-----in terms of greater flexibility so that we use therapists optimally and get interventions.

The fundamental intervention at the moment is State-led. The Labour Party says it believes in State-led intervention. Almost the entirety of the intervention nowadays is State-led. It stands at more than €8 billion at the moment.

That is the highest ever on record. We need a private sector dimension to house building. I do not know whether the Deputy believes in that.

Does the Deputy believe there is a role for institutional funds, for example?

I am just putting it to the Deputy because I have watched over the past three or four years on housing. All I get is an antipathy on the Opposition side towards any private sector funding in housing. If they maintain that position, we will not deal with the housing supply issue.

That is ultimately the way to deal with reducing the rate of increase in rent. The RTB is quite clear in terms of the levels at the moment.

What we have witnessed in the past 24 hours is welcome but it is too late in some respects. There has been a division of opinion among member states in respect of this issue for quite some time. It is quite historic as the Deputy knows. Not everybody agrees with Ireland. We have a number of like-minded states, such as Slovenia and Spain, and Belgium to a lesser degree, which has a coalition government. There is a really broad strand of opinion in respect of the Middle East, some of it historic in respect of what ha…

We have made significant progress in terms of the HPV vaccine. I will check with the Minister for Health in respect of the catch-up programme. I will ask the Minister to revert back to the Deputy in respect of it. It is a fair question to raise and I will follow it up.

I do not know the background to the Crosshaven situation. As the Deputy said, it is just hot off the press. However, I will follow it up. I work closely with the Irish Postmasters Union and we keep in touch with the network. As the Deputy knows, the Government has committed to supporting Ireland's post office network and as part of that commitment, it is currently providing An Post with €10 million funding per annum over a three-year fixed term from 2023 to 2025. Obviously, there will be a further evaluation post 2…

I also welcome the pupils from Kilrane National School. I hope they will learn something from observing the activities in the House and also from the rich history and heritage that the House has to offer. I agree with Deputy O'Sullivan that the time is now for the suspension of the agreement because Article 2 is not being complied with. All human rights have been abandoned. The weaponisation of aid is appalling. It constitutes a breach of international humanitarian law; of that there is no doubt. The latitude that …

Strawberries are very high in nutrients and that is very important so I will not say no.

Generally speaking, this Government has taken a position to support the construction of roads within the provisions of the public capital programme. The updating of the national development plan will involve provision for roads. We may not go into every specific road in the country in that plan because flexibility has to be allowed to Transport Infrastructure Ireland and to local authorities. However, we want to progress projects that are currently under way. That is the objective. We also have to invest in water i…

There has been an increased allocation for the tenant in situ scheme. There were reviews around making sure the resources would go to those tenants who were in danger of being rendered homeless. The tenant in situ scheme is not for general acquisition of second-hand homes. It is specifically for those in danger of becoming homeless. The Minister is engaging with local authorities to make sure the commitments can be fulfilled and realised in respect of families and councils that had been in discussion with landlords…

This is a disability service, is it?

For where?

The introduction of free schoolbooks for some 940,000 children and young people in primary and post-primary and special schools in the free education scheme from the start of 2025-26 was a really significant progressive decision that was taken some years ago by the then education Minister, Deputy Foley, and has been continued. The Deputy has raised interesting points about the mechanics of the scheme and how it operates with regard to enrolment numbers and textbooks consequent on curricular change. I will raise the…

I fully understand the issue the Deputy has raised. The ask is that there would be access to a single public service pension scheme. That is something that needs to be resolved through the industrial relations processes. We have made progress in respect of the salary side and the payroll aspect of this. Since September 2023, the Department has been providing a payroll service for formerly grant-funded school secretaries. Currently, 85% of school secretaries have opted for the new package and are on the Department’s…

The Deputy has raised fairly legitimate issues. There has been a tendency in planning lately to have no car parking spaces in certain developments. The Deputy made a fair point about restricting car use but not car ownership. There has to be more flexibility in the planning frameworks governing developments of this kind and, as the Deputy said, the Adamstown plan. I would like to see a complete review. You would lose another couple of years with that but the points the Deputy is making should be fed into the proces…

My understanding is the Department, together with the HSE, will provide a total of €6.53 million to meet the full operational costs of the 51 beds in the new facility in 2025. I will follow up again with the HSE and the Department to confirm, but that is what I am being told.

Further resources will be available to expand the capacity of the new facility on an incremental basis in 2025, subject to an agreed business plan between the HSE and the Dublin Simon Community. The Deputy is correct that it is a very significant development. The Government has already provided €35 million to construct the facility. That provides for the 51 beds that were, up to now, in temporary locations. These include step-up and step-down beds for acute services and inpatient treatment beds for drug stabilisati…