The Deputy is correct that a pay rise has been offered, but this is not just about pay. It is about other issues as well and school secretaries and caretakers understandably want their employment terms and conditions to be regularised. They want to be public sector employees, like teachers and other secretaries in the public service, working in local authorities or Civil Service departments. However, we need to work out what equality means. Secretaries and clerical officers working in Departments and local authorit…

I am very definitely Tánaiste. I will show the Deputy my payslip.

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this important question. I know that the issue of local authority deficits is a matter of concern around the country. It is coming up from Deputies from all constituencies. I understand from Deputy Griffin that the financial gap for Kerry County Council is estimated at about €5 million or €6 million for 2020, potentially rising to €13 million for 2021. That would be a grave situation indeed. The Government understands that local authority income is down for many different reason…

I assure the Deputy that the Government will certainly not tell people in rural Ireland that they cannot burn their own turf or timber in their own fire. That will not happen. That would be totally disproportionate and unnecessary, given the fact that air quality is very high in rural Ireland. It is a different issue in towns and cities where we have a problem with air quality and that is impacting on people's health, especially those who have chronic conditions such as asthma and COPD, and therefore action needs t…

As the Deputy knows, section 39 workers are a diverse group. They are not public servants and they are not Government employees but the work that they do is extraordinarily valuable. Some are employees of companies, some are employees of NGOs and some are employees of charities. These companies, NGOs and charities receive grant funding from the Government to fund partially or fully their operations but they are not employees of Government and they are not public servants, which is what makes this a complicated issu…

I am afraid I do not have information to hand on that matter but I appreciate that it is important and a matter of concern to constituents. I will let the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, know that Deputy Smith raised it and ask him to reply directly.

The Ceann Comhairle is at it too. It is October now.

I thought that would end around September but it is still happening. I thank Deputy Gannon for raising the matter, which I understand is a difficulty. The solution is probably some form of blended learning. If pupils cannot be in the classroom because they are sick, are isolating or restricting movements or they live in a household with a vulnerable person, the ideal scenario would be some sort of mechanism by which they could use Zoom to participate in the class and at least get some education. It is a good sugges…

I really feel for taxi drivers, who have an incurred an enormous hit to their incomes. They are essential people and we want them to be there when we get through this pandemic. We want the industry and the individuals working in it to survive. I am not aware of the particular details as to what engagement has taken place between the Government and the group but if I can be of any assistance in meeting them, I am happy to do that and hear out their suggestions. I cannot promise to deliver all of them but I would be …

I am afraid I cannot but I certainly will ask the Minister for Health if he can answer any questions the Deputy has in this regard. Nobody wants to see women or any patients having to go through the courts to receive compensation where negligence has occurred but we have a real difficulty as sometimes the facts are disputed. Where facts are disputed, there must be some mechanism by which both sides can be heard, experts can be interviewed and a decision can be made. At present, that happens in the courts but as the…

As a result of the pandemic this year, there will be a big increase in the number of people who will want a vaccination against flu. As the Deputy knows, either for the first time or the first time in a very long time, children between ages two and 12 will get a vaccination against the flu and there will be a really good uptake this year. I found it quite alarming that in previous years, less than 50% of healthcare workers, for example, got vaccinated. I am confident that the lessons from the pandemic will result i…

It is really important that the aviation industry must survive this pandemic. I mean our airports, airlines and the related sectors, including aircraft maintenance and repair organisations. Ten or 12 years ago, during the previous recession, the construction industry collapsed and this was allowed because it was, in part, blamed for the crisis. We paid a very heavy price for that because two, three or four years later, when we needed a construction sector to build houses and infrastructure, it was not there. I am d…

It is to be decided by the Minister for Transport.

I thank the Deputy. I hear what he is saying. Students should not have to pay for accommodation they cannot use, or in some cases have been told not to use. The Deputy will realise that in some cases, such accommodation is owned by institutes of technology and universities, while in other cases it is not and there is, therefore, a different relationship between the student and the accommodation provider. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Harris, about this to see if we can arrive at a solution.

Where drug and alcohol task forces work, community representation and involvement makes all the difference. That factor means a task force is not composed of people coming from outside the area and applying a top-down approach. The Deputy is spot on in that regard. I am not across this area in detail anymore but I will raise the Deputy's query with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan. Anything to do with funding is a budgetary matter.

I thank the Deputy. I had not expected that question. This issue is debated from time to time. As the Deputy knows, the Minister with responsibility for time is the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy McEntee. I will let her know the Deputy has made this suggestion. There are arguments on both sides of this, and believe it or not there is a European directive on it. We would have to bear in mind what would happen in Northern Ireland. I would not like us to be in a different time zone to the Six Counties of No…

I thank the Deputies. I have to confess that I was not aware an issue around the primary medical certificate had arisen in the courts. That is a matter of real concern. I will check that out for myself and will speak to the Minister for Finance about it. As Deputy Ó Cuív has rightly said, that mobility grant scheme has been closed to new entrants for seven or eight years, a very long time. In the last Government, the Minister of State with responsibility for disability issues, Finian McGrath, did a huge amount of w…

I thank the Deputy. I very much regret any inconvenience caused to people from Wicklow, Meath or Kildare who are essential workers, perhaps in hospitals, in Dublin. As the Deputy is aware, Garda operations are a matter for the Garda Commissioner. We do not get too involved and that is probably for the best. However, I certainly will make sure this is part of the discussion in consultations between the Government and the Garda Commissioner.

One of the silver linings to the very dark cloud which is this pandemic is that it is causing us to reimagine our cities and city centres and, to a certain extent, to reclaim the streets for cycling, pedestrians and things such as outdoor dining, which the Deputy mentioned, notwithstanding the often inclement weather. In general, the Government leaves these matters to local authorities. It is appropriate for it to do so. The people who know Cork best are those on Cork City Council. The same principle applies in Dub…

The short answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". Covid pandemic or no Covid pandemic, we should increase our critical care bed capacity to in the region of 400 or 500 beds. We should be doing that anyway. We have made progress in recent years, but it has not been enough. Efforts in that regard need to continue. As the Deputy appreciates, it is not as simple as just providing a bed. An ICU bed is quite a thing and must be very heavily staffed. It is often the case that staff are not available. That is not just th…