I will make my contribution and the Minister can reply to me in writing afterwards. I want to make a few points in the limited time we have. I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. I want to pick up on Deputy Calleary's point regarding the 5 km limit. For many urban dwellers, this limit does not impede them at all because they can do all of their business within a 5 km radius of their home. However, for people in rural communities, even the 20 km limit is problematic and for places like north Cork, we re…

We could discuss a raft of issues that fall within the remit of the Department but I will focus on broadband and working from home. In recent months, society has changed in ways we could not have possibly imagined. Policymakers would have argued that it was not possible to work in these ways because a raft of barriers was preventing decentralisation and so on. Working from home has worked and is being enabled by broadband. There are two issues with broadband. One relates to the current contract with Eir under which…

I will be as brief as possible. My question concerns the Federation of Early Childcare Providers. Is it being consulted and is it included in the groups to be consulted on how we provide childcare in future? Has the Minister engaged with other lead Departments, such as the Department of Health, including in the context of those with disabilities, regarding more resources for children with extra needs? Has she made any attempt, right now and not just regarding childcare, to contact any other Departments and outline …

Why was the Federation of Early Childhood Providers excluded from the talks process? Whoever made the decision, the Minister is in charge and she, ultimately, has to make the decision. My second, previous, point concerned consultation with other Departments regarding children needing special interventions, physical and mental. What is the Minister's engagement with other Departments or has she-----

My apologies.

I will be brief and allow the Minister to address some of the points that have been raised by my colleagues. The ongoing crisis facing beef farmers has been multiplied by the Covid-19 crisis. Has the beef task force - the famous group that was set up a number of years ago - met in a virtual form or have there been discussions on setting out a roadmap for beef farmers as we move forward? There are various methods of holding conference calls now and it is crucial that every stakeholder be engaged at the highest possi…