I am just saying what the reality is.

We are all familiar with it. We have all enjoyed a pint in a pub.

Will I engage in having a pint?

We always engage with the VFI.

Part of the reason could be the expansion of medical card eligibility. More than 1.5 million people now have a medical card. There has been exponential growth in that number. The previous Minister took significant steps in successive budgets to expand coverage. I am surmising but I will ask the HSE and the Minister to get some background information or statistics for the Deputy. I presume and surmise that quite a lot of people who had discretionary cards and who may not have been entitled-----

Just hear me out. Some people who might not have been entitled because of income ineligibility are now entitled-----

-----so they move from discretionary to automatic entitlement.

It is difficult to believe that ten years have passed since that momentous referendum and the huge endorsement of marriage equality by the Irish people. We have come a long way in respect of LGBTQ rights. We still have some distance to go. It is extremely important in public discourse, particularly in relation to trans rights as I said here yesterday, that we acknowledge every person's journey through life, that we have full respect for that and that we conduct any debate in a respectful, sensitive and intelligent …

On Deputy Conway-Walsh's question, I too welcome the students from Coláiste Pobail Acla. Cuirim fáilte faoi leith rompu chuig Teach Laighean. On the facilities for young people, working with the LEADER programme, county councils and the State, we can provide good quality youth centres. I have been in different parts of the country where some have done it better than others. I was recently in Tulla and there is a fine centre there. The Government is very committed and interested in doing that and getting partnership…

At the outset, I also extend my deepest sympathies on the floor of the House to the family, friends and colleagues of Garda Kevin Flatley. Our thoughts and prayers are particularly with his wife Una and his daughters Aoife and Erin. He died in the line of duty, which is a reminder to us of the dangers that members of An Garda Síochána go through day after day as part of their mission to keep us all safe and prevent crime. He was an outstanding community person, as many gardaí are. They not only give duty in the lin…

We can come back on it later. The fundamental point is that no one is ducking, diving or dodging anything, and it is unfair to suggest that. We want completion. It is far better for everybody if a complete report is issued and published, and then we can act on it.

If Deputy McDonald does not mind me saying so, she is being somewhat disingenuous. Nobody is stonewalling and no one is refusing to give information.

I thought the obvious thing to do, and we may have this sooner than Deputy McDonald might think, is to wait for the audit report to be published and given to the Minister. That is logical. Otherwise, all Deputy McDonald is asking for is drip-drip and bits of information here and there-----

-----which would only add to the anxiety and concern of parents.

Yes.

If I may, I did not interrupt. Experience tells me that when we ask someone to do an external audit independent of politicians and Government, we should just let them finish their work and have the totality of their work available for us to assess, and then take action based on that. Of course, that audit has to be shared with the public, the parents, in the first instance, and the patients. There is always follow-up of children who have surgery for this particular condition and that follow-up would take place righ…

The Deputy clearly then understands the context-----

-----of why they will be written to.

I disagree with the Deputy's analysis of the Government's response to vacancy and dereliction. The vacant homes action plan progress report 2025 highlighted the breadth of action the Government is taking to support bringing vacant properties back into use as homes. Key areas of progress include the successful delivery of the vacant property refurbishment grant, with over 11,300 applications received, 7,700 approvals and over 1,400 grants issued as refurbishment works are completed. That amounts to €77 million paid …

Ní aontaím leis an Teachta in aon chor. Níl an ceart aici. Ní raibh na deontais atá ann anois maidir le tithe atá folamh agus mar sin de ann riamh. Is léir sin ón méid daoine atá ag fáil deontas sa lá atá inniu ann. I do not agree with the Deputy. The refurbishment grant for derelict buildings was not there four years ago. It has had a very significant impact and the Deputy should be good enough to acknowledge that.