On 19 March 2020, this House gave the Minister draconian powers. We debated aspects of them. Like all draconian powers, they were circumscribed and limited to specific circumstances. They were, by order, to declare an area or region in the State to be an area where there is known or thought to be sustained human transmission of Covid-19, or from which there is a high risk of importation of infection or contamination with Covid-19 by travel from that area. When making such an order, under the section the Minister wa…

I appreciate that. We are disincentivising people from working in an area in which we need more people.

Perhaps the Minister could reply by correspondence if there is no more time.

I agree with much of what Deputy Pringle stated about meeting our energy demands. Have we done so? Did we import energy in the relevant timeframe? We need to be realistic. We are building an interconnector with France. Are we going to say that we could not countenance producing nuclear energy in Ireland but we have no problem importing it from France or even Sellafield? We have energy needs. I remember a constituent giving out to me about a wind power station. They thought wind power was terrible and Moneypoint was…

Before talking about Shannon, which is the primary issue that I wish to discuss tonight, I join with Deputy Connolly in calling for some clarity about when the islands will open, and whether they will open for family members, which is most important, for people who have a holiday home there, and for tourism. They are all important but to different degrees. Some clarity is required as all the other areas of opening up are being brought forward. Last week, I addressed this House in the Minister's presence and accused…

As a nation we have done very well in dealing with the Covid-19 to date, primarily due to the huge sacrifice made by our people but I do not take from the crucial role the Minister has played in this regard. We will have a very difficult time ahead as we look to what will happen next winter. As the Minister knows, our hospital sector is set up in clusters. In the mid-west, the area I know best, we have University Hospital Limerick in Dooradoyle, which is a tier 4 hospital that takes acute patients. We also have hos…

I greatly welcome the fact that there is movement towards treating those. I accept that not everybody will be able to be treated in Clare but those who can be need to be treated there. We need more facilities there. I do not wish to take time from my colleague.

I very much endorse what Deputy Connolly has just said with regard to An Garda Síochána, both the good and the bad. One of the things all of these tribunals have taught us is that nobody is above reproach and accountability. A historical incident in Bunratty, County Clare, involves the Nugent family who deserve justice and to know what happened to their brother. Their father went to his grave looking for justice and did not get it. Until they get justice, there will always be a cloud over An Garda Síochána and the …

If it is running down the wall, that would be unique.

I ask the Minister to look into this issue as a matter of urgency and report back because the people of Miltown Malbay deserve better than to be spoken of in the way that they have been in the Chamber tonight.

It would give the hurlers a chance as well.

I echo what has been stated in respect of the necessity of balanced regional development. The lack of balanced regional development was very much a theme that emerged under the previous Government of which the Minister was a member. Before the entire economy went into a tailspin we saw significant inequality develop between the eastern seaboard and the rest of the country. There was an example of that at Shannon Airport when it lost not just passenger share, but passengers in absolute terms, while Dublin Airport po…

On a point of order, the Minister, Mr. Ross, raised an allegation that I had somehow misled the House in a previous debate, which I had not. Is this an appropriate time to deal with it?

Thank you. I would, of course, say that I did not.

I am going to return to a couple of issues about which I have spoken previously in the Chamber, although I appreciate I have not had the opportunity to address my comments to the Minister personally, and I thank her for coming into the Chamber to answer questions. I wish to ask about the extent of the payments and who is covered and who is not. We are discussing opening up the economy and society and considering what is safe, whether a distance of 2 m or 1 m between people is required. Until we have answers to thos…

I note the Taoiseach's comments on the committee's role with regard to the 2 m rule. I would certainly be happy to convey that to the committee and we will see if we are in a position to deal with it. The extra session we will have per week will certainly help us deal with more issues. We had the HSE representatives in last week and I asked what the testing was costing. It was at the end of a very long day. We were confined to two hours and I was told that it was hundreds of millions of euro. That was as specific a…

It is a huge amount of money, particularly in circumstances where, as a former GP, he will know that a viral swab test that is referred by a GP practice in Ireland typically costs about €25. There may be differences - I am not saying there are none - but it does seem like a very large difference. In Vienna airport, and this brings me on to my next question, they are carrying out accelerated testing, which is obviously more expensive. The cost is borne entirely by the passenger and one gets the result within three h…

I have a very short question.

Driver testing is a livelihood issue for people in rural Ireland, as opposed to in urban Ireland where more public transport is available. A lot of young people need to sit their driver's tests to get a licence to get to work. Perhaps social distancing is not even being observed to get them to where they need to be. Is there any possibility of reinstating driver testing in cases of need, particularly in rural Ireland?

I am sharing my time with Deputy Harkin. We have reached a stage on our roadmap where we can have a McDonald's but we cannot have a cancer screening. Is that satisfactory to Deputy Harris, as Minister for Health?