Of course, they are attacking those who question what is going on. It is not sustainable. It is oppressive and it is damaging the fabric of our society. I thank the Acting Chairman for the latitude he has given me to make those points.

Is the Taoiseach speaking about China and Korea?

They attend Parliament sittings.

I wish to return again to the issue of antigen testing, which I have raised several times, both before and after Christmas. The European Commission advocated greater use of antigen testing in November. It is being rolled out right across Europe. The Biden Administration has now introduced far greater use of antigen testing in America, including in homes. Here NPHET has finally moved, reluctantly, to a very circumscribed role for antigen testing in the context of outbreaks, and only in that context. Is there a confl…

What is the reluctance in this State to this?

Before the Government wound it up.

Presumably, Biden and Merkel are experts.

Before Christmas I called for a greater use of antigen testing, or at least for the possibility of it to be explored in line with the Commission recommendations. I note that it will now be used in respect of ports. Is there not a role for antigen testing in our hospitals, in our schools, potentially, when they reopen, and in our airports in the absence of quarantine? Antigen testing could perhaps be used for people at least from safer countries to ensure that travel is taking place in a safe manner.

I thank my colleague Deputy Pringle for bringing forward this Private Member's motion, which I support. Nevertheless, while we do, of course, need to give some domestic effect to economic, social and cultural rights, there have been a number of recent decisions against Ireland the failure to address which has very much damaged our standing. We as a State have always prided ourselves on adherence to human rights and support for human rights. That has been one of the cornerstones of our international foreign policy, …

It is somewhat strange that this morning in the Dáil, the Taoiseach said that the economic impact of this was not brought about by the Government's reaction but rather by Covid itself, yet here we are talking about a scheme where one actively must demonstrate that the Government's regulations preclude the public from visiting one's physical premises to get the money. The Government's response will be with us for a long time and will hamper livelihoods and lives in this country for a generation because a shrinking e…

I very much agree with Deputy Collins. I have raised previously with the Minister the need to prioritise both persons providing home help and those who are receiving home help. People providing home help go into multiple homes and, likewise, people who receive home help receive it from multiple carers. I want to ask a specific question. I agree very much with many of the points made with regard to the necessity to vaccinate people who want to be vaccinated in mental health facilities, including those who work in th…

I thank the Minister.

Ireland has one of the highest leakage rates of drinking water in Europe and the Dublin City Council area has one of the highest leakage rates in Ireland. Partly as a result of that, it is proposed to build a pipeline across Ireland to ship water from the River Shannon. That, obviously, would cause huge disruption to landowners, a huge cost to the economy and unforeseeable consequences for the environment. One of the main reasons given for not fixing the leaks in the Dublin area relates to interference with commerc…

On the point on which the Tánaiste has concluded, I raised with the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, yesterday the specific vulnerability of people who are in receipt of home care. They need to be specifically prioritised because they may have two to three different carers coming in every day and those carers are going into several houses every day, of necessity. As someone who has repeatedly called for testing at airports, which I first raised with the Tánaiste and the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, la…

My specific question was whether the Government will look at exempting people who will test positive because they have had Covid-19, have gone through the symptoms and recovered, although they are not infectious and are essential workers. The other thing that I have repeatedly called for is that NPHET and the Department of Health look at vitamin D supplements. We know that we cannot give the vaccine to everybody who requires it now but we can give vitamin D to everybody. I am not suggesting that it is as efficaciou…

In view of the Tánaiste's earlier comments about responsible comment, I suggest that comparing vitamin D supplements with remdesivir or hydroxychloroquine, in terms of either the generally accepted benefits or potential negative side effects, is irresponsible. The question I want to ask about promised legislation relates to Eir and complaints to ComReg more generally. When I asked this question before Christmas, the Tánaiste suggested that he hoped to bring legislation to the Cabinet before Christmas and to the flo…

One of the key recommendations of the Covid committee, of which the Minister was a member, was that in the long term, we should move away from care and congregated settings to care in the community. Rightly, those in congregated settings are a high priority for the Government's vaccination programme. The Minister may correct me if I am wrong but I do not see any mention of those who are in receipt of home care. They have a vulnerability over and above elderly people generally, because two or three different carers …

I am sorry to cut across the Minister. I accept that those over the age of 70, and those in nursing homes should be prioritised, and I agree with that. Will there be a prioritisation for persons who are in receipt of home care because of their unique vulnerability? It is a "Yes" or "No" answer. I will ask a couple of other questions because of the propensity to develop a narrative. I do not disagree with that; it is just that my time is limited. Antigen testing is something that I have called for in the past. I am …

Does that apply to people who have carers coming into their homes?

Yes.