We hope it will get cross-party support.

Just finally-----

In regard to the recruitment restrictions in the HSE, the HSE still has the authority to hire additional home helps, up to a certain level, and the restrictions do not apply to the private providers which provide most of the home help. To be very clear on doctors, despite the talk and the description that we often hear of a recruitment and retention crisis in the health service, we have seen a surge in recruitment in the past three years. There are more than 20,000 more people working in the health service than the…

There are 2,000 more doctors and 6,000 more nurses than was the case three years ago.

The recruitment restrictions do not apply to nursing and midwifery, GPs, GPs in training, consultants and doctors who are on specialist training.

They only apply to service posts. These are not doctors in training. The HSE had authorisation to hire 500, and it hired 770. No public body should hire staff it does not have the authority or the budget to fund. It does not happen in schools, it does not happen in Garda stations, it does not happen in Departments and it should not happen in the health service.

I will check with the Tánaiste. I am sure there can be some engagement throughout the course of the day on the text of the motion and hopefully we can agree a motion that we can all support.

The budget for disability for next year, which has been transferred to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, is €2.8 billion. It has been increased from €1.7 billion in 2017 so there has been a massive increase in budget in recent years. Of the €2.8 billion, €131 million will be allocated to ensure the full-year cost of additional services provided this year will be met and a further €64 million will be provided for new developments. The capital budget is also being increased by €…

I am glad it was possible to come to an agreement in the WRC last night. The pay offer was an increase of 8% spread over time, with some of it to be backdated. Some people went to bed last night not knowing whether someone would be there to help them to get up in the morning and that was distressing for many people. Sadly, it is the nature of industrial relations that sometimes things can only be agreed at the last moment, often in the dead of night. As the Deputy pointed out herself in her remarks, this dispute br…

I honestly do not know. Different people will have different stories about how the financial problems arose in the Peter McVerry Trust and it will have to be properly and fully investigated. Only when that is known will we know exactly what did or did not happen in that body. It is important that services continue and are not disrupted while investigations take place and while a new administration is put in place. I am not involved in the awarding of any contracts, as the Deputy knows, but it is not a requirement t…

I cannot do that but I will ask the line Minister to do so. We have provision for family reunification and it happens all of the time. However, it depends on the visa status, the time somebody has been in the State and his or her capacity to support any dependants he or she would bring over.

I want to join with the Deputy in expressing my horror and devastation at the fact that so many people lost their lives on the roads this weekend. We have to turn the tide on the increase in road traffic accidents and collisions we have seen this year. We have made so much progress for so long that it is terrible to see it going back in the wrong direction. The Deputy is right to say it is principally about driver behaviour but there are other factors at play as well. I am, strangely, a little encouraged to hear th…

I thank the Deputy. I am afraid I do not have details of those schemes to hand. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to come back directly to the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy. The health budget is always difficult and no matter how much is allocated, there are almost always overruns. That is the reality of the health budget. We will have to work on it across government in the coming months, in co-operation with the HSE. Let us be clear that the budget allocated to health next year is the biggest ever at €22.5 billion, which is over €4,000 for every man, woman and child in the State. The resources are there to hire an additional 2,000 staff on top of the staff who are …

I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of Shannondoc. I will make inquiries with the Minister for Health and the HSE and come back to the Deputy with a more detailed reply.

I thank the Deputy. It is important to say that the road safety budget comes largely from the Road Safety Authority, which is self-funding, so that money is not seen in the budget line. The fees charged by the Road Safety Authority cover its costs and funds the education campaigns and so on. The budget line to which the Deputy referred is principally for road maintenance and new roads and that funding is lower than it was last year. That funding depends on what projects are in the pipeline. When it comes to new pro…

I appreciate the Deputy's ongoing interest in this important matter. In most years, we allocate approximately €20 million or €30 million as part of a dedicated fund for new medicines. I am confident that we will be able to provide dedicated funding for new medicines in the service plan for 2024. The budget for medicines is €3.2 billion per year. Even savings of 1% would free up €32 million for new medicines. Listening to Professor Barry and others speaking about this matter in recent days, I believe they can be fou…

Like Deputy Cannon, I am a big fan of greenways. They have been a huge success in the past couple of years, starting in County Mayo and then moving on to County Waterford and other places too. Most of them follow the route of old railway lines. I will certainly take that up with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The Minister is very keen to see the western rail corridor extended northwards again. I am supportive of that too, but we know how long these projects take. I do not see that a greenway and new railway neces…

I will certainly take that on board. I know there are different views in the region as to what should be done. We will have to work out how long it will take to do these projects as well. Obviously, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is going to take the lead on this. I will certainly convey the remarks of both Deputies to him.

With regard to the first question on Castletown House and grounds, I am aware of the situation and I have spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy Donovan, about it. Conversations are ongoing with the landowner. We are keen to resolve that if we can, but it is a negotiation. I will say once again that I think President von der Leyen's remarks in more recent days have been more balanced and nuanced and have recognised the humanitarian crisis that is under way. The trebling of EU aid for Gaza is significant. The decis…