I thank the Deputy. We have had some briefings from EirGrid and from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities in Ireland, CRU, in recent weeks and they have developed a plan to ensure that we will have enough electricity not just this winter but for the next four or five winters and that we can cater for increased demand for electricity from industry and households over that period. It involves more renewables but also leaving some power stations operating that it had intended to close. These will need to continu…

I thank the Deputy and must confess to not being a technical expert in this area. EirGrid has acknowledged that the past number of auctions were not successful. There will be new auctions in the new year and we have asked it and impress upon it the need to reconsider their approach to these auctions because if these are operated in the same way, they may end up with the same result. That is something that EirGrid is going to consider and take on board.

I thank the Deputy and I believe I answered this question already in part to Deputy Cullinane earlier today. We are increasing our bed capacity so that with more beds there will be fewer people on trolleys. We have added more than 800 beds, which are the equivalent of two medium-sized hospitals, since the beginning of the pandemic. That is why we have seen a reduction of the number of people on trolleys relative to where we would have been two to three years ago but that is still far too many, as I acknowledge and …

I thank the Deputy very much. The budget for mental health in Ireland is well over €1 billion a year now and has gone up by over 25% in the past couple of years. I was not aware that some of it had gone unspent but as we are not yet at the end of the year, there is still a way to go before December 31.

I will certainly ask the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health to get back to the Deputy with a full reply.

That is a very good idea. I know the location. Many other reservoirs throughout the country are used as amenities as well as being water sources. I will make a point of taking the matter up with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I will let him know it was raised in the Dáil.

I share the Deputy's concerns about the very long waiting lists for some of those assessments and therapies. I will ask the Ministers for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and Health to provide a detailed answer on the action being taken to improve the situation.

I have to confess I am not sure or certain if that is what happened. There may be different accounts as to what happened with the auctions. It is certainly the case that the auctions were unsuccessful. We cannot afford that to happen again in the new year. We need to ensure that those auctions are successful. That may require a change of approach from EirGrid.

I am afraid I cannot answer questions on behalf of Institute of Technology Sligo. The institute would have to answer those questions for itself. I am sorry to hear students are still learning mainly online there because the norm throughout the country now is that most activities are happening on campus again. It is very disappointing if it is the case that students of Institute of Technology Sligo are not able to have most of their education on campus, given that most third level institutions are doing exactly that…

That is a matter for the Minister for Health to determine from his budget. It is something that can arise in the next couple of weeks, once the Estimates are approved by the House. As the Deputy will know, section 39 staff are not public servants, so they are not tied to public sector pay scales, but it is possible for the Government to give section 39 organisations additional funding, which they can then use to fund pay increases or align pay scales with those in the State sector. As I said, that is something the …

Decisions on access of partners at maternity hospitals are made, implemented and reviewed at hospital level. The decisions are informed by national guidance with due regard to local circumstances, including infrastructure, local rates of community infection and infection rates among members of staff. The HSE has advised that staff are endeavouring to maximise the attendance of partners within maternity services while ensuring they are in compliance with the HSE's clinical guidelines. It should be emphasised the lat…

Local authorities are responsible for the management of problems associated with coastal change and erosion in their respective areas, but there is a need for a long-term, co-ordinated approach to tackle the issues of coastal change and to provide a framework for key decisions to be taken on how Ireland can best manage its coast, being aware of the future risks and associated planning requirements. The Government has established an interdepartmental group on managing coastal change to scope out an approach for the …

We are keen to get that legislation done as soon as possible. It was delayed in pre-legislative scrutiny in the committee. I spoke to the chairman about that and I understand it may be advancing now. If we can get the Bill to the House in this session, we will. There had been delays in processing permits, but that is improving now. However, there is also a cap on the number of permits and we have to review that as well. We may increase those caps, but we must have regard to wider considerations such as, for example…

I thank the Deputy. Regarding the mica issue he mentioned, I have not seen that report, so I cannot confirm whether what is being reported is correct. I can state the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, thanked the members of the working group at yesterday's meeting for its involvement and engagement in the process in recent months. He acknowledged, in particular, the stress and hardship faced by affected homeowners and ensured them enhancements would be made to the scheme. The working group is going to submit its fi…

I am not interested in Deputy Doherty's swipes against me either, but I am going to call out populism when I see it. It is a classic tactic of populist politicians from the far left and the far right and everything in between, all around the world, to display this tactic. You tell your opponents what they think and believe, and then you tell them how awful they are for believing or thinking those things, but what you actually do is you fabricate quotes and you put words in people's mouths. That is the classic tacti…

The Attorney General is finishing out a number of cases which he had taken on prior to his appointment as Attorney General to this Government. That is not unprecedented. I understand it has happened in the past with former Attorneys General, that they are allowed to finish out cases that they were involved in prior to their appointment. It is something the party leaders and the Cabinet were aware of in a general sense at the time of his appointment, but obviously not the detail of any particular cases. The ODCE is …

I am absolutely certain the Attorney General will be very careful to avoid any conflict of interest or any perception of that. He is a person of the highest integrity and ability and I have full confidence he will make sure there is no conflict of interest. I will endeavour to find answers to the Deputy's questions as soon as I can. I cannot promise it will be today. I do not know if a formal Cabinet decision on the matter was recorded or if there was legal advice, but what I can say is the party leaders and the Ca…

I thank the Deputy. I remember that speech well and I remember visiting Bausch & Lomb that day. It was a very positive day. We were announcing additional jobs for the region, and those jobs have been delivered and have happened. In the past couple of years, there have been some very significant and positive developments for Waterford, which I know the Deputy will acknowledge. We have made some real progress on developing a technological university for the south east, centred on Waterford. I am hopeful, if not confi…

I thank the Deputy. The M20 project between Limerick and Cork is one that I strongly support and I know the Deputy does too. It is important to bear in mind that there have been very significant motorway projects that benefit Waterford. The Dublin to Waterford motorway is complete and it was done before the Cork to Limerick one. Just in recent times, we have done New Ross, and while New Ross obviously is of particular benefit to Wexford, it is of benefit to Waterford as well. Perhaps what I could help the Deputy wi…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I have had a chance over the past couple of days to study the presentations that EirGrid and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities have provided to the Government. Having looked at those presentations, I am confident that we will avoid blackouts and brownouts this winter, but nobody can guarantee it for certain because there are certain factors that are outside of our control. It is important to point out that the peat power stations in the midlands were…