There is growing unease among all of us on the management of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland. Dr. Gabriel Scally, whom we all know well, said that if Northern Ireland was a football team, it would be in the relegation zone and the directors would be bringing in a new manager and coaching team.

It is deeply concerning to see ambulances parked in rows outside hospitals with the engines left running. The National Health Service, NHS, is at breaking point. The scale of the crisis in Northern Ireland is a situation we have never seen before. I am deeply concerned about how the Executive there, composed of Sinn Féin and the DUP, is dealing with this issue. We have reached a point where instead of playing politics, trying to be on both sides of many arguments, bickering and dithering, our Government needs to state very clearly that the Executive's way of dealing with this crisis is not working and is having a huge consequence for the rest of us on this island.

The infection rate in Northern Ireland is now four times the rate in the South. The difference in infection rates is alarming. Cork and Kerry have 14-day incidence rates of 25 per 100,000 and 30 per 100,000, respectively. In Northern Ireland, the local government districts of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Mid and East Antrim, Causeway Coast and Glens and Mid Ulster have all had 14-day incidence rates of 300 per 100,000 in recent days. In Mid and East Antrim the figure is more than 500 per 100,000. The people of the North have been let down. There has been a knock-on effect on our Border areas and further afield. The 14-day incidence rate in Donegal is the highest in the State at 225 per 100,000. My colleague, Deputy Ged Nash, has made serious representations on the situation in County Louth, where the rate is at 175 per 100,000. Cavan and Monaghan both have rates above 100 per 100,000.

We need action. The Taoiseach and the Government must make it very clear to the Executive, which does not have experience in making hard decisions, that it is going to have to change tack and quickly. I ask the Taoiseach to express his solidarity and that of all of the people of this jurisdiction with the workers and people of Northern Ireland, who are trying to deal with this issue. He should also express his deep unease with the strategy imposed by the Sinn Féin-DUP Executive in Northern Ireland. From our jurisdiction's point of view, this will have very negative consequences. He should offer whatever help is possible from our jurisdiction.

I agree with the Deputy that the situation in Northern Ireland, and indeed throughout Europe, is very worrying and concerning. Yesterday the Netherlands closed down before Christmas. Germany has done the same. The positivity rate in Northern Ireland is about 9%. It is not clear that testing there is at the same level as here. The numbers have been worrying for quite some time. There are now significant issues in emergency departments. In a week or ten days this may manifest itself in a shortage of beds. It is important to say that we are in solidarity with the people of Northern Ireland, who are going through a very difficult time right now. There will a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council on Friday, which will be held virtually because of the Covid-19 situation. We will work with our colleagues on the Northern Ireland Executive. Any assistance we can offer will always be available.

There has been ongoing contact between clinicians in the two health systems either side of the Border, and my understanding is that the Minister of Health, Robin Swann, will bring proposals to the Executive. I think he has led well throughout this crisis. He has had to deal with a challenging situation. The Northern Ireland Executive is a multi-party Executive like our three-party Government here, and that creates its own challenges.

This also illustrates the exponential growth of this virus once it gets to a certain critical level. We in the Republic need to take note of what is happening in the North in how we behave as individuals and collectively. We should wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor situations. Social distancing, washing our hands and proper etiquette are still as important as ever. From next Friday people will be allowed to go home. People will want to meet their grandparents and parents. To enable people to do so safely, all our behaviour from now on matters. Every contact matters. Once the virus gets to a certain level, it transmits very quickly thereafter and grows exponentially. We have a strong testing capacity; nonetheless we must be very vigilant now because what we are witnessing in Northern Ireland could happen here if we allow things to get out of control, which we will not do. We have had a period of severe restrictions for six weeks. At the Council of the European Union meeting last week I met prime minister after prime minister who told me his or her country was shutting down and bringing in more restrictions, while I was saying we had partially reopened because of that six-week restriction.

I take on board very seriously what Deputy Kelly has said. It is a matter of grave concern. The Border counties in particular are a worry for us. The numbers are higher in our Border counties than in the rest of the country. We are considering how we can provide greater supports and protection and whatever measures we have to take in the Border counties.

I am aware that the Northern Ireland Executive is a multi-party Executive. I am also aware that there is a North-South Ministerial Council meeting coming up. I raised this matter for that reason. I think the whole of Ireland was shocked by the pictures they saw last night. They reminded us of various times in our past when we had to send up our fire service to help out. We need a number of things. The Taoiseach needs to make it very clear to the Northern Ireland Executive that, from the point of view of performance, it needs to do much more. It needs to make hard decisions in the next 24 to 48 hours because the impact of this is not limited to Northern Ireland but will be here, across all the Border counties and further afield. I ask the Taoiseach to make that very clear. He might share with us the form of assistance he is thinking of when it comes to helping the people of Northern Ireland. Furthermore, what additional measures or help can we give to our Border areas to help them? Finally, do we have a plan - one is referred to in the roll-out that was announced yesterday - to ensure that once vaccinations start, and it is hoped they will start in this jurisdiction before the new year, we will have a co-ordinated approach across both jurisdictions as to how we will ensure consistency in the roll-out in order to help those Border areas in particular?

We will be in discussions with the Executive and will discuss the Covid situation on Friday. There are political sensitivities here, and one must always be mindful that whatever initiatives the Northern Ireland Executive takes, they are the Executive's initiatives. It has to own them and be comfortable in bringing them forward, even if that means further restrictions. It is to be regretted that we have not had complete alignment in respect of restrictions over recent months, but that is as it is. I am very mindful of the fact that the Northern Ireland Executive is responsible. It will have to deal with the situation as it presents itself and the advice it gets from Northern Ireland's chief medical officer and Minister of Health. The Government will meet weekly to keep an eye on the situation. NPHET and our officials will meet weekly to keep a constant monitoring and evaluation of our situation in tandem with what is happening in Northern Ireland. Deputy Kelly's point about alignment, particularly in the counties either side of the Border, is well made. Clearly, the evidence shows there are particular pressures because of the high incidence rate in the North, but we want to work in solidarity. Very often if one comes at such things externally and tries to tell people how they should do things, one gets a very quick response, so I do not advise that. We will work in solidarity, and any help we can give we will give.