What about the tenant in situ scheme?

That is okay.

We await an inquiry into the State's response to Covid-19. I have spoken to the Taoiseach previously about the 23 people who died in Dealgan House and that the families met with the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. They were promised a mechanism to provide them with answers, justice and closure. They are still awaiting a response. I want to know if there is any further information about the timeline. Is it going to be set up for the summer? Will there be engagement wit…

A right-wing Israeli Government is involved in racist and apartheid policies and is escalating the illegal annexation of Palestinian land. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, a State entity, is a shareholder in nine companies, including four banks, that are operating in illegal Israeli settlements. Will the Government support Deputy John Brady's legislation to make this illegal? We have to take action. We owe this to the Palestinian people.

What about the ISIF?

We all want to bring about workplaces that are disability friendly. I welcome the fact that the Minister is talking about reviewing the disability awareness support scheme. Will she consider having a review of the workplace equipment adaptation grant? There has been a very low take-up of the grant. It can facilitate employers to get assistive technologies that may help those with disabilities. We dealt with the issue earlier at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Autism. We must facilitate third level institutions …

We all accept the service and importance of what the Defence Forces do and the difficulties that they have to work with at times. That was drawn to our attention by the loss of Seán Rooney and I am aware that the Minister is dealing with the family in that respect at this time. The Minister has accepted that the compulsory retirement age at 50 does not suit for a considerable number of people and does not make any sense. Interim arrangements have been made in respect of some privates, corporals and sergeants. The o…

I would not like to race Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick at the moment.

I agree. The nub of the issue is that we all accept that there is a problem in respect of 50 being the compulsory retirement age and we must get to the point of introducing the necessary flexibilities. It comes down to the timeline so that we at least know what sort of timeline we are looking at and whether that is for the interim or finalised arrangements. Can the Minister provide that information, please? If he has time, I will also raise an issue that has come to my attention and perhaps that of many other Membe…

Had I realised I had this slot, I might not have dealt with quite as many issues yesterday; however, in fairness, I may revisit some of them. I hope we can get an answer on some of them. Like everyone else, I am very glad we are dealing with the issue of safe staffing levels in hospitals. We all know the issues that we had, particularly in December and January. We know of the chaotic scenes in a considerable number of hospitals and the issues that continue to arise in the likes of University Hospital Limerick. Obvi…

What is being proposed by Deputy Ó Broin is a straightforward set-up on a national car test, NCT-type inspection and a checklist. We can all see the wins with this for tenants, particularly for those who are in substandard and the nightmare-to-rent type tenancies which do not work for anybody. This is a very easy sell and I was listening to the Minister of State in respect of what he said about unintended consequences, and all of that. First, and excuse me if I am mistaken, I believe we are talking about a four-yea…

There is widespread agreement, including a fair amount among Government backbenchers, that it is crazy to lift the eviction ban. The Government has made a number of proposals. It is bonkers that anyone would consider lifting the ban until those proposals were at least in place. Regarding the tenant in situ scheme, specifically in relation to HAP, are instructions given to local authorities regarding the criteria? We are all hearing that people need to be on the housing list for five years or more depending on the c…

I am about to do something I do not generally do, which is to quote the remarks of the Tánaiste. This follows on from some of the conversation on Palestine and the brutal actions of the racist and apartheid Israeli regime, which no longer even bothers to put up a pretence. He stated: I am conscious that there is general consensus in the House about having a two-state solution and of the concern that Members have about this particular Israeli Government, with its very-far-right members who are articulating outrageou…

I have limited time so I will shoot through a considerable amount. Everyone welcomes the fact that hospital inpatient charges will be abolished but it should have been done better and more quickly. It should have happened a long time ago but we welcome it. There is a long journey ahead to reach the final destination of a decent universal healthcare system. We know we do not have such a system. We know the issues in respect of hospitals, disability services and community. None of it is where it needs to be. I have a…

It is crazy that it was pulled before we had even the Government's proposals and solutions in place. That is the crazy bit of it.

As regards the Windsor Framework, there are many who seek clarification on the issues. I am not overly worried about what way the DUP votes, but the protocol and framework are the only show in town. We all accept we need the Executive to be up and running and this needs to be made clear. This State also has to do its work on preparations relating to constitutional change. I will deal with one particular issue caused by partition relating to PayPal. Not only have there been job losses but 120 people who are from the…

I asked about cross-Border remote working and the difficulties with PayPal's closing of its premises.

I have no doubt the previous speaker will have even more people coming to her office in the next while with housing issues. That is the only thing that is definite. We often talk about unintended consequences but the Government is taking action today and beyond that will have definite consequences. Nobody has been able to answer where people in housing need, who are facing eviction in April, May, June and beyond, will go. I have yet to see any solutions to this. We are dealing with a non-budget or a non-mini budget…

I accept the Tánaiste has been robust in his dealings with the British Government around this legacy Bill, amnesty Bill or whatever one calls it. I have my own view. I have said to him previously that this is a British Government that will never accept a certain element of truth and justice for victims in the sense that it sees that as the British state having to admit to being involved in running death squads in Ireland. I accept that many things happened during the conflict which we all wish did not happen. That …

We are against this legislation across the board. That relates to all victims.