I thank the Deputy. This is an important issue. Unfortunately, I do not have information on it to hand, but I will ask the Minister for Defence to get back to the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy for sharing Pete's story in the Chamber. I am glad he has survived Covid but, obviously, very sorry to hear he is still experiencing the long-term effects of it. We are still learning about this new virus and this new post-viral syndrome and we have a great deal still to learn about diagnosing and treating it. I do not have the details of the clinic in Tallaght hospital the Deputy mentions. There will be a meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee on health this afternoon, so I will ensure the matter i…

I cannot give the Deputy a date, unfortunately, but I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, to contact him about that. I was in Bantry the summer before last, just after the floods, and saw some of the businesses that had been damaged at that time. My Department has a scheme that can help businesses that are not insurable or that cannot get insurance with the cost of rebuilding. I am not sure if that is the case for any of the businesses in Bantry at the moment, but that scheme is available if they need…

I wish to express my regrets and to apologise on behalf of the Government and the HSE for the inconvenience faced this morning by people who queued for a third dose and were not able to get it. In the round, the third dose programme is going very well. More than 1 million people in Ireland have received their third dose. I think we are very close to the top of the league table in the European Union for third doses. We are in about fourth place out of 27 countries, but I know that if you are left standing in the col…

I will double-check that because it is very important that all the pharmacies in Dublin 12 and Dublin 8 - and those in Dublin 15 and Dublin 7 - are given the possibility to participate.

This is not being delayed - not deliberately, anyway - but it has been going on far too long. I think that when I was Minister for Health, in 2014 or 2015, we published the broad outline as to what the Bill would look like, and that is five or six years ago. I know that a great deal of work has been done in the Department of Health since then with the assistance of the Department of Justice. We are very keen that this should be the Government that legislates for this area, where there are too many lacunae at the mo…

I am not sure why that funding application was refused but I will inform the line Minister that the Deputy raised the matter in the Chamber and ask that he be provided with a comprehensive response.

I commend the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, and his team on getting the pilot done. We have been too slow to adopt antigen testing in Ireland but, in fairness to the third level sector, it was one of the sectors that led on this. The Minister ensured that happened, and €9 million has been provided for free antigen tests in the public third level institutions. I do not see why that could not be extended to the private ones, so I will certainly take that u…

My understanding is that the new mica scheme, which will require legislation in this House, will operate on a national basis. Therefore, if there are homes in Clare, Limerick and other counties that are affected by mica, they would be included. It will not be just for Mayo and Donegal. Again, this is really a matter for the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, so I will let him know that the Deputy raised it and she might want to come back with more detail.

I suppose they would probably argue that they already make that contribution through the bank levy, which applies to banks that in some cases were not bailed out by the State, and one that has already repaid all of the money given to them. The levy was brought in for that purpose. Some of the institutions would argue that they are now paying for it through that levy. I am not sure I agree with that argument but that is the argument they would make. However, it is very much the view of the Government and the Ministe…

The MEP in question is absolutely entitled to his own opinion and to write whatever letters he sees fit, but I can confirm that it is not Government policy - far from it. The Government is encouraging banks to lend money to young farmers. In fact, my Department runs schemes that help to guarantee those loans. It is Government policy that banks should lend to young farmers. We want to encourage young people into agriculture and food production. We want them to invest in expanding and modernising their farms. Indeed,…

There are no plans to defer the end-of-term exams. It is encouraging that the incidence of the virus among the 18 to 24 age group is now falling, albeit slightly. The 50% indoor capacity restriction does not apply to exam halls. One thing we have done is to introduce free antigen testing in third level colleges. That can be very beneficial for students who can take an antigen test before they engage in social activities and also before taking exams.

As the Deputy mentioned, the Minister for Rural and Community Development announced this morning the first phase of funding for the development of the first town centre first plans. There will be €2.6 million in funding for 26 town in 26 counties. The Deputy will be pleased that Portlaw in County Waterford has been included in the first phase of this. I share the Deputy's thanks to, and respect for, the community enhancement committee for doing the great work on the ground to make that possible. I am sure that the …

The national broadband plan is behind schedule, but it will catch up. When the plan is complete in a few years' time, nobody will doubt that this was a good investment. This is the biggest investment in the history of rural Ireland, linking up half a million homes, farms and businesses-----

-----to high-speed broadband. It was opposed by the Deputy's party. I hope people remember that when the next election comes-----

-----and they have the broadband in their homes. I do not have any information on the commercial aspects of National Broadband Ireland.

I do not know if the criteria can be published, but if they can, I am sure we will publish them.

That is certainly not acceptable. If, with the permission of the family, the Deputy wants to pass on the details of the case to my office, I will follow up on it and see if there is anything that we can do. It may be that there is a shortage of consultant paediatric urologists. It is a lesser known fact in Ireland, but there are 40% more consultants in Ireland and 40% more doctors in our public health service than there were ten years ago. However, notwithstanding that, in some specialties we are finding real diffi…

I thank the Deputy. We are going to have to do that, and we will do it. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and I co-chair the hospitality forum. We are going to have to have more discussions about this in the new year. What we have done to help the sector through this difficult period and the new restrictions is that the commercial rates holiday will be extended until the end of the first quarter of next year, if not for longer. The employment wage subsidy scheme will be restored to the higher level of payment.…

I thank the Deputy. I had the pleasure of spending some of my summer holidays last year in Sligo. I climbed Knocknarea and saw Queen Maeve's grave. I am familiar with the wider passage tomb complex in County Sligo. I strongly support the bid to include it as a world heritage site. I am not familiar with the particular site the Deputy mentioned, to be frank. I cannot really answer the question she posed on behalf of the Ministers of State, Deputies O'Donovan and Noonan. I will let them know the Deputy raised the mat…