I acknowledge it is as the Minister set it out to be.

Am I correct in my understanding that, rather than making a statement, I may ask questions and receive answers?

I understand. The Taoiseach is a doctor but I am not. That said, I understand that in medicine one does not put an emergency plan in place unless there is an accompanying medical recovery plan to come out of the emergency. Do we have a recovery plan? Does it set out criteria for when restrictions can be eased, such as in terms of transmission levels or ICU capacity? If there are such criteria, what are they? Have we already reached them? Undoubtedly, restrictions will be eased somewhat. Although we do not know what…

I do not mean to be rude, but I left time for the Taoiseach to answer my questions rather than repeat them.

What are the criteria in terms of transmission rates and ICU capacity? On the app, the Department of Health stated it will not be open source. My fear is that it will lead to a similar fiasco to that created by the public services card which Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, stated had no lawful basis and, obviously, did not have buy-in from the public. We need to have buy-in for any app that will be developed.

I listened to the Minister's statement and we spoke last week in the Chamber. I raised a number of issues then and I will return to some of them now because, unfortunately, I have not yet received answers. I appreciate that it is a difficult time, but I hope to receive those answers at some stage this week. I wish to address tourism in particular. Obviously, there are many concerns for everyone in the tourism sector as to whether there will be a tourism sector. We will need clarity very quickly. I appreciate that s…

The Minister signed off on the regulations that determine what limitations there are on people's liberty. Essentially, we are all subject to house imprisonment, except for being allowed to avail of essential services or to visit essential retail outlets. The essential retail outlets are listed clearly to be fair to the Minister. The list says that hardware stores are essential retail outlets, as are outlets that provide equipment for gardening. Given that, why are other Ministers going on the airwaves saying that g…

The law is a mess. The Minister signed the law.

What does the law that the Minister signed say?

Everybody in Ireland has made significant sacrifices to deal with Covid-19, but most of all the young. The young have made those sacrifices, primarily, not to protect themselves but to protect the elderly, because we all knew coming into this that the elderly were most vulnerable. In light of that, I ask the Minister whether that sacrifice was in any way undermined by the advice of the Chief Medical Officer on 10 March that existing restrictions in nursing homes were not necessary, whether it was undermined by the …

There is a follow-up bit this time.

There is a string of emails and letters requesting engagement. I want to return to the Minister's point regarding Debenhams. I welcome what he said but I wish to bring a similar case to the House's attention. There is a cohort of people in a small local transport company in Clare, and just as the restrictions were introduced, its contract for Local Link services was dropped by the National Transport Authority. We all agree that private companies should not use this situation as a cloak to break bad news and do drac…

The Minister mentioned restaurants opening up again. Where is the recovery plan? When will we have a recovery plan? What are the benchmarks? I understood when the lockdown happened that we would speak about a recovery when the transmission rate went below one. We have been told today that it has gone below one but there is no concrete talk of either a recovery plan or a date when we might start to talk about opening up again. It is important that some certainty be brought to bear on this. Neither the Minister nor I…

I did not mean a financial vehicle recovery plan. I understand that any medical emergency plan has to be accompanied by a medical recovery plan. There is no sign of a medical recovery plan in this State as of now. That is worrying.

I endorse the words of Deputy Connolly. I agree with her that it is important the Dáil sits. Some important points were made here today and some important questions were asked. Deputy O'Reilly asked an important question about the front-line workers in our health service and about the welcome news that private consultants and private hospitals will be working in the public sector. There is an issue, which was reported in the media over the weekend, that they are being given a different contract. In fairness to the …

I support the call for the fuel allowance to be increased beyond the anticipated date of 18 April, even after the immediate stage of the crisis has passed. A lot of elderly people will continue to self-isolate for longer than the rest of the community and they need to be supported. Like many other constituencies, tourism is an important aspect of the economy in Clare. I received an email which I wish to bring to the attention of the Minister of State. I have received many calls from seasonal employees and their emp…

I am sharing time with Deputy Harkin.

This is an unusual time. We have seen many measures adopted, such as rent freezes and social welfare increases, which previously and heretofore were unimaginable and we were told were impossible. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, to the Chamber. It is appropriate, as the Minister who did most to deplete our Defence Forces, that he would be here trying to attract former members of the Defence Forces back. As we talk about measures which were deemed impossible and on which there was no movement suddenly …

Obviously, the notice of termination served in accordance with the Act shall not be served. The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 is confined to certain tenancies and specifically excludes persons who are living in the landlord's house. The rent a room scheme is specifically excluded and I do not think it should be. The purpose of amendment No. 16 is to bring persons who could otherwise be evicted within the protection which the Government gives to tenancies within the meaning of the 2004 Act. There are other exemptio…

I move amendment No. 16: In page 8, line 15, after “period.” to insert the following: “This provision shall also apply to a room rented in a landlord’s home and informal arrangements where there is no tenancy agreement in writing.”.