Cá bhfuil an tAire, an Teachta Eamon Ryan?

I did not ask about an tAire, Deputy O’Brien. We will come to him later. Where is the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan?

It is not agreed. I asked the Taoiseach about the response of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, to the chaotic scenes we saw again at Dublin Airport. In his response the Taoiseach set out some of the work done by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien. I am not satisfied with that answer. I am very concerned as we now come very close to Christmas, with huge numbers of passengers passing through Dublin Airport, that we cannot see the type of chaos, delay and distress that we w…

I appreciate that the Taoiseach is being humorous, and no doubt the Minister would be conked out by then, but it is a serious issue and I would like the Minister to come before the House.

Believe it or not, it is now seven months since the Northern Ireland Assembly election in the North and the people are still without a Government as the DUP maintains its boycott of the political institutions. It is my understanding the Tories' very reckless Northern Ireland protocol Bill has been put on ice until the new year. In her address to the Oireachtas recently, the European Commission President, Ms Ursula von der Leyen, made it clear she is hopeful progress can be made on the protocol. I share that hope. S…

Three years ago, the Dáil voted in favour of a Sinn Féin motion which described the proposed Mercosur trade agreement as a bad deal for Ireland and for the planet. Both Fianna Fáil and the Green Party supported that motion, which mandated future governments to reject this deal at a European level. This agreement would flood the European market with 100,000 tonnes of South American beef produced at a cost of up to twice the carbon footprint of Irish beef. As the Taoiseach knows, the European Ombudsman found that the…

Hear, hear.

I wish to mark the recent passing of Bethany Home survivor and campaigner, Derek Leinster. With the love and support of his wife Carol, he fought a tremendous battle for all the Bethany Home children, who suffered such horrific neglect and abuse. We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. Our thoughts are with his daughters, Deborah, Amanda, Gail and Kerry. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal. What engagement has the Taoiseach had with church leaders on their respective contributions to the mother and baby home redre…

I want to raise two issues that I have raised before and on which progress has not been made. First is the imminent closure of the Mater Hospital long Covid clinic as a result of a HSE decision not to fund its work. Frankly, I find this decision inexplicable. I have written to the Taoiseach on this and I know Dr. Jack Lambart has done so too. The Taoiseach previously undertook to investigate the matter. What progress has been made? Is it the intention of the Minister or the HSE to respond formally to the Mater's re…

Cuirim fáilte roimh chlann Aylward, roimh Helena, Bob, Triona, Mark, Lisa, Dylan, Leah, Taylor, Margaret, Jack, Kate, and Ella. It is easy knowing they are a political dynasty, the younger members of the clan being so totally at home in the House. It is an omen of things to come, perhaps. I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Bobby Aylward in July. I really liked Bobby. He was a good and decent man who cared deeply about people. As was said, he had a deep love for Kilkenny and especially for his own local c…

Sinn Féin does not have confidence in Deputy Darragh O'Brien as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Opposition in this Dáil does not have confidence in the housing Minister and, more important, the people do not have confidence in him. How could they have confidence in a housing Minister who, with a straight face, says we do not have a housing emergency, or in a Minister who has turned to denial when the consequences of his failures are writ large in the everyday lives of people who, despite do…

-----and sick of walking past fancy apartments they will never live in. So, locked out of affordable housing and of opportunity by the policies of the Government, our young people now look to the airports and to life in Toronto, Boston or Sydney. We are now losing again our greatest resource, another generation raised for export. Forced emigration is back with us, not because of fear, famine or recession but because of the housing emergency, because Deputy O'Brien has been a housing Minister for more of the same an…

Vicky Phelan died three weeks ago. The Taoiseach knows she spent her final years fighting for change. She was very clear on what she wanted to see. To recall, she said to the political system: I don't want your accolades or your broken promises. I want action. I want change. I want accountability. It was a most eloquent and heartbreaking call to action for all of the women and their families affected by the CervicalCheck scandal. As the Taoiseach knows, mandatory disclosure and a duty of candour was one of Vicky's …

The Taoiseach does not have to convince any of us of the need for that kind of meta-analysis for educational purposes and, more important, for quality control and assurance. I remind the House that this legislation is about the provision of information. It is not about medical malpractice or any other legal processes. This is about information. I believe the Taoiseach, like the rest of us, wants to get this right for women. There are serious matters in this Bill that need to be teased through to ensure we get it ri…

We need more time.

It is imperative we get it right.

The housing emergency is now spilling into education. Schools are really struggling to recruit teachers, teachers cannot afford the extortionate rents that are being charged and many are locked out of any real opportunity of ever purchasing their own home. I was shocked and gobsmacked to hear the Minister for Education's first response to this was a suggestion of cancelling career breaks for teachers, not least because she herself is on a career break from teaching. Clearly that is not the answer. Will the Taoiseac…

Deputy Gould is never wrong.

As has been said by others, it is very important that we get this legislation right. It is important legally that we have clarity and we are clear procedurally that what we are agreeing to will work. This is because, of course, women and their families have had the awful experience of the CervicalCheck scandal but as my colleague, Deputy Tully, referred to, that is not the only scandal, and the only hardship and heartbreak, that has emerged as a result of the resistance of the system or systems to simply provide in…

No. She was entirely unaware. That review process is a separate issue. In an anonymised scenario, would that information have found its way onto her files? The answer to that question is "No".