I support the amendment. All of us have stories about contacts made by families of loved ones who are living abroad and have given notice in order to come home. They have booked tickets and have missed flights or have had flights cancelled and everything else. They want to come home to play a constructive part in this warlike situation. While all of us want to have proper standards, we cannot have a bureaucratic system which requires proof of degrees from universities which have closed. We have to have goodwill and…

This is just grandstanding.

This is of paramount importance to SMEs, sole traders and business people because they must have some kind of certainty. We all understand the predicament the Minister is in but we need a review mechanism and some certainty. Could the Minister clarify matters in his remarks? People are worried and we are getting lots of phone calls because they do not know where they stand and do not know the impact it will have on their finances. We will need to kick start the economy and these are the people we hope will survive,…

I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for convening the House today. I thank the staff and members of the Business Committee. I also thank the Minister for Health who is present and the Tánaiste. I thank the Taoiseach for the briefings given to us in recent weeks. We are in uncharted waters and the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Bill 2020 tries to reflect some of that. Where would we be only for our volunteers and the magnificent people in the front line of our h…

As I said earlier on Second Stage, I am also concerned about employers who want to have a good relationship and solidarity with their employees. They may be unable to pay the €203 which can be reclaimed after six weeks but would like to pay €100, €50 or whatever they can afford in an effort to keep a floor on the amount of money going into a household. They are now very confused about this. I do not know what the position is but they definitely could not make those payments today. They would be prohibitively expens…

I am also concerned. Goodness knows that the vast majority of publicans, especially in rural Ireland, have been under pressure for the past number of years. We know that 99% of those publicans do an excellent job and I want to support them and ensure that they have a business to go back to. Those publicans need all the support they can get. However, where pubs are open, and lock-ins have been reported, will the gardaí or appointed medical officers or health personnel have powers to close those pubs? Is the Minister…

I am speaking on behalf of the Rural Independent Group. We had a discussion on this matter this morning. As the Ceann Comhairle said, we need a response and a vehicle to be able to respond. That vehicle is here. It is about time we got on with it and formed a Government, without having a period of flux without any real Government. We have a Government but its members are only operating in an acting capacity. We need to focus minds because this is a serious issue.

Give the Deputy a trial run.

Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá ar an rud sin. After attending the previous European Council meeting in December, the Taoiseach stated in the House that he had set out Ireland's position on long-established, well-functioning and successful policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and had made clear that those policies needed to continue to be properly funded. At the European Council meeting in February, he clearly outlined that Ireland was willing to contribute more to the budget over the next seven ye…

On the plains of Kildare.

It is contagious.

I am glad to see the Ceann Comhairle is in great form this evening. He is very lenient. I will begin by complimenting our medical staff and all those research specialists who are working tirelessly to meet the challenges that are being presented by the coronavirus, Covid-19. Containment remains the top priority for all countries. The situation is serious and very worrying. According to the World Health Organization, management of Covid-19 globally is not a one-size-fits-all approach and must be tailored to the tran…

Unanimously. Hear, hear.

On my own behalf and on behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I warmly congratulate the Ceann Comhairle today. I thank him and his team and staff for the courteous way they dealt with us all in the previous Dáil. I also wish Mary Clare and their family the very best too. I extend commiserations to Deputy Naughten on entering the race and not being successful but he made it all the more interesting. The suggestions he made are very valid and relevant. I thank the ushers, the tellers and all the staff for counting t…

It did not always work but it worked most times, thankfully. We hope and pray, and wish him well in this new Dáil. I quipped during the applause that if it was as easy to elect a Taoiseach, we would have no problem and the country would be in safe hands by tonight. It will not be as simple as that. It is testament to the respect that the Ceann Comhairle held in this House, at home in Kildare, among his supporters and everybody else. I wish him the very best and offer our co-operation to him in his role on different…

I am delighted to be able to say a few words in the Dáil this evening. I sympathise with the people who lost their seats and welcome the new Deputies and their families here today. I sympathise in particular with the former Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Pat The Cope Gallagher. I thank the staff and ushers who have dealt with the large crowds here today. New Members, their families and supporters are enthusiastic and, obviously, not everybody could be accommodated. The Rural Independent Group is willing, ready and able to …