The reality is that although the SCCs were not struck down in the judgment, they are only valid where it is considered that the data protection controls in place in the third-party country meet the adequacy standard. American data protection standards do not meet that adequacy standard, as we have seen in the context of Safe Harbor and now the EU-US privacy shield. There is no way that these SCCs will hold up to examination. What will happen is that the DPC will have to examine individually each of the approximatel…

The programme for Government refers to how the State has a fundamental role in ensuring the best use of the existing housing stock. A key threat to best use is short-term holiday lettings eating up supply in cases where landlords are putting a whole house or whole apartment out to rent. The existing relevant regulations have been shown to be too weak and there are issues with enforcement. This sector has been decimated by Covid-19. The flood of properties that were in this sector but are now up for general rent on …

Like everyone else, I congratulate the Minister and Minister of State on their recent appointments and wish them luck in the years ahead. I will start by talking about the national protective services, the district protection units. These are really positive initiatives on the part of An Garda Síochána and they can help to address many of the issues Members have been talking about regarding domestic violence. One important resource that these units need is social workers from Tusla sitting around the same table and…

We have touched on a few areas that will be badly affected by Brexit, such as business, tourism and so on, but I wish to raise some of the environmental concerns relating to Brexit. It is estimated that 80% or 90% of the UK's environmental laws and regulations emanate from EU directives, which were significantly stronger than many of the steps the UK had taken before that. The British Parliament is currently dealing with an environment Bill to replace many of the EU directives. As we have discussed and seen, there …

I thank my colleague, Deputy O'Gorman, for allowing me to usurp some of his time. I will be as quick as possible. I ask the Minister to reply to me in writing if he feels the need to so do, rather than taking up more of Deputy O'Gorman's time. I echo the views expressed by many other Deputies regarding the murder in America and the horrendous racism we are seeing there. I am conscious that we must also look to the beam in our own eye. Like many other Deputies, I receive many emails regarding direct provision, the t…

I thank the Minister for her remarks. The cancellation of the healthcare worker scheme has been a source of great anxiety for many parents who have been in touch with me, not only those who are healthcare workers but those who work in other essential roles and those working in other positions. The cancellation was, perhaps, quite predictable. When we last met in the Chamber many Deputies raised concerns about the issue of insurance and a lack of indemnity from the State. The issues that led to its cancellation were…

The business for today shall be as set out in the second revised Report of the Business Committee dated 12 May 2020. In relation to the business for today and tomorrow, it is proposed that, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, the only business to be taken shall be the business as set out in the second revised Report of the Business Committee dated 12 May 2020, with no Questions on Promised Legislation; between each set of statements and questions and answers on each sitting day this week, the House shall s…

It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, the business to be taken in the Dáil tomorrow shall be the business as set out in the third revised report of the Business Committee dated 13 May 2020, with no questions on promised legislation. The Dáil shall sit at 12 noon, shall sit later than 8.03 p.m., and shall adjourn on the conclusion of the questions to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht until 12 noon on Wednesday, 20 May 2020. The statements and questions and answers to the Tao…

I am sharing time with Deputy O'Gorman. I am happy to take any answers that might be in correspondence afterwards. Like others, I want to raise the issue of direct provision. We have been talking about the importance of equality in this session and something we will be judged on is how more vulnerable groups were treated during this pandemic. I look at the infection rates among those living in direct provision and they are significantly higher than those among the general population. That is quite worrying. The sce…

Perfect. I thank the Minister for her update. I have just a couple of questions from that and then some general points. The Minister stated 83% of providers have engaged with the scheme, which leaves, by my very quick calculations, 764 who have not. When we had our briefing last week, the Minister's Department said it would engage with those providers to find out why. Has she had any engagement with those 764 who have not signed up? Can she provide any information as to why they have not signed up? Are we likely to…

It was in regard to Tusla and the proposed-----

While I agree that all our health employees are on the front line, there are some who are more visible and of whom we think more quickly. My thoughts turn to those who are often less visible but deserve support in protecting their health so we can keep their services running. One thing that comes to mind is the child protection services, which are under unique pressures at this point as many of the supports for children at risk, such as teachers, coaches and youth workers, are not present in children's lives any mo…