There are two things to be said here. First of all, I welcome this change. I believe it will lead to reduced insurance costs. If the Deputy would like to avail of the opportunity, I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, to talk to him. He is overseeing the whole area of insurance reform and is applying himself with great energy. It is a milestone and will bring the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, back to the centre stage. PIAB will be the faster and cheaper route through which to pursue claims f…

I will revert to the Deputy. I will discuss this with the Minister responsible and come back to him.

This issue was not caused by Revenue but by Brexit. This is how the trade agreement has been interpreted, and not only by the EU. We are engaging with the European Union with regard to a number of goods which have been similarly affected by third country status when traded from Europe into the UK before returning to the EU through Ireland. That is the position. It is not bizarre but one of the real foreseeable, predictable consequences of Brexit. That is why I always felt Brexit was a very bad idea. I believe many …

I recently met representatives of the hospitality sector, along with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin. We heard good submissions on the impact of Covid-19 on the sector, which has been the hardest hit sector across the economy, along with the arts and entertainment sectors. That is because of the virus and not because of Government policy. The variant has made it worse and more difficult for the hospitality sector more generally. The Gover…

I understand the seriousness of the situation as presented by the Deputy. I will talk to the national ambulance service on the points he has raised and revert to him.

I welcome the announcement and it is an exciting and interesting plan that is in line with the principles and ideas behind the shared island initiative that I have undertaken. The shared island unit will be in touch with the corridors. I recently met the north-west regional group, for example, involving Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council and the growth strategy they have for the entire region, which we will also support. Likewise with the Dublin-Belfast corridor, we will engage with…

I will engage with the Minister and ask him to examine the issue the Deputy has raised. I will also ask him to liaise with NIAC and to revert back.

I spoke with deputy First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, on 2 March following the publication of the Northern Ireland Executive's pathway out of restrictions document, which maps out a five-level approach to easing out of lockdown. We agreed on the need for a cautious approach to the easing out of lockdown to avoid any reversal of direction. We also discussed recent developments on the Northern Ireland protocol and concerns about rising tensions around it. I stressed the need to de-escalate tensions and the hope that …

Deputy Richmond tabled this question. I say to him that in terms of the alignment of restrictions between Northern Ireland and the Republic, we have been very much aligned up to now and will remain so until 5 April. Indeed, that alignment may extend because, notwithstanding the progress that Northern Ireland has made on the vaccination programme, there may be a phased approach to the easing of restrictions there. I make the point that, in essence, Northern Ireland has been part of the UK vaccination programme and w…

Issues relating to children and youth affairs are dealt with by the Cabinet committee on social affairs and equality. That committee last met on 30 November 2020 and will meet again shortly. I have regular engagement with Ministers at Cabinet and individually to discuss priority issues relating to their Departments. In addition, a number of meetings have been held between my officials and officials from relevant Departments since the establishment of the Cabinet committee in July 2020.

Following the third wave of Covid-19, we took a decision to reduce the number of times we would meet at Cabinet committee level. This does not mean these issues came off the Government radar or anything like that. In fact, the opposite is the case, especially in terms of mental health and education. A number of specific meetings have taken place in the intervening period with the Minister for Education on the leaving certificate and with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Scienc…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 8, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on housing last met on 8 February and is scheduled to take place again on 19 April. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of the programme for Government commitments regarding housing and related matters. There is significant work under way on the implementation of these commitments across Government Departments and agencies, including through regular discussion of these matters at meetings of the Gov…

The Deputies have asked quite a range of questions. First, I point out to Deputy Boyd Barrett that the Government is not outsourcing housebuilding. Some 9,500 of the 12,500 social housing properties to be built this year will be built by local authorities and approved social housing bodies. There will be very large social housing provision this year in terms of building. The Government is not outsourcing that at all, contrary to what the Deputy asserted. I also point out that there is no green light to evict people…

From what I can see, ideology is preventing the building of houses.

Deputy Kelly asked me about the provisions in the Land Development Agency Bill in respect of councils and so on.

Look at the development on Oscar Traynor Road. Up to 900 houses - 853 homes - are stopped. How much longer will it be stopped because ideology keeps getting in the way?

I will participate in a meeting of the members of the European Council which will take place by videoconference tomorrow, Thursday, 25 March and, if necessary, on Friday, 26 March. It had been planned to hold this meeting in person in Brussels. However, due to the continued high, and in some cases growing, prevalence of Covid-19 in a number of member states, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, took the decision earlier this week to hold the meeting by videoconference. The items on the agenda incl…

I would like to congratulate the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and her husband, Paul, on the news that they are expecting their first child in May. Is ócáid speisialta í sin i saol an Aire agus a fir. Gach dea-ghuí orthu. It is a special time in their lives and they have all our best wishes. The Minister and I agree that she should of course be entitled to access the same full period of six months' maternity leave as any other public servant. Like any other woman, she should be afforded every opportunity to…

As I said, the Minister for Social Protection will be assigned responsibility for the Department of Justice. However, she will also remain as Minister for Social Protection and for Rural and Community Development. As I also stated, the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, who attends Government meetings and who has responsibility as Minister of State at the Department of Transport, will also be assigned as Minister of State at the Department of Justice. There will be significant delegation of functions to…

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. The behaviour by Davy executives was absolutely unacceptable and, I think, reveals an appalling culture of greed, and has damaged the reputation of the financial services sector in this country. Executives in business or in financial services should never put personal gain above their duties and responsibilities. I think the NTMA made the right decision in regard to its relationship with Davy and in severing that in respect of the issuing of bonds. I wo…