I am reluctant to intervene in such lyricism. The manner in which the Deputy can ream off wonderful phrases is something I genuinely enjoy. His point is well made. In respect of the plight of publicans in rural Ireland and the life experience of people more generally in terms of the impact of Covid-19, the overriding priority will be public health. Public health advice will be made available to the Cabinet this evening and the Government will make a decision based on that. As I said earlier, there is some concern a…

I will take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. The Government has established the following Cabinet committees: Covid-19; economic recovery and investment; housing; health; environment and climate change; social affairs and equality; education; Europe; Brexit and Northern Ireland; and Government co-ordination. I am a member of all committees, along with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I am circulating with the Official Report for the info…

First, with regard to the Apple judgment, obviously we have the committee on economic recovery but the Cabinet as a whole will consider it this evening and will have a report on it. It is important to make the point that Ireland is only entitled to revenue within the law and legal framework. The essential judgment is that the Commission's decision is being annulled and so Ireland was not in a position to get any of that revenue because it was not entitled to it. That is the decision of the courts. I also make that …

I was not fully informed on 3 July.

The Deputy says when in the context of her assertion as to when I had full knowledge and I disagree with her.

I had a number of discussions over the last while. Yesterday, following my meeting with Deputy Cowen - there were others during the week - I apprised both the Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, in terms of the outcome of my discussions with Deputy Cowen and also of the fact I had seen what I took to be the PULSE file yesterday morning. I gave them my view and my intentions, by the way, in terms of full accountability to the House being necessary. Following that I had subsequent discussions but I have kept them…

There are more Deputies in the House, Deputy.

In terms of the leaving certificate and the National Educational Psychological Service, it is important to point out that there have been significant reforms to the leaving certificate over the last 20 years with a greater reduction on the emphasis on written exams. That is a good thing. The benefit of the leaving certificate has been its anonymity, the fact that it is fair and that it avoids any subjective correction of results. I favour a greater use of continuous assessment and project-based work and I look forw…

I would take on board what Deputy Nash has said. I do not disagree with the Deputy's point. The participation in the BEPS process is an important process. Initially, the corporation tax rate was very important. There is no point in pretending it was not. The Deputy does not suggest that but, as a former Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, particularly on the life sciences front, many companies wanted certainty around our tax proposition and it was a competitive world in terms of tax offerings. The Deputy…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, and 47 together. Since taking office, I have spoken with leaders, including the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, and the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda. I also spoke with the European Union's chief negot…

Deputy Nash's question was first. During my conversation with the British Prime Minister, on Brexit he said and we both agreed that it was in the best interests of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe that a comprehensive trade deal be agreed. We also agreed that we needed to get moving and introduce momentum to the talks. In my earlier conversation with Michel Barnier, there was a sense that momentum had not yet been injected into the talks and that it was necessary to make more rapid progress than has been made…

The Cabinet committee on health was established by Government decision on 6 July last. The first meeting has been scheduled for 23 July. It will oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments on health and will receive detailed reports and identify policy areas and consider the implementation of health reforms, including Sláintecare, and the development of mental health services. Its membership will comprise the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for enterprise, employment and trade, the Minister …

Deputy McDonald's question referenced section 38 and section 39 organisations; I understand the previous Government did make an allocation from the Dormant Accounts Fund to try to ease the pressure that many of them are under. That said, it is clear that their capacity to fundraise has been significantly reduced. Others have developed novel ways of trying to raise funding but it is not at the level it was for them. In addition, there will be a review of that sector. It is a long-standing model whereby the organisat…

To respond to both Deputies, we are no longer talking about amounts of €20 million where health is concerned. We are talking about billions of euro being required by the Department of Health. The Estimates for the next 12 months will be quite staggering relative to what was spent prior to the emergence of the virus and issues to do with personal protective equipment and a variety of other measures to support hospitals and staff. Deputy Boyd Barrett is correct; I did not mean to juxtapose the two. Of course, recruit…

I will attend a meeting of the European Council this Friday and Saturday, 17 and 18 July 2020. While EU leaders have met five times in recent months by videoconference, and twice by videoconference with leaders from neighbouring regions, this will be the first time that leaders will meet in person since the special European Council held on 20 February and since the start of the current Covid-19 crisis. It will also be my first time to attend a meeting of the European Council as Taoiseach. The essential focus of thi…

As the Deputy said, the Minister came into the Dáil and publicly admitted that he was convicted of a drink-driving offence four years ago, that he was penalised for that offence and that justice was meted out in accordance with the charge and with the offence that he committed. He adamantly denies any suggestion or implication that he sought to evade any checkpoint. That is his very strong position. He is very concerned that data related to his personal files have found their way to others and he feels that is a ve…

The Deputy has drawn two wrong inferences and made two incorrect assertions. I was not aware of the PULSE record and did not see it. I cannot work on the basis of a journalist saying that he or she has a source or paper that shows X. I saw the document myself this morning and having seen it, I can say that it is not quite as it has been portrayed. Nonetheless, the document is there.

It is not for me to publish.

It is not my record and people have entitlements in this regard. The Deputy should not make suggestions that are untrue. The Minister, Deputy Cowen, was unaware of the record and exactly what it said until he got possession of it. One can only comment on a record when one sees it. For the last four years, he was unaware of any suggestion that this would be on the record. That is his point of view. I would not pre-emptively judge something until I saw the record for myself, and I did early this morning. The Minister…

That is an issue about which he is extremely angry.