Deputy Cahill has been consistent on this issue for quite some time. I point out to Deputies Carthy and Durkan that a working group has been established by the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan, to examine the future role of peat in the horticultural sector in relation to the long-term solution for peat alternatives for horticultural purposes. I am told that, in the interim, existing stocks are available to meet current demand. I am willing to meet the inte…

We should acknowledge that yesterday we passed a sad figure - a threshold of 3,000 people who have died in the Republic from Covid-19 and 1,760 who have passed in Northern Ireland. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of those who have been bereaved by this deadly and dangerous virus, which constantly evolves and is causing devastation to people's lives and to societies across the world. I want to make it clear that there will be no half measures from me as Taoiseach or from Government in ensuring a p…

I expect everybody to lead from the front. The problem with the Deputy is that, unfortunately, she has been on the fence for much of this and has clung to the fence for as long as possible. I remember a headline on the 18 September edition of the Irish Daily Star , which stated "Mary Lou: Open all the pubs". The Deputy was quoted as saying there was no reason that all the pubs should not open again. That was her view then. Whatever was fashionable, whatever was the trend, she jumped on board. That has been her cons…

The Deputy's party is on the Northern Ireland Executive and has failed to gain the consensus required in respect of some of the issues she has raised. We will continue to work in a constructive fashion with the Northern Ireland Executive. The measures on travel will not take weeks to implement; they will be implemented very quickly. It is time for consistency all around, from all sections of the House, including the Deputy's party, on this matter. As I said earlier, prolonged suppression is what is required. We wil…

I thank the Deputy for raising those issues. The Government's view is very clear: people should not travel for non-essential reasons. There are very few reasons that people should travel. The Deputy is correct in saying that a significant number of people who have been travelling out of Ireland have, since the Christmas period, been going on holiday and coming back in. That clearly needs to stop and that is why there is additional enforcement at the ports and airports. Anybody who travels abroad is breaching level …

We are introducing quarantine into the country.

We are introducing it and the legislation will give us broad capacity to extend it. The numbers have collapsed to very low levels in terms of people coming into the Republic and we must maintain that over the coming period. That is the reality. The Deputy is correct in terms of identifying the variants as the significant factor now in how we deal with international travel. There is a lot of fear and anxiety out there. Bar some Deputies, this is the first time a call has come from different parties for mandatory qua…

First, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Is it related to the local improvement scheme?

My understanding is that a new scheme has been announced with regard to that and the deadline for applications is 26 February. I will ask the Minister to correspond with the Deputy about the details, however. I take on board what the Deputy said about the challenges facing many people in terms of accessing funding for this over the years. The Government has been in office just over six months and has identified investment in rural Ireland as a key priority. That is clear in the programme for Government, particularl…

The Deputy has articulated a case very strongly on behalf of his constituents and the people of County Kerry. As I said, a new scheme has been announced and I believe applications are due in before 26 February. I will check that and ask the Minister to engage with the Deputy on this matter. I will certainly talk to the Minister about the allocation and whether that can make a meaningful inroad on a serious backlog that has developed over the years because of the suspension of the scheme between 2012 and 2017. I wil…

The Deputy does not need to make an FOI request in order to obtain the Government's strategy on Covid-19. He is aware that the roadmap for living with Covid-19 was published a number of months ago and we are now at level 5 of that roadmap in the context of suppressing the numbers. The numbers are falling steeply but there is enormous pressure on our hospitals. As already stated, our policy is clear. It is a policy that involves prolonged suppression of the virus and getting the numbers down and keeping them there. …

I am not as arrogant as the Deputy. I will always listen to other Deputies' perspectives and respond to them. I do not dismiss them like the Deputy does and I am not as cynical as him that he does not even bother worrying about or listening to the reply any more. He should not be putting the questions if that is his attitude. The Deputy knows I have spoken to the First Minister and the deputy First Minister and he knows what the attitude of the members of the Executive is on alignment with the Republic. Unfortunate…

The Dublin Government does not run the Northern Ireland Executive. The elected representatives in the North are responsible for their jurisdiction and the political decisions they take on the pandemic but the Deputy seems oblivious to that fact and that reality.

According to the Chief Whip, that is a complete misrepresentation of what has transpired at the Business Committee. There was a consensus at the Business Committee to try to get business done, obviously, in a shortened timeframe because of Covid-19 and the current levels that we are at. Deputy Boyd Barrett should not be grandstanding in such a disingenuous way.

The idea that the Deputy is being gagged or muzzled does not stand up to any scrutiny. There is also a pattern emerging here every week on the Order of Business that, irrespective of whatever is agreed by the Business Committee, the Deputy or someone on his behalf will stand up even though the Deputy was at the Business Committee and raise an issue of one kind or another.

The issue of Covid dominates tomorrow's agenda, and rightly so. The Deputy wants to raise questions relating to the health service and so on. The reality is our personnel and the people on the front line are performing heroically, as I stated earlier, and they are doing extraordinary work on behalf of all of us. That is why we want to get the numbers down. That is why we want to continue both to get case numbers down and to keep them down, and reduce the pressure.

Tomorrow, the Minister for Health is in for 100 minutes on statements and questions and answers on Covid-19 vaccinations. I presume that will not stop the Deputy from asking other questions either and the Minister from responding. Then the Minister for Social Protection has 135 minutes on Covid-19 and then the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is in for a fixed debate lasting 135 minutes on the Department's response to Covid-19. The whole day is dominated by Covid so we should not give the impress…

The Government is acutely aware of the enormous stress and anxiety that has been placed on leaving certificate students this year, particularly as they were in fifth year last year when schools closed as a result of the emergence of the pandemic and, because of this acute phase of the pandemic, schools have not been in a position to reopen. That creates real difficulties and challenges for the students concerned. The Minister consistently has engaged with all the partners in education in relation to this, including…

Last week, the Deputy was really on a rant about consultation in education.

The Deputy was the person who consistently argued about the need for consultation. To be fair to the Minister, Deputy Foley, she has been consistent on consultation.