I very much agree that we need to upgrade, improve and modernise our grid but I would not agree with the Deputy saying that nobody has been talking about it. Very ambitious plans have been published to improve and modernise the grid, including the North-South interconnector, the Celtic interconnector between Ireland and France, and Grid West. At times they are controversial but no one can doubt that, with a growing population, an expanding economy and the move to renewables, we will need to improve and modernise ou…

It would be appropriate and reasonable to have a debate on that. I am sure that can be taken up by the Business Committee. As I said earlier, based on the presentations that I have seen from EirGrid, the regulator and the Department, I am confident that the plan that is being put in place will enable us to avoid blackouts or brownouts this winter but nobody can absolutely guarantee that because we need those two power stations that are out of action, in Huntstown and in Cork, to be back in action in October and Nov…

I am frustrated about this too, but not in any way as frustrated as someone who is pregnant or their partner must be when it comes to this issue, which has been going on for a long time. Our vaccine programme is an extraordinary success, with more than 90% of over-16s fully vaccinated and the number of cases stable, albeit still high. We are on track to open the remaining parts of our economy and society on 22 October, including the ending of restrictions and capacity limits in hospitality and the opening of nightc…

Once again, I wish to state clearly on the record of the House that I am confident that the Attorney General will avoid any conflict of interest. As I said earlier, he is a man of the highest integrity and I am confident he will avoid any such conflict.

I am not aware of the detail of any particular case in which he is involved. I am certainly not aware of any agreement made prior to his appointment of the nature the Deputy mentioned.

I will say to every Deputy in advance that I cannot make commitments today in respect of the budget. The budget will be announced by the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Donohoe, shortly. Regarding data centres, the Deputy is right. Data centres and, more importantly, the retention of data - it has to be retained somewhere - are contributing to the increased demand for electricity in the world and will continue to do so as long as we decide to retain data. The same applies to electric vehicles, electric heat…

There are many lessons that the pandemic has taught us, one of which is the value of migrant labour to Ireland, be it people from Brazil or people from central and eastern Europe coming to Ireland to take up employment. That labour has been significantly reduced in large part by the travel restrictions that were in place and the number of flights that were cancelled or air services that are no longer flying. With international travel, including aviation, reopening, there will be increased opportunities to source la…

I agree with the Deputy that community welfare officers around the country do an excellent job helping people at a time when they need help the most. My understanding is that they are trying to move towards a more efficient service that involves greater use of telephones and electronic communications but will still provide for in-person clinics where necessary and even home visits on occasion, but I am not across all the detail of that. I will let the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, know that the matter was raised and …

I thank the Deputy. As he mentioned, we have ambitious plans to retrofit as many as 500,000 homes between now and 2030. This will be hard to do, particularly at a time when we need to build hundreds of thousands of new homes as well, but we are determined to press on with both objectives. I am not as up to date on the issue as maybe I should be, but I know some work is being done on a loan scheme for people on middle incomes and people who do not qualify for the means-tested payments. People could use the savings t…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I have not had an opportunity to study that research. I have seen some news reports, but I do not know about it in any detail. In almost every budget and finance Bill there are proposals to close loopholes where tax avoidance and tax evasion is occurring. I am confident the Deputy will see some measures in that space in the Budget Statement and also in the finance Bill. We have already closed off loopholes in regard to stateless corporations, the double Irish and…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I was struck by the CSO data as well and by anecdotal evidence from people telling me about an increase in the number of scam attempts to which they have been subjected. I am not entirely sure what the Government can do about it, particularly when so much of this originates from overseas but I will discuss it with my colleagues at Government level to see if we can respond in some way.

I thank the Deputy. I am afraid I do not have an update on that important matter, but I will let the Minister for Justice know it was raised and ask her to come back to Deputy directly on it.

I have had a chance to visit University Hospital Kerry in Tralee on a number of occasions and it is a very fine hospital. However, like many hospitals, it is under a lot of pressure at the moment. I am told that this morning there were more than 19 patients on trolleys, which is a lot for a relatively small hospital. As is the case in most hospitals across the country, we have seen a big increase in waiting lists because of the backlog of unmet need and care that it was not possible to meet during the pandemic peri…

The national broadband plan, NBP, is an enormous undertaking. It is a €3 billion investment in rural Ireland. It is one I strongly support and one I fought to ensure would happen while I was Taoiseach. It is now very much under way. However, it takes time and the objective is, or at least was, to connect approximately 100,000 homes, farms and businesses every year but even at that rate, it is going to take between five and seven years. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to connect all homes, farms and businesse…

I thank the Deputy and absolutely agree with her sentiments. On 22 October, we are going to remove almost all legal restrictions that were introduced as a consequence of the pandemic. No social distancing will be required. Hospitality venues will be able to return to the capacity they had pre-pandemic. People will be able to order a drink at a bar. In that context, it is hard to justify the continuing restrictions on partners attending hospitals with their pregnant partners. Again, I share the frustration. We as a …

I thank the Deputy. I appreciate this is an important issue for him and for the people of County Wexford. I am aware Deputy Kehoe and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, have an interest in it too. I do not have an up-to-date note with me but I will certainly let the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, know he raised it today and ask her to get back to him directly.

On the housing adaptation grants, I agree it is a useful mechanism to enable people to stay at home, which is what we all want people to be able to do if they have a disability. In the medium term, it can save costs for the Government and the taxpayer because it reduces the need for residential care. There have been increases in the housing adaptation grant in recent years. I do not have the figures to hand but I know that there have been increases. I cannot make a commitment relating to the budget but I know that …

There were a lot of threads to the Deputy's question. I will, perhaps, focus my reply on the issue of student accommodation in recognition of the fact there will be a student protest today on that issue. Students have suffered a lot during this pandemic. They have seen changes to the leaving certificate cancelled and calculated grades. Many of them have had to experience college from home, from a bedroom or a boxroom. There have been no sports, no societies and no ability to socialise in a normal way. We are now en…

The Minister will give consideration to any legislation brought forward by the Opposition. I am very aware that we face a housing crisis and I am also very aware of the many personal stories. The Deputy does not have a monopoly on compassion or understanding. He may think he does but he does not. Every Member of this House has constituents and friends and family. Every Member of the House can recount personal stories about how people have been impacted by the housing crisis, be it through high rents, the difficulty…

It is why we are doing so many things. The Deputy said earlier that Members on the Government benches should be ashamed. Maybe he should ask himself whether he should be ashamed too. His party voted to increase rents in Northern Ireland in a pandemic.