It has asked for direction from the Government.

Before the Minister leaves, I want to say to her that the fact she delivered a copy-and-paste speech is an insult to the 15,000 children who she is failing legally in their entitlement. She read out nearly word for word the speech that was delivered earlier. At least she should have had the decency to put it into her own words and pay a bit more respect to this debate tonight. The Taoiseach told us earlier that the Government will continue to break the law. It is simply unacceptable. We live in a State with a surpl…

Fuaireamar amach inné gur seoladh litreacha chuig 2,260 teaghlach faoin scannal tubaisteach maidir le hobráidí chromán na leanaí. Tá tuismitheoirí fós feargach nach bhfuil an t-eolas ón Rialtas ná na hospidéil á thabhairt dóibh. Yesterday we learned the scope and scale of the devastating hip surgery scandal. Some 2,260 families have been sent letters. I raised this issue on Leaders' Questions two months ago in March. I called on the Government to get ahead of it and to tell parents what was going on. Parents are st…

With respect, that is not good enough. The fact is that 2,260 letters were issued. The fact is the letters were issued as part of the implementation of a recommendation of the draft audit. The fact is the draft audit said all of those children should be recalled. The fact is there are 2,260 families out there that are anxious. The fact is none of those families knows whether their child needed to be operated on or not. The fact is the Government has no plan at this point in time to provide a pathway that will allow…

The Government needs to deal with this. I know every single person in this Chamber would be appalled at the idea of a young girl being opened up, her bone being chiselled into unnecessarily and left with a scar and pain, but it is the Government's responsibility to provide a pathway and certainty for those families. I ask the Minister a simple question - will the Government ensure that every single one of the 2,260 families that got that letter will be given an independent clinical pathway to determine whether thei…

This month the Department of Finance published its economic projections. The State will run a combined surplus this year and next of €15 billion. At the same time, the Government tells workers and families they are on their own and there will be no cost-of-living package in this year's budget. Does the Government simply not get it or is it ignoring the plight of ordinary people who are under serious pressure due to the cost of living? We have double digit rent increases. We have the highest electricity prices in Eu…

But you are misleading the Dáil.

You are misleading the Dáil.

Hear, hear.

But it mentions the early audit.

Jesus Christ, they are implementing the audit recommendations. Do you not know what has been happening for the past eight weeks?

Do you not know?

They are implementing the audit recommendations.

Do you not know what is happening? It is disgraceful that you would not do this.

As my colleague Deputy Mac Lochlainn stated, people are waiting seven months for driving tests. As of April, 83,000 people were on the waiting list. Matters are getting worse because 10,000 more joined the list in the past three months. This is simply out of control, and the Government is sitting on its hands while it is happening. In some cases, the impact on these individuals is immense. I have been contacted by a young woman who was born and bred in an Irish-speaking community in the Gaeltacht. Tá grá aici don t…

The letters have been issued.

The Government does not have a clue what is in it.

There is an early recommendation that they were ready to implement. You do not have clue what is coming up.

You do not have clue what is coming up and neither does the Minister for Health.

Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil oibrithe agus teaghlaigh ag streachailt cheana féin le costais maireachtála. Déanann an chaint seo ar tharaifí dochar do ghnáth-theaghlaigh trí phraghsanna a ardú. Ní féidir leis an Rialtas seo oibrithe a thréigean. Tá na hoibrithe seo faoi bhrú cheana féin. Tá imní orthu agus iad ag cloisteáil faoi chogadh trádála sna nuachtáin. Later today, we expect the President of the United States to announce a trade deal with Britain. This will be the first deal struck since the American Administr…