The Government cannot organise every single connection to every single public light in the country. There are people paid and funded to do that. I agree that they should go away and get it done and the person should occupy the house. We need to focus where the issues are - on the utilities or on the local authority. There is a limit to what the Dáil has to-----

They are funded and they should go and do it. Nobody should be 18 years by the way. That is another matter. I do not know the background to the case or the individual. The bottom line is the house has been allocated. They should get the public lighting sorted.

First of all, it is a bit more complex than that. The European Union is divided and member states have different perspectives for historical and other reasons. Ireland has a very strong pro-Palestinian position in terms of the right of the Palestinians to their own state living in harmony with an Israeli state. We work with approximately eight like-minded countries on a number of issues. The vast majority of European Union countries now want an end to the war in some shape or form, and everybody agrees with a two-s…

The Deputy has made very fair points about communication. There has been a ramping up in respect of the community engagement teams, additionality and additional resources. The scale of the challenge is enormous and that has to be recognised as well. In January alone, over 2,000 people sought international protection in the country. That is double the average of last year. We have 27,000 people in accommodation. We have to rapidly improve our administrative processes, which we are doing in the Department of Justice,…

The Government has allocated unprecedented funding for inner city renewal across a range of funding, including housing, city centre infrastructure and regeneration. Dublin City Council is the key agency here and is responsible for its own housing stock and regenerating many of the apartment complexes the Deputy has spoken about. In many other cities, regeneration of various apartment blocks and complexes has happened much faster. The focus has to be on Dublin City Council. As the Deputy said, many of these projects…

I read recently that the county council had made a submission. That will have to be examined by the Department, obviously, in respect of the wider damage to the area. That figure is a huge amount, and it is illustrative of the cost of climate change. I have no doubt the storm was a climate event. It is an illustration of how we have to move on adaptation and flood relief. I will come back to the Deputy in respect of the Department’s response.

I agree with the Deputy, basically. I think he has articulated the case very well. There is a shortage of drivers. Obviously, Bus Éireann wants to make sure the safety situation is correct and it has resisted making that change, in its view, in the interests of safety. The world has changed dramatically in relation to life expectancy and people are now in a position to work at ages we would have considered inconceivable 20 years ago. The world has changed and with the appropriate procedures, we should be able to fa…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, has been attentive to the needs of An Post. He and the Government have worked over the past two or three years to support An Post through a variety of funding approaches. An Post is responsible for operational planning and change of systems. I think the Deputy indicated it will either review or make sure the situation lands well. The management of An Post has executed significant reforms in recent times and has been effective in that …

Tapóidh mé an deis seo chun cúrsaí Thuaisceart na hÉireann a phlé. Cuirim fáilte roimh filleadh na n-institiúidí agus guím gach rath ar gach éinne a bheidh páirteach iontu sna blianta amach romhainn. Two weeks ago, on 1 February, we celebrated St. Brigid's Day, long recognised in Ireland as signalling the beginning of spring. As the poet Raftery wrote, describing the change of the seasons: Anois teacht an earraighbeidh an lá ag dul chun síneadh,Is tar éis na féil Brídeardóidh mé mo sheol. "After St. Brigid's Day, I…

No one has done more than this Government in terms of funding North-South infrastructure.

Deputy Carthy could acknowledge that at least.

Deputy Carthy addressed me. I am sorry. I apologise, a Cheann Comhairle.

Deputy Carthy brought me into the conversation.

Ar dtús báire, guím Lá Fhéile Bríde shona do gach éinne agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle as an óráid a thug sí dúinn roimh thosach Cheisteanna ó Cheannairí. I take this opportunity to wish Charlie O'Leary, who is celebrating his 100th birthday, the very best.

He was an iconic figure in the Jack Charlton Irish football team set-up back in the heyday. His contribution to Irish soccer has been immense and I think we all thank him for that.

I share the Deputy's dismay at the unfolding events in RTÉ and the clear absence of proper governance in respect of a range of issues that have been well articulated in various reports, in this House and before many Oireachtas committees. The report is unacceptable in terms of what it reveals, not the report itself, but what it reveals is unacceptable in terms of the absence of the RTÉ executive, for example, sanctioning redundancies and redundancies happening where in fact there was no suppression of jobs. The sit…

Signatories to the letter included the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation. Many people feel the party's behaviour in that respect, and that co-ordinated behaviour, is one that is suppressing the media. Irrespective of who is in government in the future, it is a legitimate question. It sounds great that we will pay all the bills and have full Exchequer funding, but it means any government in the future has a control over Irish media I am clear would not be a healthy one. Even if it was just about the allocation of re…

That is a view people think Sinn Féin is at in terms of things.

Again, I quoted reputable, independent people who monitor freedom of the press and of the media. Ireland enjoys one of the highest places in the world index on freedom of the media because of government behaviours. The bottom line is that, from its party leader down, Sinn Féin has been systemic in its legal actions-----

-----against the media, which is having a chilling effect. That needs to be put on record when the party is advocating a system that in my view would potentially have a negative impact on media in Ireland into the future, on its independence and indeed on its freedom.