As we have consistently stated, the safest thing to do during Covid-19 right now is not to travel but rather to holiday in Ireland or stay at home. One of our overarching priorities or objectives - this is why we have taken a very cautious approach, particularly in terms of the commencement of phase 4 and the compulsory wearing of masks on public transport - which I ensured happened the week before last and with which the public complied very quickly - relates to getting our schools open at the end of August. That …

The electronic locator form will give us the capacity to follow up on the contacts of anyone who tests positive for Covid-19. People travelling from places such as those referred to by the Deputy would be jeopardising the overall health status of particular communities or schools. It is very important that we have the capacity to contact trace people and the electronic form will give us that to a strong degree. We decided last night to establish a call centre and this will enable rapid follow-up. The key advice, in…

I thank the Deputy for his questions. The first number of weeks have been extremely decision-orientated. As I said before, I have never come across a legislative programme so significant in one month. With the co-operation of everybody in the House, we are putting through substantive and significant legislation which is the substance of politics, government and parliament. That is ultimately why we are here. That legislation will underpin the July stimulus programme that we will announce this week. Hopefully, that …

That did happen. We have discussed this with the World Health Organization and others. The advice we got was that one must be able to contact people very quickly once they have arrived into the country.

I am responding to Deputy McNamara.

Deputy McDonald had her opportunity to ask questions. The Deputy should allow others their time on Leaders' Questions.

Deputy McDonald does not own the entire Parliament and she should allow other Opposition Deputies have their say.

I said that in good form. That is the essence of it. If one thinks through the logic of mandatory quarantining, how many hotels would the State have to book? The proportionate point the Deputy made is valid and there are complex legal issues involved. Essentially, it is about contact tracing and knowing where people are. That is where the electronic locator form comes into play. It is important because it enables us to have a ready capacity to contact people who may have been in contact with somebody who tested pos…

Those are issues which I would like to discuss with the Deputy in greater detail, such as moving Shannon Heritage to a better home. That would take some detailed examination but I note the Deputy is concerned about its current operations in terms of its low level of activity and the impact on employment. I hope there might be opportunities arising out of the stimulus package that may be of interest and of use to Shannon Heritage. I will speak to the tourism Minister on the issues the Deputy raised. I will also spea…

It is an important and serious report from HIQA. We will examine it in considerable detail. Some of the issues in the 45-page report are concerning in terms of breaches of regulations, management failings, staff shortages and lack of infection control measures. That was after dozens of inspections at homes with confirmed cases since May. Sometimes we do not acknowledge the role of HIQA in terms of its regulatory functions, a body which I established quite some time ago. It has brought about reforms in health throug…

I am very keen in terms of the development of offshore wind. I think it is going to be a key contributor to our energy capacity into the future and in terms of meeting our climate change agenda, so that legislation, it is hoped, will be published in the autumn, probably towards the latter part of the year.

I assure the Deputy that this is an absolute priority of the Government, that being, to get the schools reopened. A lot of work has been under way working with all of the stakeholders, which is important. I would prefer one comprehensive announcement on this as opposed to piecemeal announcements, responses and so on. This needs to be a comprehensive response. A lot of work is under way by the Department itself, the stakeholders in education and the Minister, and the Minister is very keen, obviously, to make a publi…

I think the Deputy is overstating the issue. We take the issue in terms of travel and its potential contributory effect to Covid very seriously. That is why we have one of the most restrictive travel frameworks globally. We are very restrictive in this country in terms of the number of people coming into the country and the advice we have given people, and people by and large have complied with that advice. Hence, the very low numbers, relative to what happened before Covid, that are travelling either in or out of …

The key point that I again have to reiterate has to do with testing, contact tracing and having strong measures at our airports to protect people from Covid.

I do not know what planet the Deputy is on.

I genuinely do not. I mean this sincerely. Our membership of the European Union is not about being good boys or bad boys. It is about being part of a single market and an economic union that have brought great benefits to the country in terms of jobs and the modernisation of our economy. This deal is a good deal for Ireland. The proportion of the multi-annual financial framework for the Common Agricultural Policy has gone up to 31% as opposed to 28% in the last programme. When you take the United Kingdom's exit fro…

No. As far as I am concerned, it is about us being able-----

No, hold on. We will not survive on our own as an island in isolation. We survive and create wealth in Ireland through making products and providing services that provide solutions to the global economy and the global society-----

-----enabling us to sell the beef, the milk, the software and hundreds of other services and goods that make Ireland the economically developed country that it has been over the extent of its membership of the European Union.

First, I would like to get an evaluation of how that structural change of MABS has worked out in terms of broader services generally. I have got different feedback since it happened. Some was positive when I met in an informal way earlier in the year some people involved in the service. I cannot get involved in every operational decision of agencies under specific Departments. We will contact MABS to ascertain its rationale for this action and what the intention is.