Yes, affordable. We are developing schemes to make houses more affordable. It is very challenging because of the fact there were 20,000 houses per year in 2020 and 2021. That is not going to make the inroads we need. That is why we have to get to 33,000 to 35,000 per annum, if not more. On the delivery side, and I know I annoy people when I say this, we need to get real in terms of delivering housing schemes much faster than we are. Everybody needs to get real. There is no point coming in here every week, having a …

We want to deliver houses much faster than currently is the case, and we need co-operation across the board to enable us to do that. On auto-enrolment, that is a comprehensive piece of work in which the Department of Social Protection and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, have been involved.

All I will say is that the fundamental rationale underpinning it is to give pension coverage to workers in our society that supplements the State pension and that will enable them to have a quality of life in their later years. That is it.

I appreciate the Deputy raising this issue. She referred to the transfer of disability policy and functions from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. That was a deliberate decision. In fact, before the last general election there was much commentary on disability services and there was a view that for the medium term it would be better if there was a more singular focus on disability by a new Department. The view was that within the enormity of the Dep…

I do not want to juxtapose in the mainstream the ongoing national provision of services for disabilities with the war in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine is devastating for the people of Ukraine. It has enormous implications for the Continent of Europe and the world at large. Across the board we will have to rise above what we do normally in respect of helping and doing everything we can to support the people of Ukraine as part of the European Union. I do not think we can resile from that. We are doing analysis of the r…

The Deputy has an obligation to be a bit more precise in his assertions. He is asking me to respond to a general assertion he has made. The Deputy used a phrase such as "I am given to understand". Who gave the Deputy to understand it?

Yes. What are the sources?

Did they join?

I would if I could understand the question. I will come back to the basic point but I want to put this to the Deputy. Do not come to me and tell me to go off and become an investigator to find out about something you are given to understand. If you have it, tell me. That is all I am saying. The Deputy can come and tell me privately who said it to him but I need to know. That would short-circuit-----

That would short-circuit the answer to his question.

Objections to flooding schemes have happened in Cork. They have happened throughout the country. They have delayed flooding schemes throughout the country. We live in a country where people have the right, whether we like it or not, to object. I do not approve of all of the objections. I support the Deputy's basic point on people in homes or businesses. Premises have been flooded on the main street of Bandon two or three times. We can name other towns throughout the country. How we approach these issues needs to be…

I would certainly care about ten homes in Roscommon. I would care about ten homes in any part of the country. The issue now is how we resolve it. We cannot interfere in the courts. The courts will make their decisions. Normally what happens with judgments of this kind is the Attorney General makes an assessment and advises the Government on amending legislation or gives us a range of initiatives we could take legally or through legislation in the House to meet the issues that have arisen in the case. I have not see…

I will get a full assessment of this legally in terms of the court decision. I do not believe we fund the organisation the Deputy has suggested we fund.

In what way?

That is very general. I am speaking about the specific organisation. The Deputy can "hmm" all he likes but we need to find out. The Deputy has made the assertion and I take it he has done research and knows the specific organisation is funded. The point is that the organisation is independent and separate from the Government. It made its objections and went to the courts. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, could give the Deputy chapter and verse about flooding schemes throughout the country that have been hel…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will get an answer for him. I will seek answers to the questions he has raised or the assertions he has made. That judgment will be fully assessed because Government has to act within the legal framework. The separation of powers applies but we will examine this High Court judgment and determine the steps that need to be taken now to resolve the situation. The broader point is that, as a State and through the OPW and the councils, we want to protect communities from flood…

We 100% agree with the Deputy on that. We have schemes and have announced additional funding to put flooding schemes in place all over the country. There have been objections to flooding schemes on environmental and other grounds. In my view, there comes a point in all of these processes when common sense should prevail and balance and perspective should be applied. Above all, protecting people in their homes should be the priority and protecting their capacity to earn a livelihood should matter. I genuinely believ…

I will come back to the Deputy.

The HSE accepts the judgment in the recent High Court case and will not be appealing it. This is in line with the approach advised by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, in response to this particular case. Along with other Ministers at the time, I was involved in producing the Disability Act 2005. The Act has not been overly used since then because of its implications. It has not been delivered on to the degree anticipated at the time. From my perspective, I do not anticipate or want any diminution of the righ…

The decision taken by the Government yesterday to introduce the sick leave Bill 2021 was a very good one. This introduction was approved by the Cabinet yesterday. The Bill will legislate for a statutory sick pay scheme for all employees, to be phased in over a four-year period. It can be seen from the decisions taken yesterday, including the decisions to undertake the most radical reform of second level education and to introduce this sick pay scheme, the auto-enrolment pension scheme and other measures, that the G…