I am not sure what kind of response the Deputy wants there because he asked a whole load of questions and then answered them. Maybe I will just respond to the overall tenor of what the Deputy is saying. First, the Government more than recognises the pressure that families and homes are under in terms of cost of living increases. We responded in last year's budget and, indeed, had another package at the early part of this year. In total, we committed €12 billion of public money to support vulnerable individuals thro…

We already tax wealth in Ireland. The people who earn the most pay the most. Every year, we have an independent assessment of how progressive the Irish budget is. Every year we compare well with most other European countries in terms of making sure the people who have the least get the most, and the people who have the most pay the most. That progressive approach will continue this year. We also need to recognise that many middle income earners in Ireland also need a break. These are the people who through their ta…

That is why we already have reduced USC payments in recent years, and widened tax bands to allow people keep a little more of the money they earn. Since about 2015 or 2016, somebody earning €40,000 per year pays about €3,000 less in tax than they would previously. That is because we want people who work hard to be able to hold on to a little more of their own money, while at the same time ensuring we have a significant tax take that can support the many other areas the Government needs to support, in particular vul…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I have also had a nursing home in my own constituency under an awful lot of pressure. It puts huge strain on families as well when they do not know what the future holds in terms of whether the nursing home is going to stay open. The Government is conscious of the financial challenges faced by the nursing home sector, especially smaller and voluntary nursing homes. They may not have access to the same economies of scale as larger homes or groups. As the Deputy kn…

As the Deputy knows, private and most voluntary nursing homes agree the price that they can charge for a fair deal resident with the designated State agency, which is the NTPF. This is not a political negotiation. It is done by a State agency that is there to do that. Maximum prices for individual nursing homes are agreed with the NTPF following negotiations and based on the NTPF's cost criteria such as costs reasonably incurred by the nursing home, local market prices, historical prices that have been paid and ove…

I would like to shed some light on the issues that have been raised, if I can. I know the Minister for Health is not here. I have been in contact with him. He is more than willing to make himself available early next week, at the earliest opportunity, to take questions in the Dáil. I do not think he will be able to be back by tomorrow, given the commitments he has already given in New York, but he is anxious to be back to answer questions. I would like to answer some of those questions if I can now, in particular o…

I will be much briefer on this. The Garda Commissioner is meeting the Garda representative bodies tomorrow and I hope we will be able to make some progress on the roster issue leading from those meetings.

I would like to respond to that criticism. I am trying to be helpful to the House. This issue is of great concern to a lot of people. The Minister for Health is not here. My understanding is that he will be back and will make himself available on Tuesday, 26 September for questions in this House. In an attempt to provide some clarity in response to some of the questions that have been asked today, I have put on the record of the House how the Government is responding to it as of today.

It will not surprise the Deputy to hear that these are decisions that will be taken in the context of the budget in three weeks. The Government is more than aware of the pressure that families and households are under from an energy perspective, including fuel. We will make a decision on this in the context of the budget.

Making the whole country a rent pressure zone would not have addressed the issue raised in the report.

The report states properties that are new to the rental market are not covered by rent pressure zone restrictions versus properties that are currently in the rental market. I was the one who introduced rent pressure zones as Minister. It was the first time any Minister introduced-----

-----effectively rent price caps, or at least limitations in terms of inflation. We made a decision at the time, on advice, that we should not apply that cap to new properties coming on to the market because we wanted to see more new properties coming into the rental market, which we still need. This is obviously something the Government needs to keep a close eye on and it is for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make recommendations in that regard.

What I should also have said earlier was the Minister for Justice met Garda representative bodies today and the Garda Commissioner is meeting them tomorrow. This is an issue we need to resolve quickly because it is impacting on Garda morale and authority. However, it is important to say that the Westmanstown roster is the only roster that has the collective agreement of all Garda associations and operated between March 2012 and March 2020 before the outbreak of Covid-19. We are still operating the Garda roster put …

That is a series of questions the Deputy probably needs to raise at Question Time with the Minister for Justice. We have an unprecedented budget for An Garda Síochána at more than €2 billion per year. It is the highest financial commitment any Government has ever made to the organisation. We are looking to grow numbers and investing in Templemore. The statistics actually show violent crime is down, not up, but I accept in many communities there is a feeling antisocial behaviour is increasing and people want to see …

As the Deputy knows, the Commissioner is responsible for the operational decisions for An Garda Síochána. Of course, he is committed to protecting communities and ensuring that An Garda Síochána is as impactful as it can be. As I said earlier, the Commissioner is meeting with Garda representative bodies tomorrow to try to make progress on the roster issue. The Minister met with those representative bodies today. Let us give those meetings some time and space to try to make progress. My understanding is that it cert…

I have not seen the detail of that yet but I would be very interested in it. We should be pursuing anything we can do to drive sustainable employment in Gaeltacht areas. The Deputy will certainly find an open door in my office to be helpful on that within reason, obviously.

I just said in answer to another question that my understanding is that it is not the Commissioner's intention to lose gardaí from specialist units within An Garda Síochána.

With respect-----

I am not sure where the Deputy is hearing it from but I am putting it on the record that this is my understanding as a Government spokesperson. I also do not think we should be deciding in this House on operational matters for An Garda Síochána. We do not have the expertise. We are politicians. That is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and the team around him in terms of the leadership of An Garda Síochána. There is work to do to build consensus within An Garda Síochána as a whole in terms of a rostering plan for…

On the school bus issue, it is important to state that in the 2022-23 school year, more than 149,000 children, including more than 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The Deputy will be aware that there are challenges for a small percentage of people, which nevertheless is a significant number because many people are involved, who are having difficulties in accessing school transport this year because of a lack…