The minimum wage has increased by 25% in recent years. It has been increased ahead of the rate of inflation and ahead of average earnings growth. We have one of the highest minimum wages in the developed world. If one adjusts it for the cost of living, it is not so high but still well above average for the developed world. That has been positive and has made a real difference in people's lives. We always must balance it with the fact that if one goes too far or too high, people will lose jobs or have their hours cu…

As the Deputy will be aware, I have visited Tipperary town on a number of occasions, including as a previous Minister with responsibility for transport. I believe, and the Government agrees, and so does the Minister for Transport, that the town needs to be bypassed. The only way we will regenerate the town is by bypassing it and relieving it from the through traffic it currently experiences. Deputies Cahill and Lowry and Senator Ahearn are of the same view too. The revised national development plan, NDP, has yet to…

I suppose it is always the difficulty with any kind of system that involves a means test or threshold. If we do not give social housing to everyone, which, of course, is not possible, we have to set some sort of income limit and set of rules. There will be always someone who is €1 or €10 above the threshold regardless of where it is set. The income limits are being reviewed. They have not been increased for a long time, yet the cost of housing has increased dramatically. I anticipate that we will have to raise the …

I am afraid I am not across the issue and I do not have a note on it with me, but I will let Deputy Madigan, the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, know that it was raised in the House and ask her to contact the Deputy directly.

Yes. My apologies.

The Government is very much aware of the role played by school secretaries and caretakers in the school community and recognises the important work done by these staff and other support staff in the running of our schools. There have been intensive discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, which is an office of my Department, and a great deal of progress has been made in recent days on the long-running industrial dispute over pay and conditions for school secretaries who are outside the education and …

That is the Government's position and policy objective.

Now that we have reached the point of over 90% of adults being fully vaccinated, we should revert to the status quo ante at least when it comes to partners attending maternity services. That is not to say that we should revert to the previous general visiting arrangements. There was probably too much visiting happening in hospitals, bringing infections into hospitals and nursing homes. When it comes to partners attending for maternity appointments, it is the Government's policy that, now that we are at the point of…

Obviously this is a matter for the NTA, which has seen a significant increase in its budget in recent years. Its budget has not been cut. In the next budget, we are projecting an approximate 5% increase in general spending, leaving out Covid emergency spending. There will be additional funding for road transport next year. Exactly how that is best allocated will be a decision for the NTA rather than the Government.

I appreciate this issue is causing a lot of frustration, not just for people involved in forestry but in terms of the impact it is having in construction as well. The Government is keen to get it resolved. I am told by the Department that licensing this year will be significantly up on last year. There was an increase in licensing output in the seven weeks up to 2 July and approximately 100 licences are now being issued per week. These improvements were interrupted by the requirement to go to a second 30-day public…

Like the Deputy, my understanding is that the original deadline was extended to allow more consultation with the homeowner groups and that the deadline for the presentation of a solution is now 30 September, which is not that far off in that it is only two weeks away. I have heard no suggested or inklings that that deadline is going to be changed again, but I cannot be 100% sure of that. As best I know, we should be in a position to have options for a solution by then. That will be eagerly awaited by people affecte…

The Government is in charge of our health service or, at least, the public health service, but it has always been a principle of good government and good management of our health service that politicians and officials do not make clinical decisions.

I have never come across a situation whereby an official or a Minister would seek to override the judgment of the doctor or nurse in charge of infection control in a hospital. I would be reluctant to go down that path. That may be my bias coming from my background as a doctor. That could create all sorts of other problems. Hopefully, we are getting to the point where this does not arise.

This is a local issue of importance to the Deputy and the Minister of State, Deputy English. I do not have the information on particular water projects to hand but I will follow up on the matter and seek to have a reply sent directly to the Deputy.

I will refer the question on the An Garda Síochána to the Minister for Justice, Deputy Humphreys. In regard to SouthDoc, I will inform the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, that it was raised here today and, as suggested by Deputy Collins, I will work with him to resolve the issue and make sure the service is restored. We do not have a date for the citizen's assembly on drug use yet. There are a number of citizen's assemblies planned and it is on the list, so it is to be hoped we get to it soon. On vaccines, international…

It is an honour for me this evening to express my full confidence in my friend and colleague, Deputy Simon Coveney. I first met Simon 23 years ago, when I was canvassing for him in the Cork South-Central by-election, following the tragic death of his father, Hugh. I know nobody more committed to public service than him. Since then, he has served with distinction as a Member of this House, as a Minister, and as a Member of the European Parliament. We were both appointed to the Cabinet in 2011 and Simon subsequently …

He put back together the Executive Sinn Féin collapsed in a tactical act of arrogance, leaving Northern Ireland without a voice for three years during the Brexit negotiations. He deserves its thanks and its respect, not its opprobrium. Sinn Féin knows the work he put in to ensure there was no hard border on our island. Yet, it seeks tonight to hound an honourable man out of office for cheap publicity and political gain. In politics we will always have disagreements and debates, but there also needs to be a sense of…

Also, we brought in legislation to protect whistleblowers. We ended the link between "big money” and politics, effectively banning corporate donations and donations of big money from wealthy individuals. Only one party in this House - Sinn Féin - flouts this law, in spirit and perhaps letter, by routing its grubby millions through the United States and the United Kingdom. No other party does that. We know Sinn Féin collects and retains and perhaps even deletes data on its Abú system, without the consent of the data…

We know from the renewable heat incentive, RHI, inquiry how Sinn Féin Ministers handle confidential government documents and records. We know that when it comes to public appointments in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin operates an international centre of excellence when it comes to cronyism. I do not make these points to understate the mistakes that were made, but rather I make them-----

I think the interruptions and the curse words are indicative of the fact the truth really hurts Sinn Féin. The truth really hurts Sinn Féin.