I thank the Deputy for raising this pertinent question. She also raised it the last time she contributed during Leaders’ Questions. I went back to my Cabinet colleagues and discussed it with them, particularly the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Robert Troy, who had a discussion with the Deputy in this House another occasion. We cannot divulge confidential discussions of the Cabinet subcommittee but this issue was raised there and has been raised outside of Government an…

It is never too late. The Minister for Transport and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, have been clear on the messaging to businesses to act now and to trial direct services to continental ports. The IMDO analysis is informing Government policy on this. Issues have been raised. I am anxious to make sure no stone is left unturned and all potential eventualities are catered for. For example, there could be significant difficulties with the land bridge, even if there is a normal Brexit as opposed to a no-deal Br…

I again thank the Deputy for her comments. I will ask the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minster of State with responsibility for international and road transport and logistics, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, to engage with her on the specifics and details as she sees them. I have received consistent reassurances from the Minister and the Minister of State that this issue is adequately prepared for. I am anxious that the points that the Deputy has raised are dealt with and resolved. There will obvi…

I discussed the matter earlier with Deputy Gino Kenny. The situation has never been simple in terms of resolving the dispute since the liquidation occurred, as I have acknowledged and been honest about from the beginning. People may have been given expectations during this dispute that could never be realised. Simplistic solutions were offered which never had any prospect of being realised. The liquidation process, in itself, was never going to replace the legitimate redundancy entitlements of the workers. The comp…

The State provides statutory redundancy and in certain redundancy contexts provides a safety net where employers are either not in a position to pay their redundancies or workers are left with nothing. The State continues to play a strong proactive role in this area. Our systems are as strong as other member states across Europe. We are open to strengthening those. I will engage with the Deputy again and, as I have said, I will talk to other colleagues across Government to see what can be done.

I am conscious of what the Ceann Comhairle said at the commencement of these proceedings. I might have been anticipating a question on this issue during Leaders' Questions but it did not materialise for understandable reasons, to be fair. It would be my intention to seek a meeting with party leaders at which we could jointly assess the situation without prejudice. I am mindful of comments that were made by representatives of different parties this morning in a constructive vein. This is a very serious issue. It is …

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. In advance of moving to level 5, we discussed the issue of domestic violence and the fact that, during the first lockdown, it was reported that there had been a significant increase in reports of domestic violence. Funding is not an issue, and should not be. Significant resources have been made available but I will speak to the Minister again and get an assessment of the report and the need to respond regarding any requirements that have been asked for and are needed.

First, the matters that the Deputy refers to are matters to be addressed within the judicial arm.

I know but maybe the wise thing is to meet first and see collectively how we believe we should proceed rather than doing it in a piecemeal way. The facts are that the Attorney General advises the Government and that the Oireachtas has its own legal advice. It would require its own legal advice if it wanted to engage on the issue. I will reflect on what the Deputy has asked, however. I acknowledge what he is saying.

As the Deputy knows, in the budget we allocated unprecedented resources for housebuilding, in particular public housing. Our target is 10,000 units per annum for the next five years. These will be direct builds. There will always be an element of acquisition but we want to keep that to a minimum. I take the Deputy's point; I have no issue with the points that it is far more cost-effective to build directly on the social housing front and that local authorities should become far more proactive on that front. The res…

What the Government has said is a very clear commitment and intention to hold the leaving certificate next year. We are giving that certainty to the current cohort of students who are now in sixth year, who had a difficult year last year in fifth year - I am sorry, as I meant this year, but it was last year's academic year - because of Covid-19, the degree of disruption that caused and the fact that schools were closed for quite some time. Account will be taken of that in terms of how the examinations are designed …

I take the Deputy's point and I will pursue the matter with the Minister again to see if we can expedite it.

No, I am okay.

I have kept the channels open on a consistent basis with the First Minister and deputy First Minister. The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, is in constant contact with the Minister for Health in the Northern Ireland Executive, Mr. Robin Swann. The respective Chief Medical Officers are engaging. Our views are well known. I have made the point that harmony in terms of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the Republic would make sense. England has entered into a significant upping of the levels of restriction…

I have made it clear in the past that this is because Britain is leaving the European Union. This is not a scheme; it is a European directive. Europe made this facility available to all the citizens of Europe. It is a cross-border arrangement for health services which are then recompensed by their taxpayers. Since Britain is leaving the European Union, its participation in the directive falls. That is what is happening. That said, I have indicated in this House that we are negotiating a bilateral agreement. Whether…

I can tell the Deputy one thing: by the time I am finished, there will be no absence of greenways in west Cork. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is here and he agrees with me.

The Government has been part of the European Commission approach in term of the pre-purchase of vaccines from a number of companies. Pfizer-BioNTech is one of the partnerships in respect of which a contract is being explored and it is very close to conclusion. Others are Sanofi, Janssen and Oxford-AstraZeneca. The Government today decided to establish a task force headed by Brian MacCraith, former president of Dublin City University, to lead up the logistics operation that will be required for both the physical pro…

I move: That Dáil Éireann has confidence in the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar T.D. The decision by Sinn Féin to table a motion of no confidence in the Tánaiste was based on that party's hope that something would turn up that would help it use today for an aggressive political attack on the Government. It was a 100% cynical move and, unfortunately, it reflects the reality of its four months as the largest Opposition party. It has been left scrambling by the reality that not…

When I spoke to the House yesterday evening, I made it very clear that I believe that what the Tánaiste did when he was Taoiseach was not best practice, was inappropriate, was the wrong way to deal with that issue and was the wrong thing to do. To be fair to the Tánaiste, he had no issue with coming before the House. He has come into the House, addressed the issue and answered questions for a quite considerable period of time. He explained in detail what happened and his motivations behind what happened. He accepte…

First, I was not a member of the previous Government and I am not accountable for its actions.