I will knock on the head the Deputy's claim that this application somehow was late. It was not late. Deputy Mattie McGrath keeps announcing it in the Dáil but that is not the case. As a point of information, therefore, the application was not late. There was no lateness in this regard

The application went in exactly when the European Commission wanted it and it was submitted in conjunction with the European Commission. It was not late.

I do not have the exact date to hand, but the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, can give that detail. However, I absolutely assure the Deputy and this House that there was no lateness. In fact, no member state was late in submitting an application for the recovery fund. Deputy Mattie McGrath is also implying that only a certain amount of money was applied for. That is not the case. The money is allocated on a proportionate basis according to each country’s national wealth. That is …

Sorry, I will happily answer the question on vaccine passports. I am not aware of any discussions in 2017 on this. I was not at the meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Council but the passports were certainly discussed at the European Council last week. To be clear, the digital Covid certificate is an instrument for travel but if member states want to use it for domestic purposes, they can do that but there is no mandate from the European Union to so do. What is clear is that the digital Covid ce…

I want to be absolutely clear on the nonsense that is being peddled by Deputy Mattie McGrath that somehow we were late. Some member states have yet to submit their plans. The indicative timeline was the end of April and our application was submitted, with the agreement of the Commission, in May. There was some media speculation at the time about the discussions that were ongoing with the Commission and about what the Government was working on. I reject the comments from Deputies Mattie McGrath and Nolan, which were…

I will begin by making a brief comment on the announcement today by Vice-President Šefčovič extending the grace period for the importing of chilled and non-frozen meats to Northern Ireland from Britain. This follows a formal request by the UK Government to the EU. There were some other announcements today, one of which is on the very important issue of green insurance cards for drivers from outside the EU which now, unfortunately, includes those in Northern Ireland and Britain. The requirement for UK drivers to hav…

I apologise that I do not have printed copies of my script available for circulation, but that will be rectified shortly. My officials are making arrangements to have some brought here as soon as possible. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an ábhar tábhachtach seo a ardú i dtosach an tsuí inniu. The issue of remuneration or benefits for Irish citizens working for the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine is under review by the Department of Foreign Affairs. I expect that a conclusion will be reached this y…

The Department and I have great respect for Irish citizens working in various institutions around the world. A number of the affected people were in touch with me directly on my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs. This month, I had a meeting with the OSCE Secretary General, Helga Schmid. I was delighted to note that there a number of Irish people at senior level throughout that organisation. It is an important organisation, with a lower profile than it should have. The Senator…

Tá mé ag roinnt mo chuid ama le roint Teachtaí eile ach níl na hainmneacha agam. I want to pay tribute to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. We have heard a lot of people talking about fishing, insulation and rural and urban Ireland, but I have heard very few people talk about what exactly is in the Bill and why it will transform the housing situation in Ireland. This is the most comprehensive affordable housing B…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Richmond as an ábhar tábhachtach seo a ardú anocht. The protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is a joint solution by the United Kingdom and the European Union to the serious challenges raised by Brexit on the island of Ireland. The agreement took more than four years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union, exploring all the other options and ruling them out. The UK and the EU together found and agreed a solution, which was the protocol. It was a joint e…

The politics of Brexit are proving to be corrosive in the already sensitive situation in the North of Ireland, polarising opinion and increasing tensions. I reiterate that the protocol makes no change to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. That is set down in the Good Friday Agreement. I want us to get to a place where the implementation of the protocol is fully realised in a way that works for Northern Ireland. There is an onus on all of us leaders and politicians to engage openly with citizens, busines…

Tá áthas orm bheith anseo chun freagra a thabhairt ar an díospóireacht seo. To answer immediately the point about Oireachtas scrutiny that Deputy Connolly raised, I will point out that the Minister has in fact been in touch regularly with the Oireachtas finance committee, and that engagement will continue. The Minister will be subject to ongoing scrutiny on this issue. The general public, including Oireachtas Members, were in fact invited to make their submissions on this during the process, so there was sufficient…

Gabhaim buíochas le gach duine a labhair sa díospóireacht seo. Members have rightly condemned the actions of the Lukashenko regime. It is important that we have spoken with one voice, across all parties, against the Lukashenko regime and in full support of the ordinary people of Belarus, both those in the country itself and those who can no longer live there and who had to flee to other countries. The diversion of the Ryanair flight to Minsk under transparently false pretences, a ruse, recklessly endangered lives. …

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí atá i láthair inniu, agus gabhaim buíochas as an deis seo míniú don Seanad cad atá ag tarlú leis an ábhar fíorthábhachtach seo. The pandemic continues to have a significant impact on the lives of everyone in Ireland. The Government's public health response to the pandemic continues to be thorough and based on best international and national evidence. Over December and January last, Ireland experienced a third wave of Covid-19 due to a combination of relaxed restrictions, increase…

Gabhaim buíochas le gach duine a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht thábhachtach seo inniu. Like everybody who has spoken here today, airport workers and airline workers are my friends, my neighbours, my relations, and my constituents. This is an issue of great importance to me, but also to the Government as well. They have been in such a difficult position for the past year or more and they have lived with such uncertainty. I see great anxiety among them. I do not blame them for that for a moment. The uncertainty is lea…

I can answer the Deputy on this point.

I can answer the Deputy on the issue of the digital green certificate.

They are not hotels but it involves home quarantining.

If I may, I am in the hands of the Acting Chairman and those of the Members. Sometimes at this point, I answer the questions that have been raised already. However, if Members wish to ask questions now, I am happy to do it either way.

I can answer more at the end. If the Acting Chairman wants me to go through the points that have been raised, I am more than happy to do that.