It lost votes. The reason it lost votes is because the people of Ireland knew the economic policies it was bringing forward were not credible.

If you promise everything, you are for nothing. You were seen through at that time.

I have noticed the trend that Sinn Féin has now, whereby it grows unhappy when I interrupt its heckling. This will not deter me-----

-----and it will not deter the Government from doing two things-----

-----first, from calling out the fact that Sinn Féin's economic policies and solutions were seen through.

Where would we be now if we had followed its policies and been entering into a scenario with a Government borrowing while jobs were at risk.

That is what Sinn Féin offered. It was seen through.

As I said, despite the best efforts of the Sinn Féin Opposition-----

-----the Government will be honest in how we can help.

What we will not do is do so-----

-----at the expense of the honesty that is needed at a time when the country and Europe are facing new challenges and new risks.

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising an issue with which I am familiar. In particular I recognise the work that GP Care For All has done, and the person at the heart of it, Amanda Farrelly. I was hoping to meet them myself tomorrow but another Government commitment has got in the way. I am well aware of the importance of the work they do and the value of the service. While I very much welcome and acknowledge Deputy Sherlock's right to raise this here, making points such as that the Department of Finance is at the he…

We will do our very best on this issue and I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising it.

Deputy Sherlock knows we are treating this issue with urgency. She knows that. She knows the Minister is and she has acknowledged that to me. She knows we are working on it. The Deputy does the issue a disservice by suggesting otherwise. I ask her to please acknowledge, as I have done, that if this was an issue that was simple and that could easily be dealt with, we would already have done so. We have acknowledged that this is a complex issue. Unfortunately, that complexity means that a group of deeply committed he…

I thank the Deputy. As he began his contribution, I will begin mine by acknowledging the huge anxiety and distress that families can face when young girls and boys with additional needs need additional support and have various conditions that we want to make a difference to. We see what that does to them for their start in life, and what it does to their families, their mams and dads, who are trying to get the support they want to give to their son and daughter when they know they need it. I also recognise, as the …

I thank the Deputy again for raising the issue. I can make the case to him that the vacancy rate within these healthcare professions has decreased. It has decreased from 29% in 2023 to 21% in 2024, and that is an improvement, but we have so much further to go because we know the level of human need that is there. We know we need to be helping families and the children they love so much in a better way than is happening at the moment. I can make the case for how much more money we are spending. I can make the case t…

The veil has slipped for a second time when it comes to Aontú on jobs within our economy. It is not so long ago I was in this Chamber when Deputy Tóibín referred to people who were working for large employers as transitional jobs. Here today, the Deputy now referred to corporate tax profitability receipts as "bargain basement".

I invite Deputy Tóibín to walk into the large employers for which many of his constituents work and tell them that the efforts that they are putting in are bargain basement and that the taxes their work is creating are bargain basement. I invite the Deputy to do a tour of the large employers across our country that have played such a critical role in paying the tax at a time we need it, and in the modernisation and creation of jobs within Ireland, and tell them that this is bargain basement. That is the Aontú agend…

That is the Aontú agenda. That is your agenda, Deputy Tóibín. I hear it again and again. As the veil slips, it is also characterised by typical misinformation from the Deputy. I heard the Minister, Deputy Chambers, on "Morning Ireland" this morning. I heard him outline a number of different things, including the reality that we have to yet consider what the United States may do, and, in doing so, it is essential we make the case for trade that is mutually beneficial and that creates jobs and investment in America. …

Leave the tribalism aside. That is a bit rich coming from the Deputy in this regard. He asked me the question regarding what engagement the Government, the Tánaiste has had-----