The Deputy’s assessment is not correct in the sense that he ignored the extension of the fuel allowance for four weeks, which will help about 470,000 people to deal with the rise in the price of home heating oil. There is no doubt that there is huge pressure on families and people across the country. The price of home heating oil has increased very significantly because of the war, not because of what the Government did. The price shock that is occurring because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as well as the…

Yes, he would. Honesty is what we want here because the Government would then need to find €1 billion to do what the Deputy wants us to do. That means taking money from farmers. It means taking money from the retrofitting programme because we would not be able to do the retrofitting programme without it. The retrofitting programme helps people to reduce their costs over time and is a far more effective energy-efficient approach to the allocation of resources. About €173 million this year will come from that fund an…

The Deputy is wrong in his assessment of the Government’s increase in revenue.

That is absolutely wrong. The Deputy is raising the general issue of taxation overall. He cannot have both ways. What he is really advocating for is a cut in public services.

Of course he is because if you reduce taxes on one front, you are reducing your revenue and resources to pay for public services in education, health-----

However, they are a revenue source. The Deputy would either increase income tax or increase taxes elsewhere – he should tell us what he would do - to offset-----

------the significant reduction in excise duty that he is proposing because he would have to find the money from somewhere. We cannot have everything we want. We cannot have our cake and eat it, which seems to be the Deputy’s response. The Government is targeting its resources and 50,000 extra families on the working family payment are in receipt of the fuel allowance. We introduced that in the latest budget and they will gain from the extension of the fuel allowance. He is wrong in saying that working families wil…

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. It is fair to say that we are ageing as a society. Our lifespan has improved dramatically compared to 20 years ago. Irish lifespan has increased more than most in the European Union, which is a good thing for all of us, potentially. On the other hand, it creates more challenges in terms of care costs, health costs and so on. Every year, there are substantial increases in the budget as we try to provide for an ageing population. The budget for home support in…

I fully appreciate the Deputy's advocacy for his home county. In terms of home care, day care and meals on wheels, there are very significant extended resources all working together and they are particularly effective in rural areas. I am sure the Deputy will agree what is needed is additional resources, particularly in County Clare. That is what he is advocating for. The fair deal scheme supports people to access nursing home care. The more people have, the more they pay in terms of income levels. It is structured…

My sympathies go to the family of Chloe Maher, who died recently. She was formerly, as the Deputy said, a patient at CHI's spinal services. I offer my deepest condolences to Chloe's family and friends at what is a very sad time for them. As the Deputy knows, the Minister has announced that Mr. Remy Farrell has been appointed as the facilitator for the scoping exercise in terms of an inquiry into the spinal services at CHI and paediatric services more generally. Mr. Farrell will engage with patients, families and ad…

Ireland has been very strongly adherent to the EU sanctions framework and principles. The Aughinish plant is not subject to EU sanctions, and there is no proposal at EU level to sanction it. Alumina is not a sanctioned commodity and so under the current framework that is the position. There were reasons for that in terms of the complex supply chains in the modern era where different industries in different countries are interdependent. Some member states depend on the output of the production in Aughinish for their…

It is an outrageous assertion that we have waited and watched for years and done nothing. That is just wrong. The fact of the matter is that Ireland has strongly articulated on the West Bank issue for many years. We have taken a range of measures with the other EU member states in terms of sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank. We have deplored and condemned the behaviour of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. We have taken legal action in international courts. I do not know why the Deputy says…

We are constantly investing in public transport and public buses as well. I do not have the specifics of the breakdown between replacement and additional buses arising from the very significant investment in 60 double-decker buses. I will revert to the Minister of State with responsibility for transport who is here and who is from Galway as well. I will get the full details and background on the breakdown of those 60 buses. We need to continue to invest more in public transport. This will be additional and also imp…

I do have confidence in Cork ETB in respect of special education. A number of years ago, it stepped into the breach to establish the school to provide desperately needed places in an area where children could not get places at the time. We had to take action. For the long term ETBs have a very significant role in special education across the country. That is my view. If we look at how it is evolving, some of the section 39 bodies have pulled back from education so the State has to get more involved in this particul…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. He is saying it is an illustrative example of the challenges when numbers are reducing and then the impact on capitation. We did increase capitation by a record amount of €20 in the latest budget, which is unprecedented in terms of the scale of the increase. The Deputy has raised a very interesting point that I will bring to the attention of the Minister in terms of the next budget. He is essentially proposing a tiered structure that would take into account the impact of …

The implications of this war are widespread. The danger is that there will potentially be secondary effects on the wider economy. Governments cannot chase inflation. We cannot compensate for every price increase everywhere. That will not work. We have to try to target our resources as best we can at those most in need. There are concerns about the inflationary impacts of this crisis, which may feed into the wider economy. It could affect all areas and sectors of the economy. The ECB has already downgraded its econo…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Bohernabreena Road opened yesterday, which was some help. We welcome that. The flooding as a result of Storm Chandra was quite shocking. As the Deputy will know, it has had a significant impact. The Minister sought submissions from all county councils in respect of the damage done to the roads. We announced various investments in February. Some €718 million for regional and local roads was announced. The Department is liaising with the affected counties, including Wicklow,…

My sympathies go out to Joachim's family. It is quite a shocking event and very distressing and traumatic for the family. There has been extensive investment in piers over the last number of years. A significant amount of Brexit adjustment reserve funding was allocated to piers. I am of the view that we should continue to invest in piers the length and breadth of the country. We are an island nation and safety is paramount. Local authorities have obligations in this regard as well, as do some port authorities. The …

It is a tribute to the Deputy's longevity in the House-----

-----that he has been getting a consistent reply from the Department for a decade and half. I understand the issue but let us be honest: when these guidelines emerge, they will probably lead to a reduction in the number of wind farms. We cannot dress it up and say that the guidelines will help to expand the supply of onshore wind energy because all of the impetus from Deputies and others has been aimed at restricting the growth of onshore wind farms. Let us be honest: we have had incredible expansion. That is why I…