Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the Deputy's initial point about this Bill being patriarchal, I do not disagree with the sentiments she has expressed. In fact, criticism of the lethargy with which the European Union's institutions responded to Covid is very justifiable. Member states and Members of this House have made such criticisms. The Deputy is quite right. It has taken a long time. Perhaps it took the infection hitting some of the larger and wealthier states harder than the Mediterranean states for Europe to wake up and realise it needed to respond to the plight of those in the greatest need. The Minister for Finance has said this on the record.

During the interaction we had in the short recess, many of the Deputy's points were discussed. Again, I apologise for the fact that the committees are not up and running.

If the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform had been up and running we would have had a greater level of scrutiny than we have been allowed to have here this evening. That is regrettable.

Deputy Connolly is correct in what she said about the €167 million odd . That is the capped amount that has gone in from an Irish point of view. She is also correct in saying it is almost like a virtual insurance policy that the State is providing.

We discussed oversight, which was the subject of Deputy Doherty's amendments. I am sure we will come to them at a later stage. Oversight is envisaged as happening after the fact because, unfortunately, the instrument has to operate as a whole. As referred to in Deputy Doherty's amendments as well, there is a five-day provision for the trigger to be pulled; in other words, if a state needs assistance or if there is a need to draw down from a fund, unfortunately there is not sufficient time for each individual member state to debate the issue in parliament. That would lead to a situation where we would not be able to respond in the spirit of these instruments, which is, with speed.

Deputy Connolly also mentioned oversight. It is hoped that the Minister for Finance himself will make a statement on this matter in the Seanad debate tomorrow. He is committed to laying before the Houses of the Oireachtas any report which is deemed necessary to provide a response or justification for decisions he has made under the provisions of the Bill to which the Deputy referred, which I think is section 11.

The Health Service Executive is already eligible to apply for funding through the European Investment Bank. There is cheaper funding available at the moment. It depends on what rates they go out to the market at and where the greatest level of money is available. I do not disagree with the Deputy at all on the impact Covid has had on carers and those in care homes. One of the points the Deputy made is the fact that many respite centres are not able to open.

The contribution agreement is the State's agreement to contribute to the scheme. I can confirm that the total is €167.5 million. I think they were the main points the Deputy raised.

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