If it is too weak from Deputy McGrath's perspective, it is probably too strong from somebody else's perspective. I am satisfied that it is needed to deal with the crisis within the forestry industry. We need to get on with it and get it done. I do not know whether time can be made available for other matters such as the Bus Éireann issue. I will leave that to the Business Committee.

My understanding is that NPHET will be meeting on Thursday, having assessed and reviewed the situation across the country. That is its primary duty. NPHET is not the most powerful body in the country.

It provides advice to Government and the Oireachtas. Last week, I thought I would be attending a European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday. As it transpired, that meeting was cancelled due to reasons beyond our control when somebody close to the President developed Covid-19 symptoms. As a result, the Council meeting was postponed until this Thursday and Friday. I will facilitate a briefing of leaders.

Six hours are provided tomorrow-----

Six hours are provided for the Bill in tomorrow's business. The Bill is urgent. The issue has been going on for years. There have been serial objections on an industrial scale, which is not merited and is not fair.

I have no issue with people objecting. People are entitled to make an objection. All that the Bill is doing is aligning the issue of licences in forestry, felling and planting to the conventional planning system. It still allows for objections but it creates fees for those who want to appeal and so on, in line with normal planning situations. I agree with a broad-based forestry policy. I am not sure that anyone in this House has ever said we should end commercial forestry. A lot of jobs depend on commercial forestr…

-----with grants to do it, with an expectation they would be able to fell those trees in due course. The timber industry had expectations there would be a supply of timber to enable production and jobs and so on, and the supply of materials to the construction sector. All of this is threatened. The urgency is that by the end of October or November there will not be an industry and jobs will be lost.

No. That is the reality. The Deputy articulates very eloquently on behalf of workers and so on, but if this Bill is not passed, whatever chance we have, there will be a lot of workers made redundant unnecessarily because of inertia of the Oireachtas, of the legislators, and of the Executive. The Executive has taken its decision and has presented the Bill. We also want to encourage native species, which have also been objected to. In the rush to object to everything in July, everything was objected to-----

-----including native tree plantations and so on. The wonderful Dublin project was objected to also in the rush to object to everything. I am fully for stronger and enhanced biodiversity and for grants to farmers to grow native trees. I want the rebalancing of forestry policy. I do not subscribe to the idea that we put an end to commercial forestry.

There is nothing wrong-----

There is nothing wrong with people being tree huggers and tree lovers. Trees are wonderful.

Trees are probably the most effective thing we have in this country to fight climate change in the future. That is my view. We should grow far more than we are growing at the moment. The current planning process-----

-----is paralysing the entire situation.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The decision of the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland to uphold the decision not to prosecute 15 former British soldiers in connection with the Bloody Sunday killings will come as a deep disappointment to, and will be met with anger by, the families of all of those killed by the parachute regiment in Derry in 1972. Today's developments will bring back feelings of pain, loss and frustration for many. I was the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the then Prime M…

As I said earlier, the European Banking Authority, which is the European-wide regulatory authority, has essentially made the six-month timeframe in terms of payments being deferred. The position is that the Government met the banks yesterday and more tailor-made responses to individuals from here on is the more appropriate response. It is not a cliff edge although as and from the end of this month no new people may apply for the waiver or deferment of payments. It has been invaluable to many people with mortgages a…

First, I thank the teachers and SNAs throughout the country for their commitment and for making it possible for schools at primary and post-primary level to reopen. It has been the number one objective of our society collectively that our children would be back in a learning environment, because their life chances and development depend on it. That said, in terms of the primary school system, mass testing to date and testing where it has occurred indicate transmission from children to other children is low. The fig…

There should be proper and meaningful dialogue between all involved in this particular dispute. There are legal frameworks governing this. There is no point in pretending there are not, because there are. I have spoken to some workers and, as I have said, I am not going to pretend that things can be done that cannot be done. I believe the law needs to be reviewed and changed especially in respect of honouring collective agreements or at least giving collective agreements the same level of parity as other creditors …

Iconic and historic locations such as this should be preserved or should be, at a minimum, incorporated into any new development. As Deputy Tóibín is aware, in terms of Moore Street there have been exhaustive discussions involving Deputies and Senators from both Houses. This has resulted in conclusions that could enable the dereliction to end and the locations to be preserved historically in an appropriate way. They allow for development to occur as well. It took a long time in terms of Moore Street. Something simi…

Aontaím leis an Teachta. Mar a deir an seanfhocal, mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí, agus níl aon amhras faoi sin. Ar an taobh eile den scéal caithfimid a bheith macánta chomh maith agus níl aon leithscéal maidir leis na sluaite a bhí bailithe i lár chathair na Gaillimhe aréir. I agree. Nobody is knocking or criticising young people but, irrespective of age, people should not congregate in large numbers on streets in the middle of Covid-19. Let us call a spade a spade; we cannot do it. Whether people are adults or wha…

They should not be dismissed by the company and I will pursue it.