Since the Beacon story broke last week, as I am sure other people have done, I have spoken to people with significant underlying conditions who would qualify for vaccination under cohort 4. Every one of them has said that if they were on a backup list and got a call at short notice, they would drop everything and go. They want the vaccines that were designated for cohort 4 to be given to people in cohort 4. I have spoken to people in their 30s and 40s with advanced cancers. In most cases they have children. Many to…

I ask the Tánaiste to tell us about the 150,000 doses and about the number of vaccines for April. Will he commit to a backup list for people in cohort 4?

The last time I looked, the Minister for Education was a member of Cabinet. There is no point in throwing it back on the Opposition. Certainly, the evidence is incredibly important, and I do not diminish that. We are getting mixed messages here. Who is in charge? The Tánaiste did not answer my question about 1 million doses in April. Is it 860,000 doses or 1 million doses? Are we capable of rolling out all the vaccines? Why do we have 950,000 doses available with only 800,000 being given, up to last weekend? Are th…

In giving information, I am quoting media outlets because we do not get briefings. It would be very helpful if we did rather than relying on a variety of sources.

I listened to the Minister's contribution. It is important that she has been very clear about what is intended. That helps to reduce the doubt that may well exist and it was necessary that she put her comments on the record. I feel a lot better about the Bill because I had some concerns about whether we would go back to the situation we had before the relevant court judgment. I thank the Minister. I am happy to support the amendments.

I agree with nearly everything Deputy Boyd Barrett said. The Social Democrats also lost out on the opportunity to make a contribution on that important legislation. There were to have been several speakers before my party was due to contribute. It is entirely predictable that this kind of thing would happen. There is an opportunity to extend the debate that follows Private Members' business. Only five or six minutes are available to us in a 100-minute slot, which is not adequate given the enormity of the issue. The…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. We all agree that affordable insurance is fundamental to the well-being and interests of the country. The sky-high premiums that are being charged add significantly to the cost base of our economy and are a substantial financial burden for individual households. We all know that insurance costs in this country are high by international standards. Despite falls in the average costs of claims over the past ten years, premiums continue to rise. To be clear, there is no …

While Covid is front and centre in people's minds, which is very understandable, other issues are not getting the attention they deserve. One is the jaw-dropping decisions being taken on housing. I want to focus on one of those, namely, the long-term leasing of social housing. Incredibly, social housing is now being actively sold as a financial product. One website states: There is no requirement to deal with tenants, as local councils (or housing agencies) are your lessees. This is a hands-off situation with no ri…

The State will end up with nothing at the end of all of this. The housing list will be postponed for another generation. Is that really-----

I accept that building needs to happen more quickly and output needs to increase. I do not think we disagree about that. That is not the issue I am trying to raise. I do not see the evidence on the ground. Housing is the number one issue I hear about on my phone, and has been for the past ten or 12 years. I am acutely aware of it. This is the most expensive and least satisfactory way of delivering social housing. Social housing is now a financial product. I see no evidence on the ground of scaling up. I see turnkey…

I heard it in the office. I wish the Minister for Justice well. It is interesting that it is only when real situations arise that we make changes or work towards making changes. I believe we have to anticipate things in future if we are going to have greater diversity and include women in politics in a real and meaningful way. It has to happen at council level as well as in the Dáil. I wish the Minister well.

I will be very brief. The Bill is important for streamlining how the courts operate. There will be a significant reason for that because of the delays that will arise as a consequence of Covid. That is all the more reason for the Bill to be enacted. I am generally supportive of the sentiment behind the amendment, but I specifically want to hear what the Minister has to say on it. I agree with Deputy Howlin in that regard. In terms of judges interpreting what the Oireachtas means, what the Minister says in the debat…

This is a good amendment. Particularly so this year, but it would be very difficult to argue that a period of 12 months would be sufficient in any circumstances. One cannot ignore Covid. It is unlikely that the courts will be back functioning properly until the end of the year at the earliest. That will only leave months to see if this is working with a very small number of cases arising to allow us to see what problems might arise. For that reason alone, this is a good amendment. It will take time before it is sig…

I too broadly welcome this Bill. I thank the Minister and Senator McDowell for their work and the speed at which this legislation has been brought to the House. We all appreciate the urgency in correcting this issue. It is also welcome to see the Government supporting a Bill from the Opposition and that Members are working collaboratively to strengthen legislation, especially in a case such as this. We are all united in a common purpose and I do not think anybody here will oppose the Bill. As others have said, this…

The new plan to deal with Covid was announced on Tuesday and we face a minimum of another six weeks in lockdown. The expectation was that by the end of February we would be down to between 200 and 400 cases per day but it is much higher. The strategy announced for reducing the numbers appears to lack a strategy and relies instead on people doing more of the same. People are losing hope. They are dejected and increasingly feel the Government is not in control, that there is a half-hearted approach, a pat on the head…

What strategies are the Government taking to drive down infection levels in the cohort I mentioned?

Finally, is the Minister honestly telling us that the AGSI is telling porky pies?

Is the Minister is honestly telling us that that rank, that organisation-----

The Minister is telling the House about what "they" are doing. Has he seen an actual roll-out plan? Has he seen a wall planner detailing, week by week, the various cohorts that will be vaccinated? I understand that any plan has to be indicative and I understand about the supply-side issue. Has the Minister seen the work planner in respect of the recruitment and locations that will be a counter-balance when we get decent supplies in? Has he seen any of that? Has the Government actually seen that or is it just taking…

Is there a 14-day look-back? Will the Minister give us the numbers that need to deliver an effective-----