My only interest now is the homeowners. In February, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland will update its costs of square footage and so on.

The Minister has said that the square footage rate is indicative. Equally, deep down Deputy Mac Lochlainn knows that the larger the house, the bigger the economies of scale. This is factored in. We do not want a scheme that will disadvantage smaller houses. If the Deputy looks at the local property tax and Central Statistics Office data, he will find houses in and around the €200,000-€250,000 range. We will not have homeowners forking out €40,000. We have no interest in having a situation like that for the average …

There have been some very good efforts made here.

I accept what the Deputy has said in that this is a public health measure which he welcomes and accepts. He also said that he accepts it is a requirement and that it is fine. I accept that in good faith. It is a public health measure. The Chief Medical Officer and deputy Chief Medical Officer have expressed to the Government their deep concern about the very rapid increase in the incidence of Covid in five-year-olds to 11-year-olds and, critically, the parents of those children as well. As part of the general measu…

Principals and teachers administrating public health policy in the middle of a global pandemic will be protected. I will just make the point that this is a policy position in the middle of a global pandemic. School principals and management will be protected in applying public health policy. I pay tribute to principals and teachers across the length and breadth of the country who collectively agree, as do all of us in this House, that we want children in schools because-----

Will the Deputy hear me out please? Developmentally, children being in school trumps everything. The development needs of children regress or are undermined if they are out of school for any prolonged period. That is the context here. To protect that central objective, the public health advice recommends the wearing of masks. The Chief Medical Officer and the deputy chief medical officer are of the view that this will help in reducing overall transmission and will protect schools and the education system.

The legal framework is obviously that, from a public health perspective, our fundamental obligation is to protect the public from this virus.

I am not going to arbitrate on what would transpire should people take challenges and so on.

I dispute that. The Deputy is not a constitutional lawyer.

I accept the point and I can see-----

I can see the conflicting arguments that will ultimately transpire. I accept the Deputy's bona fides in saying that this is the right thing to do. I agree with that.

I thank the Deputy for raising the serious issue of rising gas prices and energy prices more generally. This is a problem across Europe and the globe. In anticipation of that, we increased the fuel allowance and brought in a set of social protection measures in the budget that are designed to help people deal with this issue. I said "help" because it does not cover it in its entirety. We have also introduced a taxation package. The social protection package comes to approximately €550 million and the taxation packa…

We have already taken measures, which the Deputy has dismissed. We have increased the eligibility threshold for the fuel allowance which will be retrospective to budget day. We have also brought in a tax package that will help those who earn more than those income thresholds and who are working. This will make a contribution towards dealing with the current wave of energy costs. We are looking at further measures to see if we can reduce the impact on household bills. I do not believe in the Deputy's idea regarding …

I do not know the details of the scheme, but the GP did not have to issue the €60 bill immediately. I just want to make that point. The Deputy's overall point is correct, however. There is a huge challenge in respect of the registration of births and deaths and getting certificates. My understanding is there is a major problem in the greater Dublin area especially. One third of all births and deaths occur in Dublin and the surrounding area. Some 1,500 births require registration each month in that area. We are info…

This relates to the registration issue. We are living in extraordinary times. We are in the middle of a global pandemic and we have had a cybersecurity attack on top of that, which has damaged systems. All round, people need to adopt some degree of flexibility and practicality as well. That is the point I made. Many people will know those coming into them in surgeries, etc. A small bit of practicality will allow these issues to be dealt with. The more fundamental point, however, is that adequate resources should be…

There is great hope for Louth in the future, in all sports, I have no doubt, if there are more Fitzpatricks coming on the scene.

I agree with the Deputy that it is commendable that the public have responded to the public health measures of recent weeks in terms of reducing socialisation and general congregation. That does have an impact on certain sectors. About a quarter of employers on the EWSS are in hospitality while about 40% of employees are in companies in the hospitality sector. The EWSS is an economy-wide scheme which applies to all sectors, some that are doing very well right now. It has been the most successful intervention the Go…

I will certainly discuss what the Deputy has just raised with the Minister for Health. Obviously in the course of such legislation there are always exchanges and clarifications and, if necessary, amendments if they are desired to facilitate situations such as the Deputy has referenced with be facilitated. I will discuss this with the Minister.

The school authorities, the Department of Education and the Minister have been guided all along by public health advice. In respect of ventilation, there has been guidance issued to the schools advising that the first and most effective form of ventilation is fresh air. I take the Deputy's point that there can be caveats to that in certain conditions. The Minister is providing for technical advice to schools in terms of bespoke measures that might be required in certain school settings around ventilation and that r…

As I said in response to an earlier question from Deputy Doherty, the Government has not failed throughout the pandemic to intervene in an unprecedented way to support businesses, including hospitality businesses, throughout the country. The EWSS has been the most successful and effective scheme in underpinning companies. It is an economy-wide scheme. The Government is keeping it under review in light of current circumstances. Deputy Kelly asked me about the Omicron variant in the context of education. I did not ge…