Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Following the decision last Friday not to open public houses across the country, I was speaking to members of the VFI, Vintners Federation of Ireland, in Longford and Westmeath. I do not agree with the decision. While we have off-licences and supermarkets selling cheap alcohol in an unregulated manner, it is going to cause many issues. Publicans need to see a path for themselves if they are to have a future. Something needs to be put in place when and if they can open. It is the only sector which has been closed since last March, bar two weeks.

It is also important that the Garda enforces rules for those premises which have been given authority to open. It has been quite common for rules to be broken around the country. Will that be addressed?

Disability and assessment of needs staff have been redeployed for contact tracing and community testing. The figures for my community healthcare organisation area, CHO 8, which covers Longford-Westmeath, Laois-Offaly and Louth-Meath, are astounding. The number of staff deployed from the disability and assessments of need area is 100 of a total of 167. Up to 60% of the staff in the whole country have come from one CHO area. That means the children in our area are not being assessed or getting the support measures they need. There has been talk about recruiting staff but it has not happened in sufficient numbers. Will the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, deal with this issue immediately as we need the staff back in our counties to ensure our children get the assessments to which they are entitled?