I congratulate the Minister on his recent appointment. It is a great personal honour for him and I know that he will do Ireland proud in Europe. I wish him the best of luck in his new venture. I will follow up with a question. The Minister acknowledges that in the programme for Government there are various technicalities that we need to work out in respect of credit unions. There are also commitments to enable and support the credit union movement to grow and to support credit unions in the expansion of services to…

I have one other point. There is also a commitment in the programme for Government to develop funding options to deliver retrofitting with suitable retail partners such as An Post and the credit unions. I understand the Irish League of Credit Unions has been developing a deep retrofit loan product in recent months. It would be a positive step if this was advanced promptly. Will the Minister clarify where this is at?

I have two queries for the Minister. First, I welcome the announcement of €25 million in funding for the Arts Council. Many politicians here and at local authority level were lobbied hard on this matter over recent months and the funding is broadly welcomed. Following on from that, a number of small cinemas, theatres, local arts groups and arts centres are looking to reopen post-Covid but many of them have charitable status and, therefore, may not be eligible for the programme that is being offered in terms of rate…

I will be parochial as well and mention the particular case of the Glanmire flood relief scheme, which is ongoing as the Minister knows. Glanmire was flooded back in 2012 and after the initial shock that the residents there received, they were delighted that the flood prevention scheme was approved. The scheme was meant to be completed at this stage and it is running approximately two years behind schedule. Can the Minister clarify the precise timeline for the completion of that scheme and can he confirm that the f…

As the Minister knows, I was a secondary school teacher for 15 years. I have taught the July provision so I understand how difficult it is to get staff during the summer months to cater for those children's needs, especially during this difficult period, with all the public health advice and all that will be attached to it. I have just three points to make to the Minister. If he cannot clarify any of them today, I ask that he consider them ahead of Friday's announcement. First, can the Minister clarify if all stude…

I have a number of queries and would appreciate if the Minister could revert to me. First, I welcome a number of developments in the north side of Cork city in recent weeks. The Lord Mayor of Cork cut the ribbon this week on developments in Knocknaheeny, Blarney Street and Blackpool, and we have the potential development of the St. Kevin's Hospital site on the north side of the city for which the Land Development Agency, LDA, has started plans. The main issue I want to raise is residential densities. I spent six ye…

I echo the sentiment with which the Minister began regarding the conduct of An Garda Síochána throughout the pandemic. We are all aware of stories in our own communities where gardaí have excelled at what they do. I wish to raise the widespread issue of public drinking. It is found in every constituency but has become increasingly prevalent. It is now commonplace to see gangs of people congregating and drinking, often causing much nuisance to nearby residents and littering of the local environment. On occasion, thi…

Unlike my colleague, Deputy McAuliffe, I have no problem repeating myself or repeating what has been said earlier in the House. First, I acknowledge that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, agreed earlier that something will be done to allay the concerns of women returning to work after maternity leave cover. I welcome that response. Perhaps the Minister would elaborate on what is to come to allow those women to return to work and receive what is just. At present, it can only be described as a discriminatory …

We need to acknowledge, given that the majority of the workers we are speaking about in meat factories work extensive shifts of eight, ten or 12 hours, that it is contradictory, as Deputy McConalogue noted, that we in the House are, unfortunately, permitted to sit in the Chamber for only two hours in one day. That is a bit contradictory in light of this debate. We in Fianna Fáil believe we need to look at stringent measures to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 in meat factories and to protect the employees. Despi…

An chéad cheist atá agam, tá sí mar gheall ar mhorgáistí. People who are on the wage subsidy scheme are currently having a difficulty in drawing down mortgages. I am sure the Minister is well aware of it. Will he make a statement on the matter to clarify it?

An dara ceist atá agam, tá sí mar gheall ar an wage subsidy scheme arís. We in this Chamber are well aware that the wage subsidy scheme is a taxable source of income. I am not so sure that message is quite out there among the public. It is out there is some circles but I do not think it is as obvious to most people as it is to those of us in here. Does the Minister have any plans to relay to the wider public that the wage subsidy is a taxable source of income and explain how that will be rolled out going forward? I…

I wish to put questions to the Minister on a number of aspects. As he knows, for 15 years I was a schoolteacher, as was Deputy Foley from Kerry. We have a number of questions specific to the leaving certificate. In the context of where we are at with Covid-19, we fully understand this was a difficult decision for the Minister and it did not come lightly. He is moving with the public health advice as it comes. We understand the move was meant to bring greater certainty, particularly to the students sitting the leavi…