Information Aontú received from the Department in December shows that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications took €1.5 million that was intended to ensure there was a just transition and used it to support the climate finance activities of the United Nations instead. While those figures may seem small fry to the Minister of State, in reality they are massive figures for those who are suffering, in particular those in the midlands and other regional and rural areas around the country. In the sa…

Again, the Minister of State has to take this seriously. I have given him two financially factual elements of money being redirected by his Department. I will give him another one. Brexit Adjustment Reserve, BAR, funding was given by the European Union to mitigate the impacts of Brexit. It was for farmers and fishermen and fisherwomen across the country who have been decimated by Brexit and the policies of the Government with regards to rural and regional Ireland. The Government made an application for €150 million…

The Government-----

Is €5 million from farmers rank populism?

I am sorry to have to listen to it.

Not at all.

The housing crisis affects everybody in society at some level. Some are suffering significantly but there are very few who are not affected by it throughout the State. First of all, the housing crisis is a life-and-death issue. It is leading to significant deaths. It is creating a situation in which people are being forced into emergency accommodation, with all of the negative aspects that entails. For a youngster growing up in emergency accommodation, their whole ability to socialise and study, for good nutrition …

We could put a few boats on the sea.

Today, thousands of early years education and childcare workers went on strike and protested outside the Dáil. They did this because their sector is being destroyed by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. He is literally closing down childcare services in this State. He actually said the strike was unwarranted. Is it not a bit rich for a Minister on a salary of €183,000 per year to tell providers and staff, many of whom are on salaries less than the minimum wage, that a strike is not necessary? Is it not a bit rich for h…

The people outside the gates are saying something completely different from the Minister. If he cannot keep childcare open, should he not resign?

Why are they striking?

I want to check the timeline between the Minister and the Taoiseach on the communication. To be honest, it is extremely nebulous. The Minister stated that he learned of it for sure at the start of August and that he told somebody in the Taoiseach's office. Who did he tell in the Taoiseach's office?

Did the Minister not think something like this was worthy of speaking to the Taoiseach directly about?

But you did not.

The Taoiseach said today on Leaders’ Questions that he found out about the specifics of the spring implants only in the past couple of weeks. The Minister has not been able to recall the fact that the Taoiseach was asked a question on this in July. He said he was going to refer it to the Minister but the Minister cannot recall whether the Taoiseach referred it to him.

The whole communication pattern obviously did not work because the Minister did not learn fully about the Taoiseach's question and the Taoiseach did not learn of the Minister's experience until the past couple of weeks. That is a problem in its own right. The Minister specifically asked CHI why lists were not falling. When did he ask CHI why lists were not falling despite the extra investment that went in? When was the first time he asked and who in CHI did he ask?

That is not-----

I am only asking when the first conversation was but the Minister does not know the answer to that, I take it. I am referring to the first conversation with CHI as to why lists were not falling.

I am talking about a date, roughly. The other point to be made here is that spinal surgery can be incredibly complex. The international best practice on this indicates that quality is achieved through specialisation. My advice is that the Irish spinal surgery system is actually generalist in nature, so the culture in spinal surgery training is that you need to do everything. To what extent has this led to the crisis?

The Minister did not answer. First, Mr. Nayagam is not a specialist spinal surgeon, yet he is the external reviewer. He does not have the clinical expertise to actually ask the hard questions of the expert surgeons. How does that happen?