I thank the Minister for correcting the record. Only for my party colleague Deputy Eoghan Kenny, asking questions in the Committee of Public Accounts, we would not have found this out. I asked numerous questions about this. I spoke to the Garda Representative Association today and was told about so many gardaí who are resigning because they cannot afford to pay rent. The Minister is probably aware of this. Accommodation was provided to a Commissioner and the rent was not indexed. There was a considerable loss to th…

Why was this hidden for seven years? That is a real question. Second, other candidates were not aware of this accommodation scenario. Was it, therefore, a fair competition? This is not the first time that I have submitted questions to the Minister’s Department that have not been answered. When the Minister commenced in his role, I asked questions regarding holsters. The Minister wrote to me in that regard, but his response was inaccurate. On that occasion, I went to him and he wrote to me again but, again, the resp…

When did the Minister tell them that?

I told the Minister it was inaccurate.

It was not public.

The candidates were not aware of it.

The Labour Party has a very strong tradition in this area. I am the only remaining Member who was a Cabinet Minister in the Government that brought in the Gender Recognition Act 2015, although my party colleague Deputy Nash was a Minister of State attending Cabinet. The Minister has spoken. Words are one thing but it has now been ten years and actions are now far more important than words to many people across this country who are in real need of compassion, support and a pathway to healthcare to help them. To spea…

The Labour Party will support the Bill and we hope we can expedite it through the Houses. The Bill is based on the recommendations of the judicial planning working group. This is phase 2 of the recommendations, dealing with the addition of 21 judges. I have to acknowledge the improvements to the various different courts. The Minister read them into the record of the Dáil and I will not repeat them, but they need to be acknowledged. Nevertheless, the Council of Europe report has said that we are still way below the …

We need a comprehensive new plan on drug use in this country. The dial has not moved in a number of years. Many of us have come on a journey over the past 20 years with regard to how we deal with this issue, myself included. I acknowledge my colleague, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who has certainly influenced me and I would say many others on this issue. His interventions as a former Minister are the interventions we are still looking at today. We finally have a centre for consumption here in Dublin but nowhere else in Irela…

When we talk about international protection, we need to wrap it up in the subject matter of migration. That is getting lost, not just in these Houses but in the country, and it is deeply concerning. Everybody in here has family members who have gone all over the world, mine included. I have double the number of first cousins outside this country than in this country. My only sibling lives in America. I have cousins in Asia, Australia and New Zealand - all over the world. Half of my mother's family emigrated in the …

Without the people who come into this country and make their contribution-----

-----this country simply could not function.

I was ten seconds over time.

I will watch that from now on.

I will watch it from now on, Ceann Comhairle, thanks very much, and I will point it out every time you go over ten seconds.

What reforms is the Minister going to encourage the new Garda Commissioner to introduce? I will concentrate on financial controls and reform in An Garda Síochána. The Comptroller and Auditor General has issued a report about hundreds of thousands of euro being lost in connection with policing the Europa League final. Later today, my colleague Deputy Eoghan Kenny will meet with the Garda Síochána anti-corruption unit with regard to a senior garda having stayed in a very plush five-star hotel during the Biden visit, …

On Deputy Kenny's meeting with the anti-corruption unit of An Garda Síochána later, I hope that internal promotions of those who are the subject of the ongoing investigation will not occur until that investigation is concluded. I am sure the Minister will agree. It is not just that, however. There is a culture. There was a contract worth €500,000 for holsters but these were defective and ended up being destroyed. There were other holsters that only had an issue with a strap but these were also destroyed at a cost t…

It is quite ironic that the Minister mentions improvements in IT. He will know that our automated fingerprinting system, AFIS, was said to be out of date in 2016. Some 17,000 sets of prints have been lost forever. God knows what impact that has had on policing and crime. That system has been out of date since 2016. At the time, replacing it was quoted at €20 million. It has been renewed every year at a cost of €5 million. Some €40 million has been spent on a system that has to be replaced. How is that a good use of…

They are still live.

Some 17,000 sets of fingerprints were lost.