My view is-----

I discussed this earlier. Essentially, the plan is to build up a permanent workforce of contact tracers, close to 800, whose sole function will be contact tracing. In the intervening period, as of this week, the HSE said it has restructured its call system to make sure that its contact tracers can deal with 1,500 positive cases a day. On the swabbing side, 1,000 swabbers will be the permanent workforce in community swabbing, and there will be up to 800 in contact tracing. That is the plan. The HSE has been recruiti…

Resourcing has been made available through the HSE to the service providers to make sure they can continue restoring services for adults with disabilities. Notwithstanding going to level 5, it is our view that these services should be maintained to enable these adults to avail of the services. I agree with the Deputy on Scoil Chormaic. I have fond memories of visiting the school, both as Minister for Education and more recently, last year. It is a wonderful centre and does great work through a very good ethos. We w…

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. We are moving to level 5 at midnight for six weeks. Many sectors are already identifying themselves as being capable of operating safely. This will be a difficult and tough six weeks. There was an oversight meeting of Departments this morning to make it clear to many Departments that we want level 5 to work. The capacity to create exemptions in respect of different sectors just does not exist. People are looking for different exemptions in different areas.

I am making a general point. To be fair, I appreciate that Deputy McNamara has his own views on level 5. We come from different perspectives.

I am simply making the point that we have been given advice. I accept the advice fully in terms of moving to level 5 for six weeks.

It will be tough and difficult but the key objective is to get our numbers and incidence rate down so we can reopen. Many sectors, retail and others, are saying that they could operate safely.

Which hospital in Cork?

He went to get tested in CUH.

There are a wide range of questions. First, regarding the original question asked by Deputy Ó Murchú about antigen testing, HIQA produced a major study on this. It has been clinically validated now. I asked again for a report from it through the oversight committee which asked this morning if it could have the report next week in terms of how that is progressing. I am being candid with the Deputy. There has been a policy issue here. Many people on the public health side were not, in the early stages, convinced abou…

No. Community tracing has improved dramatically as well. There are now far more people working in community tracing than there were previously. Community transmission has been at a very high level for the past number of weeks. The HSE has said it will be able to deal with 1,500 positive cases a day from next week onwards in respect of community tracing.

I take exception to Deputy Collins trying to suppress and censor Deputy O'Sullivan. That is not on either. The Deputy always gets an opportunity.

Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan approached me yesterday about Bantry. I ensured that the incorporeal meeting yesterday evening, which was designed to provide for the application of the compensation scheme and the humanitarian scheme for Cork city would also apply to Bantry, as well as to Aghada, Youghal and other areas which suffered as a result of the flooding. That has happened. On the flood relief schemes, I spoke with the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, again yesterd…

They should pay up.

What new regime is the Deputy referring to?

The Minister is doing everything possible to deal with the concessionary ticket situation and also late payments by those eligible for school transport. The overriding consideration has been the implementation of the NPHET recommendation to reduce numbers by 50%. That was given some time ago but it has involved additional expenditure of between €100 million and €120 million. The transport operators, CIÉ and the Department are saying this had to be resolved first by creating the additional capacity required in advan…

The Cabinet committee on Europe was established to oversee implementation of the programme for Government commitments on the European Union and related issues. It last met on 8 October in advance of the European Council meeting held in Brussels on 15 and 16 of October, when it discussed European Union and UK relations, climate change and external relations. It will continue to meet as appropriate, including to discuss issues on the agenda of the European Council. The date of the next meeting has not yet been set.

I thank the Deputies for the issues they have raised. The committee deals with Europe and we have a separate Cabinet subcommittee on Covid-19, which deals with all aspects of that. This committee meets to discuss broader European issues, specifically in preparation for European Council meetings. The most important response of the European Council and member states to Covid-19 has been the multilateral financial framework and the next generation EU funding programme, which is unprecedented in that European member st…

The Deputy's central thesis about the health service does not apply in that context. As for treatments and outcomes, I ask the Deputy to defer to clinicians. The outcomes in Ireland during the first phase, in terms of hospital treatments, were quite good, which speaks well of the clinical qualities in our hospitals, such as the quality of clinicians and all our staff, including those in nursing and all involved in intensive care. An excellent programme produced by RTÉ looked at some of the metrics at St. James's Ho…

We have been told they are not zero-hour contracts and I will further interrogate that to ensure that they are proper and to the level they should be. We want a deal and that is still the outcome that Europe wants, that Ireland certainly wants and that the United Kingdom says it wants. Notwithstanding all the talk last week, therefore, the joint committee has remained engaged on the protocol issue. There has been some constructive engagement in that regard and I hope a deal can be arrived at. In the context of wher…