The question is really getting at barriers. By the way, I think we should get rid of all apprenticeship fees for college, for the bit apprentices have to do in college. There is a campaign on that. I was asked by someone doing educational psychology to raise this so I am taking the opportunity.

A Vision for Change recommended that we have 190 psychologists in the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. Currently we have 90, less than half of what was recommended more than a decade ago. There is real suffering for very vulnerable children as a result. Then we have people like Áine who wrote to me, and I have received multiple representations, who wants to do educational psychology. They are paying €11,000 in fees and have to work four days a week on placement doing this work but are paid nothin…

I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for putting forward the motion. One cannot be too strong in condemning what is an absolutely insane scheme from this Government. It is a demonstration that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and sadly, the Green Party, have reverted to type. They have returned to the utterly disastrous developer-led policies which led to the crash in 2008 that almost destroyed our economy and inflicted a decade of suffering on working people. The worst legacy of that is the ongoing housing crisis that we now face. Th…

If, as we must, we are going to provide refuge for those fleeing the war in Ukraine, we need to do everything we can to relieve pressure on the housing services. A simple measure I suggested to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he was looking for suggestions a number of weeks ago was to stop evictions, as we did during the Covid-19 emergency. The numbers of evictions are rising and that is increasing the number of people and families going into homeless services who should not be there. I…

Why not stop evictions?

People Before Profit will be facilitating a vote on the national maternity hospital tonight. We think the Government's decision to retain influence by a privately owned religious charity in the national maternity hospital is really an insult to the women of Ireland and to all those who suffered in Magdalen laundries and mother and baby homes. It also shows scant regard for the need to separate church and State as part of trying to achieve a united Ireland. How are we seriously suggesting that a united Ireland is so…

Tomorrow at 1 o'clock, outside the gates of Leinster House, the newly established cost of living coalition, which involves pensioners' groups, students' unions, political parties, trade unionists and so on, will hold a protest over what they believe, and I think they are right, is the Government's failure to address the cost of living crisis, which is crucifying workers, pensioners, students and the least well-off in our country. Whether it is rents gone out of control, childcare costs, college fees, the cost of fo…

My four colleagues from People Before Profit and I have just come from the Palestinian embassy, where we signed the book of condolences for Shireen Abu Akleh, who was assassinated in cold blood by Israeli snipers during a criminal raid by Israeli forces on Jenin last week. Over the weekend, this new low by the apartheid State of Israel was surpassed with the absolutely bestial behaviour of Israeli forces attacking the coffin of Shireen Abu Akleh at her funeral and attacking the pallbearers, an act of such savagery …

We will have a debate then.

What about sanctions?

I find the timing of the Taoiseach's visit to Finland and Estonia interesting because this weekend sees the biggest NATO military exercise in decades, which was planned before the war in Ukraine, taking place in Estonia involving Finland and Sweden, countries which are now planning to abandon their neutrality. That is the decision for them. It is interesting, however, that in advance of the war in Ukraine, NATO was planning massive military exercises, which it is now carrying out all over eastern Europe. We must al…

Has the Taoiseach any thoughts-----

-----about the fact that Ireland, on foot of its position as a neutral state, should warn against this military escalation?

It has.

It has.

I have raised the case of a particular woman multiple times. This week after a long fight, it was confirmed she has lost nearly a decade on housing waiting list because her income went €38 over the income threshold. Another family of six only earns €31,000 but because of an averaging of income earned by another member of the family over the previous year will now be evicted from homeless accommodation.

I know of another couple who have just been cut off from the housing list because of their income.

When will the Government raise the income thresholds for social housing as I have repeatedly requested over five years?

When will that happen?

I want to raise an issue that I am surprised did not get more attention and about which more concern was not expressed, namely the recent departure of Ms Anne O'Connor, the chief operations officer from the HSE to take up a post with a private health insurance company, VHI. There has been a lot of talk about the need to have some sort of cooling off period between going from very senior positions in the public service to private companies when there is potentially a conflict of interest. VHI's job is to make money …