I thank the Taoiseach. We shall move now to the final question from Deputy Michael McNamara on behalf of the Independent Group.

At the end of this week, it will have been one month since Deputy Micheál Martin was elected Taoiseach. I commended him on his election because I thought the country badly needed a Government at the time. A Government was needed to make decisions. Up to now, those decisions have been slow in coming. I appreciate that many of the issues the Government has had to deal with have been complex, but nevertheless the decisions have been slow.

One of the issues I have raised recently relates to the Shannon Group and its importance beyond Clare across the entire mid-west. Shannon Airport is in great difficulty, as is the aviation sector generally. There is much of confusion with regard to quarantining rules. The previous speaker called for people to self-isolate. There is a lot of concern and a growing hostility in the country to the effect that incoming tourists are flouting our laws. The Irish Times, no less, in an article last Saturday, stated that gardaí need to implement our laws. I put it to the Taoiseach that in reality there is no law to implement. There is no legal requirement for anybody coming into the country to quarantine, regardless of where they come from. I wonder why that is the case. Is it based on the legal requirement of being in the EU? Of course we can limit freedom of movement or travel in the EU but to do so our actions must be proportionate and clear and whatever we do must be done lawfully. In Ireland, there is a question as to whether it is either proportionate or lawful because the entire burden is being put back on ordinary people rather than the State actually doing what the State is able to do, which is to bring in laws. If we think that people should not be coming in from Italy, then make them quarantine. We are, however, allowing people to go to Italy. Italy is not the issue, it is countries such as the United Kingdom - or parts of it - the United States and many others.

More importantly, what is the Taoiseach going to do outside of the aviation sector in Shannon? We are asking people to holiday at home and many of them are doing so. Many others are foregoing sums of money they had saved to go on holidays. Are these people going to get any help from the Government in that regard? Why are aeroplanes taking off from Dublin and Shannon and flying to areas that we deem not to be safe? If it is a requirement under EU law, then spell it out and spell it out clearly.

The effect of it is that Aer Lingus and Ryanair are flying those planes in order that they can say to passengers their flight is going whether they go or not. It is increasingly looking like the case that ordinary people have to bear the brunt of everything while big corporations can continue to do as they like, make no refunds whatsoever and nothing happens.

I raised the issue of Shannon Heritage here before. We are now approaching the end of July but Craggaunowen Castle has not opened at all this summer. The Shannon Group appears not to want Shannon Heritage. What is the Taoiseach doing with regard to these issues?

I thank the Deputy for his questions.

The first number of weeks have been extremely decision-orientated. As I said before, I have never come across a legislative programme so significant in one month. With the co-operation of everybody in the House, we are putting through substantive and significant legislation which is the substance of politics, government and parliament. That is ultimately why we are here. That legislation will underpin the July stimulus programme that we will announce this week. Hopefully, that may be of some assistance to the heritage issue the Deputy raised and will give additional capacity and supports to enable people to deal with the crisis that Covid-19 has brought about. To be fair, the Deputy has raised that issue consistently as well as the issue of the Shannon Group and Shannon Airport.

The problem in aviation is the fact that travel has collapsed. Despite all of the talk and headlines around travel, the reality is that from 1 July to 12 July last year we had 2.69 million people in and out of Dublin Airport while this month, a year on, the figure is 134,000 people. That is why aviation is on the floor. That is a significant challenge which the Government is aware of in terms of working with the airlines and with the airports.

On mandatory quarantining, it has been articulated for quite some time that it is impossible to enforce in the first instance. Second, it is questionable as to whether it is the wisest approach. In some countries where they brought in mandatory quarantining, it led to clusters developing in the actual quarantine centres.

It is about the right people quarantining.

That did happen. We have discussed this with the World Health Organization and others. The advice we got was that one must be able to contact people very quickly once they have arrived into the country.

What about NPHET?

I am responding to Deputy McNamara.

The Taoiseach is misleading the Dáil.

Deputy McDonald had her opportunity to ask questions. The Deputy should allow others their time on Leaders' Questions.

The Taoiseach should be accurate.

Deputy McDonald does not own the entire Parliament and she should allow other Opposition Deputies have their say.

The Taoiseach should tell us the NPHET advice.

I said that in good form.

That is the essence of it. If one thinks through the logic of mandatory quarantining, how many hotels would the State have to book? The proportionate point the Deputy made is valid and there are complex legal issues involved. Essentially, it is about contact tracing and knowing where people are. That is where the electronic locator form comes into play. It is important because it enables us to have a ready capacity to contact people who may have been in contact with somebody who tested positive. That is actually the better approach to that.

We will work with the Deputy on the other issues he raised about Shannon Airport, the Shannon Group, along with the heritage sites and centres.

The Taoiseach mentioned legislation and I agree. There is a growing number of people in the country. A certain amount of hostility is being encountered by tourists because people think they are flouting laws when they are not. We have to be clear that these people are flouting laws or they are not.

Will we see legislation to move Shannon Heritage from a group which clearly does not want it anymore to a better home where it might be looked after and where the tourism potential of these sites will be exploited not for the profit of the sites themselves but for the small family-owned businesses around them which are dependent on them?

Will we see a new board appointed to the Shannon Group? It comprises not just the airport but the heritage sites and Shannon commercial properties which will bring the strategic vision and direction necessary for this important group to move forward?

Those are issues which I would like to discuss with the Deputy in greater detail, such as moving Shannon Heritage to a better home. That would take some detailed examination but I note the Deputy is concerned about its current operations in terms of its low level of activity and the impact on employment. I hope there might be opportunities arising out of the stimulus package that may be of interest and of use to Shannon Heritage.

I will speak to the tourism Minister on the issues the Deputy raised. I will also speak to the transport Minister on the wider and fundamental questions the Deputy asked on Shannon Airport itself, as well as the appointment of a board.