I want to begin by focusing on the positives. There has been a huge reduction in the number of cases in nursing homes and among front-line workers. That is fantastic and is proof that the vaccines are working. The fact that 99% of those aged over 85 years have been vaccinated is something we have to welcome. It is good news. The fact that we have conducted a review of the NIAC priority list and have been able to accommodate people with chronic kidney disease and transplantees is good news. It means that we are list…

I speak on behalf of the people of Dunmanway and Bantry, two towns in my constituency that learned the news on Monday that their Bank of Ireland branches would close. There are two important aspects to this. The first is that there is an elderly population in the towns who rely heavily on attending their local branches to do their banking, and the news that they may have to commute to neighbouring towns such as Clonakilty or Skibbereen is simply not good enough. Second, the two towns rely on footfall and on people …

On the same issue, I want to speak on behalf of the CE schemes and their incredible success, particularly in my constituency of Cork South-West. The Mizen Peninsula, Baltimore, Skibbereen and Clonakilty have had incredibly successful CE schemes that do brilliant work on the ground but they are worried about their future. They are worried about a slashing of participants in the CE schemes. We need someone to look into that and address those issues.

I thank the Minister. I welcome the Bill and will of course support it. I have said that I would have liked it to go a bit further but I appreciate that it is being introduced and it cannot be passed too soon. Part of how we tackle and suppress the virus involves international travel. Our testing regime will be an important part of how we suppress the virus. I want to extol the benefits of rapid antigen testing and the important role it could play in getting to a point where we can suppress the virus and once again…

I should be able to leave a couple of minutes for the Minister to reply. The first issue I wish to raise is that of the harness racing sector. I am referring to safe and professionally run harness racing that takes place on tracks throughout Ireland, particularly in my constituency of Cork South-West. In west Cork, harness racing is a very popular activity which is the highlight of the summer for many people and brings a significant amount of vibrancy to various parts of west Cork. Those in the sector have a simple…

After the Minister's good news for Limerick, we will all be seeking roads, which is exactly why I am here. I raise the need for the completion of the Bandon southern relief road. It has been 30 years in the making and it makes complete sense in the context of the town's sustainability and viability. The Minister may have seen the "Eco Eye" programme last week on which Clonakilty was featured. Clonakilty, my home town, is held up as a success story. The reason for that success is that Clonakilty has a southern relie…

I acknowledge the fact that the CRSS and other Government supports have been a saviour for many businesses the length and breadth of the country. I am here to speak on behalf of the outdoor activity and adventure tourism businesses that have been left out of the CRSS. They have not only been left out of the scheme but because they do not have a fixed premises they have also been left out of the restart grant scheme. We need to review that because these businesses were the wonder of summer 2020. People from across I…

I will do questions and answers, if that is okay. I thank the Minister. At the outset, I want to say one of the simpler requests I received before the new year and Christmas was that Ireland should not be behind the curve in terms of vaccine roll-out within the EU. Thankfully, it is the case that we are not and that must be acknowledged. We are ahead of the curve. We have all had queries, however, and we are all receiving multiple representations from members of our constituencies. I have a few who are looking for …

That is important. I also take it that pharmacy staff are included in cohort 2. In my second question I am looking for a definition. Many people are contacting my office asking what a key worker is. Will the Minister point me to somewhere, perhaps on the HSE website or some documentation, that will show what exactly defines a key worker?

I want to speak out on behalf of people who suffer with cystic fibrosis and chronic lung disease. They are among the most vulnerable in our country now in terms of succumbing to this virus. At the moment, I believe they come in at point 7. I am talking about people between the ages of 18 and 64. I must speak up for them because they are vulnerable. Is there any way that could be reviewed?

The Minister has acknowledged the impact that the Brexit deal will have on the fishing sector. The Taoiseach has acknowledged the severe impact that it will have on fishing communities across Ireland. Many aspects of it are unfair, such as the amount of quota share for a species like mackerel which has been given back to the UK. Ireland will give back 26% while Spain will give back 0.2% and Denmark will give back 0.8%. From those percentages, one can see straight away that Ireland is unfairly burdened and severely …

I appreciate that response and clarity. I look forward to seeing the make-up of this task force. There are still other opportunities to redress the unfairness and the imbalance in the deal. The €1 billion Brexit impact fund is a significant opportunity. It is vitally important that the fishing sector gets a fair share of that impact fund. There have to be opportunities with fishing other species. We mentioned mackerel which has to be looked at again. For other species such as hake, haddock and monk, some EU nations…

I very much welcome the news that has been delivered here today by the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, that schoolchildren in special classes in primary schools and children with significant additional needs in mainstream schools will return to school on 21 January, or that is, at least, the date towards which the Department is working. This news will come as a huge relief to parents, guardians and students themselves throughout the country. It is a job well done by the Minister, …

At the outset, I wish to offer my sincere condolences to the families of those people who passed away during the entire course of this pandemic but particularly to those whose family members died over the past few days and weeks when the numbers escalated. I take this opportunity to thank the front-line staff who are fighting the fight of their lives against this pandemic to save lives. What they are doing is incredible. In my constituency in west Cork, from the GP clinics to the community hospitals and the general…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I had been informed that my question would be grouped with Question No. 5 but it is not even on the-----

My question has not even appeared on the Question Paper but it is in relation to this exact issue. Could I have one minute to get my point across?

I will speak up on behalf of the hundreds of constituents who have contacted my office since February who have had serious issues with broadband connections. Of course, this has been highlighted, exacerbated and underlined by the fact that during this pandemic people in their droves are being asked or are choosing to work from home. They are being put under serious pressure to achieve results. I recently read a report saying that working from home is increasing productivity within businesses. This really is the rou…

There is great cause for positivity at the moment. We are on the verge of rolling out a vaccine. Hopefully, in the not too distant future we can get back to some semblance of normality. That is to be celebrated, but one group remains very concerned, namely, those who suffer from cystic fibrosis, CF, which is a chronic lung condition. As we know, Covid-19 attacks the lungs in particular. My question relates to the priority list and groups. It must have been an incredibly tough task to prioritise particular groups ab…

I ask the Minister if a person will be allowed to apply for carer’s benefit based on the PRSI contributions of their spouse, where the applicant is either self-employed or does not have the qualifying contributions in their own right.

I thank the Minister for her response. While I appreciate that the disregards and allowance bands are high, I have encountered a few tough examples of self-employed people not being able to apply for the same carer's benefit as someone who has been paying PRSI class A. The best thing I can do is provide an example. A self-employed male electrician has a wife who had been in full-time employment paying class A before she fell extremely ill. He may have to leave work to look after her, but he will only be entitled to…