The Government will make this decision at our Cabinet meeting next Tuesday. It will depend on two things. The first is advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, on how we might manage social distancing in pubs and open them safely, which will be difficult to do, but not impossible. Second, it will depend on the epidemiological data on how we are doing with the virus. We do not have those numbers yet but we plan to make a decision on this issue next Tuesday. I hope it will be a positive decision,…

I do not doubt that this is an important issue for north Kildare but I do not have any information on it. If Deputy Cronin would like to raise this issue with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, by means of a parliamentary question or special notice question, I am sure he will respond.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing somebody from the Government to speak. What we have seen for the past hour or two is exactly what has been wrong for too long: very small parties that get very few votes in elections dominating the Chamber, and members of Government parties and other larger parties that get hundreds of thousands of votes not being allowed even to speak, or being expected to wait until the very end until they are allowed to speak. I do not usually intervene on procedural issues such as …

It is not beneath me.

I am embarrassed to be a Member of this Chamber tonight because of the behaviour from some of the parties here. I want people at home to listen to the number of times I am going to be interrupted when I try to say a few words in this Chamber because of the arrogance, nastiness and abusiveness of some of the smaller parties and the far-left parties in this House who try to dominate this Chamber. Anytime anyone from Government stands up, a Minister tries to speak or a backbencher tries to make a point, they shout us …

Day in and day out they bully people in the Chamber because they come from a larger party or a Government party. I want the people at home tonight and the people who will listen to this on the radio tomorrow morning to know that what we have here is a new set of procedures, which will still give the Opposition parties 74% of the speaking time, even though they have less than half the seats. If there is anyone who should be complaining, it is the Government parties. We have more than half of the votes, we have more …

I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this important issue. I know Members from all parties in this House have taken an interest in this important matter. There are hundreds of thousands of parents across the country who are concerned about this and want to know the details and how their children will go back to school at the end of the year. There are more than 1 million children and young people who need to get back to school at the end of August because they have lost three or four months of schooling, which is not…

We have learnt a lot about this virus over recent months, things we did not know back in March when the schools were closed. One thing we have seen from other parts of Europe and across the world is that while nothing is no risk, the risks that arise from opening schools are low. This is why it should be done. Countries that have a higher incidence of the virus than Ireland and suffered worse than us in this pandemic did not close their schools fully. The schools north of the Border, for example, were never closed …

I thank the Deputy. Give my regards to Regina and the kids. It is a long time since I have seen them.

I would say they are at this stage. What are their ages now?

Time flies. Getting back to business, the Whip informs me that the Minister, Deputy Foley, will be in the Dáil next week to answer questions, will answer questions on this matter, and will be happy to do so. In my view, if one looks at this rationally, the shops are open, hotels and restaurants are open, hairdressers and barbers are open. The Dáil, albeit in unusual circumstances, is open and functioning. Many countries in Europe that suffered from Covid-19 worse than us did not close their schools fully at all. Ma…

The Minister will be in the House next week taking oral questions, and I am sure that among those questions will be questions on schools reopening. The Business Committee is giving consideration to an additional slot as well to deal specifically with this issue. What the Minister, Deputy Harris, produced the other day in terms of third level reopening is welcome. It paints a pathway by which colleges, institutes of technology and other further education facilities can reopen in the autumn. We need to appreciate, ho…

I am not sure there is much I can add to my previous replies, other than to say that additional teachers will be required and that space will need to be used differently. For example, spaces such as libraries, general-purpose rooms and gyms may be used in addition to classrooms. Stakeholder engagement is strongly focused on the shape and design of solutions that are both workable and supported by sufficient and appropriately targeted resources. Draft Covid-19 plans for both primary and post-primary schools, with de…

I cannot say for certain whether the Deputy will get those details next week. The Minister for Education and Skills will be here next week and she will be able to answer questions. I am sure she is more up to date than I am on the issue of schools reopening. While we do not know everything about this virus by any means, we have learned a lot in the past few months about it. For example, we have learned that opening schools is on the lower end of the spectrum of risk. NPHET has been clear about that and the science …

I thank Deputy Berry for his question and his ongoing interest in and commitment to matters relating to the Defence Forces. It is true that we have a significant recruitment and retention challenge in our Defence Forces, and have had for five or six years, if not longer. It is something with which we have struggled to deal. Recruitment is not so bad, but retention poses a considerable difficulty. We want a reasonably high turnover in our Defence Forces, but the turnover rate in Ireland is much higher than it is in …

There is a long-standing myth - I will be polite in using the word "myth" - that the Department of Defence hands back millions of euro to the Central Fund every year. I do not know whether it is an error or mischief on the part of those who continue to repeat it, but it is not true. While it is the case that money is reallocated from one part of the Department's Vote to another, that is normal. Anyone who has been in the Oireachtas for long enough or who has run a Department knows that one will often move money fro…

I thank the Deputy. No airline or tour operator can issue travel advice on behalf of the Government - the Government issues travel advice. If anyone is confused about travel advice, he or she should go to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website to find it. It may not be simple, but it is clear. What we are saying to people is that the safest thing is to stay at home and holiday in Ireland this year. However, there is a difference between countries that have a very low level of the virus and those that…

Every country and jurisdiction is taking a different approach. In Northern Ireland where Sinn Féin is in power, the decision has been taken to have a green list of 56 countries, some of which have a much higher incidence of infection than Ireland.

People travelling to and from Northern Ireland from those countries could come south. We need to bear that in mind as a risk.

The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will respond.