First, as I discussed earlier, the Government did take measures in the budget to try to protect people from increasing prices. If we look at the core payments alone in social protection, the increase in core payments, child support payments and the fuel allowance, we are looking at about €2,300 additionally provided out of the budget to a two-adult household, or indeed €1,800 to a lone-parent family. People are definitely, without question, under pressure and we are going to do everything we can to try to continue,…

-----and for agriculture, fishers and farmers. In terms of the ESB, it obviously continues to invest in our energy system and so on but we will see what we can do. We can take back a dividend from the ESB and so on. It is open to Government to do that.

To be fair to Government, we have invested hugely in teaching and the teacher training colleges. Numbers have increased exponentially over the past number of years in teaching in Ireland. I understand the issue in terms of returning and not receiving incremental credit. On the other hand, the issue needs to be examined more but we do not want to create scenarios where we incentivise too many leaving the system immediately. In education, we have, had a stronger position historically than we have had in health in ter…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. These are very significant centres and they do great work. About €3.5 million in recurrent funding is provided to about ten care homes in the south-east supported care homes. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, enhanced that in 2024 with a €1.7 million increase in recurrent funding. A lot of work has been done in respect of it. We acknowledge the very significant role they play and, in fact, the role model they also represent in terms of different stages of care that peo…

I would not be here if I was out of touch.

I would not be here as long as the Deputy suggested if I was out of touch.

I ask the Deputy to please not be so arrogant and patronising-----

-----and almost presenting the idea that she is the only person - or Sinn Féin Deputies are the only people - who have a monopoly on empathy and compassion.

All of my life, I have been in touch with people.

I understand the pressures that are on people. I do not need the Deputy's lectures in that regard.

I thank the Deputy for raising that. That is an innovative approach and it is positive to develop a bus-tracking system. The Deputy is saying that not only should it be applied to Bus Éireann but to Go Ahead Ireland as well. I will speak to the Minister to ascertain from him the background to this and how it is going to evolve. I presume that, in the fullness of time, it will have to apply to all providers.

The Deputy will have to acknowledge that a very substantial part of those reforms was about protecting tenants. That should at least be acknowledged. I will speak to the Minister in respect of this practice, which was not intended in any shape or form, to see how we can deal with that.

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. I know he will have a particular focus on Portlaoise as well as it is in his constituency. We do have a challenge with overcrowding in our prisons. There is very significant and good work going on in the areas of rehabilitation and youth justice programmes aimed at keeping people out of prison but the fact remains that some crimes must attract a prison sentence and some criminals need to go to jail. The Government and the Minister are acutely aware of t…

I will discuss this matter with the Minister for housing. I do not have the specifics in respect of the latest decision on the Oliver Bond complex. I will revert when I discuss it with the Minister.

Over the years there has been significant expansion of bus services. I will have to talk to the Minister. There could be a resourcing issue. There are set budgets for all Departments. That was agreed at budget time in terms of the degree of expansion that could be entered into across the board. I will check what the position is in terms of the 132 bus service and the 199.

I think Deputy Malcolm Byrne would have been on about this as well as the Deputy. It is in Gorey. I do appreciate the work the Gaelscoil did in facilitating the location of the special school there. I certainly will talk to the Minister for education and see how we can progress this further. The Deputy is saying that the amenities and playing pitches the Gaelscoil has been enjoying are now under pressure because of the expansion of the special school. I presume there are plans afoot to provide a permanent premises …

Covid was an emergency. Before we got vaccination, people were dying and the fundamental objective of Government was to protect life and then to protect livelihoods. That was it, and all the stops had to be pulled out to enable us to do that.

I do not accept that five years on the Deputy can casually, at such remove, make such statements as he just made. If we did not get vaccination, and I presume the Deputy supports vaccination, we would have been in deep trouble and continuing trouble as a country, and more and more lives would have been lost.

First, I join the Ceann Comhairle in welcoming the Polish community in the Gallery in celebrating their constitution day. I pay tribute to Deputy Malcolm Byrne, in particular, who is the convenor of the Irish Polish parliamentary group. I welcome the ambassador to-be Mr. Artur Michalski to the House. I fully reject the Deputy’s analysis of the situation. The first point I would make is that yet again she is ignoring that fact that we are facing a major dislocation of oil supply and disruption because of a war in th…

Since the war broke out, the Deputy keeps pretending it has not happened.