There is significant investment in third level education by the Government. Participation rates continue to increase. We have perhaps one of the highest participation rates in third level education across the European Union and we have one of the highest completion rates for second level. The first priority has to be to make sure that our third level institutions have adequate core funding to ensure a quality education for all those who access third level. There is a gap there, which was shown in the recent report …

To be fair to Deputy Bacik, she decided to prioritise this issue for Leaders’ Questions. I thought I had dealt with it comprehensively at that point. Deputy McDonald is wrong to put words in my mouth, as she sought to do. I have not apportioned culpability to anybody. However, I stand over what I said earlier. There has to be a collective obligation in terms of accepting children with special needs into all schools. The Minister will be meeting with the Milne family on Thursday. It is not a question of resources. I…

I have no issue with resourcing the Passport Office in Cork even more.

There has always been great capacity in Donegal in respect of these issues.

He was almost legendary. The debate will be organised next week. That was agreed yesterday with the leader of the Labour Party.

The issue is that the Housing for All strategy includes an action for the Department of Finance to collect data on vacancy with a view to introducing a vacant property tax. That has been our position. As the Deputy knows, local property tax, LPT, returns include questions such as whether a property is vacant and the reason for the vacancy if the period of vacancy exceeds 12 months. The aim was to provide an indicative profile of vacant residential properties which will help to inform policy. Revenue has completed p…

I dealt with this on Leaders’ Questions when it was raised by Deputy Paul Murphy. As I said, there were talks yesterday at the Workplace Relations Commission. I hope that those talks will continue in order that we might get a resolution to the outstanding issues.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Government approved the microgeneration support scheme in December of last year. This scheme provides supports for up to 380 MW of microgeneration by 2030. To facilitate export from microgenerators, on 15 February the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications signed regulations to transpose Articles 21 and 22 of the recast renewable energy directive. These regulations place an obligation on suppliers to offer the clean export guarantee, CEG, tariff to ne…

The Deputy has raised an issue from 20 years ago and given a perspective on it. I am not in a position-----

-----here and now to confirm whether Dr. Holohan was the person who allegedly stopped that review.

The Minister made the point yesterday that there have been nine extensions in recent years. There has to some framework governing the issuing of visas and the expiry dates relating to them. Nine is a fairly significant number of extensions. I will discuss the matter again with the Minister.

It has been agreed that there will be a debate on the Passport Office next Thursday.

Yes. As I said yesterday, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of passport applications compared with last year. There will be a debate next Thursday.

I appreciate the points raised by Deputy Bruton. We are running out of time. The planet is set for significant changes, and the Cabinet sub-committee has been briefed by experts to the effect that our children's children will bear the brunt of this. There will be an onus on all of us. The Deputy is correct in what he says. The carbon budgets were approved by the Houses on 6 April. The Minister and the Department are working with all other Departments, including the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, T…

The Irish Government has consistently raised this issue at the EU and the UN Security Council. Everybody in the House should raise the issue with those who have influence over Israel. There is increasingly institutionalised discrimination within the West Bank and the occupied territories. That is not acceptable. I hope Sinn Féin would do likewise when it meets representatives in the United States, for example. I hope it has been as strong as it is here in the context of the Palestinian question when it meets Member…

I will engage with the Minister on this issue. We will ask what the delay is with the publication of the review team report. It would seem to me that what happened was not in conformity with established protocols and decisions that had been taken a long time ago arising out of a State inquiry into the disposal of organs of deceased babies. I will engage with the Minister and come back to the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue with me. We are considering the United Kingdom Government's published proposals in detail. I have no doubt that we will have a very comprehensive range of issues to raise and questions to ask. There is also a broader question of process. It has been our consistent position - I have communicated this to the British Prime Minister - that the basis for progress on legacy issues is the Stormont House Agreement that was reached between the two Governments and poli…

The situation facing women in Afghanistan is truly appalling. The vista ahead of them is an appalling one. Notwithstanding criticism from some in the House about western engagement with Afghanistan over the past 20 years or so, one of the benefits that arose was the liberation of women to a certain extent particularly with access to education and schools. The Taliban is back in charge with its very regressive views on women in general and women's access to education. I ask the Deputy to provide the details and the …

The legislation is at heads of Bill stage.

I take the point the Deputy has raised. There are issues. There have been some adjustments in respect of some members of the Defence Forces. The Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces was established by the Government to undertake a comprehensive examination of all issues relating to our Defence Forces. That independent commission has reported. It was established within the first six months. There was widespread consultation and nearly 500 public submissions. It conducted site visits to a large number of mi…