-----with regard to things that happened six, eight or ten years ago. Some of the people who are laughing at me are people who had to change their own declarations on multiple occasions. It is a little much. Ministers want some time to look at documents and check the records before making statements. I am here twice a week and am happy to answer any questions the Deputy wants to put to me. I think the Joint Committee on Health is going to want to look into this too. If the Deputy's inference is that I signed off on…

Deputy English has resigned as Minister of State. Anything to do with planning or enforcement law, as I have said, is a matter for Meath County Council.

The internal procedures we have in our party are confidential and are internal matters, just as the Deputy's are. I know there are disciplinary matters under way in the Labour Party at the moment. I would not ask her questions about those in the Dáil. With regard to Deputy Tóibín's question on excess deaths, I am aware that in Ireland and in a lot of countries there has been a significant increase in excess deaths this winter, even more so than was the case during the pandemic, or at least during the lockdowns. Tha…

My understanding is there is to be a debate next week.

Deputy McDonald keeps using the term "illegal charges". I will keep saying to her that we do not accept that. The Health Act 1970 does not provide free private nursing home care for people with medical cards. That is the view of the Government. We have bona fide defences in that regard. They were prepared by the Attorney General down the years.

Anything can be contested, but the Deputy keeps making a bogus assertion which is unproven, that these charges were illegal. She can make it all she likes, but it is not the case. It is certainly unproven. All cases were not settled. In some cases, claims were settled without any payment. I do not have the up-to-date numbers, but I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to provide them for the Deputy.

I do not know, but I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to provide them for the Deputy.

I will have to consult with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Tánaiste on that. I believe one of the difficulties with the legislation was the view that it conflicts with European law that trade is the sole competence of the European Union.

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this important matter. As she knows, we are investing in the ambulance service all the time, with more vehicles, more bases and more paramedics. I acknowledge that we have to take into account both population and population density. A rural area needs more ambulances than an urban one, or at least we need to take into account both population and geography for reasons we both understand. I will mention to the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, the request for a 24-7 RRV.

I am not entirely sure what the Deputy means by "outstanding liabilities". There are still cases; some are dormant and some have not been settled. I am not sure what he means by liabilities.

Okay. The €5 billion was an estimate related to public nursing homes and not private nursing homes. A scheme was set up - I do not know when but under then Minister for Health, Mary Harney - to compensate people who were charged in public nursing homes. The initial estimate was €5 billion. By the time the scheme was developed, it came down by €1 billion. In the end, €480 million was paid out. These figures we hear, whether €5 billion, €7 billion or €12 billion, have no validity any more. They were way off the mark.…

No decisions have been made on that yet. We hope to make a decision no later than the middle of February in order that people get advance notice. I take the Deputy's point that we are probably heading for a budget surplus again this year. We had a budget surplus of €5 billion last year but we should never forget that we also have a debt of €250 billion. It is not a debt we have to pay back but is one we have to service every year. As interest rates rise, that will become more expensive.

I was not aware that this matter was an issue. I will contact the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, about it and we will see what we can do.

I honestly do not know, but I think the Deputy and I are both very much in favour of investment in Killybegs. It is an important harbour. It has a lot to offer, not just in respect of fisheries-----

-----but also in respect of offshore wind, but taxpayers' money should always be spent well. I do not know the answer to the Deputy's question but I will certainly ask the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to come back to him directly.

I will definitely take that up with the Minister, Deputy Ryan. He and I are both in favour of double-tracking to Galway and the development of a commuter rail service around Galway city. I do not see why it should be held up by the all-island rail review. That is not the case for Cork or Limerick, so I do not see why it should be for Galway. We will check that out. I remain a supporter of the bypass but, obviously, that is a matter for An Bord Pleanála to decide on.

I am familiar with the case. It is a very sad one, and I hope Mr. Phelan is able to get back to Ireland as soon as possible. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, had a very lengthy call - I think it was nearly an hour long - trying to make the case on his behalf and to secure his release. I do not have any engagements with the Iranian Government in the diary at the moment but I will certainly make inquiries as to whether one is possible. I would be happy to add my voice to the effor…

I honestly do not know what the situation with refunds is, if there are to be any, so I will have to defer to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, on that. My understanding is that this was essentially like a bulk-buy discount. Somebody who buys things in large volumes will often get a lower price for them. That is not unusual. I was not aware that there would be any sort of rebate-----

-----but I will check it out.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am familiar with the service. I was involved in setting it up with the then Minister, Frances Fitzgerald, when I was in the Department of Social Protection and she was in the Department of Justice. It is a very good service. It has probably been wound back in recent years because of the falling number of mortgage arrears, but the Deputy makes a valid point that with interest rates rising we may see an increase in the number of people in arrears. I will definitely talk to …