It is unfair of Deputy Cairns to describe the budget introduced last year as "a giveaway on steroids". When the one-off measures were introduced, I do not recall anyone in opposition describing them as that. In fact, they were wholeheartedly accepted and there was no criticism of them by Opposition Members.

Child poverty is an extremely important issue from the point of view of the Government. I have no doubt that when Members see the budget that will be announced next week they will see recognition given to the importance of child poverty from the Government's point of view. In terms of a second tier of children's allowance, as the Deputy identified, I cannot give an assurance or confirmation as to what will be in the budget. I am sure the Deputy will have costed such measures and will appreciate that they will have …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist a chuir sí orm. Is ceist an-tábhachtach í. Bhí imní orm nuair a chonaic mé na daoine taobh amuigh den Dáil cúpla lá ó shin agus iad ar stailc ocrais. Beidh mé ag caint leis an Aire oideachais faoin gceist sin. I am also very concerned about what I have seen recently. This issue was raised with me last week by Deputy Michael Cahill. It is a matter of extreme concern that there are individuals who are making such dangerous efforts to make their point. It is a point they a…

I will speak to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in respect of the matters the Deputy has raised. It is unfair to say that the State does not face up to its financial responsibilities arising from terrible events that happened in the past. It clearly has done. I identified the Magdalen laundries scheme and other redress schemes that have been introduced. People have been provided for. I am conscious that the specific ask here relates to the pension and the HAA card. There are obviously consequences to decisions such a…

I thank the Deputy for his question. I am conscious that many young people emigrate from Ireland and go to Australia. That happened many years ago as well as now. I am sure, as the Deputy said, many go to try to get accommodation. I would advise that when they get to Australia they will find there is a similar housing issue there. Accommodation costs and the price of housing in Australia are exceptionally high. The good news, however, is that people are returning. People may go to Australia from Ireland for a numbe…

I thank the Deputy. I am concerned about the impending increase in private health insurance. It is obviously a big issue for people who are hit with these increases. In terms of what can be done with insurance companies, I will obviously speak to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in respect of the Department of Health and what can be done in respect of that in terms of her position as Minister for Health. I am also conscious that the Government has previously engaged with insurance companies and has informed t…

I thank the Deputy for raising that matter. It is opportune that she has done so, because on Monday morning, I met with the chair and chief executive of Cuan. There was an event in the Department in respect of a launch by Cuan and I had an opportunity to meet with the chair and chief executive in advance. They informed me of issues in respect of the funding of Cuan itself and other issues in the sector too. Obviously, Cuan has been extremely well funded since it was set up by my predecessor last year. A lot of fund…

I thank the Deputy for her question. I cannot give her information in respect of the student contribution fees at present. However, an awful lot has been done in respect of facilitating students to gain access to third level and to get financial support. I know the threshold for SUSI grants has now increased to €115,000 per family. I note what the Deputy said about what is in the Social Democrats pre-budget submission. Obviously, issues in respect of the contribution fees will be considered in the context of the bu…

As I said to Deputy Catherine Connolly, I am extremely concerned about people going on hunger strike. It has a really detrimental impact on their health. I urge them to come off their hunger strike. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in respect of this matter. She met people before and I have no doubt that she will again. Her officials have engaged with them again. It is not, though, an appropriate way to try to get a meeting to put huge emotional pressure on a Minister by saying, "We are going on hunger…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The British Government announced just last week that it is considering the introduction of a UK digital ID card. In fairness to the British Government, it notified my Department in advance. We were aware just a day or so in advance of the announcement that was to be made. There is still a long way to go in respect of this scheme. Obviously, there has to be the production of White Papers, the preparation of legislation and a debate in the House of Commons. In my assessment, the i…

I thank Deputy Neville for raising that interesting point. It is clearly the case that there has been a decline in the number of companies listed on the Irish Stock Exchange since the end of the last century. The Deputy gave the statistics there. We cannot stop companies from making a decision that they no longer wish to be listed in Dublin if they have a preference to be listed on the larger stock exchanges, such as in London or New York. The Deputy raised a number of issues that could improve the attractiveness o…

I thank Deputy Kerrane. Part of my function, in ensuring that we have adequate protection for women who are subject to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, is to ensure that there are adequate safe homes and refuges through the country. The Deputy will be aware of the progress of that by the Government. I will have a look in respect of Roscommon. I have to be careful. I do not want it to appear that there is an absolute necessity for a refuge in every county. It may be the case that there will be a refuge in…

I thank Deputy Smith. I agree it is essential that children get orthodontic care in a timely manner. There can be very upsetting consequences if they do not. I am aware the Minister for Health knows there currently are delays in accessing this service nationally, and the HSE has put in place a number of measures to address waiting times. There has been significant investment, as the Deputy will be aware, but I am conscious his concern is specifically focused on the orthodontic services in Cavan-Monaghan. I am infor…

I thank the Deputy. I am sorry I do not have a specific answer for him. I do not have the detail on the incidence of turbines in east Galway as opposed to other parts of the country. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, in respect of it and will highlight the issue the Deputy has identified. We also need to recognise that we are trying to ensure that we have renewable energy in the country. If we are serious about renewable energy, we will have to see wind turbines not only on land but certainly offshore a…

In fact, Deputy Ward raised this issue with me last week. I answered him by stating that it is on the priority list for publication. It is important legislation from the Government’s point of view. It is being worked upon. I am informed by the Chief Whip that it is not as simple as may be presented. I will certainly speak to the Minister, Deputy Browne, in respect of it. He appreciates the urgency of it. Since it is on the priority list for publication, I think it should be forthcoming promptly.

I am aware of that roundabout. I was unaware, however, that it was being replaced with traffic lights. I do not have strong views on the preference for roundabouts or traffic lights, or which are preferable, but I suspect there are engineers in the local authority who have views on it. There must be some reason that they are seeking to replace the roundabout with traffic lights. I will raise the issue the Deputy has mentioned with the Minister for Transport but I cannot guarantee that he is going to start sticking …

In fairness to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, my understanding is that she got the report last Thursday and it was published yesterday. It is a 1,200-page report. As the Deputy said, it sets out three options. I would have thought consideration needs to be given to the report before any decision is made in respect of the options. I am conscious that the Deputy has a particular view as to which option should be pursued. I will pass that on to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Ultimately, it is a big dec…

I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Burke, about it because I do not have the level of detail that is required to give Deputy Currie a full answer. I note the issue is about the trading online voucher and the Grow Digital voucher. I will ask him to come back to the Deputy with an update in respect of that. I am conscious that online trading capacity is essential for SMEs in Ireland.

Deputy O’Dea deserves to be commended on the meeting that he and Deputy Cathal Crowe had with the then Minister, Mr. Donnelly, which resulted in there being a report. Obviously, Deputy O'Dea has read the report in detail. As I said previously, it is the case that the Minister only got the report last week and she published it yesterday. It is a detailed report. Notwithstanding the detail, Deputy O'Dea seems to believe there is a very succinct option that should be pursued. I have no doubt he will communicate that t…

I agree with the Deputy that it is a worrying trend to see a growth in the incidence of TB. We thought in Ireland that we had eradicated TB, which, of course, had such an extraordinary social and health impact on people in Ireland prior to the 1950s or 1960s. I hear what the Deputy says in respect of the increase in numbers and I will speak to the Minister for Health about it. Obviously, we need to ensure adequate funding is provided to respond to TB because if we allow it to spread, it will not only have catastrop…