If the Deputy could send me the details of the particular shortages and the location, I will follow it up with the Minister for Health. Obviously, public health nurses in the area of early childhood development are important. I will talk to the Minister about the points the Deputy has raised. He should feel free to send me some specifics on the matter. I will follow up of them.

Yes. As I said earlier today, the HSE did send a team to Limerick. It has had some impact. It illustrates the importance of governance, management, patient flow and all of that. This issue has been featuring for quite some time. The Government has accelerated what was being planned for Galway and Cork, in particular, in terms of elective units. In the past six months, in particular, Deputy O'Dea and others have brought forward the idea of an elective hospital for Limerick. I support this but what concerns me is the…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, together. The measures announced in the budget last week will continue to strengthen our schools and third level institutions, help families, support students and children with special needs and improve the learning environment for all. I do not have a date for the next meeting of the committee but, obviously, I liaise regularly with the Ministers for Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. In line with our commitment in the p…

Deputy McDonald raised the issue of the OECD. GDP is not the correct metric. GNI* is a more appropriate metric given the particular composition of the Irish economy and the influence of foreign direct investment, FDI. In the OECD Programme for International Student Assessments, PISA, the Irish education system stands up pretty well in respect of literacy, numeracy and so forth, but we need to continue to develop. That is why we will have a record number of new school buildings and extensions completed this year and…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 to 14, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment first met on 8 July 2020. It has met on a total of 21 occasions, most recently yesterday, 3 October. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled. Membership of the committee comprises the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Employment and Trade, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, and Transport, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Public Expenditu…

Deputy McDonald raised the issue of Wind Energy Ireland. There is no question but that the next ten years will be an exciting ten years in respect of offshore wind development, and it is very important that we do that in a managed and controlled way. The Minister has already issued consents for the first seven wind farms and there is an auction to happen later in the year. That process is under way. The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, the new agency under the maritime legislation, has been established and…

Does the Deputy want us to abolish all of the local authorities?

In a situation where somebody is in a HAP or RAS tenancy, they should not be evicted and the council should buy the house. That facility is now there and the Minister has made that clear to the councils. However, the Minister cannot make every operational decision in respect of every housing unit in every local authority area across the country. On another day, people in this House routinely condemn central government for overreach into local authority decision-making. The principle is that we want to stop or reduc…

A circular has issued from the Minister.

In response to Deputy Conway-Walsh, the EU is not broken. I disagree with her assertion.

The Deputy mentioned the European Union in terms of the energy security meeting and the windfall tax. We are committed to a windfall tax. The Energy Council last week agreed an approach to a windfall tax and a solidarity tax from fossil fuel producers and a windfall tax from wind generation. The Deputy referenced the ESB. We own the ESB. The State owns the ESB so the facility is there for the State to take a bigger dividend from the ESB in respect of any windfall profits that are made on the back of the crisis. Not…

Apologies. The Government is going to examine that matter. It did not feature in social protection because it comes under Tusla, but the Government will examine that situation.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 27, inclusive, together. First, as Taoiseach I want to put on record my sincere condolences on behalf of the Government of Ireland to the British people on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Il. I have met Prime Minister Liz Truss MP on two occasions since her appointment on 6 September. We also spoke by phone. I had a good call with the Prime Minister on 9 September. During that call, I offered my sincere condolences to her and to the British people on the passing of …

But they are not.

Deputy Griffin raised the issue of the protocol. To answer in general all the Deputies who have raised issues in this regard, following my meetings with the British Prime Minister, and her meetings with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, there is a preference on all sides for a negotiated settlement. If negotiations commence, let us give them space. I do not think we should be using language such as "U-turns" or anything like that. We want a negotiated solution in the best interest of r…

We are not comparable. Our taxation system is one of the most progressive in Europe. Those who earn the most in Ireland pay the most in income tax. If the Deputy looks at the Department of Finance documents on that, he will readily see how the top levels pay by far the vast amount of income tax in this country.

I dealt with Deputy Ó Murchú's question on the shared dialogue issues. I am not discussing domestic economic policies other than to say, obviously, in terms of us being so close to the British market, it has a great deal of significance for companies in Ireland. Deputy Bacik raised the protocol. I have dealt with that in respect of the broader question of a negotiated solution. On strengthening links, we talk to all political representatives in Britain, including the British Labour Party. I have met with the leader…

Since the Government came into office just over two years ago, we have demonstrated our absolute commitment to do whatever is necessary to protect Ireland's society and economy. That was clear during the pandemic, when we put in place unprecedented supports for people and for employers to keep jobs intact. That is what happened yesterday with the presentations by the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Donohoe. The budget needs to be looked at in its entirety. Due to the extraordinary efforts of the Irish peopl…

The other key point on rent is that Sinn Féin's proposals would reduce the number of units available for let and the number of houses that would be available to rent every month.

Sinn Féin's proposals will drive more houses out of the rental market.