Do any of them have a 5 km limit in place?

I accept that they all-----

On a point of order. I am entitled to raise a point of order.

They are taking steps.

The Government of Portugal is not shutting down the country.

I refer to the practice during the summer of recommending that public servants, or anybody else, quarantine at home. Will that still apply for people coming from a green list country and will it apply to those coming from countries that are orange or red? In the event that a testing protocol is agreed, will a test be sufficient for orange and red? Likewise, will there be no restriction whatsoever in the requirement to self-isolate, quarantine or limit one's movements in respect of people coming from green list coun…

I wish to raise a matter which pertains to a constituent of mine who has passed away. He stayed in University Hospital Limerick and was accommodated on a trolley in the corridor. After he passed away, his family were charged €813 per night. I raised this matter with the Minister for Health, who referred it to the hospital. The hospital replied to say the inpatient and day case charges are applied based on section 55 of the Health Act 1970, as amended by the Health (Amendment) Act 2013. I looked at that Act and it d…

If the Government is going to continue to treat a trolley in a corridor as a multiple occupancy room then we will inevitably have an expensive court case of the type to which Deputy O'Donoghue referred to sort out this anomaly because a corridor is not a room. It is that simple. I want to move on to one other associated area, namely, the latest restrictions which have been announced for not visiting other homes or houses. I have no doubt the majority or a large number of people will adhere to those restrictions. Ho…

Only two were answered, though, and even that is debatable.

Can I speak instead, very briefly?

The question I have relates to testing, which is obviously key. So far we have relied on polymerase chain reaction, PCR, testing. It is the gold standard but the WHO accepts antigen testing can be used when PCR testing cannot be used. Will the Government look at rapid testing and will that be antigen testing or PCR testing? In any event, will the Minister outline what steps are being taken to ensure there is a protocol agreed across the EU on testing so Irish passengers who have been tested are accepted in the coun…

Will the Minister give a concrete reply on testing and the development of a protocol that is respected across Europe so that passengers can travel? If antigen testing is not used, what type of testing will be used?

It is better than being proven wrong.

I agree with the previous speaker that this budget and the Government's approach to it have been all over the place. It is a little bit like the "Late Late Show" in that there is something for everyone in the audience but, at the end of the show, one thinks back and realises that what was in it was utterly forgettable. That is, unfortunately, the approach being taken. Perhaps this is, in part, a matter of necessity but one could take the view that, as a result of Covid-19, direction is a necessity and that directio…

Like a number of previous speakers, the constituency I represent has quite a lot of forestry. I believe that Clare is one of the most afforested counties given the proportion of the county and the size of forestry there. I have invited the Minister to my home town of Scarriff to see Sliabh Aughty, to which I have not yet received a reply. I look forward to the courtesy of a reply. One can travel from Scarriff to Gort, which is about 25 miles give or take, and from Gort over to Loughrea which is another 25 miles, an…

I will be brief. I am from east Clare. There is a distinct divide when it comes to fishing. Not much sea fishing goes on in east Clare. What little of it is left it is all along west Clare. There is a great imbalance in the fishing industry and among most of the people the Minister represents, whether farmers or fishermen. It is chiefly about their inability to take on a system. There are big players in the agrifood business. For one reason or another, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine often gives …

I have no doubt about the Minister's commitment to the environment but he, along with most others, will accept that we cannot deal with the challenges posed by the environment alone and are better off dealing with them within a multilateral framework. The most obvious multilateral framework is the European Union. While we have been laggards in the implementation of EU directives, they have served a very useful purpose in Ireland. I refer to the water framework directive, the birds directive and the habitats directi…

The distance you might get in a football stadium.

When the Taoiseach's predecessor and now Cabinet colleague announced a lockdown, we were all clear as to what was required of the public and the public did what was required of it. Hospital capacity was an issue across Europe, even in Germany and Italy which have much better healthcare systems than Ireland does in terms of preparedness. We were told that our capacity was particularly low and, as such, we had to be particularly careful. At the start of the year, this country's permanent adult critical care capacity …

I note what the Taoiseach plans to do over the next six months but my question was more about what was done over the past six months. The public is justifiably sceptical about Ministers with plans. We have been hearing about what is planned for the health service since the Taoiseach was Minister for Health and Children. It begs the question of how many health ministers it takes to change a health service. There are four current or former health ministers in the Cabinet. The shortage of critical care beds was the mo…