I will answer the Deputy's question here, but nobody in this Chamber is naive to the subtext of what is going on.

Some nursing homes are closing. They tend to be smaller nursing homes that would need a lot of investment to continue. New nursing homes are also opening. They tend to be larger and state-of-the-art. Overall the number of beds available in nursing homes is increasing. It increased by 88 last year. It has increased by 161 so far this year. That is what is happening.

It is 161 so far this year.

I am cognisant of the Ombudsman's report published today. Coming up with a solution that works is not straightforward, but I agree this has been going on far too long. A lot of work has been done by various Ministers, Departments and working groups. However, I accept it has been going on far too long. As a consequence of that, I will be convening a meeting in the next few weeks of all the key Departments that should be involved in this with a view to finding a solution as soon as possible.

I am happy to confirm that I did not distribute that leaflet in my constituency. It was distributed by a member of the council and it shows that crime went down in 2021 and went back up in 2022. That is because we were in a lockdown in 2021 and crime rates fell when most of the country were confined to their homes. On the Deputy's substantive question, I can make that commitment. We have provided enough funding in the budget for this year to recruit 1,000 new gardaí. It is a stretch target and it remains our target…

As the Deputy said in her remarks, these schemes were closed to new entrants back in 2011 and 2012 on foot of Ombudsman reports but the establishment of new schemes is long overdue, which I accept. A working group reported recently and it was made up of people from the Department of Finance, the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Health, the HSE, the Department of Social Protection and the National Transport Authority. The report was only published in February 2023 and it includes proposals which are being co…

Refugees have the right to work in Ireland.

They have had the right to work in Ireland for a long time, once they achieve refugee status, and anybody coming from Ukraine, as beneficiaries of temporary protection, also have the right to work from the moment they arrive in the country and get a personal public service number.

The group that is treated differently comprises people who are applying for international protection, and only a minority of them gain refugee status. That is a fact and it is a fact the Deputy should acknowledge because it is not the same thing.

It stops them being refugees, because they are not refugees.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is a matter that is under the responsibility of the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, so I will ask him to come back to the Deputy directly.

I appreciate we have a real recruitment and retention challenge across the country when it comes to these teams. It is better in some places than in others but I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to come back to the Deputy with a specific response to his query.

I have no doubt that this dispute can be resolved satisfactorily. All industrial relations disputes are resolved in the end. However, as I said yesterday in the House, all of us must adhere to and honour the agreements we have made. The Government has an agreement with the trade unions in relation to public sector pay. That agreement runs until the end of this year. It was voted on by trade union members. We will honour our side of the deal and we expect them to honour their side of the deal. There is room for comp…

I understand the report was published this morning. I have not yet had the opportunity to read it but I thank the members of the committee and, in particular, the chair, Senator Micheál Carrigy, for their work. I also thank the witnesses who gave their time and shared their experiences and expertise in engaging with the committee. I will meet with the committee chair in the next few weeks so he can present the report to me and we can then discuss the recommendations, of which there are more than 100, and see which …

I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this important issue again. It is close to his heart and he has received correspondence from me on it in the last couple of days. I would have to speak to the Minister for Justice and the Attorney General on this but if it relates to a court order, then I do not think there is a mechanism by which Government can intervene. However, I will seek advice on that.

I again say that my thoughts are very much with the 650 people who have been put on temporary layoff. I understand this will have an impact on thousands of people, not just family members but also other people in Navan and Meath who will be impacted by this. Government will offer support in the form of income support, advice on job searching and options for the employees. However, our main effort will be to get the mine back open as soon as possible, on which we will engage with the company, and to secure its long-…

I welcome the publication of the report this morning. I have not had a chance to see it yet although my staff have provided me with a brief summary. I intend to meet the Chairperson, Senator Carrigy, in the next couple of weeks to allow him to present the report, and then we will identify the recommendations with which we can proceed. I have no doubt that there will be additional funding for autism services in the forthcoming budget. Equally, however, I know everyone in this Chamber knows that what needs to be done…

It sounds like a reasonable suggestion. I am not across the detail of this, but I will make sure somebody from my office gets in touch with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, about it and comes back to the Deputy with a further response.

I thank the Deputies for raising the two issues. I heard many of the stories about maths paper 1. It does seem like it was a very hard paper and that caused much distress for students and, indeed, their teachers. My understanding is that maths paper 2 was a bit more student-friendly and user-friendly. I should clarify that, of course, Government and the Minister do not write the papers, nor should we. The papers are prepared by the State Examinations Commission-----

I can give two assurances, one of which is about the way papers are marked. Difficult papers are marked more easily and easy papers are marked harder because there is a way by which grades are distributed. I give that reassurance to students, parents and teachers. The grades for maths exams will be similar to what they have been in previous years. A hard paper is marked more easily. Certainly, when the exams are over, I know the State Examinations Commission will want to examine all the papers and see what can be l…