I did not say that.

Arís, níl an fhírinne á insint ag an Teachta. Is léir sin agus aiféala atá i gceist aici. Deputy McDonald did not address the point I made. She is into sloganeering this morning because there is a by-election. She is into exploiting the housing issue for her own advancement and electoral advancement. On the ground, all she ever does is the same old Sinn Féin opposing this and that housing project, be it in Tallaght, Clondalkin or Fingal.

It is opposing to win votes locally and to court popularity. That is the same old Sinn Féin I have been watching for the last two years. It ruthlessly exploits the housing problem for electoral advancement and is pretty poor at coming up with substance or solutions to the housing problem. I asked Deputy McDonald about the 2,400 families that could benefit from social housing under this model, which from my perspective is not the ideal model, but we are in transition. I asked the Deputy about those 2,400 families an…

-----the old rhetoric and the nonsense. I have no interest in any fund, none whatsoever. It does not bother me. The only issue I care about is getting people housed. To get people housed, we have to have all hands on deck.

We have to produce all forms of housing across the board.

We need direct build affordable cost rental. That is what we have to do. It is about time Sinn Féin came up with solutions and stopped attacking and providing no solutions.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. He has been consistently raising it in the House. I agree entirely that workers across the economy, and without question our public servants and front-line healthcare workers, have made an extraordinary contribution to helping society deal with an unprecedented pandemic which has turned upside down all of our lives. Without front-line healthcare workers we would have been in extreme difficulty in meeting and dealing with the challenge of the pandemic. The sense o…

As I said to the Deputy, the Government is committed to recognising the sacrifices that public sector workers, in particular front-line healthcare workers, have made. We are very conscious that across the board extraordinary efforts were made and continue to be made in respect of dealing with the pandemic by workers. The Government is actively examining this. We want to get the right outcome. The Deputy is correct in saying that it is a Government decision. The Government has to empower the HSE and to give it the r…

-----and others to be taken.

I thank Deputy Verona Murphy for raising this issue in respect of Rosslare. I hope I do have that common sense.

Who could have as much common sense as the Deputy? In the context of Brexit, the importance of Rosslare Europort is very evident. It has given us capacity and flexibility in dealing with the Brexit situation. Another area in which there is potential relates to the development of port facilities to facilitate renewable wind energy generation offshore. We have now developed the maritime planning framework and the maritime area planning Bill 2021. This really sends a strong signal to investors. Government policy is no…

That meeting is important because it can open the door and create a pathway for an application for significant funding, which would be backed by the State, from the CEF. The Department of Transport has been in touch with the European Commission seeking to negotiate changes to the criteria for this facility which would allow for EU funding for basic port infrastructure with a view to improving connectivity and for port infrastructure for offshore wind generation in the CEF's next programme, which is to run from 2021…

I thank the Deputy for his question. All health systems across Europe and the world come under pressure in a pandemic. That applies through wave after wave in different countries. The acute hospital system, as the Deputy says, continues to be in a challenging position, particularly with the significant backlog of non-Covid care arising from the demand for Covid care in the early part of the year. The ransomware attack of 14 May exacerbated that, particularly in terms of the front line. The Government has really mov…

We need to give credit to the health system. It stood up strongly to a difficult wave in the winter period. The investment in the winter initiative plan was key in enabling us to have a better flow through hospitals even before the wave came. November and December were better months than in previous years for flow through hospitals and the home care packages were key to that. The 5 million extra home care hours provided had a significant impact on flow through acute hospitals. The overall health service plan provid…

This project has been ongoing for a number of years, from conception to the present state. It has been unsatisfactory in terms of the relationship between the contractor and development board. I am not in a position to give clarity around figures. The less bandying about of figures, the better, in relation to contracts and projects of this kind. That applies to everybody, including those in government. There are hundreds of claims, as the Deputy says, and they have to be contested. I will not make a judgment as to …

That also impacts on the deadline and timelines.

I agree with the Deputy. Ms Orla Hegarty has done a lot of important work in this regard and in raising awareness levels. My Department has published reports and guidance for public sector authorities and agencies in respect of ventilation. Carbon dioxide monitors have been put in every classroom but we may need to do more. A working group met in regard to schools and recommended carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms and then gave advice on opening windows and so on. We may have to look at that again.

We have to look at the new technologies and we will do so. As we come through this phase of Covid, we know there could be a winter phase of Covid. We are very conscious of that. All the tools and technologies at our disposal need to be looked at. I take the Deputy's point.

First, the Government does not get involved in the planning or appeals processes. Certainly, this has been an issue of contention and controversy for quite some time. The point regarding the publication of documents is fair. There should be full transparency regarding this project and all the submissions made in respect of the planning process, including from the company's perspective in terms of whatever documents it has submitted, so that people have full knowledge of the implications of this on the ecosystem----…

-----and more generally. I will inquire as to the status of the publication of those documents.