The Deputy's response is again emotion over the facts, which is the typical conduct of populists, and it in many ways proved the veracity of my response. I set down five facts and the Deputy questioned none of them. The way he spoke almost implied that he was talking about a Sinn Féin motion but it was not. It came from People Before Profit and Sinn Féin had little or no role in it but it is trying to take over the issue for political gain. As I mentioned, the vote last week was on a non-binding and unfunded motion…

As I stated, where student nurses are filling in for staff nurses, doing the work of a staff nurse or acting up and filling in, I strongly believe they should be paid for that work-----

-----just as student teachers are paid for substitution duties. We are happy to engage in a grown-up, fact-based and mature way with the unions, as we always have, to come to a resolution on this.

My apologies.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. She made a valid case that must be listened to. The task force report on the deployment and administration of the vaccine is expected to be completed tomorrow and it will go to the Cabinet on Tuesday. Last Tuesday, the Cabinet approved the prioritisation of the vaccine, including which groups will receive it first and last. That was based on advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, and the national immunisation advisory committee. It is base…

On the vaccine task force report, we expect to receive it tomorrow but it has not been decided yet whether it will be published tomorrow. The Taoiseach is in Brussels on other business and it is unlikely that we will be able to convene a Cabinet meeting. We believe the report should be seen and approved by Cabinet so it may be Tuesday before it is published. However, that has not been decided yet. The report does not deal with prioritisation, which is a separate matter that has been decided based on the advice of s…

I spoke to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, about this earlier today and am happy to set out the current position to the House. St. Brigid's hospital is a short-stay unit with 16 beds, including three palliative, two respite and 11 convalescent beds. The HSE-operated activity at the hospital and the design and layout of the building are largely reflective of a small hospital from the time period in which it was built, namely, 1837. In March, admissions were suspended and the …

If there is one thing nobody would mistake Deputy Mattie McGrath for, it is a little person; he can be sure of that. We all recognise his stature. On the questions raised, I am advised by the Minister and the Minister of State that there are currently no residents or patients in the hospital. They are all being catered for elsewhere in higher-quality, more modern accommodation. The staff have been redeployed and there have been no job losses. Following some minor works, seven whole-time equivalent staff members wil…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue on a very appropriate day. I have not seen the survey. I will take a look at it. I have no doubt that its contents are correct. It certainly rings true for me, given my experience, and I am sure it rings true for many in this House. There can be no doubt that Irish Travellers have, for generations, faced a huge degree of disadvantage and discrimination solely by reason and virtue of their birth. They have suffered discrimination in employment and in housing. This is reflect…

I believe we have seen that leadership, namely, the decision made by the last Government, led by Fine Gael, to recognise Traveller ethnicity and identity, greater investment in public health, which the Deputy has acknowledged, more educational opportunities and the decision made by this Government, first to appoint a member of the Travelling community to the Seanad, which we all welcome, and the decision to change the system in respect of the allocation of housing moneys because local authorities have not been deli…

I am glad that an agreement to implement the Irish protocol was reached this week. It is the coming to fruition and the outcome of the agreement we made with the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, three years ago. I said at the time that it was bulletproof, and it turned out to be bullet proof. Some people doubted that at the time but it has now proven to be so. All that was promised, including that there would be no hard border between North and South and that the common travel area between Ireland and Britain woul…

As I mentioned, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, spoke to the Deputy about that this morning. I am advised that it cannot reopen as a district hospital because the infrastructure is too old and inadequate in the modern age, particularly now that the issue of infection control will be so important. However, it will be reopened as a community healthcare facility, improving services in the area, particularly for those with chronic diseases like diabetes.

While I am familiar with all those places, I am not familiar with any of the particular Irish Water projects in them. I will certainly inform the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, that the Deputy raised them in the Chamber today. I will see if he can provide a written response as soon as possible. Next year Irish Water will get a significant increase in its capital budget, giving it more resources to invest. That does not mean that every project that needs to be done can be done next year or the following year, but…

That is totally misleading. I said nothing in my earlier contributions about other European countries. I do not know where he is getting that from.

As the Deputy knows well, the motion he tabled last week was not funded and was non-binding. Had it passed, it would not have been worth a single euro to a single student nurse. The Deputy has spun it in such a way that it created a false impression.

He has to shout me down because he cannot hear the truth.

I very much agree with the Deputy's sentiments. We will do all we can to protect our fishing industry and our fishing communities around the country. As Deputies are aware, negotiations are still under way between the European Union and the United Kingdom. Among the issues still being discussed is the issue of fishing rights from 1 January onwards. We are in a difficult position. The United Kingdom has left the European Union and in doing so it takes its waters with it. Up to now, we have been catching about 35% of…

I know the Minister, Deputy Harris, is working on this issue. He has provided an increase in the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant and a partial rebate of some student fees. Different situations arise in different circumstances. In some cases, the accommodation is owned by the college and in other cases it owned by a company and people have entered into contracts. I know it is an issue the Minister is working on.

The Deputy is right about the major issue with poor customer service from telecommunications companies, which has been highlighted by all Deputies. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and I met the CEO of Eir to discuss this matter a few weeks ago. ComReg and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission need more powers to levy administrative fines. I will be preparing that legislation with the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and will bring it to Cabinet before Christmas. We will ask the House to have it enacted…

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. As I understand it, individual and one-to-one training is allowed indoors, but not groups or classes. I will, however, get that double-checked with the Department of the Taoiseach and confirm it with the Deputies as soon as possible.