That is the only logical reason why she comes into this House-----

-----consistently to oppose every positive measure the Government looks to bring in to ease the housing challenge. That is the only conclusion I can reach.

The Government has brought in six different rental Acts since coming into office two years ago. We have capped rent increases in rent-pressure zones to 2% per annum. All new tenancies created on or after 11 June this year will become tenancies of unlimited duration after six consecutive months in occupation under the tenancy. Ultimately, the only answer here is for us to build enough homes to ensure that people have options, including cost-rental and affordable purchase, with those who qualify able to get access to…

By any objective measure we have made positive developments in education policy over the last couple of years at primary level through successive reductions in the pupil-teacher ratio, the single largest expansion of DEIS places in the history of the State and now an increase in the back-to-school allowance. We now have over 19,000 special needs assistants, SNAs, thank God, and it is the right thing to do. Almost 1,000 extra special education teachers have now been funded and will be appointed for the coming school…

-----or about healthcare policy.

We need to ensure we have adequate resources to make progress on all those issues. We have made real progress on education policy, including with the decisions we made yesterday.

The Deputy has raised a specific case. To be fair, I do not have all the facts of that case. The exceptional needs scheme is there to support people for one-off costs like that. I am surprised to hear what he has said. We will ask the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to look at that if he can provide the details because it sounds like an excessive, inappropriate response. That person should be looked after.

I will look into that further. To date almost 62,000 HSE staff have received the payment as have an estimated 14,000 staff in section 38 organisations. Over 75,000 people have been paid to date. When it comes to those who are not directly employed by the State, including those in private nursing homes, hospices as well as members of the Defence Forces who are employed by the State but not by the HSE, the Department of Health is working with the parent employers to put in place a process for that payment to be made …

In the immediate sense, our priority is to get the scheme up and running, and to legislate to ensure that we can start getting homes remediated and rebuilt under what is a much improved scheme. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has appointed a senior counsel to examine the issues raised by the Deputy.

There has to be accountability in respect of the root cause of this issue. The State will do whatever it takes to pursue anyone responsible for what will end up being a very large cost on the Exchequer. The State will explore every avenue to seek recompense in respect of that. In the immediate term, our priority is to get the scheme up and running and get work done on homes. We will pursue that issue to the end.

I thank the Deputy for raising the PEACEPLUS programme and acknowledge his consistent advocacy for this very exciting programme, in respect of which over €1.1 billion has been allocated. It was approved by the Governments, North and South, in the autumn of last year and was submitted to the European Commission in March. Work to finalise the financing agreement for PEACEPLUS between the EU, Ireland and the UK is at an advanced stage. All parties are aiming to reach an agreed text in July. The formal launch of PEACEP…

The Commission on Taxation reports to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe. I am not sure if it has been completed, but I can check. My understanding was that it will be later in the autumn and into the winter. I certainly saw a reference to November of this year being the expected timeline for completion and publication of that report. It may be the case that some or all elements of the report will be available before the budget and can feed into the budgetary process, but I cannot confirm that today.

It has been generally acknowledged by local authority executives and members throughout the country that the Government looked after them well over the course of Covid-19. I include Galway City Council and Galway County Council in that. This was the right thing to do. There was full compensation for rates waivers. Even though local authorities do not always collect 100% of rates, they were refunded 100%. All of this underlines the need to have a sustainable revenue source, including the local property tax, which th…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for welcoming the reduction in public transport fares. The purpose of that initiative is to support PSO public transport every day throughout the country. That is the way in which it is being applied. We have, over the course of Covid, provided additional support to the private transport sector. I will ask the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to respond directly to the Deputy on this specific example he has raised in respect of the private sector.

I have not yet seen that particular pre-budget submission. The way the process works is that over the coming weeks I will sit down with my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, as part of the Estimates process to agree on a settlement for health for 2023. Then, the more micro-decisions relating to the allocation of funds of all the different strands of healthcare will be made by the Minister, in line with the programme for Government priorities and with Government policy. I suggest that Deputy Andrew…

I assure the Deputy that this is an issue all over the country, and not just in the kingdom of Kerry. There are staff shortages across a range of sectors. The unemployment rate is now less than 5%. This was confirmed again earlier by the Central Statistics Office. That is good news, but it does create challenges. We are looking at this in the context of different initiatives, such as, for example, the critical skills employment permit. We have dedicated many extra resources there. Applications are now being turned …

There will have to be another home found for him anyway.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue on behalf of Meelick GAA club. I will look into the issue with the OPW. In general, where State land is adjoining an existing sports club that has ambitions around expansion, and if there is no other intended use for the land, the State, in principle, is supportive of disposing that land, either by a means of a freehold agreement or long-term lease to such a club in order that it can improve on their facilities. I will look into the specific case.

I do not know all the facts relating to that incident, but of course we convey our condolences to those who have been bereaved. We condemn all violent acts that lead to people being killed. I cannot go beyond that because I do not know all of the facts relating to this terrible incident in which so many people lost their lives. I will ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, to reflect on what Deputy Paul Murphy has said and come back to him with a formal Government position.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I assure him that the Government has provided the resources to the HSE to address this issue. There will be no change to the services provided at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, until such time as the HSE can establish that Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown have the extra capacity to deal with the inevitable increase in the number of patients presenting. No decision regarding the HSE’s proposal for a transition of the emergency depar…