On the same matter, will the Taoiseach consider appointing a consultant geriatrician to investigate that nursing home, as further and new cases have now been brought to light which are very concerning? An investigation is needed urgently and as soon as possible notwithstanding the HIQA investigation.

I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate her on her appointment. The summer provision programme for 2020 is hugely important because it assists, in particular, children who have profound learning difficulties, such as autism and so on. I welcome the fact 5,000 more children will participate in summer provision this year than did last year. The Minister knows children with disabilities have been profoundly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and those children and their families have had a difficult time a…

That is the same reply that I received earlier from the Department. I acknowledge the intent of what the Minister has said but I reject its content. I do not find that acceptable and I want to stress that these are children with exceptional needs, as I know the Minister acknowledges. There is no way the family in question can pay the bill and recoup the funding. I absolutely acknowledge that the scheme is there but this family cannot get €1,500 to pay for it. Home provision is not suitable to this family unit and t…

I welcome the Minister and I acknowledge the tremendous work being done by him, his Department, the HSE, nursing home owners and employees and everybody in the country. I also welcome the Minister's commitment to set up an international best practice assessment of how matters have evolved in our nursing homes. This assessment will examine: the fact that 54% of all deaths from Covid-19 in Ireland have taken place in nursing homes; the measures we have adopted so far, some of which have worked and some have not; and …

The Acting Chairman thought the Green Party was in government.

I support the points made on all sides of the House in regard to the people over 66 who are working. There was controversy over pensions and when they come into effect, but there is no controversy around people who were in business prior to Covid-19 and were paying their taxes but can no longer work because they are sole traders and their business cannot function. These people are not getting the payment while people living on the same street as them and working in the same shopping centre are getting it because th…

The bread and butter of our local communities is that the national schools continue to provide the excellent education they have provided. I refer to the school in Lordship, County Louth, Rampark National School, roll number 18101F. The difficulty is that last September it had 170 students and that effectively means it will lose two teachers. That will have a very significant and adverse impact on the school. It would have needed to have 171 pupils last September to hold onto one of those teachers and it would have…

I will share time with Deputies Feighan, Higgins and Heydon. I welcome the Minister back to the Dáil and wish him every success. My first point relates to MetroLink and BusConnects. It is essential that these projects proceed. There must be no go-slow on them. The statement today from the very eminent representative of the National Bus and Rail Union, Mr. Dermot O'Leary, who makes very significant contributions to transport policy, does not make sense. We must not abandon these hugely important public transport pol…

A Cheann Comhairle, déanaim comhghairdeas leat as a bheith tofa mar Cheann Comhairle arís. Tá súil agam go mbeidh tréimhse fhada agus fhiúntach agat. Tacaím le hainmniúchán Teachta Varadkar mar Thaoiseach na Dála seo. Measaim gur thug sé ceannaireacht an-mhaith agus sofheicthe dúinn. Bhí sé macánta freisin. Rinne sé a lán rudaí an-mhaith don tír seo. Ó thaobh cúrsaí sláinte de, tá feabhas an-mhór tagtha i mo Dháilcheantar féin, i gContae Lú, go háirithe in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. Many things need to…