Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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98. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment further to Parliamentary Question 209 of 3 November 2020, if dog groomers and dog day care centres can remain open during level 5 restrictions; if dog day care centres can also remain open for essential workers who have pets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35936/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Following the advice of NPHET, the Government made the decision to move the entire country to Level 5 of the Framework for Living with COVID-19 for a period of six weeks (Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19). While essential retail and services including schools, early learning and childcare will remain open, all non-essential services must close. A list of essential services can be found at www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9158-essential-services/.

Businesses should carefully review the essential services list and determine whether they can operate or not under the current restrictions. It is not necessary for businesses to seek official authorisation.

This decision was not taken lightly, and I am acutely conscious of the impact it will again have on businesses. That is why since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government has worked to support businesses through this difficult time with a comprehensive range of measures for firms of all sizes.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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99. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment if his Department or an agency operating under his Department has encountered expenditure in respect of hand sanitisation products or other PPE products that were subsequently subject to a recall by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in 2020; if so, the expenditure in respect of such products; if the expenditures will be recouped from the sellers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36001/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As part of the internal health and safety internal response to COVID-19 my Department and its Offices have installed additional hand sanitisation and a range of PPE products across our 11 buildings around the country. To date, none of the products distributed across our buildings have been subject to a product recall.