A range of supports have been given to people. An additional 1,500 public servants-----

Enterprise Ireland is giving money to many employers but we want more to apply. We have said that.

An awful lot of them got it. Come on.

As the Deputy is aware, we have provided a range of business and agricultural supports and loan and grant schemes to support business to get ready for Brexit and so on.

In terms of the overall context, it had been both the general and majority view of this House, as articulated at various Oireachtas committees, and of the Government that we need to address the issue of climate change and that we also have to have clean air for the health of the people of the country. I ask the Deputy to confirm that this is also his view. The introduction of the smoky coal ban in 1990 by the then Minister, Mary Harney, was a radical move that dramatically improved the health of the citizens of Dub…

I do not think what the Deputy says is fair. I instanced that as an illustration of an important policy that we should continue with to have air that people can breathe so they can have healthy lives. That should be a fundamental objective of all of us in this House. It is not just about cities but also towns. Last year, the then Minister, Deputy Bruton, expanded it to quite a number of towns and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, wants to continue with that. On the broader issue of other fuels, a clean air strategy is bei…

I am somewhat surprised by that. I believe that it is 135 minutes each for the Minister for Education and for the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in respect of the issues under each Minister's responsibility. It is also important that the issues pertaining to third level students in the context of Covid are debated adequately and that questions are asked in relation to that. They have had a very tough academic year because they have been largely online since the beginning…

It was in response to many contributions in this House during the first lockdown and in discussing the impact of that lockdown on children with special needs that the Government bought forward a proposal to allow special needs children to come back to their special schools or special classes in mainstream schools. Indeed, we facilitated the consultation between the assistant national director for public health, Dr. Kevin Kelleher, and the consultant Dr. Abbey Collins in relation to that proposal. Their unequivocal …

I do not disagree with the Deputy on the need for this legislation. It is essential. There was considerable debate in the last Dáil concerning a legislative template around access to information and tracing. It proved impossible to get consensus in the House at the time to get that legislation passed. The Government has looked at this afresh and the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, as he said this morning, is taking a different approach to this. Government is of the view we need to stretch this to ensure access to inform…

I empathise with what the Deputy has said. I spoke to one of the representative organisations some time ago on the Bessborough situation. Their main objective was that the burial site would be preserved. There was a view that people can identify. I agree that there first of all needs to be an examination and a proper and robust identification of the burial sites of all the children. I would have deep concerns about construction going ahead in the absence of that having been established and measures taken to protect…

No. I am saying that the legislation that he is introducing in respect of Tuam can be applied to other sites as well.

First, I want to sympathise with the family of George Nkencho on his very sad passing. This is a grave situation that merits investigation. The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, will carry out an independent examination of this matter and it is important that we not prejudice the outcome of a fair and independent investigation. The Garda works extremely hard to develop community relations and its efforts have been very effective in many communities. Gardaí work in very difficult contexts as well and that h…

I appreciate the Deputy's concerns in respect of children with special needs and additional needs. The Minister is engaging with all of the partners in respect of this issue with a view to facilitating a return in a safe manner. Those discussions and that engagement are ongoing. I acknowledge the enormous challenges for the families involved, most importantly the children. I will ask the Minister if she is in a position to communicate with the school community of Rosedale. I read some of the comments. Indeed, I saw…

The Government does not decide to close any institution in that manner.

Yes, the HSE takes operational decisions. My understanding was that the HSE had a plan to invest significantly in St. Brigid's with additional and different services being applied there and that, initially, this met with some positive responses, but people-----

No, that is my understanding. People have reflected on that and have different perspectives on it. I do not have any difficulty engaging with people in relation to it, but we cannot ignore HIQA reports either in respect of particular institutions or facilities. I will engage again with the HSE in respect of the matter.

That legislation had to be introduced in order to protect, save and preserve the records. The Minister's bona fides were absolutely correct on that occasion, and that should be acknowledged. If the Deputy reads the sixth interim report of the commission, it makes it very clear that the legislation was both urgent and necessary. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy on the specific point he raised in terms of the application of GDPR and access to information. As I said earlier, we believe in people's ri…

The Derelict Sites Act 1990 is in place and the local authority should intervene. The Deputy would have been a very active member of the local authority up to quite recently when he was successfully elected to this House in the general election that took place nearly a year ago now. The Deputy knows well that the local authority can and has the wherewithal to intervene, particularly in the context of derelict sites and vacant properties. I accept his point that vacant properties are a magnet for antisocial activity…

I believe in the World Health Organization. It is an essential body that deserves the support of all the member states of the United Nations. It is regrettable that it has been refused entry into Wuhan. A team of investigators was due to go in there to try to identify the source and so on of Covid-19, not in a blaming sort of scenario but rather to try to understand fully where the virus originated and how it spread. I believe that is necessary and I hope that situation can be resolved. The World Health Organizatio…

Obviously, I cannot pre-empt the allocation or distribution of this particular round of funding. That matter is being considered by the Minister in consultation with other Departments. Obviously, as the Deputy said and has been articulated by others, the case is a significant issue that needs resolution. I will certainly raise the Deputy's concerns with the Minister.