Results 81-100 of 3,657 for speaker:Cormac Devlin

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Overall Fiscal and Monetary Position (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I applaud the Governor's efforts. Hopefully, they will continue. I thank Mr. Makhlouf for that because, as he states, it is a real issue facing many businesses. It has come to the surface more as they start to reopen and go back into operation. The Governor outlined two scenarios: a return to growth and that of a more pessimistic view. What is the Governor's view about the impact of...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Overall Fiscal and Monetary Position (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: That is fine. I will turn to Mr. O'Connor quickly. The recent bond issuance at a low or negative yield is welcome. I acknowledge the work of the NTMA, only made possible with the ECB keeping the interest rates low. Mr. O'Connor mentioned that he expected interest rates to remain low for the foreseeable future, with the risk of rates increasing in the future. What consideration is being...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Overall Fiscal and Monetary Position (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Mr. O'Connor.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I welcome the witnesses today and thank them for their time and their opening remarks. I do not think anybody can underestimate the challenges faced by schools. The immediate question facing parents, in particular, in March when the schools closed was how long this was going to last. Ultimately, as it went on longer and longer, the question turned to how this is going to change and how the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Mr. Mongey is there on screen, please.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I will ask Mr. Clerkin the same question. I will add to it what Mr. Mongey referred to, namely, the additional cost. Every business that reopened and any entity that has had to reopen to the public incurred additional costs. One would accept that, but there is also a requirement of additional space stated in the roadmap. Mr. Clerkin might touch on it. Certain schools had plans for school...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (7 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Mr. Clerkin and Mr. Mongey for their remarks. As long as that can-do attitude can remain, people will be a little bit more at ease with the whole process. I thank the witnesses.

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

Cormac Devlin: I welcome our guests and thank them for their attendance and remarks, particularly the Secretary General and his colleagues. I welcome the change in culture and message that if people are sick, they should stay away, and the remarks about the number one priority of the Department reopening the schools. It is a good place to start. I spoke with a number of the teacher representatives who...

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

Cormac Devlin: I thank Mr. Ó Foghlú for that. Assuming everything goes to plan and schools are reopened in September, I note this morning there is talk of additional funding for both substitute teachers and the cleaning of schools. While Mr. Ó Foghlú touched on cleansing earlier in response to some of the questions, does he have a figure for the amount of additional money the...

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

Cormac Devlin: Once complete and issued to schools, will this roadmap help the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the roadmap needed for special schools and children or adults with disabilities? Will Mr. Ó Foghlú's Department work with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on that?

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?