I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 11 to 18, inclusive, together. The national risk assessment has been prepared since 2014 and provides an opportunity to identify and discuss significant risks which may arise for Ireland. The national risk assessment 2021-22 was published last December. The experience of recent years has brought home the importance of work in the area of risk management and preparedness. By promoting an open and inclusive discussion on the major risks facing the country, the national risk asse…

Deputy McDonald raised the issue of poverty, and Social Justice Ireland also raised the same point. Overall, the national risk assessment deals with strategic risks facing the country from external sources, including hybrid threats, terrorism, armed conflict and war. These were identified for the period 2021 to 2022. Risks referred to include the rise of a multipolar world; the future direction of the European Union; Ireland’s relationship, after Brexit, with the United Kingdom; and armed conflict, terrorism and hy…

A consultant's report should be sufficient or a GP should be able to give a confirmation in those circumstances. It seems to me that certain local authorities might have different approaches. The Deputy said a man had been moved seven times over the past nine years.

We have to build more social houses, and we are building them. We are getting far more social houses built now, but there is room for local authorities to house people with medical conditions of that kind. Particularly in the situation the Deputy outlined, one would have thought a solution would be found by now for that individual.

I will do so. Deputy Murphy raised an issue in respect of adult education tutors. My understanding is that this would come under the remit of the education and training boards and it would take responsibility for it. The issue must ultimately be determined through the labour relations procedures and processes we have. Deputy Bríd Smith raised the issue of tenants in Liberty Lane and the more general issue of landlords who are reckless. There is legislation dealing with those issues. Dublin City Council has moved to…

As I said, I am not going to prejudice the outcome of anything that may ensue here.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 to 29, inclusive, together. The Covid-19 and health unit of my Department supports me and the Government in developing and implementing health policy and related matters and co-ordinating the Government's response to Covid-19. This includes supporting the work of the Cabinet committee on health, the Cabinet committee on Covid-19 and the associated supporting senior officials groups and structures. In addition, the unit provides me with speech and briefing material on health matte…

Deputy McDonald raised the issue of the long Covid clinic at the Mater. I do not have the reasons here but the Deputy is suggesting it is closing. I will make inquiries with the HSE on what is happening there and what the background to the situation is. In the notes I received earlier, the indication was that this clinic is still operating. On the transfer, I have spoken to the relevant Ministers and Ministers of State and my understanding is we can bring that to conclusion relatively quickly with the transfer of d…

I note what Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan says. It does not augur well if people are coming in knowing the solution to the problem they raise. What he is saying is that he clearly has it in writing that the HSE has already organised interim GP arrangements for the catchment area. Deputy Gould raised it earlier. I thought the implication was that it had not but it is clear now that it has. All Deputies have been informed of that. That is progress. I appreciate Deputy O'Sullivan alerting me to that. I will examine the is…

I will follow that up with the Minister for Health and come back to Deputy Tóibín on it. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of student nurses. Again, the €1,000 has been paid to healthcare staff.

My understanding is that it has been allocated by the HSE, which stated that all healthcare staff have been paid. I do not know the specifics of the case. If the person was working in the service in the past two years, albeit as a student, my understanding is that the payment would have applied to her. Again, the degree programme-----

-----involves placement. That is part of the programme, which I launched in 2003 when we moved from an apprenticeship model to a degree programme. It has been transformative in terms of the nursing profession more generally.

I do not think we will be able to give the full time to the next set of questions. Deputy Bríd Smith raised the trolley crisis and bed capacity. We have improved bed capacity by close to 1,000 beds in the past two years, which is quite significant in itself, but we need to expand more. Post Covid, we have increased ICU beds and critical care beds significantly. Recruitment is the big issue within the HSE.

We are recruiting more people – nurses and doctors.

The number of nurses has gone up significantly in the past two to three years.

Deputy Paul Murphy raised a health-led approach to drug addiction, which I do support. I have not examined Deputy Gino Kenny's Bill in detail, but the relevant Minister will, and the Minister will then come back to the Government in respect of a recommendation on it. The broader point is that from a healthcare perspective, treatment and treating addiction is a core issue for those who are addicted to drugs more generally. We must acknowledge that drugs do cause harm. We cannot resile from that either. We must exami…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 to 36, inclusive, together. On 10 November, I welcomed a delegation from the US House of Representatives for a courtesy meeting at Government Buildings. The delegation was led by Congressman Bill Keating, a member of the Congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus and chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber. Congressman Keating was accompanied by Congressman Brian Higgins and Congressman Juan Vargas, all recently re-elected members…

The context of the meeting, for all Deputies, related very much to Northern Ireland, the Brexit issue and the protocol, and their commitment to underpinning the Good Friday Agreement and making sure that the United Kingdom gets an understanding from us and also from politicians in Northern Ireland as to the issues relating to the protocol itself. We never lose the need to continue to raise those issues. Deputy Brendan Smith raised the issue concerning the undocumented Irish in the United States. We have been close …

Yes. We have been very forthright with all interlocutors on the UN Security Council. António Guterres stopped me two years ago and thanked me for Ireland's role on the UN Security Council regarding Palestine. We are known internationally for always raising the issue of Palestinians on the international stage. I have been consistent in my condemnation of any attacks on Palestinians and particularly the killing of innocent Palestinians, and likewise the killings and attacks in Jerusalem and the attacks on civilians i…

In respect of Deputy Paul Murphy, I again make the point that he and others have constantly made all sorts of allegations and assertions against me and against others in the Government and he seems to have no issue with them at all. In the context of debate within the Chamber, it is important we do not try to suppress debate-----