I agree with the Minister that taking children away, especially from their mother, should be a last resort but, unfortunately, this is not the case. It is used as a first resort in a situation that is prevalent in this country and which I believe is alien to everything we stand for. I would like some investigation to be carried out in the shortest period of time into the number of such cases. Mothers have a legitimate claim that their case is not being heard adequately.

As we speak, legislation on the matter I will raise is progressing in the Seanad and will soon come to the House. I take this opportunity to ask the Minister to use his influence to strike from the judicial conversation and script any reference to the phrase "parental alienation", on the basis it has done nothing except destroy public trust, and the trust of women in particular, in the system, who have become victims of horrendous hardship as a result of it.

No.

I am someone who participated in and lived through that era. It is appropriate someone of that vintage should make some comment. I was a member of a health board during that entire period. I was also a Government backbencher during quite a lot of that period. I remember it well. I have no difficulty at all in recollecting it and the way things happened. It is now being presented as a strategy to deprive people; it was not. It was a policy to attempt to accommodate people who had no hope of getting accommodation and…

I did not interrupt Deputy Smith at all. I ask her to listen. I am just recalling the situation as it was. It was policy; it was not a strategy. It was Government policy-----

-----although it should have been reviewed. It may be that it could or could not be reviewed but the situation always applied. I understand why the Opposition sees this as an opportunity to scourge members of the Government as being in some way responsible for concocting this out of their evil minds. We can then look back and claim against everybody. The whole country will eventually end up claiming for something that should have been done at the time for want of there being a policy in place to deal with it. What …

I ask the loquacious people in the Opposition to please consider that we all have a right to speak. It would be nice if we could silence everybody who had an opposing view but I believe in the democratic way. It is the oldest and still the best way. We then went on to a situation whereby, as the problem got bigger, there was a necessity to increase the charge. Otherwise, the system would have collapsed and we would not have been in a position to supply any service. By "we" I mean the people whose board I sat on - t…

Deputy Duncan Smith will reply on behalf of the Labour Party. He has ten minutes.

In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 15 February 2023.

I thank the Minister of State for being present and the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this particular issue regarding what is described as a rampart road. Such a road is built on peat, is raised, and has the unfortunate habit of deteriorating very quickly in a short space of time. This road is in a very historic area. It runs from the location where I hold my clinic, which we politicians have to do on a regular basis, from the historic location at Ballagh in Donadea. It is now Connolly's pub; it used to …

I thank the Minister. That is what I am trying to do - to provide that guidance. Suffice it to say that the condition of the road as it stands is sufficiently serious for the local authority - or whoever else wishes to take responsibility - to take some action of a nature that will render the road compliant with health and safety regulations. That is a requirement regardless of who does it. I raise this matter on the basis, first of all, of unusually heavy traffic, which has been established, and that the road, to …

I thank the Minister of State.

The Select Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimates for public services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2023: Vote 32.

In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is deferred until the next weekly division time.

The Select Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimate for public services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2023: Vote 33. The Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimates for public services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2023: Votes 12, 14, 15, 17 to 19, inclusive, 39 and 42; and the following Further Revised …

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 37 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Michael Collins - to discuss the loss of beds in the mental health unit in Bantry General Hospital. Deputy Pauline Tully - to discuss reports that the State denied disability allowance to up to 12,000 vulnerable people. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh - to discuss the recent Youth Arts Now report. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh - to discuss naming the new national …

Slightly.

The Select Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimates for public services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2023: Votes 25 and 40. The Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimate for public services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2023: Vote 30.

The points made by the previous speaker are important. We can talk about this for as long as we like and we have talked about this for a very long time. The issues are apparent to everybody. They are apparent to the Defence Forces. These are acute issues and they need to be addressed in a much shorter time. The debate has taken place and I agree entirely with the points made by the Tánaiste and the other speakers. This all depends, however, on how quickly we can implement these actions and how quickly we can put th…

I agree with the previous speaker on the salient issues. The Minister is in the best position to identify those, drive them forward and achieve results in the short term. Morale is affected throughout the Defence Forces due to the length of time we have discussed these issues without any marked degree of success, although that is not his fault. The salient issues can be dealt with shortly and quickly. I echo the words of my colleague in that regard, particularly in relation to traditional military constituencies.