There was quite a lot in that, so let me endeavour to get through it. To start where the Deputy finished as regards the issue of accountability and the safety and well-being of people in our nursing homes, I reiterate that it is the intention of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, along with the Minister of State, Kieran O'Donnell, to bring forward adult safeguarding policy proposals within the next month or so and to seek permission from the Government to draft the general scheme of safeguarding legi…

I am very conscious of not wanting to say anything that cuts across any legal process or court process. I know the Deputy is as well. I will therefore refrain from going any further on that issue other than to reiterate that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, who is here with us, is committed, as is the programme for Government, to reviewing the dental legislation more broadly for the reasons I have outlined. A number of regulations have been commenced recently, since the Minister took office, that became effec…

I thank the Deputy for raising what he rightly says is a very important issue. I do not think any of us in our constituencies, communities or across the country have not heard from parents, teachers, boards of management, parents' associations and principals debating and grappling with this issue. Everything the Government wants to do in this space is actually about empowering parents, young people and school communities. My hometown of Greystones became one of the first parts of the country where the schools decid…

I am not sure if the Deputy is proposing pouches for the Dáil. It might slow down the dissemination of information from parliamentary party meetings to the fourth estate, which I am sure would significantly inconvenience some people.

The serious point the Deputy makes is entirely right. It is perfectly right that Deputy Feighan has a right to ask a question, Deputy Coppinger. That is how we work in this democracy. Our lads are elected too and they can ask questions in the Dáil. I thank Deputy Feighan for bringing up such an important issue that is on the minds of all parents around the country, the mental health and well-being of our young people. In the time available to me, I want to return to the news of the horrific plane crash. Since we ha…

The only part of this island where phone pouches have been rolled out by a government is in Northern Ireland and where the First Minister is a member of Sinn Féin. I challenge the Deputy to talk to parents, principals and teachers in Donegal because they have been asking for support in relation to phone use. If the Deputy does not recognise the challenges posed by social media and smartphones, that is on him. Yes, I listen to my constituents when it comes to energy prices and yes, we will continue to support people…

Yes, it is very serious.

What we will do is bring forward a budget with proposals to help people with the cost of living.

I thank the Deputy for bringing up this issue. I undertake to pass that on directly to the Minister for housing and ask him to look into the matter immediately with the local authority and come back to the Deputy directly on the issue. There is a housing emergency. We need to build homes and take every opportunity to do so. We will have a national development plan review next month which will significantly increase further investment in housing and housing-enabling infrastructure. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Br…

I thank the Deputy for bringing up this issue. The INTO has rightly highlighted the issue with the Deputy and colleagues across the House in recent days. Many of us have had the opportunity to hear directly from the INTO. The Deputy is right that real challenges are faced by our schools. It is objectively fair to say we have increased the education budget a lot. Much of the focus has been on reducing class sizes and on special education needs. We all support that but there is a legitimate issue around capitation an…

I thank the Deputy. I have been discussing this matter with my colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade today. We are monitoring the situation very closely. I have asked for an update from our embassy in Egypt and that our consular section keep me directly updated on these matters. The protection and well-being of any Irish citizen in any part of the world is something my Department and the Government takes extremely seriously and I will be keeping a close eye on this.

I appreciate why the Deputy raises this issue but there are two things I will not do. First, I will not interfere in any sort of judicial process around the status or examinership of a company. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle surely would not allow me to do so under the rules of the House anyway. Second, I will not interfere in the awarding of State contracts. We know where that has got the body politic in the past. The awarding of State contracts is independent of the political process. More broadly and from a policy pe…

I thank the Deputy. He is right. I have been in the Chamber since the news emerged. I join the Deputy and everybody in extending the sympathies of the House and country to all those affected, to the people of India and to those likely to be affected in our nearest neighbour, the United Kingdom. My Department is actively monitoring the situation in real time. We stand ready to assist any citizen, though I am not aware of any citizen in relation to this. More broadly, from a humanitarian point of view, we are always …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I had the pleasure of meeting Councillor Nealon from Sligo yesterday and discussed this with him. I also met yesterday pupils from a school in Claremorris in the Deputy's constituency who were in the Dáil. When I bumped into them and asked if they had any questions, the first question they asked was what I would do about this idea of the social media ban. It was interesting to note the amount of them in favour of it. These were sixth-class students in Claremorris National …

The Deputy may or may not be aware that there is a prison in my constituency.

Do not shout at me, please. The Deputy may or may not be aware that there is a prison in my constituency, Shelton Abbey. I have visited it many times.

I do not know if the Deputy has visited any prisons recently. I have visited-----

Can the Deputy please stop shouting? Just please stop shouting.

I would like to be allowed to answer a very serious question. Thank you. Prison capacity is a very serious issue. There are far too many people out on the streets, causing chaos in communities, who need to be in prison.

They cannot be in prison unless we expand prison capacity. Our population has grown. I believe in alternatives to prison but there are some people who need to be behind bars. This House has passed laws to extend prison sentences but has not put in place the prison capacity to support those extensions. I have been Minister for justice. No Minister for justice wants to receive reports notifying him or her that people are being released from prison because there is not enough prison capacity. We need to fix this. The …