What are they?

Were people made aware that crew on the boat that berthed in Castletownbere had the coronavirus even when it left Spain? Was the harbourmaster made aware of this? Can the Minister answer that?

That is not an answer to the question I asked. Was the harbourmaster made aware of the situation?

I offer my sympathies, like every other Member, to the bereaved and their families. These are extremely difficult times. I have a couple of questions that I will try to fit into the next five minutes. I will focus my questions on the main pillars of our country, namely, the farming, fishing and tourism sectors. The constituency I represent of Cork South-West is totally dependent on those sectors to survive but, for that to happen, the Government will have to dramatically step up its efforts. Farmers have been in cr…

The recent announcement of €4 billion in supports and loans is welcome. They are desperately needed for many businesses in my constituency of Cork South-West, as they are for others throughout the country, but from what I can gather they are dependent on a new Government being put in place. Our country is hugely dependent on tourism. Brilliant initiatives such as the Wild Atlantic Way lie in tatters, and the job losses in this sector are running at more than 200,000. We see today that a large percentage of people f…

I will make a statement and ask questions all at once, if that is okay.

That is fine. Obviously, Brexit is bad news for the island of Ireland. We will all have to protect strongly the sectors of our society most at risk. Agriculture is one sector that faces major challenges with markets in the UK in jeopardy with Brexit. If the survival of Irish farmers is to continue, we need the South American Mercosur trade deal completely off the table for legitimate reasons, for traceability reasons, for environmental reasons and for so many other reasons. Is this trade deal going to be opposed by…

The hardest hit sectors, with Brexit looming, will be the fishing and agriculture industries. With the huge impact Brexit will have on agriculture, Ireland needs to oppose the South American Mercosur trade deal. It will have to come off the table completely. Will our Government oppose the Mercosur trade deal? When Brexit negotiations end, will Irish fishing trawlers have to move away from British waters and what is planned for these fishermen if this is to happen? If European fishing trawlers must leave UK waters, …

The Taoiseach stated last week that we had lessons to learn from Covid-19 regarding the safety of older people in nursing homes. He said we need to look at the policy of helping older people to live at home for longer. However, last year, the only new home help hours given were recycled hours which became available when a person died. No new home help hours were provided. This resulted in many people who were medically fit for discharge and were written up for a home care package remaining in acute hospitals for lo…

The turnover of local authority houses must have been held up due to Covid-19 and the disruption of construction. Has the Minister a timeline for when works can commence on these houses? While everything has slowed down, which is very stressful for those urgently seeking homes, I am delighted that two houses became available in Drimoleague and one in Durrus in west Cork yesterday. It was good news for the applicants. I expect the Minister will not be able to answer my question now, but two new social housing develo…

Our sympathies must go out to the families who have lost their loved ones, and our thoughts and support must go out to them in these shocking times. The support of all, including the State, must also go to our health and front-line workers and the people in the community and voluntary sector who deliver meals on wheels. All this is hugely important to the people in their homes at this time. The postmen and postwomen are working tirelessly. PPE is vital in the fight to prevent people from contracting Covid-19. Healt…

As the Minister knows well, the tourism and hospitality sector has been decimated in the past number of weeks. As I said earlier, the Minister does not have a magic wand to resolve every issue but it is something we have to look into further. This sector is the largest indigenous employer within Ireland and it is currently devastated by business closures and significant job losses in Cork. Tourism makes a vital contribution to our economy. The future of many jobs now hangs in the balance as we do not know when hote…

Three minutes for my questions and three minutes for Deputy O'Donoghue.

We are.

We are trying to keep ourselves fully alert. I got a letter some time back from the husband of a worker in the private nursing home sector and another a few days ago. I will refer to an extract from it. It just shows the worry and upset that are out there and the concerns that need to be addressed. The nursing home in question is without masks. It had been promised a supply from the HSE weeks ago but as of yet has received nothing. This was on 4 April. The first letter states that the men and women, mothers and fat…

I will raise an issue that has been raised a great deal. Leaving certificate students are concerned by the way in which the exam is being handled. In their opinion, the recent announcement gave little to no clarity. It gave them no date to work towards and told them that practical exams would have to be completed two weeks before their actual exams even while they tried to catch up with what they had missed. It created more questions than it answered. What about subjects like art, where work can only be done in sch…

My constituency of Cork South-West and my country face extraordinary times. This has to be a time of great unity, as has been already seen in the incredible human efforts of the emergency services, medical staff, gardaí, Army and community, including those on community councils, in community alert groups and in community care groups, who are still delivering meals on wheels, ringing our elderly and vulnerable, and tending to them in a caring and careful manner. I thank every one of them for doing so. People are und…

The Rural Independent Group supports this amendment which will provide the Minister with extraordinary powers that are very important at this time. We must do everything we can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. There are so many issues involved. I respect that it is difficult for any Minister to tackle every issue but I heard tonight that 14 Spanish trucks are being unloaded in Dinish Island in Castletownbere. The people of Castletownbere want to know what measures are being put in place at the port to ensu…