I welcome the Deputy raising the issue. Yesterday's drugs seizure and the operation over the last number of days reveals more than anything that there is no soft-touch approach in respect of crime in this country and particularly in respect of drug trafficking cartels. What we witnessed were very high standards and very high professionalism being demonstrated by An Garda Síochána, the Air Corps, the Naval Service and the Army Ranger Wing, working co-operatively and collaboratively in a joint task force. It was the …

The Government is investing in An Garda Síochána and will invest in the force. The Deputy knows well that the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the recruitment processes. We all know this. This was a significant challenge in terms of Templemore and so forth, but this aspect has recovered and is recovering. The numbers coming into the college now are increasing, although, because we have full employment in the economy, it has been a challenging time for all State services in terms of recruitment. This has been the case …

Is the Deputy talking about disability reforms in respect of payments?

More broadly, I take issue with some of the language the Deputy used. I know he speaks in good faith, but there is no agenda on this side of the House to demonise any person with special needs or a disability or, indeed, to divide the disability community. I wish to make this very clear. The State has more to do in respect of providing for disability services and for people's special needs. I refer to the totality of services being provided in health, education, childcare, housing, employability, and providing oppo…

There is a Green Paper on disability reform, but no decisions have been made in this respect.

Consultation is ongoing with the stakeholders.

Regarding these two things, in terms of the cost of disability, the report has been published, as I said. The Department of Social Protection has taken actions to improve employment supports for people with disabilities. Additionally, the earnings disregard for those receiving disability allowance and the blind pension has increased several times in recent years. A lot of action has been taken to improve incomes. We are looking at the report on the cost of disability in the context of the budget. A range of lump-su…

On the Deputy's overall point on the cost of living, over the past 12 months, the Government has responded swiftly and strongly to cushion the impact of prices on households, businesses and farmers, with supports of up to €12 billion. That is not an inconsiderable sum of money by any yardstick. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, found that the one-off measures we announced as part of budget 2023 insulated most households from rising energy prices last winter. I acknowledge that people are under press…

The ESB is a State company. I take it the Deputy is a strong supporter of State companies. If he had his way, he would have more State companies across the board.

We use the dividend to enable us to introduce the measures to alleviate the pressure. We have taken measures in respect of excess profits at the energy companies, as the Deputy knows. We have taken those measures and we expect revenues to come in, some before the end of the year, including the windfall tax, and more next year, which we will reallocate back into measures to reduce the pressure on the public. We will take measures over the coming months to try to ease pressure on people due to energy price increases.…

I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for raising this issue. I do not have access to the individual case he raised but I do not doubt what he said. The experience the Deputy has articulated is not in any shape or form satisfactory in respect of that particular family or, indeed, for families in similar situations with what would appear to be a young child, young adult or teenager on the severe side of the autism spectrum. In many ways the trend over the last two decades has been to move away from residential care and the ins…

I agree with the Deputy that the State should be the key provider in severe cases or cases that have complexity attached to them. That is one of the reasons, when coming into government, we wanted the disability brief moved to a different Department in order to get a more coherent and holistic approach to the issue of disability. It has taken too long given all the transfers that have happened. I do not want to place blame left, right or centre, but with everything the HSE is responsible for, this is an area that h…

First of all, I have not had time yet to go through the full report of the DPC. However, the DPC contacted the Department of Health in March 2021 following the airing of the "RTÉ Investigates" programme to notify the Department that the DPC was commencing an investigation on foot of the allegations regarding data processing raised in the programme. I am informed that the DPC did not find evidence on the 29 litigation files examined that the Department had proactively sought information from other Departments or co-…

I will examine this fully and more comprehensively.

This was the Department's position.

The local authorities should get on with it. Come on.

The Deputy should get on to Dublin City Council and Dublin county councils.

Dublin, apparently, having said all of that, recorded the lowest vacancy rate national of 1% in the latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report in June 2023. Local authorities need to be very proactive in utilising the powers that are already there in respect of dereliction and derelict sites. They need to be more proactive in implementing and enforcing the legislation.

Central government has provided significant funding and significant grants for people to refurbish and bring back to life derelict houses or buildings, and also vacant ones. There are very substantial grants for individuals, families or young couples in towns around the country under this scheme, which is a good initiative. On the Derelict Sites Act, there is an obligation-----

The Deputy will say to me some day there is too much centralisation in the country-----