------because you know they are true.

On a point of order, I really need to put on the record of the Dáil that what we see here is a party that really just cannot handle honest democratic debate.

They will not answer questions.

A Cheann Comhairle-----

It is a valid point of order, actually.

The Deputy betrayed the truth once again.

Her party scored 24.5% of the vote-----

-----and they think that gives them right to shout everyone else down.

That is not democratic.

As I announced earlier with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, we will have a referendum, or indeed perhaps a number of referendums, in November to modernise our Constitution to enshrine in it equal rights between men and women, to recognise care in our Constitution and to modernise the definition of family so that it is not just families based on marriage that are seen as families through the eyes of our Constitution. Many families are led by grandparents, guardians and often by lone pa…

On childcare professionals, we have an employment regulation order in place that has improved pay, and terms and conditions for such professionals. It gives them a proper incremental scale and a body of workers’ rights beyond the minimum floor prescribed in legislation. I think that is helping in recruiting and retaining childcare professionals. Last time I visited a childcare facility in Blanchardstown in my constituency, it was great to see so many people who had come from other parts of the world because the ter…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a cheist. Aontaím go bhfuil fadhb ann leis an ionad tástála tiomána i nDroichead Átha. Ba mhaith liom an fhadhb a réiteach agus ionad nua a chruthú sa bhaile sin. The Road Safety Authority has statutory responsibility for the national driving test service, including the locations and operation of driving test centres. A commitment was given last year to close the test centre in Marian Park, Drogheda, by the end of February this year as the lease expired. The site was always a tem…

I passed my driving test at 18 as well, though it was my second attempt. A little like my electoral record, it took two attempts to succeed. I understand the importance of having a full licence. It is about being able to get a job, as the Deputy said, being able to get around, get to college and do whatever people need to do. It is a major restriction on people’s freedom not to be able to have a full licence. I do not accept, though, that a change is just the stroke of a pen. I am a former Minister for road safety …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. We are giving consideration to further legislation in this area, although it will not be emergency legislation. We already have the National Archives Act and there are already offences with regard to the destruction of public documents, but I appreciate that does not apply beyond the State sector. My understanding is that the archive is not held in the Department of the Taoiseach anymore. It has not been held there for some time. That may have been why people wer…

I will come back to the Deputy with a more detailed reply, because the question is valid and I may not be able to answer it fully today. It is intended we will have all records that are held by the State in the repository and any personal testimonies, subject to the consent of the people involved. The National Archives Act already protects documents, as does the Birth Information and Tracing Act, but perhaps that does not cover all the documents to which the Deputy referred, that is, those that are held in private …

I know there are some employers who already offer early pregnancy loss leave and, indeed, some that offer it to fathers as well as mothers experiencing this. That is a very good thing. We have introduced sick leave, as of 1 January 2023, that is any form of medical leave, once there is a doctor's certificate that can cover treatments, such as IVF and early pregnancy loss, but I appreciate these are discrete issues. The difficulty that the Government is running into is that there are a great number of different prop…

I would see that differently.

The decision we made is to have a referendum to modernise our Constitution. Homelessness affects men and women alike. In fact, there are more men than women who are homeless. Homelessness affects younger people and older people. It also affects people from all sorts of walks of life. It is very much a stain on our society. It is not simply a gender issue, and that should be acknowledged. It is important to bear in mind that in some cases you will see women moving into certain homes when they become vacant. Women ar…

The Croí Cónaithe scheme is going really well. There have been more than 1,000 applications across the country from people seeking grants to allow them to being old buildings or homes back into use. This is really positive and we are very encouraged by it. The figures relating to the scheme are not counted in our new housing statistics. They should be because a home brought back into use is a new home in my view. The Minister is committed to carrying out a review of the scheme this year. He will look at the issue o…

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge on behalf of the Government that the waiting times for driving tests are too long. They are averaging at 20 or 21 weeks across the country. The service level agreement says ten weeks, so nobody should have to wait more than ten weeks for a driving test appointment. The reason the delays are happening is because there has been a 30% increase in applications for driving tests. Levels are now 30% higher than even before the pandemic period, and there is backlog related to that too. We…