I want to compliment the staff in the offices of the Department throughout Cavan and Monaghan and in the regional office in Dundalk on dealing so efficiently with a huge workload in challenging circumstances. From the outset, officials showed their determination to process applications as quickly as possible and they were conscious of the sudden and changed circumstances for so many families. I take this opportunity to compliment them on getting payments out rapidly and efficiently to so many people who needed them…

Like my colleagues, Deputies O'Callaghan and Murnane O'Connor, I appreciate the work of the personnel in the Department of Justice and Equality, including its agencies such as the Prison Service and An Garda Síochána. I commend the work of An Garda Síochána during these difficult times. Garda personnel have been a reassuring presence in our communities, and this work demonstrates clearly the value of community policing. Visiting older or vulnerable people has been very reassuring for many individuals and families. …

I have a few quick comments to make. In the context of both Brexit and Covid-19, we need maximum co-operation on an all-Ireland basis. I again appeal to the Government, as I did some weeks ago, to amend the recent regulations and enable gardaí to restrict the movements of people where necessary and regardless of whether they are resident outside the State. I am concerned that my own Border county of Cavan continues to have the highest incidence of Covid-19 in the country and that the neighbouring county, Monaghan, …

That is okay. Under the general data protection regulation, the transfer of personal data will be prohibited once Britain becomes a third country. That includes personal health data. The North and the South are very interdependent and need key health tools, such as those applications, to speak to each other in the best interests of the citizens on all of this island. Let tracing applications do what they are supposed to do, namely, help members of the public to protect themselves.