It is a scandal that is wrong and it should be investigated. I am amazed that the Deputy thinks it is okay.

He does think it is okay. He is saying they should be paid. My view is they should never have been asked in the first instance to do that and I want it investigated. I want the Deputy to give me the details of that case because we need to get to the bottom of this.

I have said to the Deputy that if any hospital employs a student nurse on a roster, he or she should be paid. It is completely undermining a degree programme if he is telling me that a first year student in a clinical-----

I am not disagreeing. I am saying the Deputy is missing the point. If that happened, it is a scandal. It should not happen because it is exploiting the student and it represents an abuse of the student.

I agree with the Deputy. All schools should get the optimal connectivity possible. We have been working with the Department involved with a view to seeing whether we can do something additional to ensure that schools in particular are connected properly and that they have access to the highest level of connectivity. I do not have the specifics on the case the Deputy identified but what he outlined is not good and needs to be dealt with. He referred to an event in 2017, which was three years ago, when he was told th…

I agree with the sentiments articulated by the Deputy. I will engage with the Minister for Education on this, and with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and his Department. At a recent meeting we identified the potential of doing something with the schools. The costs would not be excessive by any means. I did it once previously. As Minister for Education in the late 1990s, we connected every school to the Internet in one year through Eircom at the time. Schools should always be a priority…

My message is that I am committed to doing everything I possibly can to reduce the times for children waiting for scoliosis surgery. There were 255 scoliosis procedures up to the end of October of this year. That compares with 319 spinal procedures for the same period last year. Unfortunately, in March, April and May, because of Covid-19, there was a collapse in the number of procedures and that has had an impact. Funding is not the issue. Funding was provided for the recruitment of approximately 60 whole-time equi…

I will certainly look into it. The guidance, in terms of the sequencing and the prioritisation, will always be informed by the national immunisation committee, the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, and the public health expertise. It is important that we all collectively adhere to that because I do not see how it can be managed otherwise. Various sectors and groups will come forward saying that they want to be considered in advance. In terms of getting the vaccination, the priority has to be those, firs…

The Government's view is similar to the Deputy's in the context of Covid-19, that unless people represent a threat to national security they should not be deported at the present point in time. Deporting is a part of our wider migration management programme but in the context of Covid, we have obligations to the health of people, irrespective of status, for example, in terms of sending someone back to a red zone in respect of the prevalence of the Covid virus. In the context of the legislation before the Seanad thi…

I am of the view that the Deputy's party are opportunistic propagandists and it is all about distorting the truth. In 2016, the Deputy wanted to reverse the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, in their entirety. The higher earners and pensioners, that the Deputy is giving out about now, would have had their cuts reversed back in 2016 if he had his way. That is the truth. In relation to nursing students, I do not believe the apprenticeship model is the correct model. I brought in the nursing …

One should not be tolerating exploitation of student nurses.

Finally, we are committed to reviewing the allowances, and increasing the allowances, and in terms of the pay student nurses get in fourth year, to increasing that as well.

The Deputy is aware of the Government's commitments and plans in regard to expanding the cardiology service at Waterford University Hospital in terms of a second catheterisation laboratory, expanding the hours as the Deputy outlined and, critically, the recruitment of key personnel. This is not a funding issue. Predominantly, it has been an issue determined by the various colleges in terms of cardiology and their view of what level of service should be in different settings. We have had that discussion and we are c…

I would love to open up the whole of society again. There is nothing I would love more dearly to do. However, we cannot because of the Covid-9 virus. We are holding it at bay. We have the lowest incidence of Covid-19 in Europe. There is a reason why we have the lowest incidence: it is because of the balance of restrictions we have introduced. Yoga is extremely important-----

In terms of yoga I agree with the Deputy that it is very good for mental and physical health. However, where does one draw the line in terms of opening up various disciplines and areas across society? It is very difficult to draw the line, sector by sector. As I said, I would love nothing more than to be in a position to open up all the various sectors. We want to get to Christmas and January. We will assess where we are in January. There will be more mixing at Christmas. That is inevitable because of the festive s…

The HSE and the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, have been in discussions regarding the application of antigen testing in the context of healthcare settings initially. The plan is to test it in those settings, not just in the case of mass outbreaks but more generally. There have been various reports on the issue by HIQA and others and the European Commission has provided very helpful guidance in this regard to member states. I appointed the CMO, Dr. Tony Holohan, to the platform of advisers to the Euro…

I am sure the Deputy will welcome the additional beds in the orthopaedic service, a very significant investment in the north side of Cork by the Government and it will make a very significant difference there. As I said to the Deputy last week, I introduced SouthDoc and it is a vital service. It is not just about opening the doors, as the Deputy knows. It involves personnel and ensuring there is back-up in capacity. The HSE is working on that and I will engage with it again to see where we are in this regard.

It is indeed. Edgar Graham was murdered in 1983. It was a shocking murder. It happened between lectures. I think he was with Dermot Nesbitt at the time. It should be roundly condemned by all parties as a murder most foul. His family has received very little in terms of a report from the historical enquiries team, HET, investigations into his murder. It was callous, it was cruel and it was cowardly. He seems to have been singled out for his views and opinions as opposed to anything else. That is what the IRA said at…

I do not have the details of the case. Is the Deputy saying that the family has heard nothing from the new school or the special education needs organiser? The family should be informed as to progress relating to their child in terms of the placement in the school in the first instance and the allocation of an SNA. That should happen. I do not have the details but if the Deputy forwards them to us, we will follow it through.

There should be a review of the thresholds. We have long waiting lists as matters stand. In those cases identified by Deputy Paul Donnelly, in the first instance the people involved should appeal. It is difficult for those families and it is unfair, given that they were 11 and 12 years on the list. Due cognisance should be taken of the fact that they are so long on the list and that the children involved only got employment recently. There needs to be a bit of balance and common sense in the application of rules. T…