I am afraid I am not familiar with the 109X, but if it stops in Blanchardstown I probably should be. The provision of a shelter should not be too difficult. With the additional funding for public transport, perhaps additional capacity can be provided. If the Deputy would like to set out the details in writing on one or two pages, I will make sure the matter gets taken up with the NTA and Bus Éireann and we will see if we can make some improvements.

I thank the Deputy for reminding us once again that paramilitarism in Ireland is far from dead. I very much condemn the events in Strabane in recent weeks. There is very good co-operation between the security authorities here and those in Northern Ireland and in Britain. We want to enhance that in any way we can. Obviously, much of this relates to security, much of it is confidential and much I do not know about, but I do know that the co-operation is very good and that will continue.

We review that list every six months, so it is probably up for review about now. It is handled by the Minister of State, Deputy English, as Deputy Ó Cathasaigh mentioned. Generally, we are guided by what we hear from employers as to which skills and posts they cannot fill. Two have crossed our desks a lot recently. One is bus drivers, which the Deputy mentioned. There are well-qualified bus drivers from outside the EU who could come here and help solve some of our problems. The other relates to care. There is a ver…

I am happy to give a commitment that I will speak to the Minister about it. It came up in my meeting with the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, only in the past two weeks. I understand that the Minister and the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, met farmers from the Burren and local representatives on 22 November. I am told that the meeting was constructive and that the work of the Burren programme was acknowledged. Ministers will now reflect on those discussions while work will continue with all the ACRES co-operat…

I join with the Deputy in thanking Dr. Scally and his team for the work they have done in the past couple of years. We were very lucky as a country that we found him. He has done some really good work to help us improve the CervicalCheck programme. I am very grateful to him and his team for that. The Coombe lab is being developed at the moment. We are keen to have it up and running and commissioned as soon as possible so that we can have many more, if not the vast majority of smear tests examined in Ireland rather …

I had the chance to meet Aimee Foley myself yesterday very briefly when she was in the House. I really admire her courage in going public in the way that she did and seeking a tougher sentence. I am glad that the DPP did appeal that sentence and that a higher sentence was secured. I would like to see that happen a little more often than it does. I understand and see the case for legal representation. I am not 100% up to date on what the plans are and where that stands but I will check with the Minister for Justice …

The negotiations on the consultant contract are ongoing. They are at an advanced stage. Within the next couple of weeks we will know whether agreement is possible or not. They are being chaired independently and it would not be helpful for me to engage in running commentary on some of the outstanding issues. I think we are close to the point in the next couple of weeks as to whether we are able to say that we can come to an agreement or not.

No.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very sensitive matter and for his ongoing interest in it on behalf of the 18 families affected. The matter has been discussed in the House previously. Once again, I express my deep sympathy to the families in Cork who have experienced the tragedy of losing a child and who then had the devastating experience of learning that their children's organs were disposed of without their consent. That was wrong. It is hard to fathom the hurt this incident must have caused to the families a…

The delays with this inquiry and many other inquiries are impossible to defend. I can only imagine the frustration people experience when these inquiries, which you think will last six months, go on for more than six months and last a year or two years. That is very hard to defend. When we challenge the people carrying out the inquiries as to why this is the case, they often say that the matters involved were more complicated than they thought in the first instance and that things came up that they had to look into…

I thank the Deputy again for raising this important issue. On Monday, I had a chance to listen to the radio documentary. It was very compelling. I pay tribute to the bravery of all those who participated in it. If people do not tell their stories, then it is very hard for us to take actions against people who carry out abuse and prevent it from happening in future. I recognise their bravery in coming forward and participating in that documentary. This is a matter that the Government is very concerned about. The cru…

It is fair to say there is broad consensus across the House that we do need an inquiry into these matters and that it should be victim-led and survivor-led. As we all know from our own experience of inquiries that have been initiated by the Government or this House, getting the form of the inquiry right is very important, as is getting the terms of reference right. Inquiries can range from non-statutory ones, such as that which led to the Scally report, which I think people would see as a good model, albeit in very…

I thank the Deputy. The residential zone land tax will raise revenue. Any tax raises revenue. However, that is not the primary purpose of the tax. Its primary purpose is to make sure that where land is zoned for housing, it gets developed for housing. We are all aware of the need for additional housing in the State and the fact that much land that is zoned for housing is not being developed. That is the purpose of and the thinking behind the tax. It is a response to the severe housing crisis that our citizens face.…

For the record, I am not a supporter of any political party in the United States. I will check with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, on the issue of reliefs. This is a tax that I agree with. Land that is zoned for housing should be developed for housing and people should not hang on to it. If they want to dezone land, that is fair enough. If, however, land is zoned for housing, it should be developed for housing. I do not agree that the tax should apply if somebody is making reasonable efforts, has applied…

Like the Deputy, I understand that insurance companies have to make a profit. If they do not make a profit, they cannot operate or function. If the latter were the case, there would not be any insurance companies or insurance policies and there would certainly be no competition. Obviously, they should be making reasonable rather than excessive profits. It is encouraging to have seen motor insurance come down a lot in recent years. I am not happy that house insurance is still going up. We had expected that when pric…

-----and somebody who has an issue with flooding. If they are willing to share that detail with us - it would be with the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming - we can take the matter up with the regulator and the industry and see what they have to say.

An irregular smear test should not be grounds for refusing insurance. Insurers must price in risk. If somebody is very ill or terminally ill they do have to take it into account. An irregular smear test does not fit into that category, or certainly does not in my mind. I am genuinely interested and if the Deputy could pass on the information, with the permission of that person, we will take it up with the industry and see what we can do.

I thank the Deputy. I am informed the setting of tolls is not a Government decision. It is a statutory function of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, although there are some procedural differences between the two public roads, which are the M50 and the Dublin Port tunnel, and the eight PPP roads. Obviously, news of the increase is not welcome. The M50 toll is in my constituency. The Deputy can imagine that many people travel south and north and pay that toll not just every day but twice a day. This is very unwe…

I thank Deputy Bacik. I certainly hope they have been implemented or, if not, that they are in the process of being implemented. I cannot confirm that now for the Deputy. I will certainly let the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, know Deputy Bacik has raised it and I will ask him to come back to her directly.

I am very sorry to hear about Miley's experience. I was not aware of the case, although I appreciate Deputy Whitmore has raised it previously. As the Deputy knows, wait times for scoliosis have improved and reduced in the past year or so, but often there are individual cases and very complex cases that take longer because of the number of different specialists that need to be involved. I do not really want to comment on individual cases for these reasons. Perhaps I can let the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, know the De…