Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Mattie McGrath speaks quicker than I can write. I think I managed to jot down most of his questions. On Lebanon, given the unprecedented nature of the Covid-19 crisis and to mitigate its transmission, the UN Secretary General in recent days advised all troop contributors and mission commanders of his plans to suspend all rotations and leave for military personnel serving in UN missions until 30 June.

The direction will impact over 100,000 uniformed UN personnel from more than 120 countries serving worldwide. The moratorium on upcoming rotations and leave is designed to ensure the continued operation of essential peacekeeping missions to protect vulnerable populations in conflict zones and to maintain international peace and security. It is also designed to ensure the health and well-being of personnel deployed on UN operations by limiting movement of personnel into mission areas. This is a decision that affects all contingents from all countries and all missions. The main impact for our Defence Forces will be on deployments to MINUSMA in Mali where personnel are due to rotate later this month and UNIFIL in Lebanon where personnel are due to rotate in two rotations on 12 May and 19 May. The Defence Forces contingent in UNDOF in Syria rotated on 4 April and is unaffected by the recent announcement. The UN Secretary General advised that limited exceptions may be considered in extremiswhere they are required for the continuation of the delivery on the mission mandate and on the basis of strict conditions being applied to prevent the spread of the virus. Decisions on any exception will be taken in UN headquarters in New York following a proposal from the force commander. The Department of Defence and the Defence Forces have been examining the impact of the UN decision on the Defence Forces personnel currently serving with UN missions and the impact it may have on future deployments so as to advise personnel and families accordingly. Personnel deployed overseas have been briefed by their commanders in the mission area and there is ongoing engagement with the mission and with the mission commanders to ensure their rotations can take place as close as possible to the original planned dates and in accordance with the direction of the UN Secretary General. Ireland will continue to meet its commitments to the UN and other multilateral peacekeeping organisations in support of international peace and security through this challenging period. Our aim is to maintain the integrity and operational capability of our overseas contingents in discharging their mandates. Protecting the health and welfare of our personnel remains a priority consideration throughout.

In terms of companies offering to help and to make things for us, everything from PPE to ventilators, all that is very welcome. I am inundated with them and I imagine Deputies are inundated with them too. It is very hard to know whether it is an offer to do something as a donation, for cost or for profit, and then of course different rules apply if it is for profit or not. It is very hard to know whether the companies offering to do these things are able to deliver what they are promising or if they even know themselves whether they are able to deliver what they are promising, but for that reason the mechanism and a website has been set up through which we are inviting companies to make their offer and make their pitch. Science Foundation Ireland and other agencies will assess whether those companies are capable of fulfilling the offer they are making. I extend my thanks to those agencies that have taken on such a new role. The IDA, which was established to get foreign direct investment into Ireland, is now spending a huge amount of its time procuring equipment from multinationals in order to get that into Ireland. Science Foundation Ireland has very much taken on the role of assessing offers from companies.

We are not going to close the airports and ports as we need them to stay open. We are bringing in medicines, PPE and essential supplies, and with those essential supplies are pilots, cabin crews and hauliers. All of those people have to be allowed in and out of the country through airports and ports. Regarding passengers who are not involved in supply, the number of passengers going through airports and ports has gone down considerably. Some of the airports are closed altogether. In Dublin, just to take one day last week, for example, the number of passengers going through was down by 99%. Approximately 200 passenger went through, almost all Irish citizens and residents returning home. A small number were in transit to another country or to Northern Ireland. I confirmed this morning at the Cabinet sub-committee that all passengers are interviewed and advised to self-isolate and to restrict their movement for 14 days after arrival.

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