Make comparison with now and the factory being closed. Make that comparison and look at what is not being included. The Minister cannot walk away from this. He cannot do it.

And the transcripts.

But there was.

Will the Minister come back to the House?

Will the Minister come back to the House?

There was. The Minister does not believe what he read out.

The child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, service in counties Carlow and Kilkenny is in such a crisis that it is commonplace now that nine-year-old kids are being brought to accident and emergency departments for attention only to be sedated with no service follow-up. Last week, on Friday, I notified CAMHS of a particular case and it was unable to respond. In fact, there was no one there to respond so the child ended up in the accident and emergency department. It is also not uncommon for a family to …

I will give the Minister of State a list.

The biggest challenge facing the country following the allocation of moneys through this budget is how that budget is managed. Like the previous speaker, I have serious doubts as to whether or not the State and all of its agents have the wherewithal and systems in place to give us value for money and efficient delivery. I give the example of the school bus system. The school bus system has been debated at length in this Chamber, every single year since I was elected, yet has never been put out to tender. We deal wi…

I am delighted we are having these statements because it gives us all the opportunity to put on record what we believe should be done in health or our views on the various aspects of the policies of health. I am sure there is nobody else in this House who will appreciate more than the Minister himself that what gets counted gets done. Is that what we are doing? I have been here at various budgets and I have seen the health budget increased year on year with substantial amounts of money. How is that money being mana…

A general discussion outside of this House regarding Covid and what went on at that time will range across the spectrum of conspiracy theories, some facts and a listening ear to decide what is best to do to explain to people what happened. During Covid, there were a lot of lockdowns but elderly people in homes felt it more than most and those that died during Covid had to do so without the general support of their families. The issue around Covid, vaccinations and what people thought at the time, plus the deaths, d…

It would ensure accuracy when commenting.

We should note at this stage of the discussion that we still do not have a copy of the Minister's statement to the House. It is therefore difficult to accurately quote what she had to say. We know where Fine Gael stands because it voted against the motion proposed in 2018. As we can see, apart from the Minister, there is not one Fine Gael Deputy here. It is important that we note that because the Opposition and Members of my party are here to set on record what we believe in. Are we leading the O'Farrell family alo…

That is a fact. The judge, in saying this in the report, is doing nothing else but throwing in information about Shane O'Farrell so that, at the end of the report, he could actually blame him. That is far from the truth and it is far away from what he was asked to do. The man who killed Shane O'Farrell had 42 convictions but Shane had no light on his bike. The man was known to the gardaí and known to be involved in drugs, but Shane had no light on his bike. The car had no national car test, NCT, which was known to …

Is it possible to table the motion passed on that night in 2018 again before this Oireachtas?

I welcome the budget, the increases across the various Departments and the introduction of other headings under which a great deal of money will be spent. However, not enough time is afforded by the House to discuss how money is spent, whether it is spent well and whether we get value for it. In the lead-up to budgets, we hear various Departments making plays for the amounts they want. There should be a zero-sum budget where Departments have to provide proof of having achieved value for the money they have already …

I appeal to the Government to look at that issue. I add my voice to those highlighting the issue of foster care payments. Those families providing foster care need to be supported much more. It is vitally important that they be given the recognition they deserve, which they have not got down through the years. An awful lot of them are struggling and putting their own resources into caring for those they are fostering. If the State has a responsibility in that area, it should be reflected in the payments we make. Un…

This did not happen today or yesterday. This has been going on for successive Governments, which have failed miserably to deal with the issue. It is the price we pay for the status quo and protecting the system. It is causing worry and anxiety to families and individuals up and down the country. All the voluntary organisations involved, regardless of how they are described under whichever section, give significant commitment and passion to the job they do. It is unequalled anywhere. Any investment into the sector y…

That is what Parliament is for.

That is what Parliament is for.