The Tánaiste's speech was to the Fine Gael Ard-Fheis and, as leader of that party, the Tánaiste is quite entitled to address and present the Fine Gael perspective on a variety of issues. The Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform last evening presented us with an overview and presentation of the summer economic statement. It may be characterised as a more sober assessment of the situation over the next five years, generally speaking, in terms of the framework. We knew that, for these two years, exc…

In fairness, that is gross hyperbole - a good scriptwriter, impressive in some respects, but not a fair assessment of where we are. First of all, the level of supports from the Government to hospitality has been unprecedented, as it had to be in the context of a global pandemic. Covid-19 has been particularly devastating for the hospitality sector, for travel and for tourism more generally, and that has been true all over the world, not just in Ireland. The virus and hospitality are close and good companions, unfor…

The implication was there in that polemic, but that is far from the case. I invite the Deputy to come to Cork and have a walk down a few streets in Cork, and he will see some great outdoor dining going on. I was in Dublin yesterday and called to a number of venues. People were in a very happy mood, dining outdoors, having a few drinks outdoors, engaging in a friendly way, and thankful, happy and appreciative of the fact they were able to participate in outdoor dining. We can overplay this as well. That said, any is…

I agree with the Deputy that this is something that has to be dealt with quickly and it will be dealt with quickly. The Minister for Justice will be introducing a measure that will rectify this and regulate it appropriately, and deal with the issues that have arisen, as I have said. This has to be done very quickly.

I had good and constructive engagement with the fishers in west Cork over the weekend. I visited Castletownbere and Union Hall. We had a matter-of-fact meeting to go through the issues in a sensible way, listening to what the fishers had to say and identifying the issues. The country was faced with a no-deal Brexit or a trade and co-operation agreement. A no-deal Brexit would have been catastrophic for the Irish fishing industry, given how dependent our pelagic fleet is on fish in British waters and always was. It …

I do not intend to engage in any spin. I will talk directly to the fishers generally and to the fish producer organisations. The purpose of yesterday's meeting with all the organisations across the country was to have a no-holds-barred meeting. It cannot be ping-pong with one side standing back attacking the other. That achieves nothing. That is why the Minister established the seafood sector task force. Agreement was reached on an initial application of funding from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund which would p…

I agree that the report from Women's Aid on domestic violence and sexual and gender-based violence is particularly worrying. It illustrates the wide-ranging negative impact the pandemic has had on all aspects of our society. The Government would be willing to accommodate a debate on that report before the summer recess. The Women's Aid report shines a light on domestic violence and on how the pandemic has exacerbated the issue. We would be willing to facilitate such a debate. In respect of the postmasters, the Mini…

I cannot confirm that right now. This has been a long saga, as the Deputy knows. It was first announced in 2013 that the new national maternity hospital was to co-locate with St. Vincent's University Hospital. Since then, there seems to have been a protracted dispute between the two voluntary hospitals. Kieran Mulvey facilitated mediation in 2016. That mediation agreement was published. None of this should be new to people. References were made to leasing and so on, as was well known at the time. When the State is …

Is Deputy Kelly serious about a CPO? How long does he think that would last?

We all need to get real now.

The project was announced in 2013. Yes, ownership is a key issue but I do not believe in any shape or form that the governance will be influenced by any religious organisation. Those who have been involved with that aspect of the project have been very clear about that. We would not tolerate it. All services legally provided in the State will be facilitated in this new hospital. However, I do have an issue. When the State invests, the State should own it from then onwards but that is not where we have arrived at.

This situation has arisen as a result of the two hospitals being co-located----

-----and the imperative that women in this country get modern healthcare provision. While fantastic work is done in Holles Street, the situation there is not optimal. We all know that co-location is the optimal situation.

Let us be fair here. The Deputy should not put words into my mouth. The Minister for Health has inherited this situation and is dealing with it. First of all, there has to be stronger public interest on the board. The current structure in terms of the membership of the board is not satisfactory. Second, in my view, when the State is investing, the State should own. Third, I am simply saying to the Deputy that those who have been involved in the negotiations to date are absolutely adamant that there will be no influ…

There is an ownership issue in terms of when the State is investing such substantial sums of money. It will own the hospital but it will not, as it currently stands, own the site itself and that is a problem.

I certainly cannot recall giving the Deputy any assurance about anything because the Government has not signed off on anything in relation to this. It is a pity that the issue was not raised on Leaders' Questions because the shortness of time to reply on the Order of Business does not allow one to give a more comprehensive account. As far as I am concerned, there is one very significant issue here, which is the safety of women in particular in terms of building a modern maternity hospital. I have often been struck …

It should not be. It should be out of the question.

We are clear that will be the case.

Previous Ministers have given that assurance, to be fair. The previous Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, gave that assurance to the House on repeated occasions. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly is giving that assurance.

We are clear on that aspect of it. There are certainly issues around the ownership of it and the representation of the State on the board. Those are issues that have to be addressed because of the level of State investment involved and the consequences for accountability as a result of that investment.