I thank the Deputy. More than ever, all of us in this House need to be willing to talk about migration and to do so in a fair way. I want to make the case for migration and why it is a good thing for Ireland. When I go into any hospital in Ireland, including ones in which I have worked, I see a very diverse workforce. Many of the doctors, nurses and other staff who looked after the stabbing victims come from other parts of the world. When I go into high-tech or pharmaceutical companies - the ones paying massive tax…

I appreciate Deputy Lowry's bona fides in this matter. It is important to say that people who come to Ireland to seek international protection are not necessarily here illegally. Under our laws, people can seek international protection in Ireland and their status only becomes illegal when their application has been refused and a deportation issued. It is important that people do not conflate those seeking international protection with people who are here illegally. It is not the same thing. On what the Deputy said …

-----recognition fund to recognise communities that have accepted a lot of people. I know we need to do a lot more to make sure the schools and GP services in particular are properly equipped. There are a lot of challenges to doing that, but we know we have to act in those areas.

I thank Deputy Harkin. I am aware of the situation in Dromahair. I have been briefed about it but only today and I do not want to comment on it in detail in case I do not have all the facts. I am told that a community engagement team has been set up, and it has been engaging with Deputies Feighan, Harkin and Kenny in an effort to set out exactly what is and is not happening in Dromahair. Deputy Harkin asked what our immigration and migration policy is. Let me be as clear as I can be, and sometimes it is difficult t…

Yes, of course people who are migrants might commit crimes, just as people who are not commit crimes. In a country of 5.3 million people, if there are hundreds of thousands of migrants, there are going to be a few of them who commit terrible crimes, just as there are people born and bred in Ireland who commit terrible crimes every day, including murder. When I look at what happened on Parnell Square, what I see is a suspect who is a migrant, although a citizen and someone who has been here for over 20 years. I see …

Of the alleged assailant, the victims and those who stopped the attack, most are from migrant backgrounds.

Thanks very much, Deputy. When it comes to concerns about migration - I talk to a lot of people about this all the time – I do not think the vast majority of people gave huge concerns about people coming to Ireland from the UK or the European Union, or about people coming here with work visas or student visas from outside the European Union. There is a real concern around irregular migration – people arriving here seeking international protection. Precisely because it is so hard to manage, we do not know how many w…

I thank the Deputies. There will be statements today on law and order and the events of last Thursday. Tomorrow, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, will take Taoiseach's Questions and Questions on Promised Legislation in my stead for the best part of an hour, during which time she may be asked questions on any matter Members wish to ask about. I will be attending COP28 in Dubai so will not be able to attend in the House tomorrow. There are no plans for a guillotine on the Planning and Development Bill. Secon…

We do not intend to do that. The number of people in emergency accommodation continued to rise when the ban was in place. All it does, unfortunately, is make the problem worse later. There is no one solution, but the main solution, we believe, is to continue to accelerate the construction of social housing and public housing. I believe this year will be a record year for the amount of social and public housing built, the highest, certainly, since the mid-seventies.

I thank the Deputy. Just over 13,000 people are in receipt of emergency accommodation from the State at the moment. It is not the same 13,000 people all the time, as the Deputy knows. There are people coming into homelessness and others going out of homelessness. Our objective is to ensure homelessness is rare, that it is not repeated and that when it occurs, it is short lived. At the moment, people who experience homelessness spend roughly six to nine months in homelessness. That is a long time, particularly for a…

I thank the Deputy. What happened in Dublin last Thursday was shocking. Children were stabbed in broad daylight on their way from school to crèche and a riot then ensued on our streets that evening. I believe those are exceptional events and it is my job to ensure they are exceptional and that we do not see them happening again. That is why there is, and will be, a robust response from the Government and the Garda.

On foot of the flooding in Midleton we increased the maximum grant from €20,000 to €100,000. We do not have any plans to raise it further but I will let the Minister, Deputy Coveney, know that the Deputy raised it. If he has the detail and information, we can take a look at it. I do not want to raise expectations I might not be able to meet but I appreciate that, while €20,000 or €100,000 might cover almost all businesses, it does not cover everyone.

I agree that all parts of the country need to be adequately policed and not just our city centres. We are now back up to around 14,000 Garda members. Some 700 to 800 recruits will go through the Garda College this year. There will be 800 to 1,000 next year, and we anticipate we will be up to 14,500 gardaí again by the end of 2024. When the Garda College was closed during the pandemic, we lost over a year of recruitment. We are bouncing back from that now. Garda staff are being employed in unprecedented numbers to f…

I am not aware of that decision having been made and I will look into it. It sounds quite concerning. Maybe there is a reason for it, I do not know, but I would be quite concerned about any cuts of that nature for community funding. The Minister of State, Deputy O’Brien, is responsible for that area and I will get my office to contact him today and ask him to speak to the Deputy directly.

It is important that all parts of the State and all counties are adequately policed. I agree on that. We are back up to about 14,000 Garda members at the moment. We expect 700 to 800 recruits through the Garda College this year, rising to 800 to 1,000 next year. That will allow total Garda numbers to increase to 14,500 by the end of next year. We are raising the minimum age at which you can join the Garda. We will also increase the retirement age to allow more experienced gardaí to stay on if they want to. We will …

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of diabetes. I am not sure if it has been raised with me in the House before. It is such a common illness that it is good to hear it being raised. It is extraordinarily common. Most people will have a family member who has diabetes. There are many different types, and people who have diabetes often have many other illnesses or co-morbidities. However, if it is managed well and looked after, people with diabetes can live long, healthy lives and avoid those co-morbidities, whi…

The terms of reference have not yet been cleared by the Government, but we hope to do so in the coming weeks. There will be consultation with the Opposition parties. I think there was a form of public consultation already, but I would have to double-check that. The inquiry will be independent and time-bound.

I will certainly make the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, aware of that request.

The Deputy is absolutely right. I would welcome such a debate. I agree it should be fair, balanced and measured. It is also important that it be informed. I am not an expert on immigration law, but I worry when I hear Members of this and the other House mixing up international protection with temporary protection or EEA with EU. We in this Chamber are well paid and we all have a duty to understand the facts and know the basics around migration. I certainly agree we should have a debate.

I would be happy to look into it. If the Deputy passes on the details to my office along with permission from the gentleman for me to make representations on his behalf, I will certainly do so. Our target is that no one who needs to see a specialist would have to wait more than ten or 12 weeks. Unfortunately, approximately 400,000 people are waiting longer than that at the moment. However, five years is extraordinarily long for any condition so I would be happy to look into that.