Energy independence and all of the benefits that arise from that are our moonshot for the 21st century. That involves offshore wind, onshore wind, solar energy, interconnection, battery storage and all of those things put together. It makes sense to do this in a plan-led way, doing what is cheapest and quickest first and then doing what is most expensive and hardest to do thereafter. That is the general approach we are taking as a Government. People often ask why we have not done more offshore wind generation to da…

We will give any suggestions that the Deputy has proper and full consideration. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, is at COP28 but I know he will want to engage with the Deputy when he gets back. From talking to other Heads of Government all around the world, I hear that everyone is doing this. Everyone is doing solar energy and everyone is installing wind turbines, onshore and offshore. It makes sense to do this in a plan-led manner, not a developer-led manner because that would just make it more expensive. Doing it in a …

I will have to check with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, about the timeline. I had heard a suggestion that we would have it for the final Cabinet meeting just before Christmas but I do not know if that is still the case. I will check with him and come back to the Deputy directly.

Medical cards in Ireland are means-tested, so it is in almost all cases based on income. Medical cards are given to people who have a terminal illness. There are about 180,000 discretionary medical cards for other reasons. We did much work on this when I was Minister for Health. It is a detailed report and it is worth reading. It is over 100 pages along and was done by all the medical and other experts. They came to the conclusion that it would not be right to automatically give discretionary medical cards for some…

I thank the Deputies for the various issues they raised. Deputy Moynihan mentioned the ongoing issue of boil water notices in Cork North-West. I agree that is not satisfactory. I will alert the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to the issue once again and ask him to engage with Irish Water on it. On Deputy O'Reilly's question about X, formerly known as Twitter, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has sought a meeting with that platform and wants to discuss with it what was said to her by the gardaí. I do not know if it has agree…

Tógfaidh mé Ceisteanna Uimh. 1 go 14, go huile, le chéile. The Government is making good progress in implementing the programme for Government. We led Ireland through the pandemic, saving lives and livelihoods. Over 500,000 more people are at work today than on the day the Government took office, and we are now at full employment. We are implementing far-reaching reforms like sick pay, the living wage, and auto-enrolment so that every worker has a pension, and we are setting aside surplus revenues for future invest…

I thank the Deputies for their questions. Deputy Dillon raised the important issue of mental health and deficits in CAMHS. We have real difficulties there, as Deputies will know, in securing skilled and qualified staff for those teams, but I assure the Deputy and the House that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is committed to making all the reforms necessary and possible to improve the situation. Deputy Barry raised the issue of redundancies at Broadcom. I am not up to date on the particular issues there but I…

We do not when it comes to An Bord Pleanála and that is the whole point. To respond to Deputy Conway-Walsh, I cannot and will not be answering questions on behalf of Mr. Watt. What I can say is that the health budget for 2024 will be the highest ever. Waiting lists are down 20% from their post-pandemic peak. Health outcomes are improving and life expectancy in Ireland has never been longer. This is money that is being well spent. There are also 20,000 additional staff and 1,000 extra beds since the Government came …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 20, inclusive, together. I met with a group of resident Arab ambassadors and representatives of countries from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Government Buildings on Tuesday, 21 November to discuss the situation in the Middle East, and in particular the ongoing conflict between Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups and Israel, and the terrible impact this conflict is having on the people of Gaza. The meeting provided me with an opportunity to hear their views on…

I hear a recurring theme from Deputies opposite. I think half of them are half-saying it and the other half are saying they are not saying it. It is that they seem to think that there is some sort of action the Government could take this evening or tomorrow that would cause the Prime Minister of Israel to think again and change his policy. Half the Opposition Deputies seem to be half-saying this half the time but then when I ask them if that is what they are saying, they say they are not saying it. I heard a very g…

The view was that the only thing that is going to change this is a change of public opinion in Israel, and that is a very different thing-----

-----and something very different from change. Again, it is sad we have got to the point where people are so keen to score political points on an issue like this-----

-----that they somehow want to blame the Government for what is happening in Gaza.

In fairness, I do not think the Deputy is doing so, but I think some other people are. I think that is wrong and I find it objectionable because when I meet people-----

Foreign policy is important, and what we hear from the far left here are just gestures and pantomime. It does not serve the interests of the Palestinian people at all. When I meet with the Palestinian Authority and the Prime Minister of Palestine, they thank us for the position we are taking and the work we are doing. When I meet with Arab ambassadors, presidents and prime ministers, they recognise Ireland as one of the countries that is taking a principled stance on this issue. Then, when I come into this Chamber,…

Actually-----

Sorry, I am just going to stop now because I am effectively being accused by Deputy Barry of somehow being responsible for what is happening in Gaza.

I am going to sit down, Deputy. I think it is bang out of order. I am sorry.

May I answer the other questions without being interrupted or shouted down? I think it is beyond the pale in this House for those kinds of accusations to be made.

On the question from Deputy Haughey, as to whether there is a collective view from the Arab countries that I engage with, I do not think it would be correct to say there is a collective view. There are different emphases from Egypt to Jordan to Qatar, for example. I think there is a majority view that there should be a permanent ceasefire; that there should be no expulsions of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank into Egypt and Jordan and they would not facilitate that; that there should not be a second Nakba, a…