The Minister does not know.

It is ironic that the Minister said I got the letter on 1 April. That is April Fool's Day, and that is exactly what she has given me back. Every other Minister I have contacted had the common courtesy to give me a quick call back. As a new Deputy, I offered my help. Deputy Humphreys is the only Minister-----

-----who thought she was above that station. She would not answer a phone call or a text to help somebody elected to this House for the first time. All the rest of the Ministers helped out and worked with me. Deputy Humphreys was the only one who would not reply to a call. As she said, she replied to me on April Fool's Day. Fair play to her.

I extend my sympathies to the families of all the people who have lost their lives and a huge "well done" to the front-line services. The Taoiseach mentioned earlier moneys being made available for businesses to start up again. Cashflow is the biggest problem for any business. When a small to medium-sized business comes out on 18 May, it will start back into work. Companies are paying fixed costs, insurance, leasing costs and rates. The Taoiseach said rates will be written off for three months, but still these comp…

When hospitals and other HSE facilities closed on 16 March, dentists were told to continue working. No PPE was offered to them, yet they had to provide emergency cover. All GPs are getting €30 per Covid telephone consultation and a capitation fee for medical card holders. The Minister said he is meeting with dentist representatives tomorrow and I will take it as read that these matters will be resolved. I fully agree with what has been said about masks and the importance of masking up. I take the opportunity to tha…

With regard to one-off houses I know of, especially in Limerick, planning permission was granted by the authority for applications that were up for decision in the first quarter of this year, subject to minor objections or observations, but they were refused by An Bord Pleanála. This is because it is implementing the 2040 plan, which has not yet been enforced. If the 2040 plan is implemented fully, there will be no more one-off houses in rural Ireland, because of the way it is structured. A bigger problem we have i…

On testing, we are all aware of the situation as mentioned by all of the Deputies who have spoken. I offer my deepest sympathies to all of the people who have died as a result of Covid-19. I apologise to the families of friends whose funerals I could not attend owing to the restrictions in place. Not being able to say their final goodbyes to partners, relatives and friends at that time has been difficult for all families. I apologise for that. I commend the Government on its quick response to Covid-19. It did not g…

We have heard from other speakers that broadband is a major issue in rural areas. I recently opened an office in Kilmallock, County Limerick. When I had broadband installed, four different people came to my office before they got it up and running. People who live within half a kilometre of me, who are on a main route between Charleville and Kilmallock, have been forced to go to work in 19 different businesses because they cannot get broadband at home. I have been sent around in circles trying to get broadband thro…

I commend the Minister on his work on this. My question, which I asked of the Minister for Finance, concerns farming. What is considered essential work depends on the contact in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Many farmers are under severe pressure with harvesting due to the growth rate. They are looking to get construction work done on their farms, and if they do not get it done in the next fortnight, there will be a backlog and they will have nowhere to put their silage and round bales to keep…

I concur with all of the sentiments we have heard from across the House. It is all about the leaving certificate, and rightly so. The point has been raised that not everyone has connectivity through good broadband and Wi-Fi, particularly in rural areas where people are lucky to have phone reception. The children there cannot even participate on Skype or Zoom calls. It has been rightly said that secondary school is not all about the leaving certificate and that it is also about fifth year. Fifth year is as important…

I offer my sympathies to the families of people who have lost their lives due to Covid-19 and other illnesses, and to the families and friends who could not attend funerals to show their respects due to the health restrictions in place. I have questions for the Minister about payments, which have been increased from €203 to €350, which I welcome. I get questions every day from part-time workers, apprentices and trainees, whose incomes might only have been €200. They are afraid that when they apply for this funding,…

I am sharing time with Deputy Mattie McGrath. We have heard here that people have been looking for the building sector to close down but we have to take a holistic view. Workers in the building sector get paid through the banking system and the banking system is holding building contractors and others to ransom because one gets paid in accordance with the work one is doing. That work has to be signed off by engineers and that sign-off goes back into the banking sector again in order for the banks to pay out on the …

I commend the last speaker on speaking out about people who would spit or cough into anybody's face. I am in full agreement that the full rigours of the law should be brought to bear on those people. Where people are under age, the responsibility should be on their parents. I have seen at first hand people walking down streets thinking it is funny to cough and spit when they see people coming towards them. Do they not realise it affects all ages and that it will be brought home? I support the Deputy on that. I wish…

Not every employer is a company. Many employers are sole traders. Many of those sole traders have already fallen. Most small café shops are not companies; they are sole traders. Their employees are gone and so are they. They have closed their doors. If one looks at what we propose for companies, for a banking sector such as the credit unions the regulation states that they must put so much away for a crisis. Companies must do the same because they must start back up when Ireland gets back online. We must look at it…

A European trading agreement must cover all. Farming needs investment, not cuts, especially where I live in Limerick. Farmers are out in all weather and conditions 365 days of the year. They must maintain their stock. Dairy farmers must get a minimum of 26 cent per litre of milk to be viable. Harsh weather conditions and flooding mean that cattle have been brought indoors earlier than expected. That means fodder is now going down and if they have to buy fodder, it is expensive. Farmers do not need cuts from Europe;…

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, and congratulations on your appointment. I have been listening around the floor since I came in. I have listened to many educated people. Yet, how many Deputies present have education of life? How many Deputies here have common sense? From what I have seen of Governments in recent years, they lack all of it. I believe an ounce of cop on is better than a stone of brains and they are going to have to listen. I have been hearing how people voted for change. They voted for change in Limer…