The entire issue with an ICU bed is staff. The ratio of nurses to patients in ICU is 1:1. It is very staff-intensive, as it has to be. Therefore, up to 1,500 staff were trained during the pandemic to be ready for a Covid surge and to significantly increase ICU capacity to deal with any further surges. The facility exists within the health service to ramp up critical care capacity, if necessary. There has been an increase in beds since the beginning of the year but we will continue to work on that. I accept the bona…

In fairness, Irish Governments have successively been supporting the case of Seamus Ludlow in terms of getting answers and securing the engagement of the British Government and others on the matter. Of that, I have no doubt. In fact, the Irish Government, in terms of all parties, has probably been the one party that has honoured its commitments under the Good Friday Agreement as regards legacy issues. We set up the Smithwick inquiry, which is not often acknowledged. We did, however, and we were prepared take whatev…

That is in the Bill.

What the Deputy just said does not tally. We are fundamentally changing the way appeals are being held by providing greater capacity to deal with the applications and appeals in a faster and speedier way. I say to both Deputies that the legislation is important and has been approved by Government. It is in the Seanad this week and will move through this House next week. People object in this country. We have a democracy. I do not think we should be using language like "they would be dealt with in another way". I do…

I said previously in the House that I met the Minister for Education and Skills and the chief inspector and senior officials in the Department of Education and Skills. It is their absolute desire and commitment to have the normal leaving certificate next year, that is, the normal written exams as well as other aspects of it. Obviously, Covid-19 will have some impact on, perhaps, certain aspects around the oral examinations and so forth. They are, however, determined to have the leaving certificate and are already w…

I thank the Deputy for raising that. It is a significant issue. I would like to engage further with him, the Minister for Health and others to see how that issue can be best addressed.

In the plan that was published and launched last week, one of the clear objectives of the HSE was that there would be, at a minimum, one testing centre per county. That is a commitment from the HSE. The precise location is a matter for the HSE operationally. I do not get involved in deciding where a test centre goes, whether it is that town as opposed to another town or a particular location. The HSE also deploys mobile clinics and different mechanisms. I have been in discussions with the HSE CEO on that point.

As a former Minister for Health, I have had a long-standing commitment to Bantry hospital and I put significant resources in at that time. We do not put into the programme for Government approval for every individual post at a particular hospital, such as anaesthesia, cardiac surgery or whatever. We are, however, mindful of the issue raised by the Deputy. Deputies O'Sullivan and Cairns have also raised this with me in trying to make sure there is anaesthesia cover for Bantry hospital because that is essential for o…

I am abiding by the Chair.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. The Government recognises the importance of regular and open engagement with all sectors of society. This is particularly important as we steer our way out of the pandemic, rebuild our economy and support communities that have been severely impacted by Covid-19. As committed to in the programme for Government, a social dialogue unit has been established within the economic division of my Department. This division already has extensive engagement with social partner…

Deputies Kelly and McDonald asked about the Low Pay Commission. Sinn Féin and Deputy McDonald could take a leaf out of Deputy Kelly's book. Let us argue these issues in as non-political and non-partisan a way as we can. We are all in favour of looking after and doing the best we can for low-paid workers. The problem I see in the exchanges this morning is one party wants to party-politicise the issues. That party now blames Fine Gael and the Labour Party for what it is saying is a commission that was not wired prope…

I have met quite a number of workers. The issue now is how we can try to bring a resolution to this matter and that is not easy.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 6, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change was formally established by the Government on 6 July 2020 and had its first meeting on 30 July. It oversees the implementation of the programme for Government commitments in regard to the environment and climate change and receives detailed reports on identified priority areas, including the annual climate action plan. Its initial focus is to oversee the immediate priority areas identified in th…

To which legislation is the Deputy referring?

Is it the climate change Bill?

I thought the Deputy was talking about the sick pay legislation.

I thank the Deputies for their questions. The heads of the climate action (amendment) Bill were approved by Cabinet this week and the legislation is at a fairly advanced stage of drafting. It is quite comprehensive. It will set a target to decarbonise the economy by 2050 at the latest and then make-----

-----the adoption of five-year carbon budgets, setting maximum emissions by sector, a legal requirement. It will also establish the climate action council on an independent statutory footing and ensure greater gender balance and increased scientific experience and expertise in its membership. The objective is to have the Bill ready and published within 100 days, give or take a day or two. On the issue of County Tipperary, Deputy Kelly will note that the Minister with responsibility for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Bri…

As I have said, I will relay the Deputy's points to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and I am sure the Deputy will also have opportunities to engage with the Minister on these issues. He is a positive individual whose basic objective is to try to bring people on this journey to a cleaner, healthier and better society by meeting our obligations on climate change because it is the existential crisis of our time.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together. Following my meeting with the Northern Ireland First Minister and deputy First Minister in Belfast on 16 July, I welcomed them and their colleagues in the multi-party Executive to Dublin for the 24th plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council at Dublin Castle on Friday, 31 July, which I chaired. This was the first plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council since November 2016. It provided the new Irish Government and the restored Northern Ir…