Results 4,421-4,440 of 4,524 for speaker:Cormac Devlin

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Very good. I have just two more questions for the Secretary General and then two for Mr. Loftus. I might as well ask them all together. The first concerns after-school activities. What is the likely guidance to schools on after-school or extracurricular activities based on school premises? The second question is more of a perennial issue, which is the weight of schoolbags. Perhaps...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Finally, if I may, where the schools have the space and where there is a possibility of facilitating those classrooms, I urge the Department to try to ensure that a fund is made available to those schools to employ additional teachers in order that those class sizes are reduced and, indeed, the space is given for socially-distanced education.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Ms McGinley and Ms McKeown for their attendance today as well as for their contributions and opening statements which were enlightening and are much appreciated. This issue, as they are well aware, that came to public prominence at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In my own constituency of Dún Laoghaire we do not have meat processing plants. It does not directly affect...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I commend the work that Migrant Rights Centre Ireland is doing because without it, many of these people would be voiceless and would feel vulnerable. It is important that Ms McGinley is able to voice their concerns. I have not visited a meat packing or processing plant but I would hope the yellow signage with which we are all now familiar, such as is right here beside me and everywhere one...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: It was remiss of me not to thank all of those working in the meat plants because it was one of the sectors, as the witnesses highlighted in their remarks, that kept going throughout the height of the pandemic. This should be acknowledged. Whatever scheme the employer or the State looks at it is certainly warranted to acknowledge appreciation. Ms McGinley said that not all factories and...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Of course not.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Absolutely. We now see that the R-nought is close to 1. That is alarming in itself, but if there were a second wave - I am reading a statement for our next session - do the witnesses think things would improve, or have they improved already? Surely the figures for the past couple of weeks indicate that all factories seem to have got on board and realised that this has to be dealt with. In...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Equally, from Ms McGinley's own experience, from what she has been told and from what her organisation has learned about those who reported symptoms of illness, regardless of whether it was thought to be Covid, and those who actually reported sick, can she enlighten us on her experience with workers who have come to her organisation with those experiences?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I am asking about people who have reported sick or as having felt symptoms. What was their experience with the willingness of their employers to allow a day off or testing of the employee? What measures were taken to prevent a potential spread? This is the advice to which we are all adhering now.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Finally, did the witnesses see a spike in the number of cases they were dealing with in their regular work at the outset compared with the height of the pandemic? Has this given them a massive surge in case numbers? I am assuming it has but I would just like confirmation of that. How many are we talking about? How many cases has the MRCI dealt with from March to date?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Mr. Carroll and the other representatives from MII for attending today. I am aware the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, was responsible, before her appointment and as a member of this committee, for inviting MII in today. They are very welcome and I thank them for their opening remarks. Following on from the earlier session, I will ask about the levels of meat produced in the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Is there a contact tracing register in place in each company or factory? Will Mr. Carroll enlighten the committee in that regard?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Is Mr. Carroll saying that each factory or processor has a Covid officer? If so, what guidelines are issued to such officers and the owner of the factory or facility? Are the guidelines being communicated to staff? As we heard during the previous session, there are language barriers for some staff. Have the guidelines been translated into other languages so that all staff are aware of the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: First, were those protocols communicated to all of the agents or companies? Second, were the companies notified in advance of the HSA inspections?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Unannounced inspections are probably better, but I acknowledge the level of compliance Mr. Carroll outlined in his statement. Did MII view and approve all the protocols with regard to the Covid policies that had gone out to contractors? Were MII members available to public health teams for scrutiny?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Were the MII companies, the operators themselves, available to public health teams for scrutiny?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Mr. Carroll for those answers. How does he think the meat plants are capable of responding to a potential second wave of Covid? Does he think the current guidelines are sufficient, and will they remain in place?

Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I welcome the opportunity to speak this evening with the new Government in place. It is good to hit the ground running. This is essential legislation, as my colleague has just said. We have all received many calls from businesses across the country which are in need of a roadmap. There are roadmaps for health and schools, as we discussed earlier, and now there is a roadmap for business....

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: 78. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if consideration will be given to providing additional funding to local authorities as part of the July stimulus initiative to complete outstanding 30 km/h road projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14396/20]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Covid-19 Pandemic (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: 126. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the measures he is proposing to ensure persons using public transport wear face coverings and masks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14393/20]