The HSE is in charge of-----

I believe my colleague has confirmed that the HSA has a statutory role independent of us in that it inspects meat plants. That is the case. What I said, I stand over. The Deputy's assertion is based on some logic which escapes me, to the effect that in some way it is beneficial for management to ensure the inefficiency of their processing operation by facilitating the contraction of Covid-19 by their workforce. That surely is self-evidently not in the interest of management, the owners or the workers. What I have c…

Ideological?

I do not direct the HSA but I am aware, as the Minister, Deputy Humphrey, has confirmed, that the HSA has already conducted inspections in meat plants. I find it quite extraordinary that Deputy Smith would choose, of all places, the United States of America as a guiding light into how we should respond on meat plants.

Its testing regime-----

Its testing regime is quite simply-----

Its testing regime is in no way comparable with the testing regime we have. It is important to put it into context. Every one of those 828 confirmed cases is one too many. We must work to ensure that everything is done to protect those workers. It is 828 cases out of a total of 16,000 workers in that sector.

I am aware of the greyhound racing issue and we have spoken about it previously. Every sector that is subject to the strictures of the roadmap that has been published is anxious to have the white flag raised for them at an earlier date. I am aware of the interests of the greyhound sector in that regard. I do not want to mislead anybody and it is not an easy ask but we are engaged with the sector and I will keep the Deputy informed of developments. By way of response to the Deputy's observations on his constituency …

On the latter question, they cannot. People should be reassured that there is no evidence whatsoever to support the claim that they can. I am really disappointed that the Deputy would raise again in this forum the issue of Spanish fishermen, especially when the Irish fishing fleet, particularly the whitefish fleet he alluded to that fishes in Castletownbere in what are very difficult market circumstances, is trying to get its product into Spain. The kinds of events we saw targeting the Spanish boats that were landi…

The Deputy will be aware but he chooses to blissfully ignore that there are protocols in place for any ship berthing in ports to deal with these matters.

They are abundantly clear. The harbourmaster in Castletownbere is fully aware of them and complies with them. Locals are aware that happens.

There are protocols in place for our harbourmasters and there are protocols in place for boats that are docking in our facilities.

I have answered the question.

I will try to deal with the Deputy's questions quickly. I am delighted to hear Deputy Fitzmaurice's support for the forestry sector. We have difficulties in respect of licensing. There have been a series of legal cases both domestically and in the European courts. In effect, these have forced us to reconstruct our licensing process - to rebuild the process legally. I am satisfied that we are making progress with the backlog. It is not helped by the constant appealing of licences we are issuing but we are making eff…

We are at somewhat of a disadvantage as these are health-related matters. They are more appropriate for the Minister for Health. My understanding is the individual is notified. I do not intend to add anything further to what has been said about who is notified, but it is usually the individual who is notified and who must take responsibility thereafter. The employer is not routinely notified.

If an employer has 22 cases, he or she would still not be routinely notified.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a public health crisis first and foremost. My Department, like all Government agencies, is working closely with the Department of Health as part of a whole-of-Government response. The pandemic has also resulted in a profound economic shock across the globe. Its impact is being felt right across the Irish economy, including in the agrifood sector. The impact on the public finances is also profound. Notwithstanding the unprecedented nature of this crisis, the Government has acted quickly and …

I will do my best. On the beef issue, I accept that this sector has taken the immediate visible hit from Covid-19. There have been consequences due to the closure of food services, not just domestically but more significantly in the volume of food service restaurants and hotels globally and within the European Union. We have been insisting that the European Commission is reminded of the common aspect of the Common Agricultural Policy. In recent days, comments were made by the National Farmers Union, NFU, about UK r…

I will try to race through the issues. I have met with the dairy co-ops and executives by teleconference on two occasions in recent weeks. Our primary concern was to make sure that as we approach peak production, we keep processing capacity functioning and that there would be sufficient contingency planning in our Department and at individual plant level to facilitate that because there is little head room in processing over and above peak production levels. There is recognition at EU level about the unique structu…

I would not like the message to go out - I do not think it is true, although I am not sure if Deputy Stanley meant it this way - that, either by commission or omission, factories allowed Covid-19 to spread.