I will have to look into it a little bit further. I am not an expert in how the courts operate but I do know they operate independently of this House and of the Government. I think it is the case that judges have discretion as to whether hearings are held in camera but they are done to protect vulnerable people, including children. I will make some further inquiries about it, in particular with the Attorney General and get back to the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy very much. He can be assured that the Government will be very keen to fund any plan to bring the barracks back into use and back to life. I do not know the details of the project but the Deputy can be assured that it is now very much on my radar.

We did not actually remove our commitment but we did reduce it substantially on account of the financial crisis that occurred here 12 or 15 years ago. To cut to the chase, the situation is now different. We are in a much better place as a country, financially, and the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly are back up and running. I had a chance to speak to the Minister, Mr. O'Dowd, about this on my trip to Stormont last Monday. In the next week or two we should be in a position to make a revised financial commitm…

There are a number of really important projects in Cork that we are keen to progress. The Deputy mentioned three of them: the north ring road, the M20 between Cork and Limerick and the Mallow bypass. There are other projects too such as the ones in Castlemartyr and Ringaskiddy. I could name a few more such as the project linking Carrigtohill, Midleton and Youghal. We will do our best to fund as many of the projects as possible. We are certainly keen to keep them alive and keep them going. We will have allocations o…

I will have to come back to Deputy Kerrane on that. To my recollection, a number of increases were agreed on foot of the resolution of the dispute in the summer and then increases agreed in the public service pay agreement, which has not yet been ratified by the unions. I will come back to the Deputy with more detail when I can.

I understand that submission is currently with the Department and officials are going over the numbers to see what level of contribution would be appropriate. I will mention to the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, and the Minister, Deputy Martin, that it was raised in the Chamber today.

If the referendums are passed and the Constitution is so amended, it will still be possible for future governments and the Oireachtas to discriminate in favour of people who are married. That will not change. It will obviously be up to the Oireachtas and Government at the time to decide exactly on what basis they wish to favour or discriminate in favour of people who are married.

This issue has not been brought to my attention before. Now that it has, I will make inquiries of the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and ask them to come back to the Deputy with a more thoughtful and detailed reply.

I thank the Deputy for his ongoing interest in the issue of rare diseases and orphan medicines. He and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, are two of the strongest advocates in the House on these issues. There was a change in the Revised Estimate in December in which we allocated a certain amount - I cannot recall the exact amount - for new medicines. It was not specifically for rare diseases but for new medicines generally. That means the HSE can approve new medicines out of the dedicated fund and from savings…

Of course I accept responsibility for it. I am the Taoiseach and the head of Government. I accept responsibility for all that is good about this country and also for trying to put right all that is wrong. That is my job as Taoiseach. The national children's hospital project is not a waste of money. It will be an absolutely fabulous facility.

It will make an enormous difference. It will be there for 50 or 100 years. It will be comparable with and better than any children's hospital in the world. I know it has cost too much and taken too long. Like many other big projects, such as terminal 2 in Dublin Airport or the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, nobody will regret it when they see it.

I am very sorry to hear about that case. I read about it in the media. As the Deputy will be aware, the Health Act precludes-----

Perhaps it is a different case. Either way, I am sorry to hear what that boy and his family have had to experience. The Health Act, for very good reasons, makes it unlawful for me or any Minister to direct the HSE to do anything for any particular patient. That would not be right, for all sorts of reasons. If the Deputy sends me on the details and permissions from the family to take an interest in the case, I will do that.

Tógfaidh mé Ceisteanna Uimh. 1 go 8, go huile, le chéile. My programme included engagements with businesses with investments or interests in Ireland. I spoke at a dinner hosted by IDA Ireland, which was attended by business leaders from the manufacturing, chemical, technology and finance sectors. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, also attended. I met with senior representatives of multinational companies with a significant imprint in Ireland. These meetings are typically an important opportunity for…

I thank Deputies for their questions. As was said earlier there are lots of conspiracy theories about Davos and the World Economic Forum, and particularly online. No big decisions are made there. In fact no decisions are made at all. If that was the case I would stay for the whole thing. As it happens I had to leave early and arrive late. I arrived late because the Chinese Prime Minister was visiting Ireland, and I had to leave early because I wanted to get to an event in Galway. I can guarantee that if the far rig…

I proposes to take Questions Nos. 9 to 15, inclusive, together. I welcomed Premier Li Qiang to Ireland on 17 January for a working visit which marked 45 years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and China. In addition to our bilateral meeting, there was a working lunch that included several Chinese ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank of China, the Tánaiste and the Ministers, Deputies Ryan, Foley, McConalogue and Coveney. I had a productive meeting with Premier Li and his delegation. We agreed there is m…

Decisions on security matters, including road closures such as, for example, in the Phoenix Park, are not made by me. They are security matters, they are dealt with by the Garda and the Defence Forces and they must, of course, remain confidential. At my meeting with the Chinese Premier, I raised our concerns about the treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang. Premier Li disputed the veracity of those concerns and invited me to visit the region to see with my own eyes what the situation is there. I urged China…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 to 20, inclusive, together. I visited the western Balkans from 10 to 12 January 2024. My visit to Kosovo was an opportunity, in particular, to thank the Irish members of the Defence Forces serving with the Kosovo Force, KFOR, and the Irish people serving with the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, EULEX, for the vital work they do in contributing to peace and security in that country. My visit to three western Balkans countries, namely, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Mac…

I thank Deputies for their remarks. I do not think Deputy Boyd Barrett meant to say it but, just in case I misheard him, I do not think we should in any way equate the expansion of NATO to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That is part of the Russian narrative and a Russian speaking point, to blame NATO expansion or use it as an excuse for what it has done in Ukraine. I would hope that none of us agree with that speaking point or viewpoint or accept that it is-----

That is a different thing. I am glad that is clear because it is a Russian speaking point. Aside from the historical lectures that one gets from Russia, one of its speaking points is that the expansion of NATO forced them to invade Ukraine-----