I respect the Chair but I also ask that she respect my right to reply. It is not being facilitated.

On a point of order-----

Government policy has been to increase investment in special needs education and increase the number of SNAs. That is the policy. The manifestation of that policy is as follows: in 2020, 16,420 special needs-----

The manifestation of that policy is that there were 16,420 SNAs in 2020, 17,921 in 2021, and this went up to 18,831 in 2022, 20,805 in 2023, 22,000 in 2024, 23,870 in 2025, and to over 25,000 in 2026. That is Government policy. That is what I signed off on. That is what all of us in Government signed off on in the Estimate that was agreed. In addition to that, staffing overall has gone up by about 27%. There are now 22,465 special education teachers in our system. In the past five years, we have provided an extra 1…

No, not the overall impact.

Again, the Deputy is interrupting. The Government did not sign off on any memo or memorandum or any note saying that "X" hundred SNAs are going to be cut off. That is the reality. I established the system of SNAs and, yes, when I brought it in, the SNA was allocated to the child. The system grew and we brought in school-based allocations. I know all about that, but the school-based allocation is based on the need and particularly the special education need. It is based on the number of children that require a need …

No, the Deputy asked about-----

The only reason I replied to the Deputy with numbers was that he made a false assertion in terms of Government policy on special needs assistants.

Again, the Deputy is interrupting. I did not interrupt him.

He did make a false assertion in terms of Government policy. I wanted to make it very clear to him and to the public that our story has been one of expansion in special education. Earlier this year, we brought forward the application date for schools and parents who require special education places for their children. The numbers have increased exponentially this year. Perhaps it is because of the earlier date or there may be other factors. It is over and above anything that was contemplated and, in particular, man…

The ESRI was very clear that the two lowest deciles in income terms benefited most from the recent budget. In terms of the supports for children and those with disabilities, embedded policies and allocations in the social protection budget and investment in disability services, education and health were all designed for the long term to support those with disabilities. The idea that there is no money, as the Deputy said, is a complete untruth. Some €13 billion has been invested in education alone this year. This id…

-----to protect itself and to protect vital economic infrastructure. I do not know what the Deputy has against big tech in terms of its employment content. He seems to hate companies that employ thousands of people in this country. He seems to have an agenda against major companies that employ thousands of people. I do not agree with him. Last week, I was at Apple in Cork. It employs 6,000 people. I was a student in Cork in the 1980s when there was 17% unemployment. I witnessed all the companies-----

-----like Ford and Dunlop closing, the Verolme dockyard closing and the Sunbeam-Wolsey plant closing. Thousands of jobs were lost. It was a very difficult decade. I have never lost the memory of what it was like in the city of Cork and many cities across the country. Part of the renovation and rejuvenation of this country - even if the Deputy might not like it - was the fact the likes of Microsoft came to this country in 1985. It has been here more than 40 years. Apple came in 1980 and it has grown. It is workers w…

What planet is the Deputy on that he would deny the ordinary people of this country-----

-----jobs, energy security and an opportunity to have economic participation?

We have been involved in peacekeeping in Lebanon with Poland. Poland is a member of NATO, by the way. Is the Deputy saying we should not be involved in peacekeeping in Lebanon with Poland, and PolBatt? Interoperability is key.

They must use the same equipment and weaponry. The idea that we would be involved in a peacekeeping mission with different countries and have different systems and equipment makes no sense.

The Deputy did say that.

Again, the Deputy is interrupting. When he does not like the answer, he interrupts. That is what Deputy Murphy is saying because, according to him, we should stand alone in isolation, talk to nobody - talk to nobody at all, apparently - and we will be able to procure, we will have all the in-house expertise and so on. The truth is, Deputy Murphy does not believe in having an army at all. That is actually the truth. I asked him that some time back here and he was silent in response to it. His concept of militarisati…

That is his view-----