-----and engaging in personalised remarks. It is disappointing. I knew before I came to the Chamber that, rather than having a rational debate on the correct solution, it was going to turn into Deputies-----

-----saying they are more virtuous than others or a better person than others-----

-----and that is sad.

This is just showboating, unfortunately. I wonder whether the Deputy is even capable of having a rational debate on the different options, such as compulsory licensing, the TRIPS waiver and others. What is required-----

I do not think the Deputy wants a debate at all. He just wants to make out he is the person who is virtuous and that we are nasty people looking after companies rather than people. It is just part of the political games his party plays and that is the truth of it. It is disappointing but, unfortunately, that is the alternative his party offers. We all share the same objective, in my view, namely, to vaccinate our own population. Governments have a responsibility to look after their own population and citizens first…

IDA Ireland is committed to building a new advance technology building in Tralee. I know both Deputy Griffin and Councillor Jim Finucane, among others, have been working on the matter for some time, and the Deputy has raised it with me several times on the floor of the House. The latest position is that IDA Ireland is continuing to engage with stakeholders to seek a suitable site for the proposed building in Tralee. Securing planning permission and the construction of the building will take time, but it is intended…

What we seek to achieve in Kerry is a diverse and balanced economy. That means investment in tourism - the county is hugely successful in that regard already - food production, energy, public services and FDI. The county has shown what an attractive place it can be for FDI and for major companies such as Liebherr and Fexco. We anticipate seeing further investment in Tralee during the course of this Government's term of office. That is probably the best approach for the county. Just as Ireland needs a diverse econom…

We will certainly give consideration to that, but, obviously, Tralee is top of the list at present. The restoration of the EWSS to the full November amount will benefit all companies that are down 30% or more in turnover. It will benefit and help the hospitality, arts, entertainment and night-life sectors to get through this difficult period. It will be in place until at least the end of January, whether or not restrictions are eased. It will benefit some companies that do not need it as much, such as in retail, co…

I thank the Deputy. The cost of living in Ireland is rising very quickly. After more than a decade of little or no inflation, we now see prices raising at a rate of more than 5% a year. We have not seen that in 20 years. This is very much driven by increases in fuel and energy prices. The Government is very aware of that. We know it is very difficult for many families who are trying to make ends meet and find enough money to pay the bills at the end of the week or the end of the month. Of course, we also know it fr…

It is very much the view of Government that we need to take action and do something to help people with their energy bills in the new year. We are particularly focusing on electricity because it is a bill everyone gets. It is something that people have to use. They do not have any choice as to what type of energy to use and must use what comes in on the wires. We are working on that at the moment. As I said, if we are going to do something that will have an impact on people's bills in the new year, we will have to …

I trust the women of Ireland and this Government trusts the women of Ireland. I led the Government that allowed people to have their say on the eighth amendment. Indeed, on my first day as Taoiseach, I said that one thing I would do would be to allow the people of Ireland to have a vote and to make a decision on that matter. It was not politically expedient; it was something that I thought was the right thing to do, and I am glad that I did it. The people answered that question and did so with a clear majority. Whi…

I am not the slightest bit uncomfortable with the question; I was just not expecting it. It is an important question and the Deputy has every right to have an answer to it. On occasion, though, some Deputies give me prior notice that they are going to raise something and that allows me to check things out.

As the Deputy knows, I was not at the Joint Committee on Health yesterday. I was attending various other meetings and had other obligations. However, I will check up on the terms of reference. I hear what the Deputy is saying. When the legislation was enacted by these Houses, and the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, brought the legislation through, it was certainly in my mind at that point that it would be a comprehensive review-----

-----and not just on the operation of it. Let me check on that today, though. There is a meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee on health later and I will then come back to the Deputy once I have a better answer.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important question. The Government is committed to better community-based services, shifting care to the home and offering greater choice for people. Progress has been made on the number of home care hours delivered through increased investment in recent years. Last year, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, allocated additional funding of €150 million for home support. This year's HSE national service plan sets a target to provide 24 million home support hours, 5 million hours …

I take the Deputy's point. Her arguments are very well made. If home care is not available, what is the result? More people end up stuck in hospital with delayed discharges. More people end up in nursing homes long before they need to go into a nursing home. That is not right. People should have the autonomy to stay in their home for as long as they can. As the Deputy acknowledged, it is not a matter of money. The amount of money provided for home care has increased dramatically in the last couple of years. It has …

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge on behalf of the Government that we understand the enormous impact the rising cost of fuel and energy is having on people, whether it is people in business, particularly in the transport sector, those in agriculture, householders or individual citizens. I outlined in my response to Deputy Doherty the kind of things we are doing at the moment to help families with the cost of living. Many of these, particularly tax reductions, welfare increases and pension increases, will kick in in…

I thank the Deputy. There have been very significant increases in the costs of fuel and energy in the past year. By and large, these have not been driven by increases in taxation. The latter are part of the reason but only a small part. The increases are largely being driven by the very big increases in gas and oil prices internationally, which are not under our control. When it comes to the carbon tax, for example-----

The carbon tax does not apply to natural gas, and it will not apply to solid fuel and home heating oil until May. The tax has driven up the costs of petrol and diesel but it is not the major reason for the increases. The major reason is factors that are not under our control, namely, big increases in the prices of gas and oil internationally.

I thank the Deputy. We are certainly going to communicate to our UK counterparts our concerns and objections regarding this measure. Unfortunately, it does not come as a huge surprise. The Deputy may recall that part of the argument in favour of Brexit was about controlling UK borders and reducing and stopping immigration from the EU. This is part of the outworking of that. It may be the case that some people who voted for Brexit did not realise that, but it is part of the outworking of Brexit that the UK is going …