-----but it has made a difference, and I think it is the right thing to do. I agree that if Ennis is to take more patients, even if they are stable patients, it will need the resources to do that. Otherwise, it will just move the problem to somewhere else, and we do not want that to happen.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 14, inclusive, together. The housing and infrastructure unit assists me and the Government to meet our housing and infrastructure policy objectives. This includes providing a secretariat to the Cabinet committee on housing, which oversees the delivery of Housing for All, along with wider public investment through Project Ireland 2040, which falls under the Cabinet committee on the economy and investment, which is chaired by the Tánaiste. The unit also provides updates, briefing…

It is a long time since I have done this and I had forgotten what it was like. I have done my best to write down as many questions as I can. I definitely cannot write as quickly as people can talk but will do my best to answer the questions. In relation to Deputy Tóibín's question on the 166,000 vacant homes, I am not sure it is published yet but it is worth taking a look at the Department's report, which is the derelict homes action plan. It might be published or may not be. It gives a very interesting breakdown a…

I cannot remember the exact figure but a fraction of that-----

-----and it shows as well that vacancy rates in Ireland are falling compared with the last time the survey was done and are in line with European norms. There is huge variability from different parts of the country to others, as the Deputy can imagine. Bear in mind the vacant property tax will only apply to habitable homes. It will not apply to those that are not habitable; they are derelict and are covered under different legislation. Whatever the correct number is, there are certainly tens of thousands of derelic…

Yes, but-----

-----people are being evicted because they have not paid their rent-----

-----or because they have been engaged in antisocial behaviour-----

----and I think allowing people to-----

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 21, inclusive, together. Climate action is the most pressing long-term global challenge of our time and is a significant priority for this Government. Through our strengthened climate legislation, Our Shared Future and our annually updated climate action plan, we have set ourselves the ambition of halving Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade and of putting Ireland on course to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. We are determined that Ireland will play its …

I thank Deputies again for their contributions on this issue. Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan, who is a great advocate for climate action and renewable energy, pointed out that our ambition now is produce 8 GW of solar capacity. That is a very ambitious target but one we believe can be achieved. I very much agree with him that we must remove any obstacles that we can. Planning laws have been relaxed and TAMS and other grants are available, as the Deputy has said. I also know that people are running into practical obs…

They account for about 10% to 14% of all electricity we use and less than 2% of greenhouse gas emissions. We have no plans for a ban, but we will reduce new connections and prioritise data centres linked to employment and important social functions, which they are. That is a fact and reality of modern life. On the Navan rail line, I very much welcome the decision of Government to proceed with that project. It will be beneficial to County Meath and my constituency, where it plugs in at Hansfield. There will, of cour…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 to 29, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on health is due to meet on 13 February. In addition to the meetings of the full Cabinet and of Cabinet committees, I meet Ministers on an individual basis to focus on different issues. I met with the Minister for Health and HSE leadership team just before Christmas to discuss the pressures being experienced across our hospitals, particularly in emergency departments around the country. This pressure resulted from an exceptionally…

The failings in CAMHS were mentioned again and I addressed this earlier in response to Deputy Bacik's question during Leaders Questions. I accept the assertion that action is urgently needed. Deputy McDonald is absolutely right about that. Funding has been increased and will be increased further. Staffing levels have almost doubled in the past ten years and they will be increased more. We are going to appoint a new national clinical lead for youth mental health so that there is better clinical governance and clinic…

The Deputy has made a very good point. We saw during Covid that the role of community pharmacies was quite effective and that is still the case in respect of the Covid-19 vaccination programme. That has worked well. I do not have an up-to-date position in terms of the outcome of the working group but I will speak to the Minister in that regard and seek to have further information provided to the Deputy.

Fáilte ar ais, Teachtaí, and a happy new year to everyone. Deputy McDonald, I believe Paschal Donohoe. I believe he is a man of integrity and a man of the highest standards. He is somebody I have known for a very long time and I believe he is somebody we can trust, and somebody who I believe. I think, deep down, everyone in this House knows that Paschal is a man of integrity and somebody who tells the truth. What happened here is that six years ago, a businessman who is a supporter of his paid six people less than …

My view is that we should allow the standards commission to decide whether an investigation is appropriate, and to make a determination as to whether the rules were broken. This is a political chamber. We all know how this plays out if we allow it to become a party political matter. It should not be. We have ethics legislation and standards legislation. It is set up to be independent of this place. In my view, that body should be allowed to do its work, and we should not be so quick to rush to conclusions in that r…

On her declaration lodged in 2021, she claimed it was a personal donation to her. It has since been claimed by Deputy O'Reilly, Deputy McDonald and others that it was a donation to Sinn Féin. Does the Deputy not now need to correct that declaration? Was the donation to Deputy McDonald, which she took and spent, or was it to her party? There is a difference.

I do not know if there is a SIPO complaint in about this, but somebody might consider doing that because she has questions to answer in that regard too.

It is important to state, as a matter of fact, that the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is not yet under investigation by the standards commission. A complaint has been received. That body will consider the complaint. It will then decide whether there should be a preliminary inquiry and, on foot of that, it will decide whether there should be an investigation. It is important that people do not claim that the Minister is under investigation when that is factually not the case. That may change but it is not the case today…