The Deputy should acknowledge that.

First, we have a very extensive tenant in situ programme. It has been very effective.

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, introduced it approximately two years ago. It has been very successful and effective in preventing evictions by giving the option of going to the seller and saying the council will buy the house, thereby enabling the person living there to continue as a tenant of the council. It has been very effective, with up to 1,800 approvals so far. I will get the most up-to-date figure. The Government appointed the Housing Commission and tasked it with examining long-term housing policy. …

I do not think the commission is recommending no-fault evictions.

That is not what it says in the report. One of its recommendations is: Regulate market rents fairly and effectively by reforming the current system of rent regulation and establishing a system of ‘Reference Rents’. This reform should be informed by evidence-based reviews on the impact of regulated market rents on rented housing supply, accessibility and affordability. Such reviews should be conducted on a regular basis... Another recommendation is to "[r]eform and consolidate standards for rented dwellings through.…

Yes, and I have gone through the recommendations for the rental sector. I do not see any reference to a ban on no-fault evictions. It seems that the commission wants a significant reform of the existing rental market regulation. That will take significant work. Meanwhile, the Government is absolutely committed to the tenant in situ scheme, as we have demonstrated by buying houses where people are at risk of eviction. We tell the council to buy the house and keep the person in the house.

As the Deputy knows, the ESRI report is based on children born in 2008 and assesses them over a nine-year period. Without question, quality of housing impacts on the well-being of children and families. That is why we are building more social housing this year and the past three years. This Government has, notwithstanding Covid-19 lockdowns, substantially changed the dial in respect of house completions. We have also done far more than any other Government in retrofitting local authority housing to make the quality…

The Deputy should acknowledge that two of the stronger MEPs on the Palestine question over the last four years have been Barry Andrews and Billy Kelleher. They have been robust, they have visited the area and they have been strong in respect of upholding the right of Palestinians to their homeland and state and having a fair resolution of the conflict. It is shocking that Israel has indicated this morning that this war could go to the end of the year. The suffering is horrific and the consequences are dire for Pale…

The Minister for Health can engage on that more specific issue but the more fundamental point I would make is-----

I think I have to take the first four questions.

I can give the Deputy Whitmore the answer. She asked two or three questions. The first was the-----

We are not in a position to determine that right now. I have been around long enough to know that in the health sector situations evolve and facilities rarely close. They are either redeployed or used for something else, or they are kept on as they are. Obviously the whole idea of the national children's hospital is to have the best and most appropriate care for children with particular conditions. All of these timelines have been BAM timelines. I resolutely refuse to become involved in an arbitration process that …

Employers' PRSI has been increased. The Social Insurance Fund is extremely important for the future. Overall, the Government has significantly reduced taxes on workers and, through national wage agreements and so on, with the rate of inflation coming right down this year, net incomes will increase overall. Tax has come down every year since this Government came into office, including income tax and the USC. The Commission on Taxation and Welfare was clear that in order to sustain pensions, auto-enrolment and pay-re…

I thank the Deputy for raising the question. I visited the area and met with many residents. It is quite shocking what the residents in this area have gone through. It is an awful pity that the pipeline, which was 60% completed, was not enabled to go the full distance because a human disaster continues to unfold for the residents of that area. It was heart-rending to see. Even as we walked there, the levels have not gone down in some areas. Everybody is afraid of next winter. The Deputy is correct in terms of the c…

There are a number of steps to this. I was at the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary, which was very poignant and sad. Without question, we need to get answers for the relatives here, and it has to be done through a structured format. I met recently with Sir Iain Livingstone of Operation Denton, who took over from Mr. Jon Boucher. The publication of Operation Denton is important in this context. I hope it will shed further light on what happened on that terrible day, and in advance of and subsequent to it. I…

The Barron report identified that there was missing documentation from the British Government, which rendered it impossible to be conclusive in respect of it.

The McEntee report, which was also established, came to similar conclusions.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issues. I recall the event in Iveagh House last year. It is extremely important because many businesses and people who employ people in Northern Ireland were very insightful and enlightening in respect of Brexit and how various responses by both the UK Government and the Irish Government could negatively impact their everyday working environments. It is extremely important that we continue to nurture and cultivate more engagements with organisations such as these, particularly in …

Children should have support in respect of finding school places. I am not clear as to why there is no special educational needs organiser, SENO, in the area. Is that a recruitment issue?

That is a matter for the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. There are SENOs across the length and breadth of the country.