Whatever we decide to do, we will do on a European level because that is the only way it is going to be effective. We need to hit Russia and we need to hit Putin where it hurts, and that is going to include financial sanctions and sanctions against the flow of money and banking activities. That may have a negative impact on our State, but we have to do it because it is the right thing to do. We will do it on a European level, because if we do it unilaterally, the money will just flow elsewhere and it will not have …

It was the Attorney General in the previous Government who determined that inquests should take place in regard to the Stardust fire and tragedy. I very much support that decision. The Government wants to make sure the inquests happen and that they are conducted quickly and conducted properly. We fully support the work of the coroner in that regard. It is not something we can interfere with because, of course, the coroner is entirely independent, but that matter of paying jurors is something the Minister, Deputy Mc…

Certainly, Ireland will accept refugees from Ukraine. Whatever we do will have to be done on a European basis as part of a European agreement. It is fair to say that we were one of the leading countries in the EU when it came to accepting refugees from Afghanistan. This is a European country. It is much nearer. There is a significant Ukrainian community in Ireland already. We will be willing to accept people but that will have to be agreed on a European-wide basis. We will be happy to step forward as a country in t…

I will have to check that out and come back to the Deputy. I think the regulations are done. I am not sure if they have been officially signed off or published. South Dublin County Council is advertising affordable homes for people to purchase. It will happen in Waterford quite soon. I had thought they were done but I will find out and come back to the Deputy.

I want to acknowledge that we have a problem with the dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, the medical card scheme for dental services. We have about 1,150 dentists who are part of the scheme. About 300 have left in recent times. That means that in large parts of the country people cannot get a dentist or the dental care that they need. However, it is not fair to say that nothing is happening or that people are being ignored. Negotiations are underway between the HSE, the Department of Health and the Irish Denta…

We have given that issue some consideration. It has been discussed with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys. Her view, which I agree with, is that the existing community welfare service is the service that we should continue to use to issue exceptional needs payments. It does not require a separate fund because there is already a fund for exceptional needs payments which is worth around €40 million a year. It is not capped or budget limited but demand led. I encourage people who have a genuine need…

I thank Deputy Devlin for raising this. We have a small but active and very welcome Ukrainian community here in Ireland, many of whom are established here for some time. There is a moral obligation on us to assist them to have their relatives, especially those who are dependent on them, to come to Ireland. It is complicated because we have a very small embassy in Kyiv. It only opened in the last couple of years with only two people on the ground. They are currently in a safe location for their own safety. It is not…

This is genuinely one of those moments where I am glad that we are part of the EU and we do not stand alone. The EU does not just ensure and underpin our economic prosperity but it also helps to underpin our security and allows us to act with solidarity when it comes to issues such as this. There will be a meeting of the European Council this evening in Brussels. The Taoiseach will attend. Whatever we do on sanctions, refugees or on the Russian ambassador and diplomats will be done at European level because Putin a…

I thank the Deputy. We are doing that. There are more members of An Garda Síochána than was ever the case before. A very significant recruitment campaign is under way, having been launched by the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, only a few days ago. That will help us to continue to increase the visibility of policing in urban and rural areas, especially when it comes to community gardaí. On CCTV, we have a problem and we are working through the issue at the moment. It is all around data protection. You can hav…

-----but then not to want any of the responsibility around being a data controller, because this is video footage and it can be misused.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. A new non-domestic water tariff framework was introduced by Irish Water on 1 October. The CRU determines the charges and charging arrangements that apply to non-domestic customers. There will be a three-year transition arrangement. What is happening essentially is 57 different charging regimes and more than 900 different charges are being consolidated over the course of the next three years. Under this arrangement, any annual bill increase above €250 will be spre…

I thank the Deputy. The matter is currently under consideration by Government. I agree with his basic argument that it is important we maintain a strong post office network throughout the country. It may be the case some post offices just are not viable because of a lack of customers but we want to maintain as many as possible, especially when the redundancy or retirement arrangement comes into place in early 2023. I very much agree with what the Deputy said on welfare fraud. Sometimes people dismiss welfare fraud.…

I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this issue. We all appreciate the extent to which prices are rising and the cost of living is going up. We see it at the pumps. We see it in our electricity bills and gas bills. We see it in the cost of buying groceries, and of course we see it in the correspondence we all receive from constituents. There are essentially two ways to deal with inflation. We can try to chase it by increasing everything, that is, pay, welfare and pensions. That needs to be done but it only drives infl…

I thank the Deputy. If we look back over the past 11 years, we see there has been unprecedented investment in education for children with special or additional needs. We now have more special needs assistants, SNAs, in the country than even gardaí - more than 14,000 or 15,000.

I appreciate there are issues and I am certainly engaging with the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, on them. I would be happy to take any details from the Deputy.

What happened in the House yesterday was wrong. Aside from the intemperate and bad behaviour, it was factually incorrect. What Deputy McAuliffe said was true: it was a democratic decision of the council in 2019; and it was negotiated between the council and the developer, Bartra, that the council would be given first refusal for 30% of the 50% of units that were earmarked for private sale purchase so that they could be used for affordable rental homes. All that is happening now is that the State is being given the …

I am afraid that I do not have any information to hand on that matter but it appears to be very serious so I will raise it with the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and ask them to revert to the Deputy directly.

This is an issue that some of my constituents are suffering from as well. In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in the budget for home care. Money used to be the issue but it is not anymore. We have increased the budget by, I think, 40% in the past couple of years but we are struggling to find people who are willing to work in the sector. That requires action in two areas. First, terms and conditions need to be improved so that more people are willing to work in this field. Second, we are examining t…

That matter is currently being reviewed by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who is examining whether it will be possible within Transport Infrastructure Ireland's budget to reallocate some funds to allow the project to continue to progress through planning. As the Deputy pointed out, it is an important road project because it accesses a significant IDA site - the former Amgen site - and can open up land for housing. There is also a road safety issue involved. The Minister is very much seized with these matters and …

I understand that the issue involving school secretaries and caretakers is before the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, today. I hope that it will be possible to come to an agreement to regularise their employment, which we would all support. I am aware of the issue regarding PhD candidates. I cannot make any commitment on it today but I will ensure that the Minister, Deputy Harris, knows that it was raised in the Chamber. It is important that PhD candidates be treated fairly. We want more people to do PhDs and …