I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 11, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination generally meets in advance of Government meetings. It last met on 25 September 2023. It is scheduled to meet again tomorrow. The committee reviews the agenda of Government meetings; discusses political priorities; and reviews the activity of Cabinet committees. I am a member of the committee, with the Tánaiste and the leader of the Green Party. The Secretary General to the Government, my chief of staff a…

On the issues raised by Deputies Boyd Barrett and Ó Murchú, I have not seen the petition from the actors but I have read about it in the news. As the Deputies pointed out, a lot of taxpayers' money goes into the film and audiovisual sector, sometimes through grants and sometimes through Screen Ireland, often through tax incentives. With that in mind, it is only right that people who work in the sector, whether actors, writers, performers, cameramen, stage crews or riggers, should have decent terms and conditions. I…

Deputy Barry asked about the Cork event centre. I do not have an update. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, gave me a verbal update on it recently and I promise to get back to him when I have a chance to find out more about the project. I think it is a very good project and will be really great for the city of Cork and the wider region. Of course, it is embarrassing that it has not recommenced work after such a long pause. It is a very different project to the one that was initially envisaged. That is why the costs have…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 20, inclusive, together. In December, I announced my intention to set up a child poverty unit in the Department of the Taoiseach. I am happy to confirm that the child poverty and well-being programme office is now fully operational and on 1 August, published its initial work programme for the next two and a half years, From Poverty to Potential: A Programme Plan for Child Poverty and Well-being 2023-2025. The initial programme focuses on six areas that will have the greatest e…

I thank Deputies again for their questions. Deputy McAuliffe mentioned the very positive impact of the free schoolbooks scheme in primary schools and how it has relieved the pressure on parents trying to get their kids out for going back to school. I would add to that the hot school meals programme, which I think is very valuable, as well as the increase in the back to school clothing and footwear allowance, which helped a lot of people in the months just gone by. It is unfortunate that when we calculate poverty st…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. A Sheanadóirí, táim an-sásta labhairt libh inniu agus an t-eolas is déanaí a thabhairt daoibh ar roinnt obair an Rialtais. Déanfaidh mé mionsonrú freisin ar ár gcuid oibre chun tosaíocht a thabhairt do bhochtaineacht agus folláine leanaí. This Government is now more than three years in office. This term has not been defined solely by the pandemic, as many thought it would; it has involved dealing with a range of unforeseen issues, including the outbreak of war in Europe, an inf…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Senators for their contributions. I will try to respond to as many issues as I can in the order they were raised. Senator Chambers said that while our country is by any objective measure a very successful one - at least, when the UN calculates its international ratings, it usually puts us in the top ten countries in the world, in terms of not just economics but also human development, education, health and all the other things that matter - she rightly said not everyone feels that …

As the Senator pointed out, there is no commitment in the programme for Government to advancing Seanad reform-----

-----but that does not mean-----

I think any reform should be a good and meaningful one. I am not sure whether, if the public were actually aware of the all-party proposals and the different reports that were made, they would actually be supportive of the reform that was proposed. I am being honest about that. If we are going to reform the Seanad, it should be a reform for the better, and the difficulty with what was proposed, in my view, is that it was constrained by the Constitution, which requires that, for example, the Seanad be elected by pos…

It is fair to say that it would certainly be a much more diminished role for local authority members than they currently have. Like I said, we have a Supreme Court judgment now that Government has to respond to. The deadline is set. It is not practical to change how we elect the Seanad for the next Seanad election. That is only 15 months away at most. However, it is a necessity that it be done for the subsequent one. That has to be done now. We have options. It can be a minimalist reform that relates just to the un…

Okay. Will I just keep going?

On CAMHS, I agree with Senator Doherty and her comments on the need for a radical overhaul, and root-and-branch reform. It is not working. We all know that from our experiences with our constituents. I am not actually sure what that root-and-branch reform would look like in detail, and that is what we have to figure out. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Anne Rabbitte, is very committed to that. I also agree totally with Senator Doherty's comments on Pieta House and the work that it does as …

She gave a lot of information and hope to a lot of people. I will not insult anyone's intelligence by telling them that it is complex legislation, because we all know that. We just need to progress it now and I hope we get that done in this Dáil session. Senator Fitzpatrick touched on the cost-rental model. I am a big fan of that, too. Senator Craughwell spoke about the Defence Forces. We are rebuilding the Defence Forces. We are now seeing a big investment into buildings and equipment. We have great ships and plan…

Finally, on the issue of trade in narcotics, which Senator Burke raised, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is in Brussels today. She is at a meeting between EU and Latin American ministers to discuss exactly that issue. I have covered the nitrates derogation already. Senator Clonan made an appeal for us to ratify the optional protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. One of the things I am proud of having done in my first term as Taoiseach is the ratification of t…

I acknowledge once again that this matter is a cause of great anxiety to many patients and many families attending these services, and I am determined that we will get to the bottom of it. As the Deputy knows, an Irish Medical Council complaint is being considered at the moment and an independent review is being established under the guidance of UK expert Mr. Selvadurai Nayagam. The terms of reference, as is always the case for any review, will of course be done with consultation - consultation with the reviewer hi…

I can assure the Deputy, the families and the advocacy groups that the HSE and CHI will not be writing the terms of reference for this review. It will be independent. Of course, they will have to be consulted at some level about what is going to be in the terms of reference. It would be improper not to do so, and absolutely, the advocacy groups and the parents will need to be consulted too, and the reviewer who is going to carry out the review. That will be done. It might take some time, therefore, to come up with …

First of all, no decisions have yet been made on the budget, either on the tax or welfare packages - but there will be tax and welfare packages - or the general spending package. Those decisions are still being discussed at Government level. A proposal will be put to Cabinet on budget day and then subsequently to the House. That is the procedure and the process that we follow. What the Deputy and I agree on is that rents in Ireland are too high. What do we do about it? The rent pressure zones are in place. We see f…

Yes but there is a lot of detail in the census. I will give the Deputy some figures from the census.

The number of people in social housing, and the number of families who benefit from social housing - and I do not mean HAP or RAS - has gone up by 40,000 in the past ten years. That is 40,000 more families who benefit from social housing than was the case ten years ago. I know the population has gone up. The percentage has also gone up to about 10%. Deputy O'Callaghan's party has consistently alleged, for years now, that this Government and previous Governments are running down social housing and were not committed…