I saw that finger waving at me.

So there is no finger this time.

Great latitude was given.

There is probably no huge reason to elaborate on that, but I will. I first raised this issue in Opposition about three or four years ago. The rate of ASD places nationally is about 94 to 1. For every 94 mainstream class places nationally, there is one ASD place. In Dublin 4, Dublin 6, Dublin 6W and parts of Dublin 16 - Dublin 6, 6W and 16 are in my constituency - that ratio is as high as 650 to 1. For every 650 mainstream class places there is one ASD place. This leads to a disproportionate amount of pressure on sc…

The mind boggles, particularly when we look specifically to Dublin South-West postcodes, which include, in fairness, Dublin 12 and Dublin 24. The bulk of the 65 special classes for students are in Dublin 12 and Dublin 24. There are notable exceptions in Dublin 6W such as Bishop Shanahan National School and Bishop Galvin National School, which are new to the system. I would like to say I had a little involvement in that and very much welcome it. Trojan work is being done at Scoil Mhuire, Ballyboden, which has two un…

It is not only in the city but also the suburbs. Tallaght Garda Station, the main Garda station in my constituency along with Rathfarnham Garda station, was designed in the 1970s and built in the 1980s. It is completely outdated. The Garda in Tallaght now take two floors of the Plaza Hotel, adjacent to Tallaght Garda station in order to be able to fulfil the functions they must fulfil. It is not just that. City West, a sprawling suburb which is growing exponentially and really quickly because of strategic housing d…

Likewise, I acknowledge the increase in Garda numbers, but what people want to see, which is the age-old challenge, is gardaí on the streets. Be it the area covered by Tallaght Garda station, the area that is in need of a Garda station in Citywest, or Rathfarnham Garda station, which covers Firhouse, Ballycullen, Knocklyon, Rathfarnham and Churchtown, the public never see a garda on the beat anymore. It instils a huge amount of confidence when they do. As a result, we have seen an increase, especially in recent tim…

Question No. 6 is being introduced by Deputy Lawless.

The Minister of State can come back to that in the second reply. I call Deputy Lawless.

We will come back to Question No. 8.

I am glad the Minister is here. I compliment him again on his industriousness since he became Minister. He has piled really constructive Bills into the House and passed them. He has been flexible in accepting meaningful and sensible amendments and suggestions when they come forward, either from his own side or from the Opposition. I can spend an hour speaking on this, as I am sure any Deputy could, so I will narrow the focus. There is a lovely council official called Sean McNally who used to call to my door in pre-…

I have great respect for my constituency colleague, Deputy Paul Murphy, and he makes very compelling arguments. The difference between being on the Opposition benches and these benches is that governments have to govern. Revolution along the lines of which he is talking might be welcome, desirable even-----

I am just wondering about time needed, given the pace at which change takes place. I was reminded continuously during the Deputy's contribution of the movie "Don't Look Up". Therein lies the challenge. I am thinking of the Acting Chairman, who has some very young children. If they understood half of what was going on - given their youth, not their lack of intelligence - they would wonder why we are not being more urgent about this. What is frustrating for someone like me is we were here having this same debate a nu…

On the previous Deputy's point about Covanta, I remember in the last Dáil as Dublin spokesperson going down to the Irish Water sewage treatment plant. I was told, and it is an analogy I have kept in my head since, that the sewage that flows into that plant is the equivalent of the volume of water that flows in the River Dodder from source to sea in a 24-hour period. It is cleansed to a certain degree and then goes out to sea. Speakers have referred to plastic bottles, 80% of which still end up in landfill. It takes…

Yes. Even there a bit of education is needed because apparently they are not great in every aspect of the garden but are suitable for particular plants. Sometimes I think we are too late. A piecemeal manner of addressing this will not work. If you want to see the appetite for plastic, go into your supermarket. The most obscene example of plastic use is on airlines. When you order a cup of tea and a bun, you are given a plastic cup, a plastic spoon, plastic sachets of sugar, a plastic holder for the milk, plastic ar…

The final question in this section will be put by Deputy Matthews who will only have one return call on it.

The House is happy to support the Minister taking that time and, in particular, the sentiments expressed to his wife, Anne, on the loss she is experiencing at this time, and to his family. Thank you for taking the time to express the thoughts of the Government and the Members.

Before we continue, Standing Orders dictate the time for Priority Questions. There are six and a half minutes each, and that includes the introduction and ministerial reply. I must stick to that to ensure that everybody gets in. I call Deputy Brady.

Deputy Naughten will be taking this question.

My request would be to at least change the music that is played when on hold, given that people from my office have spent so much time listening to it. I am sorry for interrupting.