We need to stand back, read the report and reflect on it. We will follow up on that proposal.

Absolutely. I agree 100% with the Deputy. We do need to work together on this. There are many factors here that we have to address. The Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has been very proactive in terms of quite a range of legislative measures that he has introduced. I referenced Jennie's law and Valerie's law. The fourth strategy on domestic and gender-based violence is perhaps one we can structure an all-party approach to and input into as well. My understanding is that by the end of the year, we shou…

The Government will have to examine it. There are 160 recommendations. We will examine them. Much of the thrust of that report in terms of the health diversion programme, which will be introduced by the Department, is in that direction in any event. The de facto reality on the ground is that we are implementing a health-led approach. We have been adopting a health-led approach for the past 20 years, fundamentally.

We more or less have in reality. That is the situation but we will examine the report. There are 160 recommendations. I welcome the fact that the committee has unanimously agreed those recommendations and we will certainly examine them. Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, as I said, presented to us last evening very briefly on it and we will come back again.

First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I do not have the specifics of the Labour Court recommendation but where people participate in and engage with the Labour Court, or the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, acceptance and implementation of awards should follow that engagement and participation.

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. In many instances, he has accurately reflected the experiences of people out there around the volatility or unreliability of child maintenance payments being delivered on and paid. I will talk to the Minister for justice and others in the Department of Social Protection to see what we can do, particularly on automatic deduction at source. These are proposals that have been around for quite some time.

I thank Deputy Scanlon for raising this issue. They are both very significant festivals - the Rory Gallagher one in particular. Even in Cork, I have always admired the Donegal capture of Rory Gallagher in terms of its wonderful festival. In a serious vein, this is a serious issue for them. It is-----

-----€283,000. That is huge. There is need for a legislative response but I also think we have to work to see if we can help those festivals in the short term. I understand the Minister, Deputy Burke, has been examining this but I will talk to my colleagues to see what assistance we can provide or what we can do here because these are important festivals in those localities. I will revert to the Deputy on that.

I am very conscious of the issue, particularly in regard to those without children who have worked hard all their lives and want to leave an inheritance to nieces, nephews or family members. The Government, in the last budget, increased the thresholds by about 20% across the different categories. We will examine this again in the context of the budget to see what we can do, particularly on that issue of those without children who want to leave an inheritance. The costs are significant as well. We also have an incom…

Oberstown is the State's only dedicated detention facility for children, providing care, education, health and rehabilitation supports. Children with complex needs are often referred to Oberstown by the courts. There is always a very difficult balance between safety and care. The latest available information shows that 129 children were detained in Oberstown in 2023, 120 in 2024 and 119 in 2025. I pay tribute to all those who are working there because HIQA found strong provision in Oberstown in education, health an…

Which redress scheme?

We have spent about €317 million on the mica scheme alone. Increasingly now, we are working through a specialist, standard-based approach. We have agencies. I am not going to argue to and fro on the specifics.

Yes, but Dáil Éireann cannot-----

We have legislation-----

I am not going to arbitrate in terms of professional advice and expertise on how to operate various schemes. Everybody is coming in now with solutions to every single issue from a technical point of view. We have established agencies to deal with standards, technical aspects and the remediation of the homes. This is a legislative assembly, not the national building standards agency. The agencies have work to do and we have to resource and improve them. We have appealed for common sense in terms of how people deal w…

An evidence-based approach is always to be recommended, and we should measure. People should begin to measure the impact of severe heat. We have not had too many heatwaves. That is the sense anyway. People are amazed this week by the heat. It is a serious matter. We are looking at 40°C across the water tomorrow. That is very serious from a health and climate point of view. We need to start adjusting because climate change is here. We also need to start changing our systems to meet that reality. From a health and pu…

I presume we are talking about the Department of agriculture.

I am not familiar with the first case but it seems extraordinary that a report would have been started in 1990 and it is now 2026, so that is 36 years that a report has not been published. I will check that and get a response from the Department of agriculture as quickly as I can. On the second case, I will check in terms of correspondence. It is not ringing a bell right now. It may have, but we have a lot of emails and so forth. The Deputy said a report issued in 2016 but that certain recommendations, if I heard h…

I want to get the information so people can check this. I will obviously have to check the provenance of the correspondence and try to get a response.

I have also met Grace's parents, who have been through a very traumatic and harrowing experience but have also articulated how communities are impacted by scrambling. The legislation is very clear. Scramblers cannot be on the public roads and there are significant additional powers there. There was a recent case in the courts involving a garda. My understanding is that the Minister is going to bring further legislation to amend that to make sure gardaí will not suffer any negative repercussions from pursuing scramb…