My question is related and asks the Minister what he is doing to protect public service provision in light of the levies he has put on other Departments. We keep hearing about efficiencies and reform, and we are all for that, but it is quite vague. There has been strong criticism of his budgetary process from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Has he taken on board its criticisms and what changes will he make in light of that?

I appreciate that, but this is what the Minister has been saying publicly for the past number of weeks. What I am seeking to address with him is strong criticism of him and his Department in terms of their budget allocation process. For example, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council points out that the Minister's Department got the allocations and estimations in terms of what we would spend on doctors and nurses in the last three months of last year wrong and that every year his Department does not base its budget allo…

I thank the Minister. What we are lacking here is any clear information from him or the other Ministers about what is actually going on, why this is happening, what he and his Department are going to do correct it in terms of their budgeting process and where these savings, efficiencies and reforms are going to come about. A senior economist at the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council said: A better and more transparent approach would be to: Estimate the cost of existing services based on actual year-to-date spending—not …

Nurses' and teachers' pay is fixed though.

It will not drive down wage growth.

As the Minister knows, the ethics in public office legislation is very important in terms of public confidence in officeholders and public bodies. The review of the statutory framework was completed in 2022, almost four years ago. The heads of Bill should have followed quickly after that, yet here we are, in the middle of 2026, and there are no heads of Bill. What is causing the delay? When are we going to see the heads of Bill? We were promised two years ago by the then Minister, Paschal Donohoe, that it was almos…

With respect, the Minister has talked a lot about the need to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure, which I support. Yet here he is, giving an answer about how he is slowing down this process. The statutory review was completed almost four years ago, and the heads of Bill were promised by the Minister’s predecessor, Paschal Donohoe, as almost ready in May two years ago. These processes were substantially concluded four years ago but now the Minister is saying that we need to do more. Meanwhile, the Gove…

When the Minister issued a press release on it this week, I was genuinely delighted. I thought this was finally coming to fruition and completion but then I read the press release and saw that was not the case. The rationale the Minister is giving is that we are going to move from a paper-based system to an online system, which is absolutely correct but at the same time, we are not able to get on with what was completed four years ago. We are in 2026 now. How does it take so long to develop a digitised system? Mean…

It is Government TDs who do not turn up.

There is a brutal truth at the heart of our disability system. Families have been forced to say it out loud because the Government is not listening. The reality is the State is waiting for parents to die. Parents in their 70s, 80 and 90s must continue to act as full-time carers for sons or daughters with intellectual disabilities. Regardless of their age, health and ability to care for another adult, if they are still alive, the State looks the other way. The system for housing adults with intellectual disabilities…

I welcome that the Tánaiste is being frank about how appalling the situation is and is acknowledging that it has to change and is not acceptable. If the Government is serious about not-for-profit providers being able to play a better role, it must provide ring-fenced multi-annual funding in order that they can plan for services. I will provide an example. Before the Tánaiste's party took office, St. Michael's House had five respite homes in 2008. It now has just one. There is a six-year waiting list for adults with…

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom a rá go bhfuil rudaí an-deacair do dhaoine anois. I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this motion and giving us the opportunity to talk about these very important issues regarding the cost-of-living pressures people are facing day in and day out. We would take a different approach to dealing with this crisis from the one outlined in the motion, because we believe it is fundamentally important that people have the emergency short-term supports that are needed and that we take act…

Ban evictions and-----

Where are the 40,000 homes the Government promised two years ago?

Israel is still issuing war bonds across the EU and using this money to fund a genocide. While our role in approving these bonds has been moved to Luxembourg, Ireland remains the home member state for Israeli bonds. We have a legal and moral obligation to do everything we can to stop genocide when it is taking place. What action is the Minister taking to ensure we are not complicit in the sale of these bonds and in implementing the recommendations from the committee's report?

I thank the Tánaiste for his response and for the work that has been done on this. What he said earlier, in response to a different question from a different Deputy, was that while we are part of the EU, we do not simply do what it tells us. Rather, we are part of shaping what it does. Clearly, therefore, the response from the European Commission is not satisfactory and is not in line with what we want as a country. What is the Tánaiste going to do to follow up with the European Commission on this? It saying it has…

I thank the Tánaiste. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, clearly stated, “International law says that all financial actors have to abstain from being directly linked to human rights crimes”. That applies to the financial actors and authorities in Ireland, Luxembourg and across the European Union. I welcome the Minister saying he is going to raise this at a political level. What does that mean? I welcome that he is going to raise it with the Taoiseach. Who is the M…

The ISIF remains invested in companies that are profiting from illegally held Palestinian territories. More than €6 million of public money remained invested in six companies identified on the UN database at the end of 2024. Irish people do not want this. Will the Tánaiste ensure that the ISIF, which is public money, is divested fully from companies operating in illegally occupied Palestinian territories?

I thank the Tánaiste. I acknowledge the huge importance of the Irish support of UNRWA, the funding that is in place and the real difference it makes. I also acknowledge the Government's complete opposition to illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. However, when we are talking about the ISIF - and it has complete independence - this is public money the Government hands over the NTMA to manage on its behalf. It is fine to say the NTMA monitors this and that it is meant to be a responsible investor and is mean…

The Tánaiste expresses the views of the House to the NTMA on a frequent basis. That is welcome but, at the same time, he is equivocating a bit. He is asking how much they profit, how much they are involved and saying that is not clear, so he is kind of sending a signal, that perhaps, as the person responsible - the Minister for Finance, the shareholder - for funds, the Government is against it, but maybe it is okay. He is equivocating so I ask him not to do that. I want him to be really clear - and I think these ar…