I wish to say finally that what Sinn Féin has basically said to the Irish people is, "Why bother to pay any bill?".

I agree with the Deputy on almost everything she has said. Her point about bogus self-employment contracts is valid. She has consistently raised the matter and it is a very serious issue. A significant and comprehensive investigation is under way. The Department of Social Protection commenced that investigation into the PRSI classification of RTÉ contractors. RTÉ provided the Department with a list of 695 workers engaged on a contract basis in 2018, 2019 and 2020. These form the basis of the investigation. It is a …

I expect to have the recommendations of the two expert advisory groups, on governance and culture and on contractor fees, human resources and other matters, shortly. They will be incorporated into a new strategy for RTÉ, which will come to the Government. They will bring clarity to the basis on which the Government will make decisions on the future funding of RTÉ. In the interim, there will have to be absolute transparency regarding packages; there should be no secrecy. The chair, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, and the direc…

The referendum covers three areas, the first being a more inclusive definition of the family to ensure the up to 43,000 children born outside marriage in 2022 are finally recognised by our Constitution and have a sense of full inclusion. It is a very children-focused amendment in that context and it takes within its compass new family formations of recent times. Second, it deals with the role of women in society through the deletion of an article and its replacement, and in the replacement to recognise care. The fu…

Yes, we have responsibilities and have to do everything we possibly can to prevent such situations from arising, but any of us who deal with young people in life realise the complexities involved. When Minister for Education, I recall people escaping from Trinity House. I recall that education, health and justice were three silos at the time. That was before Tusla and the more co-ordinated approach that has emerged under the Department of children and equality, which is ultimately the end result of a process whereb…

In response to retired Mr. Justice Simms’s letter, Tusla is working with officials within the Department of children. There were four documents. The Deputy referred to a bureaucratic response. I think he is referring to the Data Protection Act. The Department formed the view that it did not have a legal basis to process the personal data contained in those three reports-----

-----and those reports were subsequently deleted from the Department’s records. However, the Department is addressing the substantive issues to which the reports related and that were set out in the correspondence itself. These are issues that have to be dealt with in respect of the personal information relating to any individual or child in the State. However, again, legislation is on the way, in terms of the general scheme of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2023. Regarding interagency co-operation, which is essen…

I thank the Deputy for his presentation and for raising the issue of health services. On the question of who is in charge, factually, I presume the Deputy will be aware that Bernard Gloster is the CEO of the HSE and Deputy Stephen Donnelly is the Minister for Health. There are 26,172 more staff working in our health service now than there were at the beginning of 2020. That is 26,000 additional staff the Deputy did not refer to in his opening remarks, including more than 8,000 midwives, which is a 21% increase. Acc…

-----and I acknowledge that continues to place strain on services but the Deputy has to acknowledge the enormous increase in investment and resources that has occurred.

I welcome that the Deputy acknowledged the Government funding for Clonakilty Community Hospital. It is not a normal pattern of political behaviour on his part to acknowledge Government funding where it happens. I welcome that Government funding has enabled what we both agree is a fantastic service and facility for the people of Clonakilty agus an dúiche mórthimpeall. The children's hospital is potentially for every child in Ireland and it is certainly for children in west Cork who need access to specialist treatmen…

It has been a long saga, without question. Issues arose about structures and all the rest of it, but I am in no doubt that in the context of our current services in Crumlin or Temple Street, the sooner we get this hospital built and operational, the better. It will be transformative for children in terms of having single suites, the theatre capacity, infection control and, especially for children with conditions that make them vulnerable, it will be transformative. I understand the negativity. Accountability is imp…

I agree with the Deputy. I have long had concerns about that model of work used by Deliveroo or Just East involving young people, many of whom are migrants. To say the very least, there has always been the potential for exploitation in situations like that. The Government will consider this and I will talk to the Minister in respect of the basic existing labour legislation to see what additional measures we can take to protect workers in these situations. What normally happens with EU directives is toing and froing…

I am familiar with Blizzard Entertainment as I attended the announcement when it was first set up in Ireland in Cork. Our thoughts are with the workers of Blizzard and the situation regarding the employees is our foremost concern. The Government will provide a range of supports to those being made redundant, assisting with appropriate training and development, opportunities and income supports. The number of people employed is 198 and the number of redundancies is expected to be 136, which is very serious for these…

As the Deputy will be aware, €5 million was committed in 2019. There is an additional ask of Government and private investment is on the table as well. The matter is being examined by the Department of Transport. The Government has been prompt in many other investments in Waterford as well. We have not been slow in allocating to other initiatives in the Waterford area. We will continue to do so, and also to try and attract inward investment into Waterford city and county, and in the region as well.

I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue. I will talk to the Minister for Health and ask that the information be sent to the Deputy in respect of either timelines or the wider issue of neuro-rehabilitation.

As the Deputy knows, and as I said earlier, in 2019 the then Government agreed €5 million in funding towards a runway extension project. The estimated cost then was approximately €12 million and that €5 million was contingent on local authority and private investment necessary to complete the project being committed. It said at the time any risks relating to cost escalation would be borne by the non-State investors. The situation has changed now. Everyone is talking about urgency but the detail remained outstanding…

The Deputy knows what I am saying.

The real meat of this came in December last. Neither of the Deputies mentioned that, but that is the reality. What that is clearly saying is that the €12 million cost is no longer a relevant overall cost. Apparently, the cost is closer to €26 million. There is a public spending code.

There is all of that. That has to happen. We will come back to the Deputies.

First of all, the number of social houses being built is way greater than anything in many years. It is record numbers. It means that people are being offered social housing now, which is a good thing.