Again, it does not exist and has not met since 2016, so the de facto answer is "Yes". I will come back to-----

No, I do not think it was. It just happened around 2016. I will have to check that out again and come back to the Deputy on it. In relation to the point raised by Deputy Tóibín, I do not have a figure here in terms of how many people within the public service are working remotely. There was during the pandemic a general view that if we could facilitate off-site working, obviously for public health objectives at the time, we should do so. That was achieved but workers are now returning to work. I will endeavour to g…

Well, the Government press secretary is there and always has been, and there is the Government Information Service, GIS, because communications are important. I can recall right throughout the pandemic the clarion call was for more communications on issues of vital importance to employers, employees, the general public and various sectors of the economy. Communications are important in that respect and information is given and presented to people. In respect of the points made by Deputy Boyd Barrett around spiralli…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 15, inclusive, together. I visited Berlin for a one-day programme of events on 22 February. I met the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. We discussed the extremely concerning situation in Ukraine which has deteriorated significantly since our meeting. Ireland stands with our EU partners in making clear that there can be no compromise on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The invasion by Russia of Ukraine and its attack on its people is an outrageous and immoral breac…

First, there is an overall theme in the replies. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of Saudi Arabian oil as opposed to Russian oil. I believe Deputy Cowen hit the nail on the head. It is not to choose, but to end our dependency on fossil fuels and to end our dependency on Russian gas and oil, in particular, because there is a vulnerability-----

I do not agree with the Deputy's moral equivalence.

The one country in the world that has wreaked terrible war on a people is Russia. The Deputy keeps trying to qualify and dilute it.

Let us keep a singular focus now on Russia and what it is doing - killing women and children.

Stop coming in here every day trying to qualify it and having an each-way bet.

What I am witnessing is appalling. I want to say this much: I have no truck with any despot or any dictatorship regime.

I know that the European Union is the most peaceful organisation on the international geopolitical landscape right now. Europe is the biggest donor to Ukraine right now. Europe is the biggest donor to Africa right now. Europe has been the biggest donor of vaccines across the globe. Europe is playing its part, and all I hear here are attempts to try to undermine Europe's role. The next objective has to be-----

My view, in terms of what everybody has said here, is that the fundamental change and the lesson from this war, which is as clear as night follows day, is that we must double down on renewables. That is the ultimate way out of this, so that countries do not have leverage to shield and protect their despotic regimes. That is the lesson. Germany has worked very hard for decades to reach out the hand of friendship to Russia, to work with Russia and to have strategic patience in terms of how Russia might develop and so…

There are realities here.

I believe Europe needs to work very hard on renewables. The idea of a super, pan-European renewable grid is something that will take time to develop, but it is something on which Europe should focus. I will raise it with the European Commission and others. By the way, the European Commission has said that when it looks at the energy map of Europe, the only way out is more renewables.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 21, inclusive, together. Like public representatives generally, I meet church leaders informally from time to time in the course of attending official functions. The most recent formal meeting I had took place on 15 April 2021 when I met with the leaders of the all-island Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church and the Irish Council of Churches. We discussed the ongoing contribution to peace …

Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the national maternity hospital and the Sisters of Charity. The Government is not handing anything over to anybody. That is the first point I will make on the national maternity hospital. The original objective of all of this, in terms of clinical advice, was that a new maternity hospital should be aligned with a tertiary hospital. This was recommended 20 years ago. It happened in Cork with the maternity hospital we built. Two public maternity hospitals agreed to go to a new site at Cork …

This has gone on too long. It has gone on far too long for the well-being of women in particular. I read the recent correspondence from consultants who are adamant. Everybody who has anything to do with this is adamant that all procedures, operations, diagnostics and everything allowable in this country will take place in this maternity hospital. What worries me is that from the time of decision, because of all of the discussions that have ensued in the past year with the stakeholders, we will then have to get to d…

That is the key point in this regard. With regard to schools, there are now 159 primary schools with a multidenominational ethos. That is nine above the 2009 figure of 150. At post-primary level, the number of multidenominational schools has increased by circa 11%, from 321 in 2009 to 359 in 2020. That is 359 out of 800 or 850, if I am not mistaken. I can check that figure. It has moved much more quickly at post-primary level. I accept elements of what Deputy Tóibín said. In 1998, the idea was to establish a plural…

That has happened. On the transfer of buildings, I will follow that up because the State has invested a lot in these school buildings. In many cases, we built new schools on existing sites. That has to be reflected. The mission of the churches in the past was to commit to education. That ethos should continue as a contribution to the State.

I am sorry. In respect of the mother and baby homes, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has written to the religious orders. He has not had a substantive reply yet with regard to contributing to the payments scheme. I hear what the Deputy is saying in respect of the redress scheme. That has to be legislated for. A Bill will have to go through the House so there will be opportunities to come back to that issue again.