In fairness, the Deputy should have acknowledged that the Minister has brought in a significant proposal on the capping of rent increases in line with the harmonised index of consumer prices. This is something he was calling for as a minimum and the Minister has done it now. It is a very progressive measure. All the measures the Minister has taken in placing restrictions on evictions and so on have borne fruit. The tsunami has not happened that the Deputy said would happen a year ago. The Minister has to balance th…

I will engage with the Minister for Health on this. Fundraising for equipment is one thing but, obviously, the key is to get the staffing in place and the capacity to deliver and do all of that. That is a key issue in terms of any equipment that is provided across the board in health. I acknowledge and pay tribute to those who have fundraised for this. Other Deputies in the constituency have raised the issue with me as well. I will pursue this to see whether we can get a resolution.

I recall that visit. Councillor Micheál Anglim, who has been a long-term campaigner for this, asked me to go down with Deputy Cahill. It is a lovely and very tranquil area.

Very good footballers. I was reminded of that at the time because of what had happened on the playing pitch.

It happened even before that in other grades. I get the point that, economically and socially, it is a problem and it is dangerous as well from a safety perspective. That was one of the issues raised at the time by many parents of schoolchildren. I will follow through on that and see what we can do.

Tá an-chuid oibre déanta ag an Aire, an Teachta O’Gorman, ar an gceist seo agus ar an ábhar seo. Tá sé ag obair le gach aon duine ó thaobh na ceiste seo agus go háirithe ó thaobh clár cúitimh do na daoine a bhí i dtithe máithreacha agus leanaí. Níor tháinig aon rud os comhair an Rialtais fós. The proposition has not come before Government yet but my understanding is that it is at a very advanced stage. I have been in touch with the Minister on this. To be fair, he is working hard and diligently on it and will be br…

I agree with the Deputy entirely in terms of the importance of this issue. I will certainly investigate what is happening in Carlow in particular. I have been to Carlow on several occasions with the Deputy. The gradual reopening of in-person driver theory tests commenced from approximately 8 June. Essential driver training for essential workers who have not completed their training recommenced on 10 May. Forty new temporary driving testers have been hired and began work at the end of June. Sanction has been granted…

First, in terms of the commitment in the programme for Government, we have expanded the social dialogue. We are working on that at the moment. Just last week we had a very substantial meeting with the Labour Employer Economic Forum. We are expanding its role, creating subgroups on aviation, housing, the shared island agenda and other workstreams. Prior to that, we restarted social dialogue with various sectoral groups. We had a very good meeting with the environmental pillar and another with the farming pillar. We …

We are examining whether the role of the National Economic and Social Council can be expanded and developed even more. That consideration is ongoing.

I thank the Deputy for raising the very important issue of extending the access to medical cards for the terminally ill. On 9 February, the Cabinet approved an interim measure which would see an extension to the current end-of-life medical card criteria whereby people who have been certified by their treating consultant as having a prognosis of up to 24 months will be awarded a medical card. That is an extension from the previous 12-month criteria. The measure is being introduced on an administrative basis which wi…

I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy that these issues should not be resolved in courts, ideally. That is why we have National Educational Welfare Board that I established when I was Minister for Education and Science in the late 1990s. That is why we should have very proactive programmes to intervene early in the life cycle of a child to deal with issues that children and young people have and to do so in the most appropriate setting and in a timely way. It is a failure when it ends up in court.

First, I appreciate that Deputy McGuinness is a long-standing advocate for the O'Farrell family in respect of calling for a public inquiry. The Dáil has passed a resolution in that respect. The scoping inquiry was established. In my view, it makes some sense to get the outcome of that scoping inquiry. I accept that it has gone on for a long time. Covid-19 has had an impact on that. However, we need to see that scoping inquiry brought to a conclusion. It will inform the nature of subsequent inquiries then for the Dá…

First, I think that is a very constructive proposition by the Deputy. I do recall the amnesty 15 years ago. I will engage with the Minister for Justice in respect of the Deputy's proposal. Obviously, the Minister for Justice will take advice from the Garda Commissioner. There is a real concern in relation to the rise of knife crime in our communities at the moment, particularly in certain communities. That has to be a cause for concern. We do need to see what are the more innovative and creative ways of dealing wit…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The Government is supportive of the deployment of antigen testing as an additional tool to existing tools to deal with Covid-19. Yesterday, the Government approved formally the establishment of a group chaired by Professor Mary Horgan in respect of giving guidance and advice to different sectors within the Government, different Departments and agencies, and different sectors in society, as to the best way to deploy and roll out antigen testing. It is already in place in mea…

Obviously, there is clearly a history in terms of the development of that school in respect of the need for permanent accommodation. I believe the Deputy said it has been in temporary accommodation since 1998. There is clearly a narrative there in terms of alternatives that they were looking for that maybe did not materialise. I will look at it with a view to getting the situation resolved.

First, I would say to the Deputy that we need balance and perspective in this debate.

He has been on and on about it, but he never gives the basic facts of how extensive the support has been - and rightly so as that support is needed. To date, the expenditure on PUP is over €8.2 billion. Just under 900,000 people have benefited from the scheme. That demonstrates the Government's clear commitment to support workers and businesses that have been severely affected by Covid-19. I do not think he should present the Government's position as being one of always trying to hit workers or undermine them when …

The opposite is the case. A variety of supports, in addition to PUP, has been given to a range of sectors, but he will never acknowledge that because it is beyond his-----

I do not quite get the question. We are not banning anything.

The Government is signing on-----