I think the pipeline is becoming much stronger, particularly in respect of cost-rental and other affordable housing schemes.

From my experience as a former Minister for Education and Science, getting a site is the most important step in terms of getting buildings. Many schools do not want to wait for that, as the Deputy will know, and they seek recognition from the Department and want to get ahead. Hence, they might move into temporary accommodation. Then there can be planning issues, objections and all sorts of issues. I have been there. We are all public representatives in this House.

Everybody knows that what I am saying is what happens. The most important step is to get the site. At least when there is possession of the site, either the patron or the Government, through the Department, ETBs or patrons, can then start design and build and so on. There are wider issues, however, as to how we can start the whole process.

The insurance Bill on duty of care is getting priority drafting. The PIAB legislation is being worked on as well.

There has been very significant lifting of restrictions on advice we received from public health authorities. The advice was to maintain the existing protocols on safety in our schools and, in so doing, to protect children while the opportunity for them to get vaccinated continues. We will keep the matter under review.

The Deputy has asked his questions fairly. I believe there are issues with capacity more generally around the western seaboard, involving the Saolta group, and more specifically in Limerick. This cannot be solved overnight but there have been moves on that front. The Deputy has raised a wider issue that does merit further examination. I will ask the Minister and the HSE to pursue that.

The Minister for Education is dealing with that as we speak and has engaged over recent days with all the stakeholders and the advisory group on the examinations. We appreciate fully that clarity is required as quickly as we can possibly get it and must be provided to the students, who are going through a lot of anxiety as a result of this. Adjustments have already been made to the written papers. There may be further consideration or further adjustments in that regard. The opportunity to learn from Covid will be t…

I think the announcement on the Covid recognition payment was made last week. It is extensive. It focuses primarily on those on the front line and within our healthcare system. It has been challenging to arrive at the conclusions that were arrived at. The payment is paralleled with the decision on the bank holiday, which will be a permanent bank holiday on St. Brigid's Day. I hear the Deputy's point and will revert to the Minister and the HSE on the communications on this.

I can say to the Deputy that we want to pursue this as quickly as we can for the benefit of the families. The families have been under enormous strain as a result of the mica scandal. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, has brought forward, with the agreement of his Government colleagues, a very comprehensive scheme. We are going to do right by the residents and the homeowners. We will do what we can do get this operational as quickly and effectively as we can.

The Deputy has made a very fair point. The right to request remote working is a positive and progressive step forward. As new initiatives are unfolded and develop, they evolve over time. Ireland has a higher level of remote working than most other countries right now and some of that is due to the Covid experience. It is important that we promote that. I know the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy McGrath, will be bringing forward proposals in respect of the public service and remote working.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Discussions and talks are ongoing between the Irish Dental Association and the HSE.

As I said, the talks are ongoing. It is a contractual issue. It is not just the HSE side of the equation. Deputies should keep that in perspective when negotiations, in terms of prices and contracts and so on, are ongoing. I want a service that is fit for purpose and gives people the service they deserve. Some €10 million has been invested and allocated this year. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, responded to a Topical Issue on the matter that was raised earlier, so there might be more information in that.

I cannot comment on the specific case raised by the Deputy. I am not aware of the details and background to it. The Minister has introduced a suite of measures to try to help schools with substitution. I can understand that in some subject areas, such as perhaps chemistry and physics, there may be more challenges in getting replacement or substitute teachers. I suggest that the Deputy contacts the Minister with a view to seeing what can be done.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has provided grant funding to Benefacts since 2015 in the order of €5.7 million. Benefacts was initially co-funded with philanthropy. However, as the Deputy is aware, in recent years, the Department has been providing the majority of funding following the withdrawal from Ireland of a major philanthropic sponsor. Benefacts has also received funding from other State bodies to a total sum of State funding in the order of €6.35 million. In 2019, the Department of Public E…

I join the Deputy in offering sympathy to the Harrington and Clifford families on their loss. With regard to the ongoing nursing home restrictions, the HSE AMRIC, the antimicrobial resistance and infection control, provides extensive guidance on the control of the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in healthcare settings, including extensive guidance on normalising visiting in long-term residential care facilities. Healthcare settings are different from other contexts in which people gather for work or social interacti…

The Government recognises the efforts of people throughout society in respect of Covid-19. Originally, in the earlier phase of Covid, when we spoke about the front line, it was very evident in terms of intensive care and the consistent pressure workers in hospitals were under in respect of Covid-19. There are different mechanisms and contractual arrangements with different sectors. For example, there has been ongoing extensive engagement between the HSE and GP practices on a range of programmes where supports and a…

I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to answer the first question.

Last July, Scariff Community College got approval to proceed to tender for two new mainstream classrooms, one metalwork room and one woodwork room. Tenders have been received and a decision on appointing a contractor is imminent. In respect of Deputy Stanton's question, I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland in respect of the road.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. In advance of consideration of the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters by the Government, certain information relating to the report was disclosed in a newspaper report. In that context, I requested that an investigation be carried out. The investigation is being undertaken by a senior official in my Department and is being done in the context of a broader examination of the overall arran…

The Deputy suggested this is part of a long list of broken promises. I want to make it very clear that we are going to follow through on every part of the action plan that we have outlined. We are doing that. People may quibble about or disagree with aspects of that, but we have committed to the more fundamental issues that survivors have wanted action on for many years and did not get, for example, in terms of unfettered access to information and tracing. Unquestionably, the legislation we have produced has been g…