I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, the House. I acknowledge his participation and commitment, and also that of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, in respect of the ongoing conversations to try to bring a conclusion and successful outcome to the mica situation playing on the minds of so many people and interfering with so many plans. We must move forward in respect of the vacuum which exists regarding this matter now. Therefore, I acknowledge the Minist…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. His Kildare colleague was here for a few minutes. During that protest by Donegal people, I met a friend of the Ceann Comhairle's from Kildare, who was there in sympathy with the many families from Donegal and to support them. That protest highlighted the national tragedy of this issue. Irish people from all counties now have a full understanding of what it is like because of the recent campaign. Over the last number of weeks many people have tried to put themselves in the shoes of these…

I thank the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, for meeting the Mica Action Group today, including Paddy Diver, Ann Owens, Eileen Doherty and Michael Doherty. I also could mention Councillor Martin McDermott and Eamonn Jackson. I also thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn and his colleagues for putting down this motion tonight and keeping this issue on the radar. Today was an important day, as the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, pointed out, in meeting the people, listening to them and getting a good feel for where they …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that the Minister did visit Arranmore Island. There is no better consultation than coming onto the island. The community are very grateful for that. I would like to raise two points. The Minister stated that cross-departmental communication is happening currently. On the issue of planning for island communities, it is most important to emphasise that there are difficulties around planning for those seeking to return to the islands. I know the Minister is awar…

In my 20 years in politics, I have never come across a matter that has caused so much stress, anxiety and fear. Campaigners such as Ms Ann Owens and Ms Eileen Doherty worked on a scheme that we wanted 100% covered. We were presented with a 70:30 scheme and we worked really hard to get the scheme covered completely. We got as far as a 90:10 split, which we accepted at the time on the basis that it might have worked. The scheme is not working, it will not work and it cannot work. It is not working for so many people …

I take it the Minister of State is getting the message here this evening. I will just say a couple of things. I ask the Minister of State to picture this: I spoke to a woman today who lives on her own and her mother lives in the house next door. Both houses have to be demolished. They live beside each other and the daughter is the carer of the mother. They had to scrape together €12,500 as money up front for engineers' fees. This is the reality of a scheme that is not working, and which should be scrapped immediate…

On Saturday, 1 May, during a bank holiday weekend, an impromptu meeting was organised at very short notice between the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, NPHET officials, Dr. Tony Holohan, Dr. Ronan Glynn and HSE officials. I thank those who represented these organisations and the Ministers for organising this impromptu meeting, which was constructive. The proof was in the pudding a few days later when test centres were rolled out. It was a very important intervention. It is important…

On the same issue, I also acknowledge and welcome this initiative. It is a very important public consultation. The world of work has changed and is changing. That change has been fast-tracked over the past 12 to 13 months. Much work has been done prior to this also in my county where many hotspots and digital hubs have been or are in the process of being built. Like Deputy Griffin, I ask the Tánaiste to expand on his plans and indicate how we can hold companies responsible in this area. I refer, in this regard, to …

There is no shortage of buildings in these places. How do we put pressure on companies to allow their workers to come back to their counties?

Not necessarily all people can work in their homes or sitting rooms but they could work in remote village hubs. Let us rebuild our towns and villages again. Gabhaim buíochas, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Tá fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This issue is posing a number of problems on a number of fronts in that a licensed road haulier operator requires a designated qualified transport manager. The legitimate and hard-working hauliers have had such managers in situ and have done the necessary courses in order to fulfil the competencies required for this role. However, one of the potential issues now coming up is that there will be an obligation on these hauliers post Brexit to go through another rigorous process in acquir…

I do not know what to say. I am delighted. There is no doubt that the operators and hauliers who take their business really seriously and have many challenges ahead of them will be absolutely delighted with this news. I thank the Minister of State for the follow-up. Obviously, Deputy Ó Murchú and I value the fact that the message put across the table yesterday at the meeting of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs, of which we are both members, reached the ears of people in the European Commission. I am ab…

It is my understanding that NPHET met this week to discuss the issue of Covid numbers in County Donegal. It is really important that its research and insight are given to the community. People in the county are working hard. Our businesses and restaurants are closed, and we are struggling to get our numbers down. People are worried. GPs and other medical staff are working very hard. People are looking forward to 25 December. Businesses are looking forward to 1 December. We really need to make public the information…

The Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, is a politician who gets things done. As Taoiseach he worked hard to get so many things done. As Taoiseach, he worked very closely with his Cabinet colleagues and he was always informed. He was solution focused and was always determined to find a solution, even in the most difficult of circumstances. He took his mandate as Taoiseach very seriously and at all times was conscious of the enormous responsibility placed on his very young shoulders. The Tánaiste does not wear his heart on h…

I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State in the House and indeed all of the Ministers working in the Department of Health at the moment and their officials for dealing with all the ongoing challenges. The work that is needed is acknowledged not just by me in this House but by the public as well, so I acknowledge that at the outset. I am also conscious of the fact that with language being used this evening in terms of contact tracing, there is a feeling of being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task an…

That was a comprehensive answer and it is good to see the response included upfront honesty on where challenges exist. In one particular area, the Department and the HSE are working to deal with ongoing issues. It is important that we continue to be transparent. Information is key. Re-emphasising the seven-day week availability to principals will be very important in the days ahead. The intense feeling among primary and secondary principals and teachers, as the Minister of State knows, is they want to continue teac…

Ar dtús báire, gabhaim buíochas le, tugaim aitheantas do agus déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle ar a ceapachán úr. Chuir sí ionadh mór orm inné. Tá caidreamh maith agus dearfach againn thar na blianta agus muid ag obair ar son na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta, na hoidhreachta, agus an chultúir. Táim cinnte go mbeidh sí iontach féaráilte, mar a deir daoine san iarthuaisceart, i dTír Chonaill, agus í sa Chathaoir. Chomh maith leis sin, tugaim aitheantas do agus déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit úr, …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chathaoirleach agus leis na Teachtaí uilig as an seans labhairt leo arís inniu ar chúrsaí oideachais agus na dúshláin atá ann ina leith. I take this opportunity to provide an update on the planned summer provision and the preparatory work towards reopening our schools. When I was last in the House I advised that I would bring a report on both subjects to Cabinet on 12 June. I will now update Deputies on the position since I brought that report to Cabinet. I have previously stated that it wa…

I thank the Deputy for his contribution. One of the obvious gaps was in relation to special needs, so there was regression. That is anecdotal and measured through contact and interaction between our inspectorate and schools in terms of where the gaps were. One clear message right across the sector, whether tertiary, post-primary or primary, is that computers cannot replace teachers. Computers and digital technology can enable processes but they will never replace teachers. One of the big gaps identified is to ensur…

That is a very good question and I thank the Deputy for raising it. One thing that we did not have on our side, and I will probably be accused of not getting guidelines in quickly enough, was that schools were allowed to open as recently as last Friday week. We have been working on this for two weeks. We are working continually on the school transport issue with a focus on August and September. The solution that we have come up with for the interim is that we will give a grant to parents. I acknowledge that will no…