I want to ask one simple question. Is there any point in having a Business Committee? I come in here every Tuesday and the exact same thing happens. The Government and Deputies are all fighting with each other. Perhaps instead of an Order of Business on a Tuesday, the Business Committee should meet and organise the business for the whole week. We waste half an hour here every Tuesday. As a backbencher, I am trying to get a bit of speaking time. People are looking for votes. I suggest the Business Committee meet her…

As I have stated many times in this House, I firmly believe we are heading towards a no-deal Brexit. This is an incredibly serious situation for Ireland, particularly areas close to the Border like my home town of Dundalk. Unfortunately, the Government is sleepwalking into this and has not made the necessary arrangements to prepare us for a no-deal Brexit. Such an outcome would benefit nobody, least of all the United Kingdom. What is done is done, however, and we have to deal with the facts. I speak daily to citize…

On behalf of Regional Group, I wish the Captain of the Guard, Mr. John Flaherty, the very best of luck in the future. I had the honour of serving in the Defence Forces with him back in the 1980s and representing the Defence Forces' GAA team in Australia. I wish him and his family the best of luck going forward. Last month, the British Prime Minister set a deadline of 15 October for an agreement on the trade agreement with the EU, which is today. Given that the Prime Minister, Mr. Johnson, publicly stated that if we…

The background to yesterday's budget is unprecedented and never before in our lifetime have we faced such challenges. This time last year we could not have imagined the situation we face today. I have always said I will support this Government when I feel it is doing the correct thing but I will not support it when I feel it is not. The Government is faced with a very challenging situation. From an economic perspective we face two enormous challenges, Covid and Brexit and I am pleased that the budget is framed main…

I welcome the introduction of the reduction in VAT. Coming from a Border area that has been struggling for a long time with Brexit and the coronavirus, I hope the Government will also consider the issue of the general rate of VAT. With regard to manufacturing and industry, I have been speaking to many retailers in Dundalk who are competing against Northern businesses and they believe it is very important that we look at the general rate of VAT. There are manufacturers and shops in Dundalk for which the full rate of…

Coming from a Border area, I know more than most the devastating effects a hard border is going to have. I remember the last time we had a so-called hard border and, believe me, it is not what anybody wants but I fear it is where we are heading. I am also realistic and we need to prepare now for a hard border that is coming in less than three months time. This is the worrying side of all of this. We are only three months away from going back to a hard border on the island of Ireland. I have consistently warned the …

I raise the issue of direct provision and quarantining in the Dundalk area. In the centre of Dundalk, the Carroll Village apartment centre is currently used as a direct provision centre and has been since 2005. The number of asylum seekers it houses varies from around 50 to 80. It is known as an own-door-type accommodation and is self-contained accommodation. I understand that approximately half of the residents have been there for five years or more. The building itself is on the old P.J. Carroll site at the north…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. As I have said already, the people of Dundalk and the rest of the country have put their shoulders to the wheel and it is very important that they get clarity. The one question the Taoiseach did not answer is with regard to transport and the people in Carroll Village and the Carnbeg Hotel. Will the Taoiseach guarantee that people who have tested positive are not walking the streets of Dundalk? How are they getting from Carroll Village to the Carnbeg Hotel? This is of major conce…

From Carroll Village and from the Carnbeg Hotel. Are they using public transport? If they are using public transport we have a serious problem. Will the Taoiseach please give clarity on how people are getting from A to B, whether from Carroll Village to the Carnbeg Hotel or from the Carnbeg Hotel to Carroll Village? It is a serious concern. I visited the Ardee centre and spoke to Martina Ralph of the HSE. I was giving out about the test centre being located in Ardee but what is most important is that it can do 720 …

I refer to what happened with NPHET releasing its statement on Sunday and with the Tánaiste yesterday trying to get equal. I come from a Border county in Louth and we are very concerned about what is going to happen with the coronavirus. It is okay for us in Southern Ireland doing our restrictions at level 3 but are we going to work together as a united Ireland and get this sorted out once and for all? As for this thing about bickering between NPHET and the Government, we all have to put our shoulder to the wheel a…

The test centre for Covid-19 in Louth is based in Dundalk. Over the past 14 days, the people in Louth have been working very hard to reduce the figures. The rate in north Louth is 179.7 per 100,000, in Dundalk it is 120.2 per 100,000, in Ardee and mid-Louth it is 19.7 and in Drogheda it is 55.9. In July, 1,000 tests were done. In August, the figure was 2,000 tests and in September it was 4,000 tests. It looks like there could be 8,000 tests in October. Why is the HSE trying to move the test centre from Dundalk to A…

The question I asked was about going from Dundalk to Ardee. Please stop waffling and just give me an answer.

It makes no sense to go from Dundalk-----

There are 9,000 people in mid-Louth-----

It makes no sense to have it in place a where there is no epidemic.

If he answered the question there would be no problem.

There is no doubt that we have seen unprecedented times over the past seven months and unfortunately we continue to experience them. There was no previous roadmap to deal with Covid, which makes our task all the more challenging. I welcome the publication of the Government's plan to deal with the virus over the coming six to nine months. It is important that we as public representatives work together to ensure that correct decisions are made on how to safeguard the people of this country first and the economy secon…

I want to put on record my support for any measures that will help beat this virus. The Government plan is framed under a number of headings including: building capacity; service continuity; pathways to care; PPE; testing and contact tracing; public health; and e-health. I agree that we need to address the building capacity in the current climate. The proposal to open an additional 251 acute beds and 89 acute beds from now until December and a further 232 acute beds in the first quarter of 2021 is to be welcomed an…

On a point of order-----

On a point of order, how is the 75 minutes made up?