The number is probably higher now. I am speaking in particular about people in employment. Deputy Barry spoke about an employment regulation order. The Government has to act within the law. People are entitled to take out an injunction, whether or not we agree with them. In this case we do not agree with them but they are still entitled to take out an injunction. We do not say people will not get a contract if they take out an injunction against the State. That would be almost tantamount to the State entering into …

That would be a real slippery slope if it were to be applied in other situations and people could only get a contract from the State if they had to do what the State tells them in other areas.

That might be the authoritarian way of the-----

That is the kind of stuff the Kremlin gets involved in and other regimes.

I would not accuse the Deputy of being a fan of Stalin but that was the old collectivisation stuff of people doing as they were told. I do not agree with people taking out injunctions against the order in any event.

We do not support the injunction. We are against it.

To respond to Deputy Tóibín, huge funding has gone into childcare in the past two years. The idea it is on the precipice of collapse given the huge funding going in does not add up. There may be issues between providers and the State.

I will raise the matter with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and ask him to engage with Deputy Tóibín. To respond to Deputy Ó Murchú, we agree on bespoke models in respect of domestic heating. We are keeping the wider issue of supports for businesses and the protection of jobs under review.

I did not get that question.

I did not hear it. I apologise.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 to 25 together. The Cabinet committee on Brexit and Northern Ireland operates in accordance with established guidelines for Cabinet committees and, where appropriate, substantive issues are referred to Government for discussion and approval. The Cabinet committee oversees implementation of relevant programme for Government commitments in the area of Brexit and Northern Ireland and ongoing relevant developments. The committee was formally established by the Government on 6 July 20…

Who announced that?

It has not been announced by the British Government.

On the issue raised by Deputy Quinlivan, of course the British and Irish Governments are key in underpinning the Good Friday Agreement. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has been working with the new Secretary of State and engaging with the political parties on this. I met with political parties yesterday and I have met with the British Prime Minister about the restoration of the institutions. She was clear that there would be an election in line with the legislation as part of existing agreements. The political par…

The Alliance Party have been on this topic for about ten years, if not more.

To be fair to the Alliance Party members, they are right in terms of how they are being treated in the new situation in which they have 17 seats. It is a demonstration that the existing structures do not work, but that said, the existing structures are there under the electoral framework for which people voted. Therefore, the results must be vindicated. I do not think we can do reform before this Executive is formed. It should be formed under the existing framework and that would be the fair thing to do. In the ful…

There are serious issues here in that people voted in a certain way and you cannot change the will of the people. The people have voted and their votes should be reflected in the institutions. I would be very serious about that. What the Deputy is suggesting could have real implications that could be negative. Reforming systems is done best through proper engagement. The Deputy referred to a date that is not in anyone's-----

The Deputy was surmising through the electoral commission but he cannot make a declaration that the election will take place on 15 December. That may have been unintentional on his part but it might give the wrong impression to people. Deputy Brendan Smith made an important point and he was correct. All parties still believe in access to the Single Market, which is an important point. No one is saying to me that we want to get rid of or end access to the Single Market, because access to it is working for manufactur…

We have a State transport company.

I was honoured to be invited last week to address the National Bus and Rail Union annual conference, given that my father was a founding member of the union.