But it has never been confirmed to the Minister one way or the other. I thank the Minister. The rest of my time goes to my colleague.

For eight months now the State has been dealing with the threat posed by Covid-19. We are rightly told to follow the science, but science is empirical and it is based on data. I am concerned by the lack of published data. Peer review and transparency are central to any scientific response. I want to focus in particular on the data on mental health. The National Self-Harm Registry Ireland in Cork ceased functioning for the duration of the first lockdown. At the end of August, it started to collect data again, both p…

I thank the Taoiseach. I greatly welcome his commitment to publishing data. I note that Ernst & Young have been brought in to crunch data. If those data are provided by the State or an organ of the State and collected with public moneys, they should also be made available. The most important point is the evidence and data available to NPHET, and the modelling code. Information about the code has been published but I am told by statisticians, and I am not a statistician, that it is not enough to do a comparison. To …

I am still waiting for that information.

I am hoping to be called. Will Deputy Boyd Barrett hurry up?

Will the Government publish the data?

The annual registration fee for nurses falls due at this time of year. Earlier this year, the registration fee for nurses who were returning to Ireland was waived. Any fee charged has to be approved by the Minister. Given the year that is in it, does the Tánaiste believe this is appropriate? We are approaching Christmas, but regardless of what the Government recommends, nurses will have a very different Christmas than the rest of society. The least the Government can do is waive the registration fee of €100 this ye…

The Tánaiste, although the Taoiseach sometimes refers to this matter also.

Before I commence, I want to welcome what the Minister of State said, namely, that while wind farms and renewable energy are essential for our future, that cannot be to the detriment of the existing ecosystem and environment. There was almost a race to zone areas suitable for wind farms by local authorities, all of whom were acting with the best of intentions. Some of the areas zoned are suitable but others are not. The amount of carbon utilised in constructing wind farms does not render them nearly as effective. I…

I greatly welcome the confirmation from the Minister of State that officials in his Department are in communication with Clare County Council regarding evidential data requirements. Nobody could possibly take issue with that. We have to establish that the problem arises from concrete blocks. I believe that will be established in the facts of the cases in Clare. Many of the homeowners have prepared detailed engineering studies. The majority of the homeowners in this instance are retirees and have family homes. They …

I move: That Dáil Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response entitled 'Special Committee on Covid-19 Response – Final Report', copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 8th October, 2020. I thank the Business Committee for scheduling a debate on the final report of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response, which I had the honour of chairing earlier this year. Before commencing with the recommendations, I would like to thank all members of the committee. There were 1…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle both for his compliments and for the assistance he gave the committee at various crucial stages. There were inevitably difficulties with accommodating a committee at a difficult time and when advice was novel, as it inevitably is in the context of a novel coronavirus pandemic. I welcome the fact that both the Minister of State and the Minister have said they are looking at how answers will be given to families. The committee obviously came to the very clear recommendation that a statutor…

I concur with what Deputy Eoghan Murphy said with regard to Covid and the necessity to discuss it. We do live in a parliamentary democracy and we do have to have debate. I appreciate that people do not like to be held accountable and that people sometimes think that undermines a message, but nothing undermines a message as much as lack of debate because people cotton onto that very quickly. That is what we have had in this House. Even in the context of rural development we need to discuss Covid. We cannot pretend t…

I very much agree with the previous speaker on the use of quad bikes. It is important to recognise that they can be essential work vehicles but they can also be a complete nuisance. I commend Sinn Féin on putting this motion before the Dáil. It is important that we discuss the serious injury and death as well as the mere nuisance that quad bikes and scramblers can cause when inappropriately used. I wish to bring to the attention of the Dáil one other thing which I think should be included in this category, namely, …

They pose a similar problem.

I very much agree with the Deputy and what she said in her speech and I wish to make some additional points. I wish the Minister of State and the Government the best of luck in the negotiations as they are obviously hugely important. However, regardless of what happens, I certainly hope that there will be a deal which is in the interests of all of our people on these islands and indeed those in the wider EU. Although I fundamentally disagree with the Vote Leave side, I agree with the right to campaign to leave the …

I move: "That Dáil Éireann: recognises the vital strategic role occupied by the aviation sector in the development of the national economy and the importance of maintaining connectivity to the regions; is deeply concerned at the imminent crisis facing Irish airports, in particular, Shannon, Knock,Kerry, Donegal and Cork airports; and recognises that transatlantic flights to and from Shannon can be operated with a reduced carbon footprint per passenger compared to those operated from Dublin Airport, and also recogni…

I thank my colleagues in the Independent Group and those across the other Independent groups for their support with this motion. I have already dealt with the Sinn Féin amendment, which I have no problem accepting. I wish to look in particular at the Government's countermotion and the speech by the Minister for Transport. I simply cannot accept the countermotion because it is a thing of nothing. It notes the Government's commitment to the survival and recovery of the aviation sector when circumstances allow and ref…

Is there any chance of the Dáil ever returning to Leinster House?

I also wish to refer to Deputy Ó Cuív's speech, which I found interesting and impressive. I hope that all of these references to his speech by members of the Opposition do not land him in trouble within his party. Somewhat unusually for a politician, he demonstrated an ability to learn from the past, including mistakes, when this country relied on an orthodoxy and a group mentality. The Minister of State will recall that voices questioned the orthodoxy at the time. Indeed, very few of us who were involved in politi…