I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 8, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on housing last met on 28 September and will meet again shortly. The committee oversees the implementation of the programme for Government commitments in respect of housing and related matters. Significant work is under way on the delivery of these commitments through Departments, agencies and interdepartmental groups, which will be brought forward for discussion at the committee and among the Government. The budget last week was an…

In terms of mortgages, the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform will engage with the banks on this issue. On the first occasion, good work was done. That is not acknowledged in this House, of course, but the payment breaks worked effectively.

Deputy McDonald knows the reason. It is not that we ended them. Once we came out of lockdown, there was a time limit to it with the European Banking Authority. It did not add to the number of non-performing loans.

This scheme did not create difficulties for borrowers either.

Indefinite payment breaks forever are not, on their own, the ideal solution either in terms of those who are borrowers or lenders. I refer here not just to mortgages but also personal loans, business loans and so on.

I did not interrupt the Deputy. I would appreciate being given the opportunity to answer the questions asked by Deputies in this House.

With regard to the ban on evictions issue raised by Deputy Kelly-----

-----the bottom line is that there is a constitutional issue as well. Let us not pretend there is not. The ban came in during lockdown because a lockdown restricts movement. It gives a basis to prevent evictions because of the constraint on people's movement and then the danger of becoming homeless if evicted and so on. The Minister, therefore, will bring in legislation that will be effective from the duration of this lockdown and this level - that is, level 5 - which will prevent any evictions in that context. Of …

We did not let it slide. The Deputy deliberately misreads the situation. She knows that is not the case.

If the Deputy is so certain, I am amazed improvements have not happened in the North with regard to it. The Deputy is in government in the North. I do not understand.

If the Deputy is so certain that is the case, why does she not do it in the North where she is in power and has the influence and decision-making power to do so? I presume it is because of similar reasons.

No, it is not. It is just an important point. Deputy Boyd Barrett also raised the issue of the mortgage break and the lockdowns. We do not want people in a long-term overloading of debt. Of course, we do not. The evictions issues will be dealt with. The Ministers will see what we can do to make sure people with mortgages are not put under stress and anxiety and those people's situations can be helped. In terms of earlier issues, I did not get to student nurses. Again, I will engage with the HSE and the Minister for…

Hyperbole and polemic are some of the Deputy's great strengths but there comes a time to stop. No one can say that we are doing "Covid on the cheap". The health service received a €4 billion allocation in the budget, that is, €2 billion for Covid-19 and €2 billion to permanently embed improvements into the service. That is not Covid on the cheap. We have built the testing and tracing capacities from zero-----

It is not cheap labour. The health service is not using cheap labour.

It is not. Look at the entirety of the workforce. It is not cheap labour. That is another myth and fallacy to put forward.

Equally, our objective is to learn lessons from Covid-19 and accelerate improvements and reforms in our health service delivery in the context of community delivery, rehab, home care-based provision and community diagnosing, keeping people out of hospital as long as we possibly can and moving more into prevention, primary care and community care sides. That is the objective of Government while also increasing capacity in the rehab community hospital beds and in the acute hospital situation. Deputy Barry referred to…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together. Notwithstanding the impact of Covid-19 on all aspects of the social and economic life of our country, we have been working hard to implement commitments in the programme for Government across a wide range of issues in all Departments. A structure comprising ten Cabinet committees with specific responsibility for a range of issues has been established to support the achievement of these objectives. These committees deal with the following matters: Government respon…

On Deputy McDonald's point about domestic abuse, resourcing will not be an issue in dealing with this, particularly during the lockdown. If there are particular issues she has identified with any specific refuges or centres that need additional funding, the Government will certainly respond. The issue is that the evidence from the first lockdown was that the level of domestic violence did increase and that is a worry and a concern in the context of a further lockdown. The Ministers concerned have been looking at wh…

Yes, if it is possible. The issue in terms of the application of level 5 is clear. Essential work is listed as to what is exempt and what is allowed. What we are discussing here is a very difficult situation. It involves a liquidation. The Government provides ordinary statutory redundancy. The capacity to go over and above this opens up a whole new chapter in terms of how the State will intervene in future liquidations. This is an issue. There is also the degree to which one can legally interfere with a liquidation…

I will not, as Taoiseach, start listing what is in and what is out. That is not something I will engage in until the Government makes these decisions.