I have five short questions about the programme for Government in respect of education. The programme seeks to make further progress-----

Okay. The programme for Government makes a commitment to examine the pupil-teacher ratio. Ireland has one of the highest ratios in the OECD, with 20% of our pupils in classes of more than 30 pupils. Will the Taoiseach give a commitment to reduce further the pupil-teacher ratio as the Government continues over this year and in the coming years?

Since Britain first announced its intention to break away from the European Union, it has generally been acknowledged by all onlookers that the fortunes of the Republic of Ireland would suffer most from this event. Not alone do we share social, cultural, economic and political ties with the UK, we also share a common Border which, with the advent of the Good Friday Agreement, has become a well-travelled route of commerce on the island of Ireland with over 33,000 movements daily. A significant amount of this transpo…

Since the arrival of Covid into our country a clear and present danger has existed not just to the lives of our elderly and vulnerable, but also to the social and economic cohesion of our State. Covid-19 is largely a killer of the elderly and those with underlying medical vulnerabilities. Thankfully our knowledge of dealing with and treating this illness has advanced greatly over the past six months. Despite its dangers, Covid must not be allowed to sideline the many other significant healthcare areas in which pati…

The south east is no stranger to the issues of forestry. It is a very important business sector for the south east. We have companies such as Medite in Clonmel and SmartPly in Waterford which provide MDF and cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternatives to tropical plywoods for use in structural and non-structural applications. Those two companies directly employ more than 320 workers and support more than 500 additional jobs indirectly. They also support downstream processes in Cork and Carlow, particularl…

Our aviation sector is in crisis. I ask the Minister to update the House on the trials of proposed pre-flight airport testing and airport protocols before entry into Ireland, the stage of the process and the position regarding the overall situation in relation to air travel into and out of the country.

I thank the Minister of State. It is abundantly clear that the aviation sector is in crisis. As has been documented internationally, we have imposed tighter strictures on the level of activity in the sector. We have Brexit coming down the tracks and people will need access to air travel in order to create new connections and to open new markets. I am not sure how widely we have been looking at testing rather than waiting for the European Union to come up with possible opportunities. I raised in the Special Committe…

I reiterate the importance of the aviation sector to Ireland. As the Minister of State is probably aware, Ireland is the world's largest aircraft leasing centre. In addition, particularly in respect of Ryanair, there is the question regarding services into Cork, Shannon and Knock. Will the Minister of State give an update on Waterford Airport's application for funding under the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport? It was to get a new runway. We hope that having got past Covid strictures, we can get services …

The programme for Government outlines that the Government wishes to establish a national medicines agency to set a fair price for drug reimbursement. I can tell the Minister that that process is not working. I am aware of applications for drug reimbursement which would save the State millions but which are not being approved because headline discounts of up to 50% are required. No cost-benefit analysis is being conducted with regard to the possible future impact on patients. I ask the Government to give considerati…

Can we expedite it?

In terms of looking after patients, both general medical and Covid-related, we need to look at the best configurations for their care. I would like to speak briefly about University Hospital Waterford, which is a model 4 hospital in the south east. It provides medical services and acute care services to a population of 520,000 to 615,000, depending on which report one reads. It certainly is in excess of 500,000. The hospital is the regional cardiac care centre and the regional cancer centre for the south east. It p…

I thank the Taoiseach. I ask that the Government and the Taoiseach's own office move the Office of Government Procurement review. We have had a specification and a build tender capable on this project since January of this year and we are now expected to wait another four months while we approve an approval for a total spend of €6 million, while every week we are deferring diagnostic angiograms and risking patients up and down the roads. It is unacceptable and I ask the Taoiseach to look at it. Will the Taoiseach a…

The point I was making was purely on a review of the funding for the service and the activity. It was nothing more than that.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. As a Deputy who sits on the Covid-19 committee I am quite happy to meet NPHET, the Department and the officials next week. We will have a far better chance then to see where the trajectory of this disease is going and we will get the opportunity to ask those questions. Furthermore, if it is not working, we will get the chance to hear the follow-up plan which we may not get to hear otherwise.

Before I start, I wish to thank the member of staff who chased me down the corridor this morning to return money that had fallen out of my pocket. I am sure they thought they could do with it far more than me but I would like to acknowledge their honesty and integrity. Will the Minister of State consider introducing a code of standardisation of road and pathway signage to be used by community and resident groups in view of the many different signs that are appearing across our country?

I thank the Minister of State. The tenor of the question was wider than that remit. What I was driving at was more about re-imagining rural Ireland and trying to look at more homogenous signage that would describe the character and the charm of our rural places. In terms of community development, particularly in terms of the town renewal schemes and so on, where the Department is giving out money, it would be great if the Department was advocating that more traditional signage would be used. We could drive through …

If the Department were to look at specific funding initiatives that would emphasise the idea of using a more rural and more traditional type of signage to give character and to keep the little bit of character we have left in our rural areas, and to try and build on that, it would be a very good initiative.

Will the Department consider setting up rural information pods and lectures in the community to facilitate adult learning within the rural environment on issues such as job seeking, heritage, the environment, sustainability and onward education?

In my constituency, the Dunhill Multi-Education Centre and Dunhill Community Alert invite people in to speak on issues. Recently, John Lonergan very kindly came and spoke about the issues of the Prison Service and so on. These people have to travel at their own expense. There is no funding. We are not looking for funding for that but realistically, I am talking about community centres being able to provide onward learning initiatives, particularly to the rural adult population who find it difficult to access servic…

I commend the men's sheds organisation, part of which was started in Waterford. A new men's shed is being started in Dunmore East for the winter. There is a particular problem down there as there have been many suicides over recent years. These are very notable community organisations and I would appreciate any help the Department can give them in the future. Perhaps I can liaise with the Minister about that at some point.