That is not true.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. If I am not mistaken, I think that was an initiative taken by Senator Mark Daly at the time. It very much came from both Houses. We need to examine the implementation and commencement of all sections of that Act. I will follow that up with the relevant Departments.

I thank the Deputy for raising that issue. I will certainly engage with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in respect of it. There have been an ongoing wide variety of supports under the Common Agricultural Policy more generally, but I will engage with him on the issue of targeted supports. Obviously, there are cyclical aspects to the industry and to different sectors within the industry. I will make the Minister aware of the issues the Deputy raised.

The Government is very conscious of the need to expand the numbers in An Garda Síochána. We have provided funding for 1,000 new gardaí this year and we are seeing more Garda recruits enter Templemore every 11 weeks. The Garda Commissioner, obviously, is responsible for the deployment of gardaí operationally and the Minister for Justice engages regularly with him to monitor resources in any given area and to deliver on the target. The total number who completed or began training last year was almost 500, and a furth…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I joined him in Youghal recently, where we visited a number of schools and the family resource centre organisation regarding a location for Youghal. A permanent base has been sought and we will work with Cork education and training board, ETB, to see whether a solution can be found. I pay tribute to all the schools for their generosity and warm welcome for Ukrainian children in substantial and significant numbers. The warmth of the welcome was something to behold, as was th…

First, the Government has not ignored any representatives or group within the fishing industry, and we have been working extremely hard on the Brexit issue and the adjustment reserve fund, for example, to provide supports as a result of the very negative consequences of Brexit on our fisheries, which was beyond the Government's control. Britain decided to leave, with very negative consequences for our fisheries. Bilateral consultations are going on between the European Union and Norway and our interests in those ne…

I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Smith, who has a long-standing commitment to peace on the island. In his work as a public representative over many years he has been a significant contributor to peace on the island, particularly in the Border region, so I know his comments are heartfelt. We were all very shocked at the callous and depraved manner of yesterday's attack, which injures society as a whole within Northern Ireland and on this island. Our thoughts are with the PSNI in general now as a result of this att…

The Deputy has had a consistent position and has raised this consistently in the House. As he says, there is legislation in the other House, which is subject to the rules and procedures in that House. Certainly I think everybody will be anxious to progress that legislation as quickly as possible. I will relate to and discuss with the Minister for Justice the Deputy's other comments in respect of general principles that are currently governing family law cases.

I appreciate the comments the Deputy has made. I will revert to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and to Government more generally. There is a need to review the planning framework earlier than perhaps was originally intended because of significant growth in population and to evaluate what has happened in recent years. We need that constant evaluation so we can inform future policy.

I do not have the exact timeline here for the Deputy but I will revert to the Minister and seek to get a timeline for the Deputy in respect of that proposed legislation.

The Minister is very conscious of that particular issue, and in quite a number of schemes some provision is made for four-bedroom houses in respect of larger families. In this era, housing is provided in a range of sizes, smaller houses for smaller families and for individuals living on their own and so forth. The full range should be provided. As we build up the schemes and get more critical mass in house-building - we built 30,000 houses last year - we will be endeavouring to make provision for the particular gro…

No.

This Friday we will mark one year since Russia commenced a full-scale illegal and immoral invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine. That invasion was unprovoked, unlawful and unjustified. That invasion was the choice of one man seeking to impose his distorted vision on the people of Ukraine. The people of Ukraine have made clear in their response and in their defence of their nation that they reject this vision. In the last year we have seen horrific death and destruction unleashed by Russia's illegal and unjustified war…

Ar dtús báire, ní aontaím leis an Teachta ó thaobh an mhéid tacaíochta atá tugtha ag an Rialtas do mhuintir na tíre seo, go háirithe don dream atá ar ioncam íseal. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil suas le €8 billiún curtha ar fáil ag an Rialtas ó thús 2022 chun cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt do chosmhuintir na tíre seo i gcomhthéacs an ghéarchéim costas maireachtála. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil agus, go háirithe i rith an gheimhridh, go raibh géarchéim uafásach ann. Rinne an Rialtas cinneadh dearfach cabhair agus …

-----with regard to scale and range-----

-----and breadth of proposals.

The point I will make is that, from the beginning of 2022, more than €8 billion has been allocated to specific tax and expenditure measures to try to help people. We are going through a cost-of-living crisis. There were initial inflationary pressures coming out of Covid because of supply chain issues. Everyone accepts that these pressures were very much exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis that unfolded. The Government took very significant decisions on that basis. In fact, the ESRI has found tha…

Under our leadership, we are bringing in free primary schoolbooks for all children next September and we have waived examination fees. We had a once-off reduction at third level in this academic year of €1,000-----

-----and there will be a €400 to €500 reduction next September. We have increased Student Universal Support Ireland maintenance grants, with a once-off double monthly payment before Christmas. We have had a 20% public transport fare reduction.

I am answering the Deputy's question.