Regarding Kerry Group, is there engagement to determine whether some of the jobs can be saved? Is that the kind of engagement that will happen? On the Covid-19 business aid scheme, CBAS, the Department's website stated, even up to yesterday, that the information will be provided shortly. What does "shortly" mean? There are some people who will be on a knife edge making decisions. Is it likely that the scheme will come with some of the caveats that were attached to the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS? Some b…

It was on the stay and spend scheme.

The same kind of question relates to the Ireland-based inbound agents business continuity scheme. I am told the information required to gain access to the scheme is very complex. The process is quite burdensome and there are concerns over commercial sensitivity so the take-up is not as high as it could be. The scheme appears to benefit bigger entities that are better resourced. Will the Tánaiste re-examine how the scheme is working and perhaps take soundings from those who tried to apply but did not because it appe…

The Ireland-based inbound agents business continuity scheme. That is how I picked it up.

Does the Tánaiste have a role in contributing to the applications we make for support under the European instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency, SURE, scheme? Are we applying in a timely way? We seem to have been among the last to apply. There is a very large amount of money available, €100 billion, but we do not want the funding to be exhausted before our applications are made.

I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste said we will not be allowing Aer Lingus to fail. That is as it should be. On the discussions with Aer Lingus, do the supports being provided come with caveats regarding the kinds of services we will be able to have? I refer to our not ending up in a hub based on Manchester or to our becoming a regional airport for Manchester in terms of the flights to the US.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this time-sensitive issue for discussion, and while I thank the Minister of State for being present to answer, I regret the Minister or a Minister of State from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is not present. Horse Sport Ireland, HSI, was set up in 2007 and had a desire to establish a centre of excellence from the outset. It does good work with its 24 affiliates, which cross the spectrum from pony clubs to Olympic-level equestrian bodies. The decision reg…

I agree that there is an awful lot in what the Minister of State has said. I also agree that a centre of excellence is a really good idea and would have a unifying aspect. I saw this with the sports campus. There were benefits in the national sports campus that went beyond what was expected. I completely accept that the sport horse sector does need a higher standard of competition facilities. I am not questioning this need. Neither am I opposing it being supported by means of grants and public funds. However, let u…

We will be supporting the Bill. Once again, we find ourselves in a position where we are transposing a very long overdue EU directive. The purpose of the Bill is to transpose outstanding elements of Directive 2014/62/EU on the protection of the euro and other currencies against counterfeiting by criminal law. The directive calls on member states to introduce criminal offences and sanctions relating to counterfeiting of the euro and other currencies. It introduces common measures in respect of that. The directive al…

The UK variant is now the dominant virus and we can see just how difficult it is to get the numbers down. Yesterday, there were over 1,000 positive cases, six weeks after the level 5 restrictions were imposed, with another six weeks in level 5 all but announced. There were just under 1,000 people in hospital yesterday, with the numbers in ICU remaining in the low 200s and, sadly, we are still hearing of high numbers of deaths. RTÉ's "Prime Time" programme from Tallaght hospital earlier this week was a reminder of t…

When the word "disproportionate" was used by the Tánaiste, the way the public hears it is that it is okay for people to go on holiday but they cannot send their kids to school. That is the way it is heard. It is important that there is an understanding of just exactly how the public is hearing some of this. Indeed, a further six-week lockdown has all but been announced. It came from leaks from two parliamentary party meetings. That needs to be managed much differently. It is not fair that the public hears in that p…

Over the last year, we were repeatedly told that international travel was low risk. That was blown out of the water particularly with the new, more transmissible, UK Covid variant, the prevalence of the virus and the increased loss of life during January. We are aware of two other variants, the South African and Brazil variants, but we do not know what others will emerge. It already looks as though there is a new variant to the UK variant of Covid. It is essential that we consider that when we look to what controls…

We have to follow up-----

I welcome the appointment of Ms Deirdre Malone by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Her experience with the Free Legal Advice Centres will be valuable in the context of her work with the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority was established in 2016 and plays an important role in the reform of our legal services. Indeed, one of the areas identified by the troika as urgently in need of fundamental reform was that of legal services, as has been raised already in thi…

I would like to broadly welcome this Bill, which provides for the introduction of preliminary trial hearings and the provision of information to juries to assist with their deliberations. Pre-trial hearings are a most efficient method of dealing with certain practical matters ahead of the beginning of a trial. Those hearings ensure that all parties are ready and able to proceed, and minimise interruptions to a trial once it has begun. In 2019, the Director of Public Prosecutions stated that the waiting period for a…

I too wish to raise the issue of the new measures the Taoiseach announced yesterday. It is obvious the public are way ahead on this matter and understand the risks from the variants, including higher mortality rates, the potential impact of reinfection and the effectiveness of the vaccines. I also acknowledge the terrible and sad milestone we reached yesterday. There is an understandable fear among members of the public and a desire on their part for the Government to make decisions to keep the country as safe as p…

This is really tough on people and there is a high degree of fear. That is why people are looking not to punish others but to be protected. It is for this reason that the focus is on issues such as international travel in the context of the variants. There is a public understanding of the risks involved. That is why quarantine is being sought, not as a punishment. It is unacceptable that people are going on holidays and, on a television programme last night, we saw students arriving into the country. I cannot quite…

The Government did not.

The CRSS is vital to qualifying businesses and we will, therefore, support this motion. However, we also support the Sinn Féin amendment because too few businesses are qualifying for the scheme. The current support scheme is limited to public-facing businesses, leaving many sectors badly impacted by the restrictions without the same safety net. Businesses that are not public facing, such as suppliers or businesses without a shopfront premises, are not immune from the effects of the pandemic or the knock-on effect f…

I want to note that the two board members, Emily Logan and Hugh Hume, are very experienced people. Hugh Hume has a long track record in policing as a member of the Garda Inspectorate since 2017 and, prior to that, he was a long-term member of the PSNI at a very senior level. Emily Logan brings a huge level of experience from her background in human rights, having been the chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. I wish them well in their work and note that this has come through the PAS …