I thank the Minister for his statement. It understandably had a clear focus on flooding and it must be acknowledged that there has been a great deal of work done in that area in recent years. I commend, in particular, the outgoing Minster of State, Kevin Boxer Moran, on his work. He brought with him to the role a personal credibility on the issue which he practised as Minister of State. We have seen him in some very well-circulated media photographs up to his waist in floodwater but he always backed up those kinds …

If the consultation on Portrane coastal erosion could be full public consultation with the local community that would be much appreciated.

It behoves all of us to reflect on the second part of the contribution made by my constituency colleague, Deputy Joe O'Brien, not only the testimonies he shared but the comments he made thereafter. I commend the work the Deputy has done for many years, and continues to do, in tackling racial discrimination in this sphere. It is a credit to him and our constituency. I will ask some practical questions before making a number of comments. Can further clarity be provided to clubs on the sports capital grant? I am aware…

Last week, we had a very robust debate around aviation. I do not wish to have that debate again but I will make two points. First, my concerns about how the companies are treating workers have not gone away. I am more concerned about Aer Lingus this week because it is sidelining the unions and workers' representatives. I again ask the Minister to intercede in so far as he can on that issue. Second, I wish the task force well in its work. Had it not been established we would be kicking and screaming but it has been …

The best asset the Garda has is the community policing and community garda unit. As we are all aware, it has been a difficult decade for the Garda. Trust has been damaged by a number of incidents and issues which have been well debated in the House down through the years. As have many other public representatives, I have witnessed the benefits of good community gardaí when they come to a community centre to meet local residents and explain how the local gardaí work, the organisation's limitations and what gardaí ca…

I thank the Minister for facilitating this important debate tonight and for his opening statement. I listened to it and I read it and it gave me a sense that the gravity of the situation affecting the aviation sector is not lost on the Minister. I welcome the setting up of a task force. It is a welcome and much-needed move. Will the Minister commit to the House tonight that the trade unions or their representatives, namely, SIPTU, the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association, IALPA, Fórsa and the Irish Congress of Trade …

I welcome that assurance and I am sure the trade union movement and the workers will as well. Regarding connectivity, will the Minister give any commitment tonight to act, even to write a letter to the CEOs of the airport groups and the companies, to ensure that important routes such as Knock to Gatwick and Cork to Heathrow and the transatlantic routes involving Shannon, to name but a few, are retained? I know he does not have the power, but will he put the heavy weight of his office behind supporting these key rou…

I ask also that the Minister write to senior management in the two major airlines, for two separate reasons. The way in which Aer Lingus communicates with its staff and their unions has been very poor. The method of rather dour, foreboding video messages to staff - I am not sure whether the Minister has seen them - has just added to the overall sense of uncertainty, unease and despair in the workforce. This method of communication is not helpful and needs to be nipped in the bud, so I ask the Minister to write to t…

The balance has well and truly been in his favour during the past two decades. It has tiptoed the opposite way and I think it is now appropriate for the Minister and his office to respond. The Minister has said he will not do it. He is entitled to take that position but I believe the balance has tipped the other way and those comments are absolutely disgraceful.

Kind of, yes. I am certainly a nature lover. I am a committed angler and like other Deputies and many people throughout the country I have seen a silver lining in this pandemic by enjoying nature and in being allowed to enjoy nature more than we usually are. I will front-load my contribution with some questions and I would appreciate a written response from the Minister to anything she does not get to reply to here. The all-Ireland pollinator plan is reaching the end of its natural life. It is a five-year plan from…

I thank the Ministers for attending this evening.

I am going to speak, ask some questions and leave some time for the Ministers to answer. I start by echoing our support for the call SIPTU has made for a task force for the farm to fork process for the meat industry. We believe the return to work protocol document is strong. We have major concerns, however, about how it is going to be implemented across several sectors, one being the meat and food sector. The HSA and Patricia King of ICTU were at the third session of the Covid-19 committee on Tuesday. It became cle…

On a point of order-----

I am sorry, Deputy. It was agreed at the Business Committee that we would focus on the arts here. We have four minutes only. The second speaker, with all due respect to the Deputy, raises some serious matters but it is not what we agreed. The second speaker in has spent four minutes talking about something totally separate. We probably have thousands of artists tuning in tonight who will be looking at this debate. Can we please stick to the rules here? We have a finite amount of time.

I have issues that I would like to raise which I will not be raising with the Minister because of that.

My apologies.

I acknowledge and thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for pushing for this debate at the Business Committee and for the focus to be on the arts, which is vitally important. I cannot sing, dance or act and I could not draw a straight line with a ruler but I am lucky to have people in my family who are involved in the arts and make their primary living from being singers in bands, sound engineers, music producers or event managers, so I have seen at first hand how precarious and challenging that work can be in good times and e…

Once again, the EU is faced with a major crisis. This crisis has the potential to make or break the Union. The test this time is whether the EU can demonstrate solidarity among its member states based on shared democratic values or just wants to be a marketplace. One of the reasons the UK was never fully integrated into the EU was it only wanted a single market and not a political community. The Labour Party's view, however, is that the EU can be successful only if it is built on solidarity and mutual assistance am…

I would appreciate if the Minister of State might respond to me in writing with any replies that he does not have time to give here. It is great that we have an opportunity to discuss tourism. All of us in the House share an immense sense of pride in our country as a beautiful, welcoming and varied tourism destination. As we observe the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is clear that tourism is one of the sectors in Ireland that faces a cliff edge from which many of us worry it may not be able to recover.…

I appreciate that.