The commitment of the Government to manage and get us through this health crisis is clear in the additional €2.5 billion spent so far. That will not be the end of it this year or next year. There will have to be major multibillion additional spending so that we can cope. To date, we have coped. It has been difficult and has involved serious stress on front-line workers and everyone else in the country as we have tried to suppress the virus and avoid going beyond the capacity of our health system. However, we have m…

I think it is better to be more honest. If the Deputy puts a series of questions to me about the data, and if I do not have the specific data to hand or in my mind, I prefer to say I will come back to him with the data. That is a more honest reply.

I will be honest. I spent an hour and a half answering questions on which I do have the data, relating to transport issues. I was not able to go to the press conference the Deputy mentioned.

I would prefer to leave the people at the press conference to give the data and explain it because they have real, up-to-date expertise in the area. What I want to make clear is the strategic approach the Government is taking. It is the wider strategic approach that we, as members of the Government, have to consider. There is no shortage of support from the Government or of flexibility and effort if we find ourselves in a difficult winter period due to the Covid pandemic progressing in a direction we do not want, o…

The reopening of schools has been an important milestone for children and society. The safety and well-being of staff, students and the whole school community has been of paramount importance in the Government's planning for school reopening. The Department of Education and Skills has engaged extensively with stakeholders, including the ASTI, in developing the plans for reopening. Significant funding of more than €375 million was secured and given to schools to ensure the implementation of the Return to Work Safely…

In this and other areas the Government cedes to public health authorities because their expertise and advice point towards the best way of managing these matters for all concerned, including teachers, pupils and the wider public. That is where such issues have to be addressed and considered. The process includes a review and it is within that which I expect the Government will listen to the ASTI and others and make sure their concerns are addressed as best they can, subject to public health advice, which is the tes…

I agree with the Deputy. The music, entertainment, arts and cultural sectors are probably among the worst hit. The definition of their work is performance with an audience and that has meant they have not been able to operate. Some businesses have lost 80% and some have lost 30% but a lot of the performing sectors have lost 100% of their outlets, ability to work and livelihoods. It is not just their loss of livelihood but for us there is a loss of entertainment, inspiration, hope, culture and creativity in all of o…

I commit to doing that and I know my Government colleagues will give their full attention to this. I will give one message of possibility. We have had real difficulty in recent times with increasing numbers but in the establishment of the five-level framework, there was a clear understanding that even within level 2, we needed to start allowing audiences to come back in a safe and organised way, depending on the size of the venue or how controlled it could be. For large areas of the country, where we hope there wil…

First, I acknowledge that the Deputy's statement is absolutely right. What those companies did was totally inappropriate, wrong and unforgivable. The bank in question has been fined €18.3 million because of how it dealt with 3,741 customers, and it has had to repay, to date, €153.5 million. Permanent TSB was previously fined €21 million because of how it treated tracker customers. As I have said, it is shocking that they wrongly took people off cheap loans and that this led to the loss of 11 family homes. Nobody wo…

I agree with the Deputy and when colleges have accommodation, particularly when it is under their control, it should be an asset for the student body and not a revenue source. It must be part of the flexible solutions that must apply in how third level institutions are managed in this time. Where colleges have accommodation, they have been requested to try to show flexibility in its use. Several of them are doing so and others are constrained by students having already booked accommodation. It would be desirable fo…

I am informed that will be introduced at the end of this session, which is before Christmas. It may be introduced in either the Dáil or Seanad.

I am aware of the legislation and I spoke to the Deputy about it last week. It has not been discussed at Cabinet and I have not yet discussed it with my party. My understanding, and certainly with my party, is that such flexibility or such an approach is a real possibility. It is not the norm in this House but where there are matters of complex conscience and very different views, that tends to be a possibility. I certainly would not rule it out. Following discussion in my party we will revert on our approach. As I…

Deputy Tóibín has told a harrowing story and one's heart goes out to the family involved. What a terrible experience. I ask the Deputy to revert to me, the Taoiseach or the appropriate Minister on the appropriate legislative change and I would be happy to respond on that basis.

My understanding is that the Minister for Finance is meeting representatives of the banks on Monday. The timelines here are set by the European Banking Authority rather than by anything the Government has done. As I said earlier during Leaders' Questions, this was not a statement that there could not be further payment breaks. I encourage the banks and the customers to come together to decide on the appropriate mechanisms to get customers who are in difficulty through this crisis, including the extension or continu…

As it happens, that question touches on two sections in my Department. I will be honest, in that I think the future of An Post is in the development of a range of new business applications. We are seeing it happening already. An Post is operating as a parcel delivery company and a financial support company for energy refits. The company is increasingly delivering Government services through its network. An Post has turned around in the past two or three years and is expanding into new areas. There will still be a m…

If the Deputy could provide the details of this specific case, I will make sure the Minister for Health receives them and reverts to him on the plans to provide those posts as part of the health budget, which as we heard earlier is expanding but is still constrained.

I am informed that the legislation is due before the end of the session. As per the norm, it is expected to go through the process of pre-legislative scrutiny.

I absolutely support this cause. The benefits of those services to Parkinson's sufferers are real. I will pass the Deputy's comments and suggestions on to the Minister for Health and support the provision of those services in any way I can.

The challenge we have is that we need to fund investment in both public transport and the road network. Areas where there is no public transport alternative, as Deputy Niamh Smyth pointed out, must take precedence within the roads maintenance budget, which is not extensive. Road maintenance will also help bus services, which can be part of the public transport solution. I am very aware of the lack of co-ordination in the provision of services to allow for the most beneficial use of the Tipperary rail lines. I do no…

I am not sure from where the 12-week figure referenced by Deputy Flaherty in the context of a delay in Bus Éireann completing the review comes. My understanding is that the Department of Education and Skills will be coming to the Government within a much shorter timeframe with a review of the further changes we need to make to the public school transport system in response to the health advice. The system Bus Éireann and the Department set up in very difficult circumstances responded effectively and in a timely man…