I am sure nobody in Cabinet set out to set up some sort of a Stasi-type operation in Dublin Airport, Cork Airport or wherever but it is a little disconcerting-----

Regarding the case alluded to by Senator Higgins of an individual who booked a ferry trip but did not take it, somebody somewhere had to share that information. I am sure the Minister is as concerned about that as Members are. From that point of view, I fully support what Senator Higgins is trying to do. We need to know how this information was passed back and forth. Stopping people randomly at Dublin Airport, Cork Airport or wherever is one thing but it looks a little planned or orchestrated. On that basis, I will…

I am sure she was not out there.

I support Senator Warfield. I think the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, CPP, will have to revisit the issue of the order of speaking in the House. There is something wrong about the Government having two speakers-----

I think it has to go back to the CPP.

In any event, we are here to talk about education.

I accept that. I congratulate the Minister on her appointment and on hitting the ground running in what is the greatest logistical challenge her Department has ever faced. I welcome the fact that she will open schools and the measures she outlined today. I am encouraged that there has been significant stakeholder engagement during the planning process, but we must be honest with the public. We cannot guarantee that all schools will open or that there will not be closures from time to time. According to the World He…

Hear, hear.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for letting me in. There was a lot of talk towards the end of the previous Government about the massive number of 600 people who wanted to return to the Defence Forces. We now find that of the 600, 400 were deemed ineligible and, to date, only 11 have been called. Those 11 have not responded as of yesterday, as far as I am aware, as to whether they will take up the call. Let us be honest about it, the call was never about Covid-19. It was about trying to fill a gap due to the failure of re…

I second the motion.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate him on his elevation. It is proven that countries that invest in research power ahead. If one takes New Zealand and South Korea, there is a reason why they have managed so well with the coronavirus. Apart from excellent political leadership, they have highly-developed innovation and research sector. In Ireland, we pride ourselves on our high standard of education at all levels and it is a significant factor in attracting foreign direct investment into th…

I am fully supportive of the Bill for further and higher education, innovation and so on. As I said in my Second Stage contribution, I have spent most of my working life fighting for equal treatment for people doing the same job. The education sector was notorious for people carrying out duties and not being paid for them. I have always held the belief that if one does the job, one should be paid the price. However, a precedent was established by the previous Government that a super junior Minister could sit at the…

The State Claims Agency has not exactly crowned itself in glory in recent years, when citizens of this State have found themselves having to take legal action against a Department. I understand the role of the State Claims Agency in protecting the resources of the State and ensuring that every claim is scrutinised to its absolute maximum. I cannot understand, however, how the State Claims Agency and Departments are allowed to ignore the orders of the Supreme Court of this land. I am not talking about the merits or …

I welcome the Minister to the House and I congratulate him on his elevation. We will miss him in the corridors of LH2000. I agree with the speakers who have said the Title of this legislation is somewhat confusing to the ordinary individual and I support Senator Ward in his suggestion regarding the need for consolidated legislation in the not-too-distant future. There is a lot of talk about retrofitting, particularly when we look towards the Bord na Móna workers and their like. I walk around south Dublin and I watc…

I congratulate the former Attorney General, Séamus Woulfe, who was appointed to the Supreme Court yesterday. He has served the country and this House well. I raise the issue of closing pubs and responding on a national basis to what is in some cases a regional problem. We are taking a big stick to the entire country. While there are, without doubt, certain areas which are, for want of a better word, misbehaving by not following the guidelines, it will be detrimental to the tourism season if we take a blanket approa…

There has been much talk about front-line workers but the one group we constantly seem to pass over without mention is my former colleagues in the Defence Forces, who are paid below the minimum wage and do not have the means to push for an increase in pay. I know that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has taken the defence brief back on and I wish him well. I hope he starts to resolve some of the problems there. In her former role, the Leader had a great understanding of carers, particularly, and of the needs of those …

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus comhghairdeachas leat. It is a great day for the Cathaoirleach and for his family. Without doubt, he is the best known Senator in Ireland and I am delighted he was never on my panel.

I am delighted the work I started in October 2014 has come to fruition. When I ran for the by-election in 2014 to fill a seat in this House, I brought Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael together to elect me. I am delighted that it has grown to what we have today and that we have managed to get a Government out of it. Sadly, we did not have Green Party members in the House at that time. If we did, I probably would have brought them in on the act as well. We are in the middle of a pandemic and our front-line workers have been…

I want to allocate some of my time to Senator Marshall. I thank the Minister for coming to the House. As this Bill passes through the House, I am mindful of the words of Dr. Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization that: "Speed trumps perfection." As such, I am sure none of us here will want to impede the passage of this Bill at this time. First, I extend my sympathy to the families of those who have lost loved ones. To read some of the stories from people in the medical profession of people coming into hospit…

I refer to the issue of abatement and military service allowance. Why not treat the military the same as student nurses?