A no-deal Brexit would have been very difficult and the Brexit deal we have creates a capacity for us to try to seek to retrieve some of what has been lost.

Deputy Kelly is correct that the Minister for Finance announced this morning that the Government's intention is to sell part of the State's remaining 13.9% shareholding in Bank of Ireland over approximately the next six months through a trading plan. The State intervened more than a decade or so ago to rescue the Bank of Ireland. It protected the payments system, deposits, jobs and so on across the system. It has recorded a cash surplus to date on the investment. Approximately €5.9 billion has been generated, as ag…

It is investment.

That report is deeply concerning in terms of the broader issue of domestic violence. The Department of Justice leads national policy and co-ordination of actions. Additional resources have been provided. We are fully committed to implementing the Istanbul Convention but also to providing additional resources to support the agencies and non-governmental organisations involved, and the creation of more refuge facilities. The number of people who have contacted-----

-----domestic violence support services increased by more than 40% last year compared to 2019. That is deeply worrying. We are very conscious of the impact of Covid on this issue, and in particular the restrictions. During that period Tusla prioritised the delivery of front-line domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV, services. Funding has been increased-----

I know. We need to do more. We have increased funding.

I am not so sure international academic research backs that up. There is no compelling evidence that state-owned banks historically produced better outcomes or results for economies or societies. Invariably, state-owned banks in different locations around the world did not lend more or more cheaply than privately owned banks. No model is perfect, as we know from various crashes over the centuries. There is no compelling evidence base or research to back up what the Deputy said. We are not handing anything back. The…

That is before disposing of these shares.

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising this pertinent issue. He makes a very fair point, one I am conscious of myself having been approached by a number of citizens who are working abroad in the Gulf region, in particular in countries such as the UAE. Of course, many of these people have been administered the Sinopharm vaccine and they are fully vaccinated. One of the challenges has been that only vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, EMA, are currently regarded as complying fully with our requirements and …

There have been challenges for specific amenities of this kind in terms of getting insurance, which is unacceptable. Insurance companies are pulling back from the market at an increasing rate. While I do not know the exact specifics, I take very seriously what the Deputy is saying. I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, to engage with the company.

Táim buíoch den Teachta as ucht na ceiste. Aontaím go bhfuil sé tábhachtach go mbeidh seirbhísí faoisimh ar ais agus ar fáil do dhaoine, sna cásanna ina bhfuil géarghá ann ó thaobh na seirbhísí sin. I am satisfied to engage with the Minister in respect not just of Galway but of the entire country in terms of the restoration of respite services, notwithstanding the current pandemic. It is a very fair point that is being made.

I agree with the Deputy. We need to move in terms of our towns first policy and in terms of rural development, and also, in my view, where we can, to incentivise people to reinvest or invest in buildings that are dilapidated or vacant, both for residential and entrepreneurial activities. It is something the Government is committed to. The key issue is to co-ordinate departmental work on rural development with the grants that are available, with broadband issues and with the creation of hubs in terms of entrepreneur…

I will engage with the Minister for Finance in this regard and perhaps the Deputy could bring some details to him. The rates seem punitive. I will certainly engage with the Minister for Finance on that point.

There has been an issue around commodities globally and there has been an increase in costs in respect of building materials and fuel costs. Some of this is the recovering of declines, particularly in energy and fuel costs, where there would have been declines throughout 2020 on the 2019 prices, and some of that recovery is feeding into significant increases in prices now. However, there is an issue for the building industry; of that there is no doubt. Huge work has been done by the Minister in regard to the forest…

As the Deputy knows, we pursued this as part of the reopening of society. The gradual reopening of in-person driver theory test centres commenced from 8 June. The Road Safety Authority reopened test centres and introduced capacity to increase the number of tests from an average of 15,000 tests to 25,000 tests monthly to tackle the backlog and shorten waiting times. Capacity will gradually increase to 50,000 tests monthly, when public health guidance permits. The pilot online driver theory test has been running for …

I thank Deputy Moynihan. It is a very fair point. The Department of Justice has continued to accept and process applications throughout the pandemic at all levels of public health restrictions. Unfortunately, processing rates have been impacted by the health and safety restrictions imposed and it has not been possible to hold in-person citizenship ceremonies. Following a High Court case in 2019, there was a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal, which resulted in significant delays. There are approximately 24,50…

A further 3,000 applications have been fully processed by the Department but the applicants need to return their signed statutory declarations. Approximately 6,500 will have been offered and we take the Deputy's point.

Work is ongoing to minimise the impact of Brexit. It is close to six months since the formal exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. It is clear that it is already having an impact on trade and patterns of trade. It is certainly causing a reconfiguration and recalibration for both importers and exporters, as well as the impact that Brexit is having on the operations of companies in Britain, especially their trade with Europe and Ireland.

I thank the Deputy for raising the point. I do not know whether he has been in touch with his county council.

The Deputy has a fair bit of representation on Kerry County Council. He might more readily know why there has been a failure to get these bridges rebuilt more quickly. When a bridge falls down or collapses, I presume there are significant safety issues that have to be investigated. I agree that the sooner road structures can be restored to facilitate travel and so on, the better.