SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone poses a question on care for dementia patients, who are at risk of getting Covid-19.

The minister says that measures have been put in place for people living with dementia either in their own home or in care homes. He says that they have introduced the use of PPE for members of staff and "the suspension of most visiting in care homes where there has been a Covid-19 outbreak."

Mr McGlone adds that NISRA has published evidence that 36% of those who died of coronavirus from March to September, also had dementia.

He asks will the minister commit to making dementia a priority in health and social care?

The minister says that the department has made sure that dementia patients were in the first group to be vaccinated as he recognised their vulnerability.

DUP MLA Keith Buchanan asks the minister about childcare costs for key workers.

The minister replies that following the recent school closures due to a further lockdown, he acknowledges that there have been a small number of emergency workers whose childminders have had to stop working.

Mr Swann says that any additional costs for childcare for health and social care workers as a result of the pandemic will be be reimbursed.

He adds that his officials have been exploring a range of options regarding funding for additional childcare costs under these conditions.

Image source, NI Assembly

"Why is Prof Whitty wrong about school opening but Dr McBride right?, asks the DUP's Christopher Stalford, referring to the chief medical officers of England and Northern Ireland respectively.

Mr Swann says there are some grounds for believing that Prof Whitty may have been misquoted.

The minister says everyone is agreed that a return to school is the best option from the child's point of view, "the issue is what schools being open means for wider society and the health service".

We're back from lunch. T

They’re keeping Health Minister Robin Swann busy today. He’s back at the lectern for Question Time.

Gerry Kelly of Sinn Féin asks "whether there are any specific public health interventions to address the impact of COVID-19 on the most deprived communities".

Mr Swann says the latest report, published in December, showed that the hospital admission rate in the 10% most deprived areas was more than double the rate in the 10% least-deprived areas.

The minister says the pandemic has no doubt exacerbated existing health inequalities. He outlines some steps being taken to address these.

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Mr Kelly says the executive's decision's on any changes to the restrictions "must be firmly based on medical and scientific advice".

He asks if the advice from the chief medical officer and the interim chief scientific adviser on school closures has changed since last Thursday.

"I'm not aware of any advice having changed as to what was provided either to my department or to the executive," says Mr Swann.

The Business Committee meets every Tuesday at 13:00 to agree next week's agenda.

The members are taking a break now until 14:00 when we'll have Question Time for the Health Minister, Robin Swann.

We're off to grab a coffee, see you for Question Time.

SDLP MLA Justin McNulty picks up from Paul Givan.

Mr McNulty says he appreciates the work of all of those who have worked to drive down the infection rate, especially health care staff who are "exhausted, fatigued and mentally and emotional bruised."

He asks the health minister what plans he has to help support those who have "nothing more to give."

Mr McNulty adds that schools and teachers need to hear of plans for an educational catch-up for students.

He says that with the brighter days, children will be itching to get back to playing sports and that sports bodies have said they want guidance from the department as to when they can commence activities.

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The DUP's Paul Givan pays tribute to his "unshakeable" colleague, Edwin Poots.

He pays tribute to the health service workers, and to the families who have lost loved-ones.

Mr Givan says it is now possible to look at "the proportionality" of the regulations, noting the drop in the R rate and the reduction in hospital admissions.

The Lagan Valley MLA says that the effect on business "has been severe", and that this has been felt most acutely by small businesses.

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Carál Ní Chuilín of Sinn Féin is up next.

She says that those working in youth provision are seeing a growing number of young people out on the street engaging in reckless behaviour.

She says that in her North Belfast constituency youth providers need more support as they are stepping up to stop young people ending up in front of the criminal justice system.

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Edwin Poots of the DUP is back in the chamber.

He recently resigned his post as agriculture minister following a cancer diagnosis.

Mr Poots has been welcomed back by members on all sides of the chamber this morning.

He pays tribute to "the superb doctors and nurses" and all of the hospital support staff.

The Lagan Valley MLA says "the vaccination is a game changer".

He calls for the reopening of businesses which cause "little risk" such as car showrooms, hairdressers and garden centres.

Paula Bradshaw of the Alliance Party says she hopes that the advances of the vaccine programme are keeping spirits up.

She asks how we to assess the reality that if fewer shops are open and people are still determined to go out and about, we end up with crowded shops and crowded public spaces.

The South Belfast MLA questions whether we are serious about the enforcement of the stay-at-home orders.

In relation to crowds on the north coast, she adds that there is a lack of clarity about what we are asking of people and how many people can meet outside.

Ms Bradshaw raises concerns about parties in the Holylands area of south Belfast and says that she is worried in the run up to St. Patrick's day about virus transmission in the area.

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The South Belfast MLA questions whether we are serious about the enforcement of the stay-at-home orders.

In relation to crowds on the north coast, she adds that there is a lack of clarity about what we are asking of people and how many people can meet outside.

Ms Bradshaw raises concerns about parties in the Holylands area of south Belfast and says that she is worried in the run up to St. Patrick's day about virus transmission in the area.

Image source, NI Assembly

Cara Hunter of the SDLP is next .

She says her party continues to support the executive's decision to continue the lockdown until 1 April.

"These are not easy decisions to take, especially so as time goes on, but we know that they are not taken lightly," she adds,

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Pam Cameron of the DUP welcomes the amendments and describes them as "sensible".

"Going further with such flexibilities is something which I believe will have to be addressed," she adds.

The South Antrim MLA calls for shoe shops to be opened to allow parents to buy properly-fitting shoes for their children.

The chair of the Health Committee, Sinn Féin's MLA Colm Gildernew, thanks health and social care workers for their dedication to helping those in need.

He adds that some Covid regulations are now out of date in relation to the lockdown extension last week and the changes to click and collect rules.

Mr Gildernew says that despite progress in vaccination programmes, due to possible virus mutations, we are not out of the woods yet.

He adds that he would like to see more work on the test and trace system to try to take more pressure off the health service.

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Next on the agenda is a debate on the current Covid restrictions.

Health Minister Robin Swann explains that this covers the latest three amendments to the coronavirus regulations for 2021.

He outlines the regulations, which extended the post Christmas restrictions into March.

SDLP MLA Justin McNulty asks the minister if she could advise whether more could be done by the North-South Ministerial council and other bodies to help rebuild after Covid and post-Brexit and to tackle shared ambitions including the climate crisis.

The minister says she shares his ambitions for collaborative working across the island of Ireland. She says the bodies of the GFA are more important than ever to increase that collaboration

She adds that these challenges know no borders and it is time to develop a shared agenda.

Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson says to the minister that Peace Plus will be the last kind of funding NI will get for Waterways Ireland from the EU.

She asks the minister if she has thought of any other projects to try to access more funding?

Ms Mallon expresses her support for Ms Anderson following the recent online abuse she has suffered.

The minister says the chief executive is focussed on a ten-year strategy for Waterways Ireland and will be scoping and maximising the funding that will be available.

She adds that given the significant impact that EU funding has had in the North, this will be a challenge.

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Alliance MLA Andrew Muir asks what the implications will be if some other ministers follow through on what their public commitments have been and not to participate in their duty of north south cooperation.

The DUP has said it will boycott some aspects of north south cooperation due to its opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The minister says "we are hearing a lot about the Good Friday Agreement" but, she says, there are three strands to the agreement.

She says" it is the responsibility and obligation on all of us to ensure that we live up to our responsibilities and duties in respect of all the strands.

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SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly asks the minister if she has had an opportunity to think about the impact of Brexit on NI Waterways.

Ms Mallon says that there were no day one issues at Waterways Ireland and it continued to carry on with business as usual. But she adds that EU directives will no longer apply, which could lead the an incremental divergence in legislation.

She adds that in the short term, rules will remain the same. Any additional procurement regime will bring added administration.

The minister says EU funding will no longer be available in the North apart from Peace Plus, which the EU has committed to providing.

Ms Mallon says the meeting was held on 3 February.

There was only one item on the agenda.

John McDonagh was appointed CEO of Waterways Ireland for a term of four years.

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Cathal Boylan of Sinn Féin asks about developments on the Middletown to Monaghan greenway.

The minister says an application for EU INTERREG funding for the project has been successful and just under 5m euros has been allocated for the cost of the greenway.

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Speaker Alex Maskey calls the members to order.

He takes them through some initial housekeeping before turning to the first item on the agenda.

It's a ministerial statement for Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon on a recent North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) meeting about inland waterways.