I am not surprised the Deputy believes my earlier response to be disgraceful because she is another person who refuses to come into this House to answer questions. Accountability should not be just for Ministers. Questions have been raised about her party's finances-----

-----and about her party's links to organised crime and she will not come in here and make a statement and take questions.

These are much more serious matters than what happened at the Bruff area committee 16 years ago and she refused to come in here and answer questions about her party's finances and her party's links to organised crime.

It is not a surprise she would align herself with Deputy Murphy in this regard.

Accountability should not just be for-----

-----Ministers or people on the Government benches; it should be for all of us.

The Deputy demands accountability of others and evades it always when it relates to herself and her party, and that is a fact.

On the question, interest rates are set by the ECB-----

-----as the Deputy will be aware. When it comes to the issue of mortgage interest relief, that can be considered only in the context of the budget. As I have said in the past in the House, we cannot be changing the income tax system every couple of months. It is best done at budget time and we will consider it in the wider context at that time.

I thank the Deputy. We are and we will. As I mentioned earlier, more than 1,000 additional beds have been added to our acute hospital system since this Government came into office. We have added about 6,000 more doctors, nurses and midwives than was the case three years ago, so we are doing those things. There is an engagement between the Government and the nurses' union on particular issues involving safety in the workplace as well.

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge it is the case that patient safety is put at risk at times in our health service. It is never possible to eliminate all patient safety risk, but we do try to reduce it to the lowest level possible. We have increased the number of staff in our health service very considerably - there are 6,000 more doctors, nurses and midwives working in our health service than was the case three years ago - and we are implementing bit by bit the safe staffing mix, which is really important. I do no…

I thank the Deputy. I understand this is a matter that is under review by the Minister for Transport. Like the Deputy, I do not like the idea of a numerical cut-off age. I am sure there are people over 70 who are in good physical and mental health and who can continue to drive buses. There may be insurance issues involved, though. It is something the Minister for Transport is examining at the moment.

I thank the Deputy. We are always examining ways in which we can support carers better. As the Deputy is aware, there have been increases in the carer's allowance. We have relaxed the means test, provided free GP care to all carers, expanded respite services and so on. I cannot make any particular comment on the particular requests being made now. I will have to confer with the line Ministers on those. As a Government, though, we are very committed to improving the financial and other supports that surround family …

I thank the Deputy. It is certainly a matter of concern to me and to the Government that development checks are not happening in some parts of the country. I believe it is linked to a shortage of public health nurses in some areas, but I will have to ask the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to revert to the Deputy with a more detailed reply, if that is okay.

This is a particular problem in the summer period and it affects my constituency as well as that of the Deputy. My understanding is that the Bill is going to the Seanad this month. I cannot guarantee it will be enacted before the summer recess but that is certainly what we are working towards.

I thank Deputy Feighan for raising this important issue. I am afraid I do not have a detailed reply to give him but I will certainly let the Minister, Deputy Foley, know the issue was raised and will ask her to come back to the Deputy directly.

I hear the Deputy. This issue first crossed my desk when I was a member of Fingal County Council so it has been going on for that long. For a long time, there were disputes as to whether new legislation would help. Let us see if it does. Let us get this legislation done as quickly as we can.

I am familiar with the case. I know that our people on the ground in the United Arab Emirates are working on it and doing all they can to help. I am not up to date on it, so I will ask for an update from the Tánaiste and pass it on to the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Department of Health acknowledges that there are variations in the cost of care across public centres, as well as across private nursing homes, with public nursing homes generally having a higher cost of care. This is often linked to higher staffing levels and the more complex care needs of the residents who are there. The HSE will always step in where residents' needs are sufficiently complex and they cannot be cared for elsewhere in the community or in a pr…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. On 19 April, I was delighted to give the closing address, along with Prime Minister Sunak, to the three-day conference at Queen's University to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel; the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and former US President Bill Clinton also gave keynote speeches at this closing session, chaired by former Secretary of State, and now Chancellor of Q…