In normal times the Minister would not have responsibility for McDonald's but given the extraordinary powers this House gave him, it seems he has in his regulations a responsibility for everything. I urge him to look at what the priorities are because sometimes the priorities do not seem to make sense to ordinary people across this land.

While we are talking about connections, I should mention I was born in the maternity hospital in Limerick. I am minded of the statement that being born in a stable does not make one a horse. I want to discuss two issues with the Minister separately, if she does not mind. The first concerns the decision on wood pigeons, which I am glad to note the Minister has reversed. There is a perception among some people that those who shoot and, to a lesser extent, those who fish do not particularly care about nature. In fact,…

The other matter I wish to raise concerns UNESCO-designated sites, of which there are several in Ireland. There is a proposal concerning a site that is close to me, not only physically but also because I care a great deal about it. Five early monastic sites, the better known being Durrow, Inis Cealtra and Clonmacnoise, were included in a proposal submitted to UNESCO by the Fianna Fáil-led Government that was in power with other parties until 2011. Very little happened afterwards. I asked numerous questions in the H…

No, I am referring to Lough Derg in County Clare. Forgive me, but I am more concerned about Lough Derg in County Clare than Lough Derg in County Donegal.

The Minister's Department already-----

The Department already proposed it.

It has been proposed. I am asking about what is being done to move it along.

It has done so.

Although the Minister may not be familiar with Inis Cealtra, she is in a position to put it on the map before she leaves her office.

It will come as a surprise to many Deputies present that notwithstanding complaints to the HSA, no visits were made to meat factories. The HSE did make visits but the chair of the HSA confirmed it made no visits. The visits by the HSE were only in the context of dealing with an outbreak. There were complaints but there were no visits whatsoever up to that point. It came as a surprise to many Deputies to learn that the HSE gave results of people's tests to the meat factory bosses before it gave them to the workers t…

The HSA has done nothing.

In meat factories.

"Wash your hands" has been the most consistent mantra since this pandemic arrived in Ireland, perhaps the only consistent mantra. Throughout west Clare, a number of water schemes have completely outdated water mains, including Cooraclare, Doonbeg, Miltown Malbay and Mullagh. One has broken down four times since this pandemic arrived in Ireland. The Irish Water staff locally have done an excellent job repairing it each time but twice in the past three years, that water mains was the subject of a contract to be repla…

I wish to return to a matter which was previously raised with the Minister, which is nurses. Obviously, we owe everybody in the front line a huge debt of gratitude, including nurses. We all have stood and applauded them, but nurses cannot live on applause alone. None of us can, although applause for politicians is rare and, maybe, deservedly so. Will the Minister set a deadline by which he will use his legal powers to force through the pay agreements that were entered into, if they are not already implemented by a …

I thank the Minister.

We are in the middle of a decade of commemorations. It is important to remember and commemorate the role of artists and culture in that, in affirming Irish Independence and even justifying Irish Independence in a certain way. Why are we an independent State? What makes us different? What was the impetus to become an independent State? It very much related to culture and cultural nationalism, in which artists played a significant role. I represent the constituency of Clare and, like every single constituency and as …

I thank the Minister very much for the personal approach she has adopted. I am very conscious that my colleague also has a question.

I am sharing time with Deputy Harkin. I commend the Minister on his work with UL. Would he recommend that the rent regime in other private institutions that are refusing to return rent be changed prospectively? Obviously we cannot change things retrospectively but we can make sure that this does not happen again and that students are not taken advantage of in the way they have been. I wish to return to the issue raised by Deputies Gannon and Ó Ríordáin. I accept that the Minister is in a very difficult situation an…

Towards the end of the last Dáil, the Minister met with Clare Bus and the National Transport Authority about an ongoing dispute between them over moneys owed. Some 50 days ago, I wrote to him to outline the situation. The contract had been pulled at the last minute and Clare Bus effectively lost the tender that it had won. During those 50 days in which I have not received a reply from the Minister, those workers have effectively been laid off and somebody else has operated the route. In my letter I asked that a med…

Yes. I wrote an email to the Minister's office. I also left two messages on what I was told was his mobile phone.