We dealt with this matter earlier, and there was a vote on it. The reason we have the Ethics in Public Office Act is precisely because there should be independent oversight of ethics and standards in this State. That is why the Standards in Public Office Commission was set up. It is not appropriate for us to turn our Parliament into a Star Chamber or to try to take on the role or the work of SIPO. The commission has received a complaint and it will decide whether to carry out a preliminary inquiry. We should not se…

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le baill Dháil Éireann don onóir mhór a thug sibh dom inniu. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuilim ag déanamh mar a rinne na daoine ar éirigh leo a ainmniú mar Thaoiseach don dara huair. Glacaim go humhal leis an ainmniúchán seo. Ba mhór an onóir dom a bheith mar Thaoiseach agus 100 bliain mar Stáit á gcomóradh againn. 100 bliain ó shin, tháinig aisling na Saoirse i gcrích de réir mar a bhaineamar státacht amach. D’aithin an domhan ár neamhspleáchas. Ba cheart go mbeadh sé mar mhisean again…

B’áil liom cead a chur in iúl, mar eolas don Dáil, gur chuir mé m’ainmniú mar Thaoiseach in iúl don Uachtarán agus gur cheap sé mé dá réir. I have informed the President of my nomination as Taoiseach and he has appointed me accordingly. A Cheann Comhairle, when I became Taoiseach for the first time five and a half years ago, I used this speech to set out the direction for the Government. Back then, Brexit was the biggest challenge facing us as a country. We also faced significant problems in housing and health. By …

Táimid aontaithe faoi scamall bróin inniu tar éis bhás saighdiúra chróga a bhí ag fónamh sa Liobáin. Déanaimid caoineadh lena theaghlach agus molaimid crógacht na ndaoine atá páirteach ann. Tá a fhios againn go mbraitheann gach duine in Óglaigh na hÉireann nó sa bhaile an caillteanas seo. Tá ár gcuid smaointe agus paidreacha le pearsanra uile Óglaigh na hÉireann inniu. We are united in grief at the loss of a brave Irish soldier, a young man serving Ireland and the United Nations in Lebanon. We mourn with his family…

I thank the Deputy. We understand the ECB will make an announcement on interest rates today. We do not know what it is going to be but it is anticipated there will be a further increase in interest rates announced. We hope it is the last one, or failing that, the second-last one. As the Deputy will appreciate, the ECB is independent in its functions and it has a particular remit to bring inflation under control and down to something around 2%. That is the reason interest rates are being increased by the ECB but obv…

I thank the Deputy. I absolutely appreciate that interest rates going up will be very unwelcome for tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of families across the country. Those with tracker mortgages, for example, will receive that letter, the fourth such letter in only a few months telling them their repayments are going up. The same will apply to people on variable rates and that is not welcome. As the Deputy will appreciate, the ECB makes its decisions independently of European governments. It is raising rates in a…

I very much look forward to reading the report over the recess and will do that. I was grateful for the opportunity to speak before the committee some weeks ago. I recognise Deputy Bacik's work as Chairperson, and all the members of the committee for the work they did. Politicians and parliamentarians often do not get credit for the kind of work that gets done in committees but it is often the work that is most valuable, rather than what happens here in the Chamber. It was in my previous role that the decision was …

We will take up that challenge. Just in the past few months, we have introduced legislation around the gender pay gap and we are seeing that come into effect now. That will help us understand better what the gender pay gap is in businesses and organisations and how it can be closed. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is bringing legislation through at the moment on work-life balance, which will benefit men and women but will benefit women in particular. In addition, there will be a significant reduction in childcare co…

I thank the Deputy for raising these important matters relating to the Garda. I look forward to an early meeting with the Garda Commissioner in order that I have a chance to tease through some of these issues with him. We are in the process of reforming oversight of the Garda to establish the new office of the police ombudsman and I hope that reformed office will complete investigations into complaints in a more timely way. It is absolutely right that Garda members should be held to account but the fact that compla…

I again thank the Deputy. He is correct to raise the issues of the mental health and well-being of gardaí. Being a Garda member has always been a tough job but it has become harder in recent years with the changing complexity of demands, some violence, quite frankly, and an increase in disrespect being shown to the Garda. One of the things we want to progress very soon is the use of worn body cameras, which can be an important protection to Garda members. I know they are in favour of that and we are keen to get it …

I thank the Deputy for his questions. At the outset, we should acknowledge that there are some very good things about our health service. Life expectancy continues to rise in Ireland. It is at 83 now and that is, in part, because of the improvements that have been made to our health service in recent years. Stroke survival rates are improving all the time. When I was working as a doctor, a stroke unit was very rare and there is now one in nearly every hospital. Cancer survival rates are improving every year and the…

I should add to my comments earlier that a waiting list initiative is under way and we are seeing substantial falls in the number of people who are waiting a long time to see a consultant or to have an operation. The number of people who are waiting more than six, 12 or 18 months is now falling. That is a result of the additional resources being put in. The target should really be 11 or 12 weeks, not six months or a year. We are at least seeing some progress in regard to the long waiters. In regard to GPs there is …

We will examine that. I do not think finding a solution should have to wait until we have a referendum. I am not an expert in this area of the law whatsoever but I know in other jurisdictions there is the concept of a common law wife or husband whereby a person was not married but was de facto married and could acquire certain rights in that regard. Not being at all an expert on this area of the law, I will say no more other than that we will examine the Bill. If we can support it, we will.

I had a number of discussions about this with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, before she went on maternity leave. There are a number of Garda station projects that are overdue and that we really need to get on with - Clonmel is one and there is another in Laois and a few others in different parts of the country.

The Deputy may be right that part of the problem is that it got bundled with other projects that are not similar. I am determined to work with the Minister for Justice and the incoming Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to get those projects to tender next year, and that is definitely the objective.

I can certainly say we have no plans to increase the licence fee. I cannot make that commitment for the duration of the Government but there are certainly no plans at the moment to increase it. I appreciate that it is de facto a compulsory charge. Anyone who has a television has to pay it, although, in fact, people who do not have a television even though they are watching the services, perhaps on an iPad or different device, do not have to pay it but are still availing of those services. The main thing we want to …

-----which would mean we would not have to increase it for a number of years. That is being worked on at the moment.

I thank Deputy Richmond for once again raising this very important issue. I agree the statistics that he articulated would indicate that the economy in Northern Ireland is outperforming other parts of the United Kingdom when it comes to trade. Perhaps that is linked to the advantages of the protocol, which give Northern Ireland access to the European Single Market but also give it access to the Great Britain market. Coming to an agreement on the protocol is a priority. I appreciate the political sensitivities aroun…

I thank the Deputy for his question. We are moving towards a model where childcare will be largely funded by the State and will be much more affordable for parents. That is something that is welcomed by everybody in this House. Some details will have to be worked out and I am aware of some small providers, in particular, who have a different cost model based on the fact they are small and it costs more to run a small organisation or business per client, per customer or per child than would be the case for a larger …

I thank the Deputy and I appreciate that he has raised this issue before and has raised it personally with me. I also appreciate the separation of powers between the courts and the Legislature. I know that this is a matter that he has a great deal of concern about and my adviser will engage with him further on it and with the Minister for Justice.