I thank the Minister for the reply. Coming from a rural county, I am excited by the possibilities afforded by remote working to a place like Kerry. As I said, we will be dealing with Covid-19 for a long time. I have a concern about contacting some Departments, although none of these is the Minister's Department. There is a difficulty in our office getting through to some Departments. When we got through to one we were told it was like a ghost town and when calls were transferred, nobody answered the phone. There is…

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit nua. I congratulate the Minister of State on his first appearance in this House. As an aside, I have spoken to him about the importance of improving Tralee Courthouse and I look forward to a longer conversation regarding keeping it in mind and in the town centre. I wish him the best of luck with that. As has been said, there are already robust and extensive anti-money laundering laws in place in Ireland and, having worked as a solicitor for a few years, I am well aware of th…

Over recent months I have got to know many of the women who, for the past 160 days, have maintained a vigil at the Debenhams store in Tralee. While I accept that the Tánaiste is not in the Chamber today, the workers are upset with him. They disagree with his comments that this is not a technical redundancy. They disagree with his insistence on differentiating between the Clerys situation and their situation. The workers fought successfully and insisted that the €20 million of stock belongs to the Irish company. The…

Tá sé soiléir ón gceist gur cuireadh isteach í tamall maith ó shin. It is clear from the question that it was submitted some time ago but hopefully the answer will be no less relevant. What is the reason for the delay in the construction of the new children's hospital? What is the new estimated date for completion? Will the total cost of the hospital exceed the independent review figure of €1.73 billion? What legal costs have arisen to date?

I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive history of what has gone on but, unfortunately, neither of the two main questions was answered in the long response she gave. The budget is approaching and a proper one is needed, including for University Hospital Kerry. The hospital is at serious risk of being downgraded because it is underfunded, and the cost of the children's hospital will be a very significant factor in that. It is unfortunate that although this question was submitted three or possibly four mo…

On the legal costs, the Minister of State referred to the costs of the board. Are they the total legal costs, including those of anyone who is claiming against it? It is possible to fix the problems at Kerry General Hospital. In February, there were three ICU beds at University Hospital Kerry, whereas one month later, there were 17, thanks to the great efforts of the ICU staff and the additional resources that were put in place due to Covid. We were able to get some answers more or less straight away, but now I fea…

I had two meetings today. One was with vintners who had come up from Kerry, old friends from Tralee, such as Pat Creagh, whose pub has been closed for the last six months and Aidan O'Connor from the Greyhound Bar, as well as some new friends from Killarney, who had been there earlier. The other meeting I had was in the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response. Speaking with vintners and the head of the Vintners Federation of Ireland in recent weeks, they accepted that there was a need for some regulation of their ind…

Cén obair atá déanta ag Roinn an Aire chun freagracht as soláthar díreach a aistriú ón Roinn Dlí agus Cirt agus Comhionannais? What preparatory work has taken place with respect to responsibility for direct provision being transferred to his Department?

I congratulate the Minister. A lot of pressure was put on him and the Minister for Justice and Equality with regard to dealing with the situation in Cahersiveen. I understand the last few residents have now been transferred from that centre. The whole area of direct provision was, however, thrown into focus again recently in connection with the Covid outbreaks in Kildare. This will continue to happen as long as the State continues to use accommodation centres which are clearly not fit for purpose. The Minister said…

I am glad the Minister raised that side of the matter with regard to NGOs. Has he spoken to any NGO that might be involved in providing accommodation when the transfer is done? Has a date been identified for the transfer, as it is going to fall on the Minister's desk? As the Minister already has the Oireachtas report which was carried out over the last Dáil term, is there really any need for another White Paper when the regulations are already in place? Is that not going to confuse the issue and prolong it further?

Did the Minister speak to the NGOs already?

In general I would be slow to agree to any additional legislation unless it is absolutely necessary and I am glad a sunset clause has been introduced in this Bill so that, in nine or ten weeks, the provisions will lapse. It seems that publicans are being singled out nationally and there is not the same rush in the media and with legislators to identify the real outbreaks over the past four or five weeks, which have been in the meat factories. The new regulations and legislation seem to have identified sporting even…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle agus leis an Aire. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil mé ag caint mar gheall ar an Stát go léir maidir leis an reachtaíocht seo ach ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá faoi mo Dháilcheantar féin chomh maith. We are dealing with the entire State here and I want to pick up on one or two aspects of what Deputy Kenny has said. It is good to see that the courts around the country have opened up in their own District Court areas. I hope that this will continue and that we can learn from …

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Foley, on her new role. I know her well from our days on Kerry County Council. My question was submitted prior to the publication of the education roadmap. I welcome many aspects of the plan, including the lack of red tape and the child-centred approach, and I acknowledge the hours of hard work put into it by departmental officials. What are her views on the implications for education of the ESRI report mentioned in the question?

I thank the Minister for her reply but I am disappointed. Particular concerns have been raised by parents of children with special needs. When they return after what the Minister described as the "learning loss", it is important that they would be able to form bonds with people outside their family unit. I have been contacted by parents and teachers who feel left out of the plan. Staff members who are defined as "high risk" do not seem to be taken into account, aside from those who are at very high risk. There is a…

I was contacted during the week by a person in St. Finian's national school in Waterville. I ask the Minister and Minister of State to prioritise schools like St. Finian's, which has been refused access to funding to complete necessary works. An important point was made earlier on Garda vetting. It was indicated that many people have already undergone this vetting. The point is that some teachers and special needs assistants go between different schools. There was a farcical position earlier this year when special …

Gabhaim buíochas le Seirbhís Leabharlainne agus Taighde an Oireachtais as an report a rinne sí agus as a neamhspleáchas. I want to speak on certain applications in section 23 regarding criminal proceedings to be heard via live video link. This section was obviously prepared a long time ago, probably pre-Covid. I know from having worked in the criminal courts for some years that there are many cases where it is unnecessary to bring a prisoner to court. Sometimes a prisoner would agree that he or she will not have to…

I am also speaking in favour of the amendment. The Covid-19 crisis has been used as an excuse to do many good things such as the efficiencies that will be brought to the Coroners Acts. However, bringing in legislation such as the Bill about which we are speaking at the last minute to facilitate vulture funds cannot be right. I also think there is a serious problem with closing the courts in Sligo and Tralee and consolidating them in Limerick. It is not desirable to take members of An Garda Síochána out of the count…

I also met a delegation of bus and coach operators last Saturday. It is unfair, in their situation, that bus operators in the Six Counties pay a 0% VAT rate. While some other tourist facilities have been able to get some business this year, the coach and bus operators in tourist areas have been devastated and have no income. I ask the Taoiseach to consider increasing the €10 million that has been allocated to them in order that they will be able to pay their fixed costs for the year.

It is clear that we are facing massive problems as regards the underemployed or the working poor. Many workers have contacted my office to say they are now working similar or increased hours but with no increase in pay, meaning their income in real terms has taken a serious hit even with the assistance of the temporary wage subsidy scheme, TWSS. Some employers have been unable or unwilling to top up the TWSS and there is also a problem with it in that it does not allow employers to pay more than the top-up payment.…