Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies, who have raised a range of matters. Deputy Barry again raised questions relating to public and private hospitals.

We live in a country where people have choices. I support as strong and well-resourced a public health service as possible and will continue to do so. That is why record funding was provided this year to the HSE to develop, advance and expand the public health service system. That is my commitment to that.

I have condemned what happened at the Beacon. It was wrong in terms of personal ethics and behaviour and represented a gross breach of trust with the Irish people.

Deputy Kelly raised the issue of children's shoes, which the Government is examining. We take the point. There have been issues in terms of children's shoes being an essential item for the growth and development of children and the need to provide for that. We are finalising specific guidance. That will be published and outlined in regulations to facilitate shoe shops and shoe-fitting services to measure children and provide for them on appointment online or by phone call. The basis will be to provide that service and the subsequent sale of children's shoes only. It is specific to the needs of growing children and we will provide for that in guidance and regulations that will be published shortly. It is a fair point that Deputies and medical personnel have raised with us.

Antigen testing is being rolled out. A report has been compiled by Professor Mark Ferguson which is with the Minister. It is being rolled out in the private sector, as well as by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue; by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, in the third level sector; and by the Tánaiste in respect of enterprise and the private sector more generally. It is available in meat plants. We have done serial testing in meat plants to keep the pressure on the virus.

On mandatory quarantine and the addition of countries, the process is clear. The Chief Medical Officer assesses the situation against a range of criteria provided for within the legislation enacted by the House. He sends a report to the Minister for Health who then has to consult with the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the countries to be announced and added.

On Deputy Boyd Barrett's questions, it is a fragile situation. In terms of construction, on another day Deputies Boyd Barrett and Paul Murphy will come into this House and rail about the state of homelessness and the housing crisis. We are allowing for residential construction and not kowtowing to anybody. It is Government policy to provide housing for people, to combat homelessness and so on. We have had no housing construction, essentially, since the beginning of the year. Some 14,000 workers are provided for, that is all. That is in the context of 1 million going back to school. That is the perspective and the balance. I ask the Deputies not to overstate it.

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