I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising the issue. He is a long-time champion of specific and targeted initiatives to deal with disadvantage and drug dealing and to support communities more strongly in particular situations. I look forward to receiving the report. I have asked officials in my Department to look more broadly at this issue with a view to auditing existing services and identifying areas where we could introduce targeted initiatives such as the old RAPID programme, and also ensure there is a cross-departm…

I met with principals recently. The Deputy's constituency colleagues, Deputies James O'Connor, Stanton and Sherlock, have also raised these issues consistently. Two issues arise, the first being school enrolment at second level in east Cork because the area is probably the fastest growing in the county. A substantial investment programme, probably one of the largest ever for east Cork, will be delivered by the Government in a number of weeks. It will provide for new schools but, in the meantime, a number of interim…

As I said earlier, my view is that we have to provide for social and affordable housing and move away from creating barriers to getting housing built in this country given the crisis that many people who cannot access housing currently experience. I do not know the specifics of the case in question or what happened so I cannot comment on it or on whether there is a mechanism for getting the houses delivered, but I am very conscious, as is the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, that every mechanism…

We want to give every housebound person in this situation a vaccine. I do not know whether the Deputy has spoken to the GP or the HSE about this but these are issues that ordinarily are dealt with by engaging with the local doctor and HSE. The National Ambulance Service has been doing this and it has been doing an excellent job. Quite a significant number of housebound people have been vaccinated. I do not think the Deputy's approach is the best way to try to proceed. I will say no more than that. I just believe th…

This legislation has been progressed for some time but there have been challenges in regard to it. The Minister has succeeded in getting it through. A range of issues have arisen in respect of it, including state aid. The key point is that the agency will have a very significant impact. I will refer the Deputy's concerns to the Minister. The agency is one of a number of measures that, combined and cumulatively, could result in significant housebuilding. I take the Deputy's point on the importance of the agency. It …

I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of the expansion of services in the mid-Cork area, particularly the Macroom-Cork city route, which he has raised previously. The Government has committed to reviewing the frequency of that service. The National Transport Authority, NTA, is also working on this. The Deputy is correct that it makes absolute sense that we enhance high-quality public transport services to the area. I am conscious of what he said about Coachford, Cloughduv and Cross Barry. The NTA has n…

The Minister, clearly, is not responsible for the operation of bus schedules, but the NTA has a role in that and I will certainly convey the concerns of Deputy Bríd Smith to the NTA in respect of the points raised. On Deputy Nolan's point, the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Social Protection have been making progress on this issue and are engaging with the stakeholders. Hopefully, we can get a satisfactory resolution.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment has been established and first met on 8 July. It has met on a total of 11 occasions, most recently on 12 April. The next meeting is scheduled for 6 May. Membership of the committee is comprised of the Taoiseach; the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Employment and Trade; the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Minister for Transport; the Minister for Finance; the M…

Deputy Kelly asked about the stability programme update and the implications for unemployment. The Government is very seized of the very serious unemployment situation because of the impact of the pandemic on the economy and society in general, particularly for young people. I have said that we need a new deal for young people emerging from the pandemic. It is a new deal that needs to create a society that encompasses education, employment and quality-of-life issues as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Gove…

There has been a 42% reduction in family homelessness in emergency accommodation, with a 19% reduction since the beginning of this year. We want to continue to make progress on that front. Expanding Housing First is a key initiative of ours which we will do. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is committed to doing that. In my view, there is need for, and there will be, a more active State in certain areas. In the health service, it will be bigger. It will far outdistanc…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 12, inclusive, together. On 22 October, I set out the Government's vision and priorities on shared island in an online event at Dublin Castle. In budget 2021, the Government announced the shared island fund, with €500 million being made available out to 2025, ring-fenced for shared island projects. This provides significant new capital funding for strategic investment in collaborative North-South projects that will support the commitments and objectives of the Good Friday Agree…

I fully agree with what Deputy Richmond said in terms of the need for strong continuing dialogue. I am always open to dialogue and conversation on issues pertaining to the future of this island and to all of the questions relating to that. Indeed I have been open to them since the beginning of my political career when I was elected a councillor and Deputy. I do not need Deputy Carthy to lecture me on my interest or engagement in this issue. I think Deputy Richmond's point about the three sets of relationships, name…

First, I state unequivocally that the Government I lead is one that sees as its fundamental objective advocacy for children and providing services for children in education and health in the most comprehensive way possible. All my political life, I have fought for children with special needs in whatever capacity I have served. I do not intend to change now. When I became Minister for Education and Science in 1998, I introduced groundbreaking change to education services for children with special needs, in particula…

Lexi Forde, the child referenced by the Deputy earlier, will not have to wait until 2026. We will make sure that is the case. No child should have to wait that length of time. I do not want to comment on specific individual circumstances. It was raised, however, and we will see to it that that does not arise in that case. The allegations made in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme are being taken very seriously.

There was no practice. It was not a practice when I was Minister for health of deliberately going out either to authorise the collection of data in respect of individual children or families. From my understanding of litigation, what normally happens is that pleadings are made and in the course of the interaction between legal teams, the plaintiffs will often provide information to obviously justify the necessity for additional educational and health supports.

As I said very clearly, any breach of patient-client confidentiality or any attempt by any official or anybody to ring up a doctor or consultant, as happened - they had documentation in respect of one case - would be-----

-----totally wrong and unethical.

It is not something I would condone.

I thank the Deputy for raising those issues. The vaccination programme is a key part of exiting Covid-19 and endeavouring to bring life back to some degree of normality. The measures we adopted yesterday were essentially designed to continue to keep the pressure on the virus, particularly over the next four weeks, in order to reap a bigger dividend later in the summer, rather than taking risks now, which would have the consequence of increasing the prevalence of the disease and creating more pressure on our hospita…

That is a first dose.