-----which merits mentioning.

In the context of the budget, income thresholds in respect of the fuel allowance will certainly be looked at. We are very conscious of the constraints from an income threshold perspective.

We can thank Deputy Ó Cuív, the Minister who brought in the rural social scheme, which has proven to be a very effective scheme across rural Ireland. The Government is aware of the issues the Deputy has raised and has, in fact, reviewed this scheme and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, will make an announcement on this shortly. We will be responsive to the needs and supportive of the organisations on the ground that depend on the rural social scheme. I do not envisage 1,400 people being laid off from the scheme.

To be fair, there has been exhaustive and ongoing consultation with representatives of those who have houses affected by mica. The Government has provided very substantial resources, now amounting to billions, to deal with this over a prolonged period of time. There has been a lot of engagement and it is not correct to say that there has not been engagement. In fact, many people are looking for a faster response from the Government on getting houses either repaired or demolished and rebuilt. A balance must always b…

In response to both Deputies, I had a successful trip to Kerry recently and the announcement of 300 jobs in Tralee was well received. By the way, the work done by Kerry County Council on the pavements in Tralee is fantastic, including the pedestrianisation. The money allocated through the urban regeneration and development fund has been well spent by the council. I then went to Killarney where there are also big plans to enhance Killarney even further, if that is possible.

I did not make it to Kilgarvan, a Cheann Comhairle. I will talk to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage about Irish Water. I hope to meet Irish Water myself at some stage to discuss the water treatment plants. I acknowledge the pressure on University Hospital Kerry, as on all hospitals. The impact of Covid-19 is very serious still and is causing significant disruption. We have not really got over the full impacts of Covid.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together. The well-being framework is a programme for Government commitment to measure how we are doing overall as a country and a nation and to improve our understanding of quality of life in Ireland. It does so by bringing economic, societal and environmental impacts together under one framework. It also places a particular focus on equality and sustaining well-being into the future. The Government published a second report on Ireland's well-being framework earl…

Mick Lynch’s father is a Corkman. No doubt that sense of fair play and value system emanates from that Cork influence. He supports Cork City football club to the present day. Just to let Deputy Barry know as well that my late father was a founder of the National Busmen's Union, so I know a thing or two about transport strikes, particularly growing up as a child. I am watching with interest what is transpiring overseas. On the more fundamental issue of well-being, we should welcome the introduction of a well-being f…

Housing does not come across and there is a reason for it. The dashboard goes through the issues on housing. The indicators state Ireland comes out relatively well in terms of trend over time and international comparisons, but this has to be put in the context of data availability and demand. It is far more nuanced. New dwelling completions have been increasing consistently over the past seven years and they will increase substantially again, but we need to be closer to 33,000 units a year. One of the big issues in…

We need to deal with other issues in terms of fast-tracking and getting accommodation in place in any way we possibly can.

I had no time to answer.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 18, inclusive, together. Following his re-election as President of France, I wrote to President Macron to offer him my warmest congratulations. I also had the opportunity to congratulate him in person when we met at the special meeting of the European Council in Brussels on 30 and 31 May. That meeting began with a video call with President Zelenskyy. We then went on to agree financial support for humanitarian, liquidity and reconstruction needs in Ukraine as well as a sixth pac…

The Deputy's anti-Europeanism is shocking, as is his consistent anti-EU position. He always seeks to undermine the Union, despite the fact that the Union, of any actor in the world, is the most humanitarian. It contributes most-----

-----on humanitarian issues to the neighbourhood and all it gets is attack, attack, attack.

Deputy Murphy has consistently attacked Europe; he does not consistently attack Russia.

He does not consistently attack-----

The Deputy does not.

The Deputy always uses the opportunity to attack the European Union-----

-----whether it is on vaccines, helping Ukraine or migration.

Of all the actors in the world, if one goes through any of the data and analyses them objectively, the EU does more than any other in trying to look after and provide for people. That is the reality of what is happening. With regard to Deputy Smith's point-----