First, extraordinary efforts were made last year in recruiting way above and beyond in respect of interns and non-consultant hospital doctors. It was never envisaged that those levels would be sustained across the country. However, I will ask the HSE about the hospital at Clonmel and the issues there because I accept the Deputy's point that the hospital is under pressure. I have not had any meeting yet in relation to St Brigid's hospital. I will certainly pursue the issue of the interns.

I ask the Deputy to forward me the details of the case in order that I can get a detailed response in respect of the issues she has raised on that individual case.

I will pursue that issue. I have no doubt but that the Minister for Education will also be dealing with this. I am not clear on the importance of that HSE piece of land. However, I am familiar with cases across the country where the HSE has provided pieces of land to enable school extensions and so on. We would be very happy to see if we can help the national school at Rathmore in respect of this issue.

I thank the Deputies for raising the issue. Louth County Council did have a successful €7.5 million application in Dundalk for the St. Nicholas Quarter and Backlands regeneration project under the latest funding announcement for the URDF and that should be acknowledged. The Government is committed to Drogheda, and we understand the disappointment with the application which was not successful. The application was not recommended by the project advisory board, which made the recommendations. That advisory board is ma…

The URDF has specific criteria-----

A range of Deputies spoke on this issue. First of all, I have to say to Deputy Tóibín that he should withdraw his remark. It is completely unfounded and the level of his invective is just not warranted. It is not proportionate, it is not balanced and it is doing a disservice. The vaccination programme in this country is working.

It is having a very significant impact on those who are being vaccinated. We have reached those cohorts who are most vulnerable to severe illness and death. The over-85s, by and large-----

Come off it, please, Deputy Tóibín.

The Deputy should stop the blackguarding on this issue. I want to make the point that there are a number of strands of thought that have emerged. I will come back to Deputy Ó Murchú's question because he has made a valid point in the global sense. A total of 95% of everything that comes into the country is being injected into people within the week. That is a fact. In terms of the global supply issue, there are three major continents that are manufacturing vaccines. In Asia, we have China, and then there is Europe …

We have asked the German Government whether it has reserves of AstraZeneca to give, because there were articles written saying that it was not using those vaccines. We got a very quick response from the German Government saying that it will be using all of its AstraZeneca supplies. The key to this, going back to Deputy Ó Murchú's point, is the global situation. If we do not vaccinate countries in Africa and all the other countries, ultimately, we risk the arrival of new variants in the fullness of time.

The European Union has been very committed in this regard and has provided very substantive funding to COVAX and other initiatives on that front.

I thank the Deputies for raising the issue. As I said earlier, what happened in Davy's is absolutely unacceptable. It was a disgrace and should not have happened. It has damaged not just the company but also, again, the reputation of financial services in Ireland. No stone will be left unturned in the context of strengthening the legislative regime. The Minister for Finance has made it clear - he presented to the Cabinet on this matter yesterday - that the SEAR legislation will be brought forward and that the heads…

The Government is very committed to the roll-out of broadband. Obviously, broadband is essential, particularly in enabling people, including the self-employed and businesses more generally, to conduct their work. It is essential for those who are working at home and students who are studying. I am referring to the nature and importance of connectivity. I will relay to the Minister what has been said here by Deputies, including on communication from the Department on areas designated on the blue map. The Government …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. I last spoke with Prime Minister Johnson on Tuesday, 2 March. We discussed plans for a joint bid for World Cup 2030, bringing together the five football associations from Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. We also discussed the latest situation on the Northern Ireland protocol and during our conversation the Prime Minister spoke of concerns he had around the availability of various food products and plants in Northern Ireland. I stressed to the…

First, we agreed during our telephone conversation that we will have a more substantive meeting in the coming period in order to look more fundamentally at the British-Irish relationship post Brexit, which is important. My sense is that the politics being played in the United Kingdom are not constructive in the context of the European Union. The issue relating to the protocol in terms of the dates could have been resolved within the joint committee. Broader issues also fall for consideration in terms of the refinem…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together. I have participated in several engagements with my fellow members of the European Council in recent months. We met in person in Brussels on 10 and 11 December, by video conference on 21 January and, again, on 25 and 26 February. At the European Council meeting in December, we discussed Covid-19, in particular the authorisation and roll-out of vaccines which began across the European Union shortly after Christmas. We agreed the circumstances in which rule of law mea…

There were a broad range of questions. I would say at the outset it would be interesting if Deputy Tóibín followed up that story on Israel. How many vaccines will those countries get in the next month from Israel or the month after that or the month after that? That is the point. There will be no immediate dividend from that particular venture any time soon in terms of additional vaccines, because Israel is vaccinating its own country and will continue to do so. The reality is, as I have stated here repeatedly toda…

On Russia, the Sputnik vaccine producer has been invited for a long time now to apply for European Medicines Agency, EMA, authorisation. My understanding now is that it is doing so. Incidentally, Russia is a long way from vaccinating its own population. It will have huge challenges in that regard. If the Sputnik vaccine is approved by the EMA, we will have no difficulty in using it and, likewise, the vaccine from China if it is approved by the EMA. We must have some authorisation mechanism for vaccines and I hope m…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together. As part of ongoing dialogue with churches, faith groups and non-confessional bodies, I have met with faith leaders on a number of occasions since my appointment as Taoiseach. On 28 October 2020, I met with representatives of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop Michael Neary, Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly and Bishop Dermot Farrell. Discussion focused mainly on the effect which the Covid-19 restrictions have on the health…

To respond to Deputy Tóibín, I fully accept that one of the saddest parts of the global pandemic and the impact on society has been the inability of families to grieve, in the way we do in Ireland, their lost ones who have passed away. This has been a terrible loss to those bereaved. That so few can attend a funeral is a further traumatic blow to the families. They do their best in the circumstances to remember their loved ones. The public health advice has been clear on this. I would say to the Deputy that it is n…