I had a chance to speak briefly to the president of the Irish Travel Agents Association, ITAA, on a Zoom call the other day. The Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughten, whose responsibilities cover aviation and international travel will meet ITAA representatives in the next couple of days to explore what specific supports we may be able to put in place for them. Approximately 3,000 people work in travel agents and tour operators throughout the country. We all know these businesses and they are largely locall…

I will certainly take that up in my engagement with the major airlines. The Government advice since the middle of March has been to avoid non-essential travel off the island but I appreciate that there are some people who made bookings long before March and now find themselves in a very difficult position. On the international travel advice, I restate that nobody should engage in non-essential travel off the island and anyone coming in for reasons essential or otherwise should, not quarantine as such, but restrict …

I thank the Deputy. I can understand what a hammer blow this news is for publicans and for people who run pubs, nightclubs and other venues, who had expected and hoped they would be able to open next Monday. I do not think I am the only person in the House who was looking forward to freedom pints next week but, unfortunately, this is not possible. It is not possible for a good reason, which is that the incidence of the virus in Ireland has increased. It is still very low, at roughly 20 cases a day at four per 100,0…

I thank the Deputy. I have no doubt the vast majority of publicans in our country are responsible people who want to open their businesses and I also want their businesses to open. However, I do need to be clear that what we are saying is that pubs and nightclubs will not open any sooner than 10 August. We are not saying they will open on 10 August, we are saying they will open no sooner than 10 August and it will depend on the numbers and how the virus behaves, to use Tony Holohan's term, between now and then. Whe…

I thank the Deputy. The answer to the question is "Yes". If he looks at what we have done so far, I announced a package of approximately €12 billion to respond to the coronavirus. This is leaving aside the health costs. This approximately €12 billion is for supports for business and employees. Not all of this has been drawn down yet but the bulk of it that has been drawn down is the wage subsidy scheme, which subsidises the wages of workers, and the pandemic unemployment payment, which provides a welfare payment to…

I will be doing that next week. My meetings next week include meetings with unions, including the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. I will certainly listen to what they say in that regard. In my previous occupation I did that regularly and will do so in this role as well. I am the Minister with responsibility for enterprise, trade and employment, not just enterprise. I mean that. We can change the dynamic and the philosophy all we like, and I understand what the Deputy means when he speaks about that, but there is on…

I am afraid I do not know. I will have to check with the Minister for Finance or the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Fleming, who is now responsible for insurance. I will do that today and get a further reply for the Deputy.

Again, I will have to check that with the line Minister and I will do that.

The short answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". It may not be specifically referenced in the programme for Government, but the new Government will want to honour the commitments the last Government made to the survivors of the Magdalen laundries. Memorialisation is part of that. What form or shape it will take will have to discussed, especially with the survivors. This issue is one of the responsibilities of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy O'Gorman. He will need a few weeks or so to get on t…

This was discussed by the Cabinet yesterday. The temporary ban on evictions will not end on Monday. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will make an announcement in early course as to what his intentions are in this regard. As the Deputy will appreciate, however, the legal advice on this is very strong and states that the ban can only be temporary and cannot continue forever, for reasons that are well rehearsed. A medium-term solution will be needed as well as a temporary extension of the ban. The Minister is wor…

I cannot confirm that at this point because the decisions to be made on what will and will not be in the July stimulus will not be made until a Cabinet meeting on Monday or Tuesday. We will make any announcements next week. A reduction in the VAT rate is of little use to pubs that cannot open. The best thing we can do for the sector is to get the pubs open. When a business is closed it does not pay any VAT. The best thing we can do to help pubs and other businesses that have not reopened to reopen over the coming w…

I know the difference between a rural pub and a nightclub. I used to have a very good social life and I know about everything in between. Indeed, I have been in the Deputy's family's pub, and a very nice evening we had. However, the assertion that was made is incorrect. We always said from day one that this was a plan that could be accelerated, slowed down or paused, based on public health advice. I understand and feel for people who have painted their pubs in recent days, were gearing up for the reopening, had ord…

-----or, more importantly, about the right behaviours on the part of us as a society in getting the virus back under control. We need to be frank about closing the ports and airports. This virus will go on for many more months, possibly years. It is not feasible to cut ourselves off from the rest of the world, to stop Irish citizens returning home, to stop people visiting their friends and relatives in other countries, to stop necessary-----

They have not, actually.

No, it has not. Hungary has an A list, B list and C list-----

-----and there are different rules for different countries. It is not feasible for us to do that.

I thank the Deputies for raising the important issue of younger people in nursing homes. There are also younger people staying in hospitals for a prolonged period, months or years in some cases, because there is nowhere for them to go other than a nursing home, which is inappropriate. This is an issue we will talk about a good deal in the next couple of months. The Ombudsman is doing a report on the matter as we speak and that is why a specific commitment is included in the programme for Government. I am sorry to h…

This is a matter for the Minister, Deputy Foley, and, representing Kerry, I am sure she is familiar with school transport and the issues around that. It is never an easily-solved problem. We have changed the rules on a few occasions. One rule is changed and a new anomaly or problem is created somewhere else. Then there is the difference between people who are entitled to a school pass and those who are not but receive it on a concessionary basis. It is an issue that I believe will never be fully sorted but if there…

I thank the Deputy. This is very much on the agenda of Government. We want those services to be open as soon as possible. We anticipate they will be open no later than the end of August or September. I know a lot of people want them open right away but there are different circumstances in different centres and different solutions are needed at different times. I hear what the Deputy is saying. I am aware of individual cases as well and I know my colleagues are working hard on this issue.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. There is a very extensive, multibillion euro capital programme which Irish Water is implementing on an ongoing basis. Huge improvements have been made in recent years in terms of water quality, reduction in amounts of unaccounted water, reduction in number of boil notices and so on. However, a huge amount remains to be done because of the level of underinvestment that occurred for a very long time prior to the establishment of Irish Water. This will be a priority for the …