This question relates to the number of gardaí deployed at stations in County Louth and, in particular, the number deployed to tackle drug crime.

These are economically turbulent times globally and with a potential trade war looming, businesses are very unsure about their futures and their survival over the next couple of years or even months. I ask for an update on the commitments in the programme for Government to address the regulatory and cost burdens for SMEs. What is the status of the small business unit in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment? From my engagement with businesses in Louth through the Dundalk and Drogheda chambers of commer…

I call Deputy Catherine Connolly, who has three minutes.

Yes.

Right across the disability sector, there are huge problems. Will the Taoiseach's committee look at a full implementation of the laws in this country under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, and also under our public sector duty? I do not know of even one court case taken since the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, was established in 2015 that relates to the public sector duty. When we are looking at reforming the system and making better the lives of …

The public sector duty and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

Yes.

I would like to ask about a slightly different matter, namely, childcare provision. There are huge difficulties in the area, as the Taoiseach knows, and services are struggling with staff attrition, burn-out, compliance and regulations, while dealing with the impact of the many pay freezes and the introduction of the new childcare programme that may reduce their capacity to serve children in the long run. Services are at risk of losing their reputations. They are cutting costs and staff and I often find when I deal…

I want to address an important issue which affects communities across the countryside, namely, the need for robust dog control legislation. It is required for many reasons, including protecting our livestock. Robust dog control legislation can protect our vulnerable livestock, such as sheep, from being attacked and killed by dogs. These attacks not only result in financial losses for farmers, but also cause immense suffering for animals. Such legislation would ensure public safety. Implementing dog control laws wou…

I thank the Minister of State and acknowledge the work done in the past Dáil regarding the banning of dogs. I also thank him for acknowledging the Bill I introduced in the Seanad. I believe it is a good template for what we can do and work off. I hope the Department of agriculture can take over this entire brief and for it not to be across the three Departments as it is at present. We need awareness and accountability with penalties. We need resourcing of dog wardens and to give them more powers. Most of all, we mu…

I wish the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, the very best in their hugely important roles. They have a massive responsibility, with thousands of people across this country relying on their success. We have made some progress in the provision of disability services. I commend the Minister of State's predecessor, Senator Anne Rabbitte, on her work and on her dedication to people with disabilities during her term in office. This is a whole-of-government problem and a whole-of-society…

I congratulate my colleague, Deputy Ardagh, on introducing this critical and important legislation on the right to be forgotten. I wish it was passed in the last Dáil but here we are today to ask the Government to bring this forward. It will deliver equality in financial products for those who go through cancer and survive it. More than 220,000 people in this country have survived or are living with cancer. Unfortunately, today's laws are prejudiced against them. Cancer survivors can be prejudiced against and not g…

I also seek an update on what conversations were had relating to the legacy Act. As Deputy Smith rightly said, the contents of that Act are deplorable, despicable and absolutely unacceptable to every victim and family of those victims in Northern Ireland. The Taoiseach spoke about the just transition and putting this on a sustainable footing. Has there been a conversation with British authorities about co-operation in the area of building offshore windfarms? We do not have ports that are sufficient to be maintenanc…

The shared island unit is fantastic. I only have to walk a few miles from my house to see the work that has been progressed on the Narrow Water Bridge. I am incredibly ambitious for what the shared island unit can achieve. I ask the Taoiseach to consider that the shared island unit should look towards schools North and South and create a project almost along the lines of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition to discover what future young people on this island - North and South - want to see. If the brain…

It is a great job.

It is an important issue.

I am glad we have this opportunity to speak about mental health so soon in the term. It shows the Minister of State’s conviction and the importance she places on this. This is something I am very worried about. Like the Minister of State, I have regular constituency clinics and I know it is a huge issue. We knocked on doors from last summer until November. I do not know how many doors opened where, door after door, I spoke to parents, wives, husbands, sons and daughters who are struggling desperately with their men…

First, I wish the Minister of State the very best in his role and congratulate him. It is a hugely important brief and out of all the Members I know across the Houses, he will take it on with sincerity and gusto. I wish him the very best of luck with it. This evening, I am asking for an update regarding special ASD classes in County Louth, both at primary and secondary school level. I have many parents contacting me quite regularly, particularly in relation to second level schools. They are at their wits' end and a…

I very much appreciate the Minister of State's offer to initiate my policies. The script he provided states that there are 98 ASD classes in County Louth - 75 at primary level and 23 at post-primary level. There is a clear inequality. We must be focused on ensuring we have classes for our primary school students through to their transition into second level. As the Minister of State well knows, there are far too many parents in limbo. We must work tirelessly to increase the number of ASD classes from 23 to ensure t…

I am seeking an update on the waiting list action plan. We have a strategy in place. I raise this matter in light of the crisis situation at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. The emergency department is continuously in surge capacity and appointments are constantly being cancelled. We have two hospitals in County Louth, namely those in Dundalk and Drogheda. The hospital in Dundalk is under-utilised. There is capacity there that is not being used. Surely we can come up with a plan that will allow us to incre…