I was involved in the country's response to Covid from day 1. I was at all the meetings where the big decisions were made and I can assure everyone in this House that our overriding concern always was to reduce the number of people who got infected and to minimise the number of deaths in all settings, whether in the community, in care homes or in hospitals. We know now from the data on excess deaths provided by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, that we overestimated significantly the number of exc…

As I said to the Deputy earlier, I have not seen the minutes and I am not a spokesperson for Brian Hayes. I related to the Deputy my recollection of the meeting and I related to him what I think is the most important thing here, namely, that the banks should not think that they can in any way make an extra profit or get some type of bonus or premium out of the fact that some people are getting a payment break or loan break on their mortgage. That is the key point in all of this. The banks are claiming that by exten…

This is a very important issue for those whose pay and terms and conditions are governed by sectoral employment orders, including electrical contractors, construction workers, some engineers and contract cleaners. I have considered the matter with the Minister of State, Deputy English, and sought the advice of the Attorney General. I can confirm to the House that it is our intention to appeal the judgment to the Supreme Court. We have until 14 July to make that appeal and will be making it. I wish to send a clear m…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know she will acknowledge that this is a new Government and we are all still finding our feet. The Government, working with the Business Committee and the relevant legislative committee, should be able to clarify in the coming weeks which Bills will be brought forward. The Bill to which she referred will form part of that consideration.

As I understand it, the pay and conditions of existing workers in these sectors cannot be diminished unilaterally by their employers. As such, the orders stand until such time as the Supreme Court hears the appeal and adjudicates on them. Obviously, labour rights are enforced in the normal way and should be enforced fully. As is often the case when the Government is appealing a decision of the High Court, work will be taking place in the background on a plan B, as the Deputy described it. However, that can never be…

I had the privilege of visiting Age Action a few months ago, in the early phase of the pandemic, to see the work it does and to thank its staff personally for their work. I think State funding was provided to the fund, but I will have to double-check that. If my recollection is correct, State funding was provided. The Government can certainly give consideration to whether additional funding could be provided. I would have to discuss the matter with the Minister responsible.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley, and her team are working on this issue. We wish to ensure that all children return to school in August and that they have a means of getting there, which of course involves the provision of school transport. There will be real difficulties because capacity on school transport may be considerably reduced compared with previous years. The Minister and her team have a few weeks to get this right. They are working on it.

I think the Deputy indulged in some selective history-making there. The VAT rate on tourism and hospitality was 13.5% for a very long time and was reduced to 9% by a Fine Gael-led Government on a temporary basis to get the tourism and hospitality sector going again. In the year in which tourism reached a record high, it reverted to the previous rate of 13.5%. Those are the facts. We are working on the July stimulus package and considering all matters. We know that the tourism and hospitality sector, including hotel…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The contract for the national broadband plan was signed last year. I was in a rural part of west Wicklow to sign it. I remember my Secretary General saying to me at the time that I had got a lot of abuse about it and there had been a lot of controversy, but I would never regret signing the contract. This national broadband plan will bring high-speed broadband to more than 1 million people in 500,000 premises across rural Ireland, including every home, farm and business. It will …

I thank the Deputy. Primary legislation is required to change those income limits upwards for people over 70 and also to provide for the expansion of free general practitioner care to children up to the age of 12. That legislation has been approved by Cabinet. It is intended to take it through the Dáil and Seanad before the recess, to get it done this month. That will allow the Minister for Health to bring those changes related to people over 70 into effect later in the year. It is more complicated for children and…

I thank the Deputy. I agree that this is a problem in our shared constituency and indeed in other parts of the country. We are working on the legislative schedule. It will not be possible to bring in legislation on that matter in July but we are working towards the possibility of having that legislation for the autumn session.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, formerly the Competition Authority, falls under my Department. I am still finding my way around the brief in the Department so the Deputy will forgive me if I am incorrect in saying that I think there was a competition investigation carried out. Perhaps it was years ago and it did not have adverse findings. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission acts on complaints, which have to be backed up by evidence, as is the case for most things. I will check int…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I will ask the Minister for Health to provide him with an accurate update about the progress of the projects to expand capacity in University Hospital Limerick in correspondence.

I guess that report is now lying on the desk of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I am sure he will want to bring it to Government and make it public as soon as is feasible. I will get my office to check in with his after this.

The role of the banking sector, credit unions and other non-bank lenders in our economy and society is to provide credit in the form of mortgages to people who want to buy a home, credit to businesses, and loans to people who need them. However, they also need to be prudent. Banks and lenders need to know the money will be repaid or at least in almost all cases the money is repaid. Banks and other lenders need to be prudent in that regard because if they make loans that are not repaid, there are serious consequence…

I am aware of the mudslide that occurred in Leitrim and the flooding that occurred in Wexford a few weeks ago. My sympathies go out to the communities and the people who were affected. I want them to know that Government is here to help them through the various schemes we offer, particularly through the Red Cross. Flood works are now a matter for the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan. I will ask him to correspond with the Deputy on those flood works. I will let the Minister of State know that the Deputy raised it…

The Deputy has raised a very relevant question. Many people's financial circumstances are dramatically different now from what they were last year. People who previously would not have qualified for medical cards now will. People who do not qualify for SUSI grants now probably should. Obviously budgets are limited, notwithstanding the extent of borrowing that is happening. However, it is a matter for the Minister for Education and Skills, and I will let her know that the Deputy raised it here today. We will see if …

I am aware of the issue. I am not aware of the specific report although I did see the news from the UK yesterday. It is my view that Irish women who had an operation involving this mesh and experienced very severe pain and life-changing difficulties as a result should certainly be treated no less favourably in Ireland than they are being treated across the water in Britain. I am sure the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, will give urgent attention to the matter.

I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to bring forward the Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Bill 2020. This is the first Bill introduced into this House by the new Government. It is important legislation and forms part of the Government's efforts to help our smaller enterprises meet the enormous challenge presented by Covid-19. The purpose of the Bill is to make certain amendments to the Microenterprise Loan Fund Act 2012, as amended, and the European Investment Fund Agreement Act 201…