There are protocols there and the Mental Health Commission, which I established way back as Minister for Health, is there to provide oversight in terms of best practice and what is good and not so good in our mental health services.

I was not in government for the last budget. We were in Opposition and facilitated the budget under a confidence and supply agreement. Consistently under that agreement, we increased resources for mental health. Notwithstanding that increase in resources, mental health services did not seem to be in a position to convert those resources into recruiting the necessary personnel, both in the child and adolescent centres and more widely across psychiatry. There have been ongoing personnel and staffing issues related to…

The €600 million that has been allocated to health is designed to try to alleviate the pressures which Deputy Cahill has outlined, which I acknowledge, especially in Limerick. He has raised issues regarding funding for Nenagh hospital. I will engage with the Minister for Health about this and with the Department and HSE with a view to what can be done in the short term to alleviate these pressures.

My understanding is that it will be in the later part of this session. I have asked for this Bill to be progressed. It has been committed to for quite a number of years. There seem to be some issues regarding the content and extent of the Bill. I am determined to deal with those issues and get the Bill published and to get it through the House.

I understand the very difficult situation for individual students, in having a desire to secure a certain course and a target to get the results to secure it. It is heartbreaking when a student does not get the course. This year in particular, due to Covid-19, there was a unique situation with no physical examinations and a calculated grades programme had to be introduced. As part of that calculated grades programme, standardisation was essential. The experts involved were clear that there was significant grade inf…

There is a clear commitment in the programme for Government about recruitment of speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, as well as other disciplines and professions. We hope to do some therapy through the school system by having a greater presence in schools, which is something I have been personally committed to for a long time. I think it is a better model for the development of children in the school setting, working with teachers and other educational professionals. Covid-19 has impact…

A replacement should be provided for anybody who is on maternity leave and that should be automatic.

The Government has made a clear decision on that in terms of parental leave and will be bringing in measures as per the Government decision.

Successive Irish Governments have been very committed to legacy issues in successive agreements that arose out of the Good Friday Agreement. There have been ongoing issues in terms of getting agreement and clarity on those legacy agreements and getting them progressed. Unfortunately those issues continue, notwithstanding the new arrangements and new commitments that were made on all fronts to progress legacy and also in terms of investigation capacity and so on. This pertains to the activities of the Glenanne gang …

I will have to discuss that with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I will ask him to make contact with the Deputy. I am not aware whether he sanctioned that or whether it emerged prior to his arrival as Minister. The Deputy is referring to the TB plan, which suggests a very operational plan developed at operational level. I will engage with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Irish Water has taken a decision in terms of its procurement policy and tendering out to one per county. I hear what the Deputy is saying. It has been an ongoing issue with the centralisation of procurement. Even nationally, the centralisation of procurement has actually disadvantaged smaller operators in the regions. I do not interfere in the operations of Irish Water, and nor can I, but I do take the general point. I will enquire of them to see the rationale for the policy and why it is being developed. I will ar…

On its formation the Government established the following Cabinet committees: the Cabinet committee on Covid-19; the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment; the Cabinet committee on Brexit and Northern Ireland; the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change; the Cabinet committee on housing; the Cabinet committee on health; the Cabinet committee on social affairs and equality; the Cabinet committee on education; the Cabinet committee on Europe; and the Cabinet committee on Government co-ordi…

Yes.

No.

On the national alcohol and drugs strategy and the issue of community participation, I will discuss the matter again with the HSE. On the ground, the HSE clearly has a view and the Deputy is saying that there is a divergence of opinion between the executive and the Department of Health. My own view is that programmes work best when they have strong engagement with the community on the ground and there is significant community buy-in and participation. Again, I will seek to ascertain from the HSE its policy position…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 4, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on education was established by Government decision on 6 July last and the first meeting will take place in the coming weeks. It will oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments in the area of education. In addition to the meetings of full Cabinet and Cabinet committees, I meet with Ministers on an individual basis to focus on particular issues. Yesterday, I launched our medium-term plan, Resilience and Recovery 2…

I dealt with that earlier.

First, I have not personally spoken to Electric Ireland. I told the Deputy that I spoke to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. We have been in touch with Electric Ireland, and when we get a response, I will revert to the Deputy. I also told the Deputy that there was a reduction in utility prices earlier this year and that the presentation she made on the previous occasion in the Dáil was not entirely accurate. Regarding the public service obligation, PSO, I outlined our policy on renewable energy. As regards arrangeme…

We are not going to produce optimal solutions left, right and centre.

It is an option and some people avail of it. The third option is some other model to be developed which has to be fleshed out.