I am in favour of disclosure and communication which is open, consistent, compassionate and timely, but what I want to know is whether those families were informed their babies’ organs and tissue were put in with medical waste, sent to another country and incinerated. The two families that accepted - were they told that? The one family which asked for regular contact – were they told that? The other 14 or 15 families – were they told that? What is the answer to that question?

Can I clarify, were they told the organs and tissue had been disposed of or were they told the organs and tissue had been disposed of in another country with medical waste by way of incineration?

Is the Minister saying that, as it stands, he is not sure or clear whether those families were told their babies' tissue and organs had been disposed of along with medical waste in another country by way of incineration? He is not sure of the position and he needs to clarify? Could he clarify on that?

Finally, is the Minister aware of some reports that some of those parents received phone calls from the hospital the night before the "RTÉ Investigates" programme went out, telling them that their babies' organs and tissue had been disposed of along with medical waste by way of incineration in another country and that it was communicated to them by phone almost immediately before the programme? That is a story. I am asking the Minister to comment on it.

"[This] report is a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk." These are the words of United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, at the launch of the IPCC report earlier this year. Global carbon emissions fell 7% in 2020, the deepest cut since 1945. It was not hard to achieve that when the majority of planes were out of the…

Let us talk about Moneypoint. The Minister of State's party leader told RTÉ this morning that using oil and coal power stations for longer than expected will not jeopardise Ireland's emissions reduction targets. Greta Thunberg had establishment politicians precisely like his leader in mind when she talked yesterday about how they open their mouths and go, "Blah, blah, blah." If Tarbert and Moneypoint power stations are not closed by the agreed dates, the climate movement might usefully have a debate about trying to…

Is the Government still entertaining the idea of hosting a €150 million international yacht race? There are sports clubs in my constituency whose members need to fundraise for kit and changing rooms, as no doubt there are in the Taoiseach's constituency. Does he agree that if his Government decides to spend €150 million on the America's Cup, there can be no excuse whatsoever for the continued failure to fund grassroots sports? Will he give the House an update on where things stand on the issue of the America's Cup …

I would like to begin with two quotes. The first comes from a senior Aer Lingus cabin crew member: I have young cabin crew colleagues regularly attending soup kitchens for meals and getting help from St Vincent de Paul. My own brother bought my son’s school books this year. Mental health is on the floor. The second comes from an Aer Lingus ground crew worker: We’re having everything taken away. My parents have done food shopping for us throughout the pandemic. I’m paying rent of €1,550 with two children to support.…

Answer the question.

The answer is to put a condition on the payment.

No.

You should tell Aer Lingus that in order to continue to get the money, it has to stop kicking the hell out of its workforce.

Despite proclamations by the Taliban that it will be different this time, the horror of rule by extreme Islamic fundamentalism is already there for all to see in Afghanistan. Female employees in Kabul's city government have been instructed to stay at home. High school girl students have been instructed not to return to class. Executions and amputations have been restored as punishment for criminals. Journalists have been arrested and other attacks made on press freedoms. The ministry for women has been renamed the …

We want to add our support to this call. How was this allowed to happen? It happened under the pressure of the pandemic, which bore down on every Irish hospital. Did anything similar happen in any other Irish hospital as the pandemic loomed? We want time to be made available this week for statements on this issue, and, in particular, for questions and answers with the Minister.

Does the Taoiseach honestly believe that a measly once-off bank holiday and a few other crumbs from the table will satisfy the demand of front-line workers for a Covid bonus? These workers risked their lives and their health and suffered fatigue, stress and all types of mental health pressures to help to pull this society through the worst of the crisis. Workers in the public and private sectors alike deserve proper compensation. Does the Taoiseach accept that our society includes so-called high net worth individua…

In August, the Minister for Education provided a subject by subject breakdown of the changes she intended to make to leaving certificate 2022 by way of compensation to students for classroom teaching time lost as a result of the pandemic. A survey conducted by my office has since found that 82% of leaving certificate students who replied expressed the view that the proposed changes are insufficient. These students lost months of classroom teaching time as a result of the closure of their schools. The changes I woul…

The average price of a house rose by €24,000 last year - good news for those who own four homes but bad news for young workers. That is more than a year's salary for very many of them. The average price of a house in Cork city is now €307,000 - in other words, more than 12 times the annual salary of those young workers. Throughout the State, 42,600 mortgage approvals were granted in the year to June, yet only 31,300 drawdowns were made in the same period. These statistics seem to suggest that more than a quarter of…

This morning, we got the horrific news that Cork University Maternity Hospital sent organs and tissue of 18 deceased babies to Belgium for incineration without the knowledge or consent of the parents of the babies. The State has an ugly history on this issue but we thought that chapter had ended. Twelve years ago, the Willis report recommended and the State accepted that the incineration of babies' organs and tissue should cease but here we are again. We have learned that senior management apparently disagreed with…

I hope the senior managers who let this happen are made to understand that it is a very serious matter. It might be necessary for some powerful people to pay a price in order to ensure this never happens again.

It gives me no pleasure to say that the Housing for All plan will not work. The housing crisis created by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the capitalist housing market will not be solved by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the capitalist housing market, even if the Green Party is now included in the mix by way of decoration. The plan relies on the private sector to deliver 156,000 houses between now and 2030 but you cannot control what you do not own and the State has no control over whether these houses will ever be built, o…