I thank the Minister.

I want to bring up the issue of bed capacity in University Hospital Limerick, UHL, in my constituency. As the Minister is aware, a 60-bed block there has been under construction since the start of the year. In addition to that, as part of a Covid response, another 48 beds have been earmarked for UHL which brings that up to 98 beds in total. Of the 48 additional beds, 14 are due to be completed and opened in June with 24 beds opened in July. In addition, another 24 beds are to be provided in Croom for completion in …

I am glad it is being accompanied by a further 62 beds, including 48 at UHL.

I am talking about medical, nursing and ancillary staff.

Will the resources be made available?

I am sharing time with five colleagues, Deputy Feighan first. I am sharing time with Deputy-----

The European recovery fund proposed by Germany and France is effectively a so-called coronabond taken up by the European Commission with grants coming to individual states. Where does the Minister anticipate that will go? Can it be expanded? When does the Minister think it will come into play? Second, by way of observation, women on maternity leave remain employees of the company. Their holiday entitlements continued to accrue in the months of January and February. I would have thought there was an avenue through t…

I will accept an apology any day from Deputy Connolly. I want to bring the Minister back to practicalities. I have been meeting parents in Limerick. Ironically, while access to childcare is certainly having a huge impact on front-line workers, for many parents who are not able to work because of Covid-19, their children are at home and so their demand for childcare is not as it would normally be. It will be shortly. There is a roadmap for reopening different sectors. As that happens, parents will require childcare …

We are now one month and a half away from July. We should be looking to see what is the additional space that service providers need and whether we will need to put in place supports to enable them to rent additional space. I am hearing that from providers and across sectors, and reality has to be faced. With due respect to the Minister, saying we will see what happens in July and that we will let it be a kind of pilot is, unfortunately, not good enough. We need to be pre-emptive.

I have been elected to represent people just as much as Sinn Féin Deputies have.

I am sharing time with Deputy Feighan. First, like everyone else, I sympathise with the families of the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters or whoever who have lost their lives through Covid-19. I will take up an issue in Limerick, which I represent. The Minister will be fully aware that we have had a capacity issue over a long time in University Hospital Limerick. Over the past week, the numbers presenting on trolleys are out of line with other areas in the country; on average, there was 28 over the past week. Tod…

The Minister made reference to the restart fund. She is bringing a memo to Cabinet tomorrow. When does she expect the scheme to be announced, when does she anticipate people being able to apply for the scheme and how quickly will rebates be made because businesses, certainly in Limerick and north Tipperary, are asking specifically about how the scheme will operate in practice? The Minister said people can judge based on the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business as to when they can reopen. There is a need for a…

Last Monday, I had a Zoom meeting with the arts community in Limerick. I met ten artists across a range of disciplines. We are very proud of our artist community based in Limerick. We have a world-renowned art college. We have theatres like the Lime Tree and Belltable and the University of Limerick, UL, with a host of companies. They have major concerns about where they stand. The Arts Council and the Theatre Forum are currently producing guidelines on social distancing. I will put it in context. The Belltable thea…

I ask the Minister to address the redirection of funds that would have been allocated to projects that are not taking place due to the pandemic. Alternative ways of using that money to keep artists afloat should be considered.

There will be contributions from four Fine Gael Deputies, so I only have approximately two minutes. I will ask a quick question and request a response from the Minister. I will speak about the small business sector in Limerick and north Tipperary, constituencies which I represent. The Government has put in place measures to ensure businesses in those areas can come through the Covid-19 crisis but the biggest challenge that we face is to get businesses reopened. We must ensure that the liquidity crisis does not beco…

This is a public health crisis but we have to strike a balance. The Taoiseach spoke today of five conditions he will consider in respect of easing restrictions: the progress of the disease, healthcare capacity and resilience, testing and contact tracing capacity, the ability to shield and care for vulnerable groups, and the risk of secondary morbidity and mortality . Where does the Minister see those? He referred to Covid-19 being with us for a long time. How long does he expect that it will be a daily part of peop…

The principle of the scheme is very good. It is like everything else: this is happening at great speed. It is a highly important measure. However, with speed comes a need for time to look through the detail. I am seeking clarification on something that has come up during the day. I agree with Deputy McGrath. Section 26(19) provides that the Revenue Commissioners will publish guidelines. They have published transitional guidelines for the first couple of weeks. Detailed guidelines will be published shortly. It is cr…

It is a worthwhile intervention. I ask that the publication by Revenue tonight be for a transitional phase. That is the phase up to early April. I ask that Revenue publishes the detailed guidelines as quickly as possible and deals with the specific details we have raised tonight. I refer to quantifying how that 25% will be measured and the ability to pay. In many cases, the guidance of accountants and tax practitioners will be followed. The issue that it would be worthwhile to consider concerns a control mechanism.…

It is also important that businesses can come back. We will come out of this, but it must be done in a way that ensures we can get through this particularly difficult phase.