I thank the Minister for his response on the two issues, especially the Bord na Móna issue. I will give him a copy of a letter I gave to the Taoiseach on 28 April specifically on this issue. I have been promised by the Taoiseach on a number of occasions since that I will get a response but I have not received one. This matter is causing huge frustration and there is no justification for public moneys, which are now being borrowed, to be used to subsidise and pay wages of staff who have been waiting for months for a…

I thank the Minister for his positive reply in respect of the role the credit union movement can play but I wish to bring him back to the question I asked about amending the primary legislation in this area. The reason I bring that to the floor of the House is that I believe there is a fundamental problem with the culture within the Central Bank of Ireland. When it comes to any type of draconian measure, clearly the credit union movement is considered the same as big financial institutions in this country. However,…

The legislation was tabled last November.

I thank the Minister for the work she did in respect of people who had their PRSI records broken and who were in receipt of minimal State pensions. The Acting Chairman will know of my involvement with that issue. He was the Aire Stáit in the Department when I was first elected to the House. I raised this issue, which affects thousands of women throughout the country, with nine different Ministers for social welfare and Regina Doherty was the first who took on and addressed it. The issue mainly affected women but so…

Does the Government realise the HSE's contact tracing system is just not working? While the HSE is trying to bamboozle us with its mean and median figures for positive and negative test results and figures for the performing of tests and contract tracing, giving eight different figures, the reality is that the disclosure of medical results to employers rather than employees was, I believe, to cover up the fact that the contact tracing system is just not working. I made this point in the House to the Minister for He…

The reason I flagged this with the Minister is that she has raw data within her Department that could be of use to Government in clarifying the absolute failure of the HSE on the contact tracing system, which is just not working. My final question to the Minister concerns people who are self-isolating because they have been advised to do so as they are vulnerable to the risks of Covid-19. Covid-19 could have very serious health implications for them if they are infected by it. The advice we were given at briefings …

I have been watching the handling of the Covid-19 infections within the meat industry over the last number of weeks. It gives me no pleasure to say that I am very seriously concerned by the manner in which this particular infection is being managed. I have a genuine fear that if the reopening of the economy continues next week, we could be looking at the resurgence of this virus. We have a serious problem within our meat plants, which should come as no surprise because this is a global problem that has sadly been r…

The only conclusion I can come to is that the delays I have outlined to the Minister are being used to wallpaper over the gross system failures, particularly in contact tracing. We have been informed as public representatives by the HSE that people are being given results within a day of their return from the laboratory and those who are positive are being contacted directly by a health professional. This is not happening and negative results are being long-fingered for days and possibly weeks. In fact, the system …

I will give that information to the Minister. What we have here is playing with figures. The Minister has said that 90% of those who are positive would be contacted within three days. I have outlined to him a fundamental problem with the negative results which is leading to a situation whereby people are not self-isolating and there is contamination and people being infected as a result. The system is not working. I am not attributing blame, but to keep to the agricultural theme, the reality is that Deputies are no…

It has happened in a number of instances across the country.

Is that the HSE?

In reopening the economy, all steps must be taken to ensure we remain conscious of the need to minimise the spread of Covid-19. We must all accept that we will have to live with Covid-19 for the foreseeable future. On the guidance that has been worked on for the past seven weeks by the HSA and the HSE, businesses need to know by this weekend what they need to do to prepare to open. As the Minister rightly stated, the HSA is advising and inspecting businesses on physical distancing. What advice was given to companie…

As the Minister knows, there has been a problem with nursing homes and we do not see one in processing facilities around the country. Will the Minister come back to me on the issue of grant aid for getting businesses up and running in terms of the cost of training staff and equipping premises? The wage subsidy scheme must be prioritised as the primary support for workers and provide for a continuity between workers and their employers. Will the Minister clarify whether the wage subsidy will be continued beyond June…

We need to continue a tapered wage subsidy scheme beyond June of this year, and deferring rates will not be sufficient. Rates need to be written off. Much work will need to be done on the provision of liquidity, particularly working capital for businesses. To deal with risk, there will need to be a State-backed bond scheme. Banks should also be instructed to apply forbearance and to reset the covenant criteria to take into account the extraordinary circumstances that businesses are facing. This covenant issue will …

I turn to the issue of EU supports. After weeks of intensive lobbying, the European Commission eventually announced an aid to private storage scheme for both lamb and beef, which is paltry in value terms and the conditions regarding the cuts make it virtually worthless. The United States has introduced a Covid-19 support scheme for its farmers which is equivalent to €9,518 per individual. The EU, on the other hand, has provided a Covid-19 support equivalent of €8 per farmer. That is 1,190 times less support being g…

I never advocated a US model.

Rather, I showed the stark contrast in the levels of support being provided in the US versus Europe. Many colleagues in the Dáil have highlighted the disparaging level of support of €8 per EU farmer that is being provided. While we are on the issue of the European model of agriculture, I listened intently to the Minister's response to Deputy Carthy regarding beef imports from other EU states. Will the Minister explain why beef processors are importing beef for reprocessing in this country at a time when we are expo…

I am not. I notice the Minister is not answering the question.

I note that the Minister did not answer my question about beef imports. That is the point I am making. I understand the broader issue very well. As the Minister knows, the United Kingdom is not a net exporter of beef. Ireland is a net exporter. We export nine out of ten animals, yet we are importing beef. What is the justification for that? I do not believe there is one. There is a lack of equitable support from the European Commission. That is something the Minister has acknowledged and a weakness that I have iden…

The economic commentary relating to Covid-19 can at best be described as depressing. There is no doubt that we, as a country and a people, are facing a monumental task in getting our economy, society and lives back again once we have pulled through the worst of this health emergency. We must also be conscious of the fact that, if we talk down confidence, we will further undermine our ability to recover and build new communities that are fairer for all. Even with dire economic warnings, we must provide hope. Hope ha…