I thank the Minister. I am not sure, but are the victims being seen as a priority group?

It is important that they be seen as a priority group because they are largely invisible. My next question is one the Minister, Regina Doherty, has already dealt with here today, namely, self-employed people over 66 years of age whose business was shutdown who are not entitled to the PUP but who can access the temporary wage subsidy scheme. However, a sole trader or the self-employed can access neither payment. The Minister did say that those people can access the supplementary welfare scheme. My question is if the…

I am sharing time with Deputy Pringle. If the Ceann Comhairle and the Minister might indulge me for 30 seconds, I would like to mention that today is World Bee Day. The connection to education is that many primary schools have excellent projects on the importance of bees to our ecosystem. In that context, I want to mention the late Philip McCabe. He was a neighbouring county man of the Minister's and died a year and a half ago. Philip was president of Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers Associatio…

I accept that but there have been rumblings around the fact that it was to be the last TU to be completed and was bottom of the list again. I do not want anything to interfere with its progress. The Minister has answered me. As I have 30 seconds remaining I have a question on the calculated grades, to which the Minister can respond in writing. I am aware the Minister is setting the criteria. I have listened to every word the Minister has said in this debate from my office so I will not ask that question again. I ha…

That is why I clarified.

I express my sympathy to the family and friends of those we have lost from Covid-19. I spoke to the Taoiseach last week about face masks. Yesterday, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport said it was likely that facial coverings would be encouraged from next week on public transport, etc. We need certainty on this for three reasons. First, we have to plan. Many face masks can be homemade and various groups are making them voluntarily, to avoid a spike in costs and shortages, we need to give certainty to peop…

So good they named it twice. According to an extensive IBEC survey, many businesses are running out of cash and yet the take-up of some of the liquidity measures announced by the Minister's Department is low. Why is that happening? One of the reasons is that many companies do not want to add to their increasing levels of debt. I have spoken about this previously in terms of their utility bills, rent and insurance. We also have to remember that an end to lockdown is not the start of normal trading. Many businesses w…

I am happy to hear that the restart grant can be used specifically to cover costs that have accrued while the business was closed. My second question relates to borrowing, and I have previously spoken about the issue of rates. The Government can borrow at less than 1%, yet we are charging between 4% and 5% over the lifetime of the loan. Why are we so out of kilter with our European partners? What is the reason for this? Is it to protect our banks and their profitability?

Just like in the European Parliament, I have one minute.

First, I commend the Minister on his work with UL and ask him please to keep up the pressure. Second, I am delighted to hear about July provision because it is an absolute lifeline. The Minister should contact parents about that as soon as he can. Not all parents want it, but many do. I have just one question. When schools go back in September, space will be an issue. Has the Minister any plans about renting suitable local space? Organisations such as community groups, voluntary groups or language schools might hav…

I would like to ask three questions, the first of which relates to the wearing of face masks as a containment strategy for Covid-19. The science and the evidence is clear. There are issues around how we wear them, but not whether or not we wear them. There are concerns around supply and cost, but homemade masks require a needle, thread, a piece of material and, for some of us, a little tuition from YouTube. A group of volunteers from Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal, known as North West Sews Masks and Gowns, h…

I thank the Tánaiste for his work on Brexit to date. Unlike most other Deputies, I could observe Brexit from a Brussels perspective. As an Irish MEP I considered, like others, that we were well-represented. Of course, things have moved on. In recent times, Brexit has somewhat disappeared from the radar because of Covid-19. In a way, it is like the coronavirus in that it is still lurking in the background, but hiding in plain sight, as it were. Now that Boris Johnson is back in Downing Street, we can have some hope …

I have four questions for the Tánaiste. The first is about the level playing field. Take the example of the dairy sector and the processing on both sides of the Border, which works very efficiently because of the different timetables of production. We rely on the highest European standards to maintain our exports of baby milk formula and so forth to many countries. If there is any slippage there, how does the Tánaiste propose to deal with it? Is there a crisis plan in place? Without those high standards, some of ou…

As many Deputies have said, tourism and food production are the lifeblood of many rural and regional economies in terms of jobs and generating income. I support the call of many Deputies here today for the establishment of a task force to deal with the myriad issues that will have to be managed as we begin to reopen our tourism industry. As a prelude to that, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport needs to meet all of the main players, from the Irish Hotels Federation to the aviation sector, the tour operat…

Unlike many Deputies, I have not had the privilege to work with the Minister in this House but I have from a distance observed her progressive work and that of her officials in the area of childcare. I wish her well in the next phase. I have three brief questions. Covid-19 has upturned everything. From my conversations with providers and workers in the sector, I realise that many of them feel right now that they are in a kind of limbo. Let me explain. I refer to the email that arrived on Monday asking staff to volu…

Each day as we gather in the Dáil, the numbers of those who have died as a result of Covid-19 increase. It is really important that we remember those people and sympathise with their families, all of whom are grieving in isolation. It is also important that each time we recognise the great efforts made by those in the healthcare sector. While we have made real progress at individual and Government level in containing Covid-19, there is a number of unresolved issues in the healthcare system. First, we hear that nurs…

If the Minister is going to mention a distillery in Carrickmacross that is making hand sanitiser, I am going to mention one in Drumshanbo that is doing the same. I thank the Minister for the actions she has taken so far. She has said many times that we must offer the right support at the right time and in the right place. I want to ask about right now. As the Minister knows, many businesses are facing a mounting wall of debt from rent, rates and utility bills. Those businesses need to pay those bills now. Many do n…

I send my condolences to those who have lost loved ones at this especially sad time. Death when it comes is always too soon, but in the current circumstances it is especially difficult for many of those who die in isolation and for their families, many of whom watch from a distance. Each of those statistics represents a life that is lived, ended prematurely and a family bereaved. We can never forget that. We can breathe a sigh a relief that for now at least, the curve is flattening. That curve represents all of tho…

Earlier, I spoke about the good work undertaken by front-line healthcare staff in our acute hospitals, the HSE and the Department, by the Minister, and by all of the other front-line workers. I recognise this work. Nonetheless, as many Deputies have said, there is a sector that is experiencing a major crisis, which is our nursing homes and congregated settings. I emphasise that I am very concerned that none of us in the House wants to raise the fears of those in nursing homes or their families, but if there is a pl…

I think the doctor said a joined-up plan.