that before the pandemic hit, 72% of artists in Ireland were earning less than the national minimum wage. Yesterday the Government agreed that the national minimum wage should increase by a mere 10 cent. On Monday in a very high-profile decision, the Government decided not to accept NPHET recommendations. The Tánaiste said that they had not been thought through. However, yesterday it took the Low Pay Commission's recommendation of a 10 cent an hour increase even though union representatives …