I thank the Deputy for raising once again the very real issue of the cost-of-living pressures people are facing. The Government acknowledges that a lot of people are under real pressure because of the rising cost of living. We all know the reasons the cost of living is increasing. There are external international factors. There are also domestic factors, including the really strong rebound in the Irish economy which has exceeded most expectations. On the external front, undoubtedly the increase in wholesale energy …

We do understand where people are at. The Deputy is right; talk is cheap. He talks about fuel poverty. Sinn Féin introduced an alternative budget last October that did not increase the fuel allowance by one cent.

That is the truth.

The Deputy did that in October of last year. His party published its budget proposals in which there was not a single cent of an increase in the fuel allowance. This Government increased it by €5 on budget night in an unprecedented measure because we recognise the genuine difficulties that people are facing. The Deputy talks about the carbon tax. He is being duplicitous on the carbon tax and highly disingenuous. He gives people the impression Sinn Féin is against the carbon tax. The only thing his party is against …

His party is in favour of the carbon tax and is only ever against the next increase, and that is typical of the cynical politics that his party is pursuing.

Perhaps Deputy Doherty might tell people where the €412 million I have ring-fenced this year for fuel poverty measures, for retrofitting and for agri-environmental schemes from carbon tax receipts will come from. It is not there.

I thank the Deputy for her questions. First, to respond to the comments she made and the questions relating to the articles in the Business Post , the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and I have a good working relationship. Officials of the two Departments engage on an ongoing basis. There is a health budget oversight group involving officials from both Departments that meets regularly and, as one would expect, we have occasional bilateral ministerial meetings as well, and sometimes on specific issues. For exampl…

We are committed to tackling the general issue of costs in respect of access to healthcare. We will be extending the free GP care eligibility to children aged six and seven years across this year. As I said, we have reduced the drugs payment scheme threshold and, recently, there have been reductions in the monthly prescription costs that individuals and families face. We have provided dedicated funding of €30 million to ensure access for patients to new innovative medicines. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, h…

It is not a barrier.

As a practising politician for a number of years I have never encountered a situation-----

-----where our public health system refuses to care for cancer patients because they cannot pay a bill. I have never seen that.

If the Deputy has any example please bring it to the attention of the Minister and the Government because access to cancer care in our public health system is not dependent on paying.

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising Tipperary town in the House, the challenges faced there and the need for the Government to support the efforts to revitalise the town. We are very much aware of the challenges that are undoubtedly there. We continue to provide supports and investment to assist the area to tackle challenges and build a sustainable place to live and work. As the Deputy is aware, last Friday the Tánaiste and the Ministers of State, Deputy English and Deputy Troy, launched the mid-west regional enterpri…

We can all acknowledge that revitalising a town such as Tipperary town requires a multifaceted approach. Deputy Lowry touched on the need for investment in educational facilities and infrastructure, and the need to generate employment, especially where we are dealing with a high level of unemployment and intergenerational disadvantage, which has manifested itself in Tipperary town. We acknowledge the need for significant community supports to support the community and voluntary efforts that are being made in Tipper…

I thank Deputy Nolan for raising these issues regarding our planning system. We all acknowledge the need for a fit-for-purpose planning system in our country for the development of homes, industry and public infrastructure. As the Deputy will be aware, we have now adopted a national development plan out to 2030 that involves public expenditure of €165 billion across all of the main areas, including building the homes we need, building our public transport and road infrastructure, introducing climate action measures…

The issues that the Deputy raises are really important when it comes to the Government and the country meeting the objective of balanced regional development. We want to see such balanced regional development. It is core to the Project Ireland 2040 strategy, where the majority of growth in the population of Ireland over the next 20 years, which is estimated to be growth of about 1 million people, will be outside Dublin. Ensuring that we are able to deliver infrastructure in a timely manner is central to that, inclu…

I thank Deputies for raising those issues. Deputy Collins raised the issue of the Dursey cable car, which Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan has raised with me and colleagues as well, and I see the Deputy has a Topical Issue matter selected in that regard. That is perhaps the most appropriate forum in which to deal with that issue. We all recognise how important that piece of infrastructure is and we will take note of the points Deputies Collins and O'Sullivan have raised. In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, there is no…

-----which we have been asked to introduce, and we do want to advance Government legislation. That is a central purpose of this House. We will liaise with Deputy Boyd Barrett, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Business Committee to find an appropriate slot for discussing what we recognise is a really important report. In response to Deputy Naughten, we recognise that for many people the decision on mask wearing is a significant change and that there will be concern among many people, including some older people…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I can only imagine the recent storms presented a huge amount of extra anxiety for people living with mica in their homes. This is a top priority for Government. We want to deal with this as quickly as possible. We have announced a new scheme with an overall value of €2.2 billion with a number of important improvements and changes from the previous scheme. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is awaiting the final report from the Society of Chartered Surve…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. My understanding is that 116 plaintiffs sued the Medical Missionaries of Mary, the congregation, and the HSE arising from damages from Dr. Shine's abusive activities. In the period December 2019 to March 2020, the 116 plaintiffs formally discontinued their claims against the HSE by serving notices of discontinuance. The plaintiffs continue to pursue their claim against the congregation and its insurance company, Allianz. The HSE and the State Claims Agency, SCA, are seeking…