There has to be recognition of open-air events and the square metre capacity that is available in these areas. They are not confined spaces. People are out in the open, so this limit makes no sense. We had club matches in my county last weekend and the vast majority of people who wanted to go were not able to attend. It must be recognised that these are open-air events and the capacity limits that are in place at the moment do not make sense.

I want to ask the Tánaiste a question on education. Some smaller schools will lose a teacher this year because of a drop in pupil numbers. Can a moratorium be put on that for 12 months to allow them to meet their requirements in respect of Covid-19? For a school of four teachers to go to three, it will have a significant impact on social distancing within that school. It is common sense that there be a moratorium for 12 months on smaller schools losing a teacher.

We find ourselves in the unique situation of an economic crisis caused by a health emergency. Businesses that in normal times would be on a sound financial footing are now under significant economic pressure, unfortunately, because their working capital is completely tied up or their cash flow has stopped. That is why I am delighted to have this opportunity to welcome the credit guarantee scheme. A sum of €2 billion sounds like a ferocious amount but there is much pent-up demand for this credit scheme. Our SMEs are…

Business people have contacted me in recent weeks about the spiralling costs of their public liability. They feel very aggrieved because they thought their insurance policies covered disruption of business due to infectious diseases. Insurance companies are point-blank refusing to honour the commitment in their policies. Will the Government direct insurance companies to honour the policies they have with business people?

The purpose of this question is to seek clarity on the status of the flood relief works on the Templemore to Borrisoleigh road in County Tipperary.

When are the works due to commence? These two families have suffered greatly due to flooding in recent years. An elderly couple, a husband and wife in their late 70s, live in one of the houses. Over the past couple of years, when they went to bed in the months of December and January, they were listening to hear if there was a sound of rain falling on the roof. They have been flooded on numerous occasions. While the statement said the work is to be done before July 2021, I ask the Minister of State if this urgent w…

Pubs are included in the reopening plan for next Monday. I have been contacted by numerous publicans expressing their frustration and worry concerning the lack of advice provided to them on what they must do to prepare or whether they will be opening at all. I understand that public safety is paramount and we must do everything in our power to safeguard it. However, we need a concrete plan for publicans setting out what they must do to reopen and what guidelines they must abide by to ensure public safety remains th…

In light of the passing last week of the Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Bill 2020, will the Tánaiste set out the Government's plan to provide further supports to small and medium enterprises countrywide to aid them in their recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic?

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. There is a significant focus at the moment on the July stimulus package and a lot of SME owners are waiting very anxiously for it. Some sectors have been hit harder than others by the Covid-19 pandemic and they are particularly anxious to see what will be announced next week. Private bus operators, small retail outlets, boutique owners and many others have suffered greatly during this period. We are hugely dependent in this country on the SME sector and the July stimulus will be …

The urban-rural divide in the sector is quite significant. Rural-based SMEs, although likely to employ fewer numbers than SMEs in urban areas, are nevertheless significant employers. We need to look to the future when considering the issues they face. Access to broadband, transport infrastructure, education facilities and further tax-based incentives will be essential in ensuring the future viability of the sector and enabling the future growth that will enable us to recover from this unique pandemic. As the Govern…

It is simply unacceptable that banks are halting lending to those in receipt of the wage subsidy scheme and the pandemic unemployment payment. Reports also that extra scrutiny will be applied to so-called high-risk workers certainly do not help matters. At a time when all sectors of society are pulling together to aid our recovery from the pandemic, the banks' actions are simply unacceptable. We need to encourage and incentivise investment post Covid to stimulate our now fragile economy. The banks owe this to the p…

I wish the Minister for climate action, communication networks and transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, all the best in his new portfolio. My question relates to financial assistance for private bus operators. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Ireland in March, private bus and coach operators have suffered a devastating blow to their operations. National tourism has halted, school buses are not running and large-scale events have been cancelled. Therefore, these companies faced a surreal situation whereby business essenti…

I thank the Minister for his reply and accept that he acknowledges the great difficulties this industry is encountering. The industry has put forward a detailed proposal about exactly how much funding it needs. I would press on the Minister to give careful consideration. The industry has stated that 17% of operators costs have to be grant-aided for them at this time. The Minister talked about six months. That will not be long enough. The industry's proposal is up to 1 April. I plead with the Minister to recognise t…

The forestry sector has a significant part to play in our climate change strategy. The sector has been bedevilled with trouble in the past number of years. We are only meeting approximately 50% of our targets for planting and face difficulties in obtaining licences for thinning, felling and plantation. The Mackinnon report has been commissioned and I would like to know the timeframe for delivery on the findings of that report to hopefully rectify some of the problems in the sector.

I refer to the CSO and its role in the collection of data. The CSO collects data about our people and society. Those data are essential to informed decision-making in many industries, such as construction, healthcare and finance. as well as for European governing bodies. The data provide essential information on employment and unemployment, providing accurate quarterly labour force estimates and information on household income and expenditure. The nationwide shutdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has resulte…

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. If businesses cannot access funds in the traditional way, it says something about our banking system that these companies fail to get accepted by our pillar banks and have to turn elsewhere for funding. Reading the documentation that we have received, the success rate of these companies and the small number of failures show the importance of having such funds available to companies. They have failed to get money through the trad…

As Deputy Browne did, I pass on my sympathies to all families who have been affected by Covid-19. Forty-nine residents of St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel have been transferred to Our Lady's Hospital in Cashel. Can the Minister clarify that the planned capital investment for St. Patrick's will proceed as normal? It is great to see Our Lady's eventually being utilised to near full capacity after years of lobbying by my colleagues and I in this Chamber, and by the community activists who never gave up on it. However,…

It is the responsibility of every industry and sector to play its part in meeting the climate change targets in the coming years. We are setting ourselves ambitious targets, which is the right thing to do. However, it is vital that each sector bear a fair share of the burden. That is true of agriculture but the burden must be economically sustainable. We have the bioeconomy and ongoing research in UCD under Professor Kevin O'Connor. In my constituency, we have the Lisheen site which is producing research and techno…

While the retrofitting of homes has accelerated in recent years, there have been some hiccups along the way. Last year, for instance, hundreds of thousands of homeowners who had entered into contracts to have such work done were left in limbo as funding was withdrawn. Thankfully this was resolved and most of those homes are now completed. As Deputy Darragh O'Brien has said, we have a very ambitious target set down of 500,000 homes to retrofit. This involves carrying out multiple energy-efficient measures such as wa…

I agree with Deputy Calleary about the significant work that community and voluntary organisations have done throughout the Covid-19 crisis. We must welcome the €40 million package of support for these organisations, charities and social enterprises announced on 8 Mary 2020. Many of these community and voluntary organisations have seen their incomes decimated because of the Covid-19 restrictions. This emergency package includes a stability fund of €35 million and an Innovate Together fund of €5 million for these or…