The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has met with a representative group. I believe this meeting was in February. He asked for a submission on its proposals in respect of the scheme, a scheme which had been committed to and which has been up and running since last year. He got that submission towards the end of April. He is now going to consider the proposals. He is due to meet with the group again on Thursday. He will give every consideration to the submission the representative group has made. …

A briefing will be offered. In fact, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, was contacting his counterparts this afternoon to facilitate such a briefing. We can facilitate a briefing with leaders and we intend to do so. With regard to the specific questions the Deputy has asked, it is still far too early to identify the entry point or the manner or nature of this attack.

Yes, it is. There are people working on this and we will, in the fullness of time, have a full report on it. Obviously, the containment, repair, remedy, restoration and assessment of this are currently ongoing in terms of the impact of the attack. The briefing will be comprehensive. Hopefully, we can do it before the close of business.

Is the Deputy referring to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund?

If he is, the Government does not get involved. The Government has no direct involvement in its decisions in terms of its investments. I will make a broader point. Capital is important to create building and to get housing and residential units going. The State provides the bulk of it right now in terms of allocating funding to local authorities and approved housing bodies to get housing built. Our preference is for direct builds. We want to get as much social housing provided as we possibly can. Over the years, th…

Can I first of all say that we have consistently as a Government called for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and the Middle East? We have condemned the rocket firing by Hamas, which needs to be condemned as well and should not have happened. It killed children and other people as well, but the response from the Israeli Government has been wholly disproportionate and indiscriminate and has resulted in the killing of innocent civilians - children and many, many more. In my view, that response is not justifiable. I…

The climate change Bill is comprehensive legislation that is groundbreaking and a landmark in terms of this country turning a corner in meeting its climate change needs and agenda. It aligns with the targets also being set in Europe. It is very important legislation that creates a framework for further action. It can create opportunity as well in terms of jobs in the new green economy and in other areas in terms of adding value to production on the land and more efficient farming. It has to be said that Irish farmi…

I thank the Deputy. I want to place on record my deepest sympathies to the Ambrose family on the death of Tom, who was a very dedicated and long-serving public representative. He was a great champion of Clonmel, with great commitment to its cause and to Tipperary more generally. In terms of the specifics of the Garda station, I will talk to the Minister for Justice in regard to that. There is a substantial capital programme in the Department of Justice in regard to the renovation and construction of Garda stations.…

We did not.

First, we are not out of synch with the rest of the world.

Through the Chair, there were hardly four words out of my mouth and there was an unacceptable intervention. The bottom line is that we have supported aviation and we want to support aviation. We have supported the airlines and we want to continue to support the airlines. It is very sad and difficult news for those workers being laid off today. I do not make any political capital out of that but I can tell the Deputy this much-----

I am not saying you are. Would you stop?

I am not accusing you-----

I am not accusing you of that. I am saying that I do not want to. That is what I am saying.

I am saying that we have responded and we are going to respond to the aviation issue. The aviation industry has been negatively undermined by the virus. The Deputy knows that and I know that.

Workers have been laid off because people are not travelling. We will develop a strategy. Shouting and roaring will not solve the matter.

The Deputy has been fighting this issue for a considerable time and standing up for those who do not have the wherewithal to pay these additional ad hoc charges. I will again engage with the Minister for Health to get a uniform, consistent approach from the health service to the issue of charging for blood tests, particularly for medical card holders. I will come back to the Deputy again on that.

I fully accept the Deputy's point about the absolute necessity to engage and to get international travel back up and running again. International connectivity is vital for the economic well-being of the country and remains a priority for the Government. I assure the Deputy of that. The news today coming from Shannon is very sad. Regarding Cork and other areas, travel has been at rock bottom and at very low levels. Developments in this regard are ongoing, and next week the Government will decide on the broader issue…

I agree with the Deputy, and the Government allocated substantial resources this year through the Department of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to increase dramatically the number of assessments. There was a long backlog over the years but this Government is determined to eat into it, reduce it significantly and give people not only the assessments they require in a timely manner but also access to services more generally.

I fully acknowledge the challenges for people getting married. The Covid restrictions have been very severe on wedding couples. The numbers are very low. This stemmed from public health advice at the outset of the pandemic that weddings initially had been a significant factor in the spread of the disease. That said, we are now progressively reopening society. We are making progress against the virus. We are suppressing the numbers and keeping the incidence at a certain level. The vaccination programme is working an…