I am sorry that I will not have time to answer everyone's questions but I will come back on specific questions and I will try to cover some of the topics. I thank the Senators for the debate, which has certainly been worthwhile. There are ongoing negotiations through the various subcommittees, there will be the Cabinet today and tomorrow and we will also be dealing with NPHET. I will feed this in. I have sent the Tánaiste some of the messages that have come in already. I am sure the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin…

There is an issue that Senator Ahearn raised with me. The regulations state that the restrictions are until 12 o'clock on 1 December. The Cabinet is very well aware of this and the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have said they will bring absolute clarity to this tonight or tomorrow when making their announcement. People are wondering whether it is 1 December or 2 December. That will be absolutely clarified when the Cabinet brings forward its position.

Does this concern Part 4?

I can. I apologise as I have only just walked into the Chamber for the debate and I believed we were dealing with section 4. Part 4 of the Bill provides for amendments to the Companies Act 2014 to facilitate the operation of a substitute securities settlement system compatible with the law of the EU after the transition period. The settlement of securities trades, whereby securities are transferred by the seller to the buyer and funds are transferred from the buyer to the seller, is typically made in a securities s…

On the question of relevance, it will come into play in March, perhaps. Until now, the system was operated under the UK's central bank. Owing to the changes because of Brexit, we are moving to a Belgian bank. This was dealt with in legislation by the Department of Finance last year. The UK system was paper based. The changes to companies law are to facilitate electronic transfers in respect of certificates and securities. They are to copper-fasten the electronic system.

I thank the Labour Party for initiating this debate today. The discussion on its proposed Bill is focusing our minds on the issue of remote working, the benefits of which we all understand. There is no doubt that working from home or working remotely, even in non-Covid times, when properly planned can provide significant benefits such as a better work, life balance for everyone, with reduced daily commutes and less negative impacts on the environment through reductions in traffic and air pollution. It also has grea…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. While Covid might have focused the attention of many minds and businesses in recent months, as a Department and a Government, we have been very much focused on Brexit for the last number of years, certainly as we get closer to it. The Tánaiste and other colleagues have repeatedly tried to drive home the message over the last few months about the importance of focusing on Brexit and keeping an eye to business as well. We want to make sure businesses engage with us, not just…

The Deputy is correct. I am from the north-east region and I know there will be a greater impact in the Border region. We recognise that, which is why we have the Northern Ireland protocol and the specific committee to oversee the implementation of the agreement in the years ahead. We are very strong in support of that and of working with our colleagues across Europe and in the UK to implement those protocols and arrangements. Naturally, as a Department supporting jobs, we are very much focused on trying to distrib…

It is an important message. We ask those businesses to use the remaining 50 days or so to engage with us so we can have them in a strong position to deal with Brexit.

We certainly are in a position to do that because the Department has secured additional resources to work with industry and support it in the area of job creation, as well as sustaining jobs through the period of Brexit and Covid. I stress again, and the Deputy is in a good position to get this message out there, that we need the companies that will be impacted by Brexit to come forward now. Many have but we know from all the research that a number of companies in every category are not fully prepared for Brexit. T…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. On the basis of research such as that and research we have been undertaking through our own agencies and in conjunction with the representative bodies we have worked with on a weekly basis on Brexit over the past number of years, we are concerned that a number of companies have yet to engage with the system to deal with Brexit and with our Department and agencies. That is why we have gone to great lengths in the past couple of months to reinforce the message and encourage …

We have been saying clearly for the past couple of months that, regardless of how the talks finish up in the weeks ahead, there will be major changes for business, including in the customs area. That will be new to many businesses that have operated in Ireland over the past 30 or 40 years. It is a new challenge for them. We recognise that and that is why the Tánaiste and the Government made money available for customs support and we announced a specific €20 million fund for the ready for customs support scheme. In …

I again thank the Deputy for raising this because it helps us bring the focus onto this. We totally agree with him. From a departmental point of view, we want companies to engage and recognise how serious this is. We acknowledge that, since February, companies have had a great deal thrown at them in regard to Covid and they are trying to manage their way through that. However, Brexit is looming and is coming in approximately 50 days. In fairness to companies, there have been many deadlines in the past couple of yea…

I thank Deputy Daly for asking this question. Under level 5 of the plan for living with Covid-19, only essential retail outlets will remain open. The regulations clearly set out the temporary restrictions and it is important to reinforce the point that they are temporary. The regulations list the essential services and retail outlets under level 5 that can open. Level 5 does not restrict people from purchasing any product, including Christmas trees and wreaths to which the Deputy referred. All products are availabl…

I thank the Deputy for his comments. Naturally, all areas for controlling the virus and its spread are being observed and dealt with by the Department of Health and all other Departments, in conjunction with NPHET. All of the evidence is being considered and it all indicates that the best way of stopping the virus is to limit and reduce our contacts, be that in a social, shopping or working context. We are trying, through these restrictions, to reduce the movements of and connections made by people. It goes against…

That is our focus as a Department, working with the retail sector, the business community and all those enterprises that are involved in providing products and services, some of which will be in greater demand around the month of December and for the Christmas season. We are working and will work with all those sectors through the various Departments on a range of supports and initiatives. The Tánaiste referred to some earlier around communication plans, marketing plans, how we manage the public realm and make sure…

I thank Senator McGreehan for raising this very important issue. She raised it as a national issue but recognised the importance of the sector to the north east and listed travel agents in County Louth. I am very familiar with the important service that travel agents provide nationally to the industry. They support the corporate sector and service the domestic market and people here who travel abroad. I recognise that travel agents put a lot of work in at the start of the pandemic and worked with us. I have certain…

I thank the Senator again for raising this important issue. I will make sure her arguments are conveyed to the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform. We are committed to ensuring we have an appropriate mix of financial help and assistance in place for the businesses most severely impacted by Covid-19. We are continuing to see a strong take-up of the range of supports available for businesses but I ask businesses and all sectors to look at the supports again, visit our websites and use our business…

I thank Senator Sherlock for raising these matters. I am here on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, who could not make this morning's discussion. She apologises for that as there was a clash in her diary with other meetings. I am very happy on her behalf to respond on the matter raised by the Senator relating to Clonturk Community College. I am conscious she raised matters relating to two other schools but I do not have details on those because I did not know they would be raised. I will relay them to the Minist…

I am happy to clarify that the Department's aim is to complete the demographic exercise as soon as possible, although I do not have a precise date. It will feed into the capital spending plans for 2021 and beyond. It will also feed into the review of the NDP, in which education features very strongly. I understand that the aim is to have it ready for next year. It will be involved in that process as well. Having been in that Department for a few years, I know how important that piece of work is because is provides …