I do not believe I can accept that. It is a bit of an absurdity.

Can you please consult with other Members who may have heard?

I appeal to a fair-minded Deputy who is not from my party and who would clearly have heard me say "Votáil". Can I make that appeal?

I am making an open appeal.

Thank you.

Votáil.

The Tánaiste's earlier response to Deputy Pearse Doherty in regard to education was not much of an answer. Surely he knows a bit more about the July stimulus. Reopening schools will require investment. Will the July stimulus contain money for additional space and to ensure every school has hot water and adequate personal protective equipment? When will we know more? A Revised Estimate was introduced with no additional money for the Department of Education of Skills. Will money be provided in the July stimulus to be…

I wrote to the Ceann Comhairle on the same matter. I want to add my voice to that call. The Minister has scarcely answered a direct question in her short time in office. It is urgently needed. The concern among students and parents is unbelievable. The Minister really does need to come into the House to clarify the situation on the leaving certificate and on the return to school. People are absolutely in the dark.

Is ar éigean is féidir le mo ghlúin íoc as cúram leanaí. Cuireann sé bac agus constaic ar dhaoine dul ag obair nó ó thaobh ioncaim de. Most parents I know who look for childcare simply cannot find it. Even if they do find it, they very often cannot afford it. The reality is that the model of childcare and early education that successive Governments have relied upon for many years was all but broken anyway. The pandemic has just made the cracks more obvious. They have become crevices. I have a young family. My two b…

This is my first debate with the Minister and, therefore, I take this opportunity to wish her well in her new role and likewise the Minister, Deputy Harris. We are here to discuss Revised Estimates for the Department of Education and Skills. The news for education is that the net allocation sought for education and skills is unchanged from before the pandemic. I know that the Minister has spoken about this but this reflects a Department that has failed to get to grips with the impact of the pandemic and that is sho…

On page 113, the programme for Government refers to outlining preparations for post-Covid-19 education and the return to school. The Taoiseach has just said that it is the number one priority. Parents, however, were absolutely aghast at the interview given by the Minister for Education and Skills to the Sunday Independent because there was scarcely any answer at all in the interview. It is 15 July, it is four months since schools closed and it is about six weeks until schools reopen. Consultations only began in mid…

What is the plan? When will it happen?

Nine years ago, the workers of Vita Cortex in the south side of Cork city sat in for 160 days to try to get the pay and redundancy to which they were entitled. At the time, they were visited by many public figures, maithe agus mór uaisle, including the current Taoiseach, who gave them very strong support, vocally if not practically. We are now in the same situation nine years on in that workers who are made redundant due to insolvency are way at the back of the queue. The language might refer to preferential treatm…

I propose to share time with Deputies Tully and Kerrane. Having become the father of a baby boy nine months ago, I have experience of what it was like to have a newborn during lockdown. Our baby got his four-months injections before lockdown and his six-months injections during it. I hope that by the time he gets his 12-months injections the world will be a different and better place, although it is hard not to feel that we will still be facing a challenging time. There have been good and bad elements to having a n…

I wish to ask a question as a matter of courtesy. Is the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, taking the issue raised by Deputy Griffin? I think Deputy Griffin was waiting.

It is just that Deputy Griffin was before me.

I am sharing time with Deputies Buckley and O’Rourke. Last week the European Court of Justice found that the Marine Casualty Investigation Board is not adequately independent and gave costs against the State. Any decision of the European Court of Justice that finds against the State is weighty and significant but this is especially so in the context of the work that the Marine Casualty Investigation Board does. It has issued over recent years almost 300 reports on marine incidents and casualties since its establish…

How am I to know?

I have agreed with the other Deputies to take the full two minutes. There are a number of issues with the response from the Minister of State. There is a context to this. The Government and senior Ministers received an email in recent days from a maritime lawyer, Mr. Michael Kingston, who is the son of one of the victims of the Whiddy Island disaster. He outlined in that email his concerns that there has been a long track record in terms of a failure to tackle the issue of independence at the Marine Casualty Invest…

I raise an issue relating to a small category of people who are facing a significant injustice. The Irish Times yesterday reported the case of Mr. Finn Robertson, a 17 year old from Dungarvan, who will not receive an estimated grade for politics in the leaving certificate because he is self-taught. He now believes he will not get the points he needs to study politics and journalism in the University of Limerick. I also give the example of Kinga Szalaj who wants to study medicine. She completed her leaving certifica…