I agree it is not about money or surpluses. It is not about money at all. It is about the ability to recruit and retain the skilled staff that we need and, second, making sure that referrals are appropriate. Often waiting lists are longest where waiting lists are not triaged properly. Appropriate referrals are very important too, and then also the use of new technologies and new systems. I know that some parents have no option but to go private. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has made a commitment to devel…

We need to continue to invest in road access to and from County Kerry not just because it is such an important tourism county but also because it is increasingly attracting investment from overseas. There has been a lot of investment in recent years. I look forward to formally opening the Macroom-Ballyvourney bypass in a few weeks' time which will improve access to Kerry considerably, and also we are keen to get progress on the Adare bypass very soon, which will be of benefit to people in Kerry as well. In terms of…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a cheist. Níl mé cinnte faoin bhfreagra ach cuirfidh mé ceist ar an Aire agus tiocfaidh mé ar ais chuig an Teachta.

The Deputy asked me about support for the Irish language and the Irish language strategy.

I am happy to come back. I am sorry, I did miss that part of the Deputy's question. We do not have a proposal at the moment to have any additional Cabinet subcommittees. The Cabinet subcommittees that we have tend to take groups of Departments rather than a subdivision of a Department. It is something we will give some thought to.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6 together. Through the Government's shared island initiative, we are engaging with all communities to build consensus around a shared future and delivering benefits for the whole island. The Government has so far allocated almost €250 million from the shared island fund, moving forward with our commitments and objectives in this area in the programme for Government and the national development plan. In June, we provided €56 million from the fund for new all-island projects. Th…

I thank Deputies for their questions. I will start with Deputy Brendan Smith, who asked the first question. He made the case in particular for making sure that the voices of disadvantaged young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, both North and South, from the Border area should be part of the dialogue. I think that is the case but I will double-check that it is with the unit, which falls under my Department, and come back to the Deputy in writing about it. As I mentioned earlier, the forum met for the first tim…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 11, inclusive, together. The national risk assessment has been prepared since 2014 and provides an opportunity to identify and discuss significant risks which may arise for Ireland. The experience of the past number of years has brought home the importance of work in the area of risk management and preparedness. By promoting an open and inclusive discussion on the major risks facing the country, the national risk assessment plays an important role in this work. The National Ris…

I again thank Deputies for their questions. Deputy Smith touched on the risk of terrorism, which remains a live risk and, I am afraid, not one we can be complacent about. Essentially, we have documented three categories of risk. The first is an attack from a loyalist or republican paramilitary organisation; the second is a domestic attack, perhaps from our own far right, far left or some other extremist group; and the third is terrorism with an international dimension, most likely some form of religious extremism. …

There is international engagement. Deputy Ó Murchú will have seen from the operation that took place off the coast of Wexford only last week that the authorities are in touch with each other. I may have picked him up wrong, but I think the point the Deputy is making is that any change in our laws will impact elsewhere. That is evident in Portugal and the Netherlands. Germany is changing its laws. It is up to us to make our own laws. We need to have regard to the fact that will impact other countries and the movemen…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 15, inclusive, together. On 9 August, I visited Belfast for political, business and civic engagements, which included meetings with the five main parties in Northern Ireland. In those meetings, we discussed the window of opportunity this autumn for forming the executive and getting the assembly back in place and I listened carefully to each of their assessments. While in Belfast, I also visited Linfield Football Club, had a meeting with the Ulster GAA council, the recruitment …

I thank the Deputies for their questions. PEACEPLUS is a really good programme. If you calculate how much money is being made available, which is over €1 billion, you can see that it is more than the previous INTERREG and PEACE programmes combined, so that is very positive. It benefits 12 counties, not just the six counties of Northern Ireland, but also the six Border counties, including Sligo. It is a programme of real benefit. I am not sure it is 12 counties but it is more than nine anyway. I acknowledge that it …

I want to say once again that the Government supports the Garda and the essential work it does in keeping our communities safe and in keeping us safe. The Garda has a budget of more than €2 billion this year, the highest ever, being invested in pay, equipment and buildings. We anticipate between 700 and 800 new recruits this year in addition to 400 Garda staff. We also understand how important the issue of rosters is. It is important to the public because citizens need to know that the gardaí are there when they ne…

I largely agree with what the Deputy said earlier. We all want this dispute to be resolved. We all want a roster that works for citizens to make sure that gardaí are available when we need them, and also one that reflects the need to recruit and retain gardaí. This means a roster that recognises the need for work-life balance and the caring and family responsibilities. Disputes over rosters are always resolved in the end and I have no doubt that this dispute will be resolved. I hope it can be resolved without any f…

On behalf of the Government, I want to say that we recognise the important and essential role played by barristers in undertaking criminal legal aid work and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is currently engaged in discussions with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on the issue of criminal legal aid fees as part of the budgetary process. Of course, the budget will be presented to the Dáil in a week. The scheduling of court cases and the allocation of court business are …

I am informed by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, that the Policing Authority has said it does not have a role to play in rosters-----

-----and I understand it said so as recently as its public meeting last week.

On the barristers dispute, I do not think the criminal justice system is collapsing. This is a one-day withdrawal of labour. Barristers are protesting and they have every right to protest. We live in a democracy. I can understand the case they are making. Just like public servants and the vast majority of people across the public and private sector, they have seen their pay and fees restored but that has to be done by negotiation. It was always understood that it would have to be done as part of the budget for next…

----- and also as part of the discussions around reforms. When we reversed the fee cuts for GPs there were changes; there was loss of private income.

That is the kind of debate that needs to happen.