No.

The supports are there. There are issues, and I do not doubt what the Deputy has raised, but there is a problem with whoever is organising stuff there.

Let me please answer the question. Every university now has very strong disability supports. They are very strong and funding is provided to the universities and third level colleges for services for students who are visually impaired and right across the board, including technological services, to enable people with disabilities to access education. The Deputy raised the matter of a specific individual and he can bring me the details.

That young person, if in a position to do so, should complete the leaving certificate, perhaps through the DARE or HEAR programmes. There are two programmes that will facilitate access to college and the backup supports in the relevant third level college. That support is there and I do not understand why the pathway has not been outlined to this young person. I will take this up with the Deputy afterwards. The Deputy also raised the issue of a younger child. No child should be standing alone in the yard in any pri…

To be fair, the Deputy has acknowledged the significant move in including illness benefit in the Christmas bonus. That was on top of a whole range of additional payments that have been made since the summer and since autumn began, right through to Christmas with the cost-of-living package. Of course, once we make additional moves the call is to go further again and further again. It is all within a very substantial envelope of more than €11 billion. It is, however, an issue we will keep under review. The Deputy has…

All of our thoughts are with Alejandro and his family and friends following the horrific ordeal for that young child. It is quite shocking and all of us are very disturbed by what has transpired here. There is also a degree of anger. I do not understand why there is a need to own such dangerous breeds. I think that we should go back to the drawing board. I do not have the full panoply of legislation in front of me but we do need to go back to the drawing board. What has happened is one child too many. We all have p…

As I understand it, the HSE is endeavouring to get an interim GP in place-----

The Deputy asked the question. If he has got one so what is the problem and why did he raise this? It is my view that the HSE should sort this out. That is its job. I cannot sort out every appointment in the entire HSE. It employs hundreds of thousands of people.

It is my understanding - Deputy O'Sullivan's understanding is like the Deputy's, and others have said it also - that an interim GP is what they want. It should also advertise. The Deputy is saying this but it has not happened yet. It should advertise and appoint somebody. I will follow it up with the Minister for Health and with the HSE.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill was published in August. The Government asked the Minister for Justice for more information on the potential inclusion of facial recognition technology, FRT, by means of amendments on Committee Stage. A report has been prepared for the Cabinet and will be published in the near future. The proposal to provide for An Garda Síochána's use of FRT is in line with the proposals contained in the report of the Commission on the Future o…

In recent years there has been a substantial increase in resources for recruitment of gardaí. That will continue. I accept that there are challenges, particularly in the context of antisocial behaviour and in rural Ireland. We want to strengthen and support An Garda Síochána. Funding for 1,000 gardaí to be recruited next year was provided in the budget. I am informed by the Garda authorities that, at the end of August of this year, there were 14,283 Garda members, supported by more than 3,117 Garda staff. That is a…

I will have that examined, but I am not familiar with the details of what the Deputy has just said. The opening is very good news. It is a very good development. The bypass has been long awaited and will be of significance to Kerry as well as to Cork and to all who travel on that route. We will engage with the county council and TII in respect of the Deputy's suggestion.

The authorities are pursuing this matter. It was because of the local authority, in this case DCC, enforcing the legislation on fire safety that action has been taken to protect those who were in that unacceptable accommodation.

The consequences are in the legislation, but it is a matter for the council to pursue that. I am not going to prejudice any potential case that may arise.

The Deputy said that SIPTU are or had been engaging but that it has now called a strike. We hope the existing industrial relations mechanisms can be deployed to resolve the issues in Bantry. I did not fully pick up what the Deputy is asking the Government to do in the case of-----

I will engage with the Deputy later on the matter.

The Deputy will be glad to know I raised and discussed this issue last week with President Macron, who is acutely aware of the needs of the west of Ireland. To be fair, Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, has raised this issue with us also in the context of an all-island approach to a Tour de France event. An all-island focus would be particularly important. We are working on with Northern Ireland political representatives, the UK Government and the French Government to see if we could put--…

I will say no more. I was going to be a bit humorous. They want an eventful trip, certainly. I will not get into precise routes. I will defer to the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, in that respect.

In response to Deputy Daly, I mentioned the significant increase in Garda numbers since 2015 and that funding had been put aside to recruit a further 1,000 gardaí in the 2023 budget. That impacts on the pilot schemes Deputy Daly wants extended, particularly the relationship with mental health, dealing with mental health call-outs and so on. The overall aim of the Government is to increase significantly the number of gardaí in order that the Commissioner can operationally deploy them in accordance with his prioritie…

This Parliament is the last bastion of democracy and free speech. The Deputies opposite feel free to make all sorts of assertions and allegations against Government Members on a consistent basis, whether we are puppets of oil and gas or of NATO, which is a constant assertion of Deputy Murphy and others. I will always retain the right to speak freely in this House. The far left does not get the right to frame the narrative in this Chamber. I will not withdraw it.