I know, but I do not have the details to hand today. Regarding the issue raised by Deputy Dillon, we can look at that. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, can look at it. Six years was originally a concession at the time. I would have been involved in introducing it under the job initiative and the community employment scheme. We can look at that. Regarding the issue raised by Deputy Andrews, my understanding - I might be wrong - is that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and…

Is mór an onóir domsa é, mar Thaoiseach, a bheith in ann m'ómós agus ómós mo pháirtí a chur in iúl maidir le Austin Currie. Níl aon amhras ann ach gur fear agus polaiteoir den scoth a bhí ann. D’oibrigh sé go dian dícheallach, Domhnach is dálach, ar son muintir na tíre, sa Tuaisceart agus sa Deisceart araon. Caithfimid machnamh a dhéanamh ar an dlúth-ról a bhí ag Austin Currie i ngluaiseacht cearta sibhialta an Tuaiscirt. Bhí léargas faoi leith aige ar an oileán iomlán agus bhí tuiscint faoi leith aige ar gach gné …

Beidh cruinniú Comhairle na hEorpa ar siúl an tseachtain seo, ar an 23 agus 24 Meitheamh agus beidh cruinniú an euro summit ann ag an am céanna. An t-ábhar is tábhachtaí ná an t-iarratas ón Úcráin chun a bheith mar bhall den Aontas Eorpach. Tá gach aon dealramh ar an scéal anois go dtarlóidh sé sin ag an gcruinniú roimh dheireadh na seachtaine. Tá gach éinne aontaithe faoin aidhm sin, sé sin, go mbeadh treo dearfach ag an Úcráin chun a bheith mar bhall den Aontas Eorpach. The European Council will meet in Brussels …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The publication of this legislation yesterday by the British Government and the contributions of various British Government Ministers who have attempted to justify it have amounted to a profoundly dispiriting moment. I was in government when the Good Friday Agreement was sanctioned by our Government. I was there during the early stages of the Good Friday Agreement and I was a Member of this House before the Good Friday Agreement. Reflecting on the transformation of the Bri…

Cothaíonn an cinneadh atá déanta ag Rialtas na Breataine easpa muiníne sa Rialtas sin ar fud na hEorpa agus i measc cheannairí na hEorpa. De réir dealraimh, is é an bunteachtaireacht atá ann anois ná go bhfuil sé chun an conradh seo a chur ar leataobh. Fundamentally, and it is with regret I say this, I get the sense that the current British Government does not fully get the Good Friday Agreement or does not understand the DNA of the agreement and what it really means in terms of its own involvement and the co-guara…

I repeat that it is our long-standing, consistent view that it is only by substantive negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom Government that these issues can be resolved.

I appreciate the Deputy's comments and the sense of unity across the House in relation to this assault on an international agreement. Fundamentally, that is what is potentially being considered by the British Government. It is producing legislation which represents a breach of an international agreement it freely entered into. The British Prime Minister advocated this protocol and trade agreement to the British Parliament. It was ratified by the British Parliament and accepted. Flowing from that then is the whole i…

I appreciate the comments and position adopted by the Deputy in respect of this issue. That is important, and it is important that at European Union level that all of our respective groupings within the European Parliament are apprised of this and briefed on the up-to-date position and on the feeling on the ground in Northern Ireland in respect of the operation of the protocol for the vast majority of businesses and how advantageous it is for key sectors of the Northern Ireland economy, in particular on the FDI sid…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As it transpires, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is meeting with the CEO of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, Mr. Liam Sloyan, to discuss the issues the Deputy raised and the general issues that face nursing homes and their ongoing relationship with the NTPF. The nursing home representative bodies are also in discussions more generally. The Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 is the overall template that governs funding to support people access…

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has met with Nursing Homes Ireland, NHI, the representative body, and continues to do so. At the moment the Government is allocating approximately €1 billion for the care of approximately 22,000 residents on an annual basis. The Exchequer contribution as we speak is quite significant and will obviously grow in terms of demographics and of the fact that we are ageing and living for longer as a people, which is in itself a good thing. It will also, however, create pressures. Ther…

I thank the Deputy for raising the cost of living. There is no doubt that Putin's war on Ukraine has pushed inflation worldwide to its highest level ever. That is the reality. It is affecting prices of imports of energy, food and other commodities. The Government is acutely aware of the enormous pressures on people arising from this round of inflation, which has been imported as a result of Putin's war. There is no getting away from that. That is the hard reality. In the first instance, we need to do what we can to…

We have also decreased the excise duty on petrol, diesel and green diesel, saving motorists between €9 and €12 each time they fill their tank. Public transport fares are now down 20% and 50% for young people. We have changed health costs for people with changes to the drugs payment scheme threshold. In education, we took measures on examination fees. We reduced VAT from 13.5% to 9% on gas and electricity bills and we also gave a €200 energy credit to every household. We cut the annual PSO levy by €58 to zero by Oct…

Right across all areas we will move to help people.

I remind the Deputy that he is criticising me for facilitating the Green Party and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to come into Government. If I recall, at the time, there was no one more relieved than Deputy Healy-Rae that we formed a Government. His only exhortation to me was that it would go the full five years and not four years.

What the Minister, Deputy Ryan, is saying, as the Deputy knows well-----

-----is that the social welfare system is there for anybody who is in genuine hardship to go to seek assistance. That is well known. That is what the Minister, Deputy Ryan, was referring to. It is wrong to take his words out of context and endeavour to undermine a Minister of integrity. The Deputy may not agree with the Minister's ideas and he has been in denial of climate change and a whole load of things, without question.

The bottom line is that people are under pressure. There is no doubt about that. It has been caused by Putin's war. There is no doubt about that.

What happened at the European Council was a European-wide decision. We are not dependent on Russian oil and gas imports. Other countries are and they took much more difficult decisions that we did. We cannot condone the war. I hope the Deputy is not saying we should take no action against Russia. We must keep pressure on Putin's regime to stop this war. We cannot just look after ourselves all of the time. The attitude the Deputy seems to have articulated today is mé féin first and to hell with the people of Ukraine…

The European Union has correctly decided to put sanctions on the importation of Russian gas and oil. Our task is to alleviate pressure on people in this country. The forthcoming budget will give us an opportunity to do that in a strategic way that does not lead to runaway inflation again. We cannot go back to the 1970s and cause second-round and third-round inflationary impacts. If we were to follow the Deputy's advice every month-----

-----we would do exactly that.