I thank Deputy O'Dea for raising this very important matter. I begin by extending my sympathies to the family of Nicole Morey. I think the whole country extends its sympathies to that family and community at this horrific time. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, did update the Cabinet on this matter today. The Deputy is correct that she has asked the task force looking at these issues in respect of dogs, dangerous dogs and dog control to prioritise the issue of introducing a ban on certain breeds. I believe the commit…

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this issue on behalf of the community of Shannon Vale. It sounds like an horrific situation for that community for this to have been going on for so long. What might be of use, and I am happy to do this if it is, would be for me to ask that Uisce Éireann and others would convene a meeting of Oireachtas Members for the constituency to see if we can-----

I will speak to the chief executive of Uisce Éireann, see where the situation is at and then come back to Deputy Cairns. If getting people in a room together might be of use to the Deputy, I am happy to do that.

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this issue. I intend to meet with Family Carers Ireland this month. We intend to review the means tests for supports for carers. It is the Government's view that they need to change and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, wants to examine this issue in the context of the budget. I do meet too many carers who are not benefiting from or are locked out of being able to access supports that we would like to see them be in a position to access. We intend, therefore, to look at the whole issu…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the important issues highlighted by the Barnardos survey published this morning. I am very grateful to Barnardos for the work it does and the survey it produced. I thank its dedicated staff and volunteers. Objectively, Ireland is making progress when it comes to child poverty. The consistent poverty rate for children is now lower than it has been at any other time since measurements began in 2004. Similarly, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children is now lower than at any other…

Yes, and let us talk about it.

The Deputy must not be a sensitive soul. When I talk about holding her to account for what she said, it is not insulting. I would never insult her. I have great respect for her as a person, but this is what she said about the budget. That is what she said and I can only judge her on the figures she produces and so can the Irish people. I want to motorists to know that, as a Government, we keep this under review and have great form in this regard. Reversals on reductions that were due to come into place as far back …

We are keeping it under review and will make those decisions and continue to keep it under review. However, I am glad the Deputy has also referenced the issue of child poverty today. Child poverty is a really important issue, and we need to do more, but let us look at our record versus Sinn Féin's. In the last budget we extended child benefit, benefiting 60,000 more children. Sinn Féin did not wish to benefit one extra.

We put €45 million more into hot school meals, they put a paltry €15 million in. We increased the domiciliary care allowance. Sinn Féin did not think those parents deserved any more.

We provided a lump sum payment for families on qualified child payment. Sinn Féin did not.

We increased the income threshold for working families, and Sinn Féin did not do that either. In Northern Ireland, where Sinn Féin is now leading the government longer than I am leading this one, it does not yet have a strategy to tackle child poverty. The Deputy can read what the Northern Ireland Audit Office has said.

When is the Sinn Féin First Minister going to deliver a child poverty strategy in Northern Ireland?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I acknowledge the work of SAOL, and people are happy to engage with that organisation. There are a couple of issues, and I would like to address each of them. On comprehensive employment and the need to do more for people with disability to access the workforce, I acknowledge that it was a former colleague of the Deputy's, Fergus Finlay, and others who set up the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities. It is quite inspiring what they have done,…

There is sometimes a difference in the classification of disability across the EU but that does not take from the broader point the Deputy made about our participation rates of people with a disability in the workforce not being where they need to be. At a time of full employment, we need to address areas of underemployment where people with a disability would like to access the workforce. Employers need people in the workforce and the Deputy's suggestions are sensible. I do think the approach we are taking, though…

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising this really important matter. As he started speaking, I was reminded of a delegation he brought to see me many years ago, when I was Minister for Health, from the Circle of Friends group in Tipperary town. He will remember that at that time, the late, great Sarah Gleeson came to see me with Jennifer Jones Hickey and others, and I think of Sarah and her family today. She made an incredible contribution and legacy to cancer services and to the Circle of Friends in Tipperary town, and …

You did.

I thank the Deputy and as he will appreciate, the €3 million was the first time we provided this model of funding to the alliance. I have met many of these organisations and I know many of them in my own county. I have met a number of these organisations around the country and the funding was welcomed as an important step. I accept it is a first step. I accept the organisations want to have an ability to be able to plan beyond year to year or beyond having to apply on a recurring basis. Let us now see how we can ma…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. At the outset, as we approach another bank holiday weekend, I am sure everyone in this House will join in calling for people to be very conscious of driver behaviour on the roads this weekend. I will get to the Deputy's direct point in a moment. Let me actually get to it now because I agree with the Deputy to a point. I definitely agree that road safety is not down to any one thing. If we are extraordinarily serious about road safety and reversing the worrying trend we ha…

I am trying to be agreeable on this because the Deputy raises valid and important points about road safety and we want to build a political and societal consensus around road safety which is a major issue. I have a point of difference with the Deputy to TV adverts. There is behavioural science that shows the importance of those impactful ads. Everybody in this House and anybody watching this debate at home can think of some of the impactful ads that have been broadcast over the years and the impact they have had in…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is one that has been brought to my attention in this House in recent weeks by her colleagues and colleagues on the Government benches. I am happy for my office to make arrangements in the coming weeks to have that meeting. I am also happy to ask the Minister for Social Protection to perhaps join me at that meeting as well. I have a note on the issue, but I am not sure the note captures some of the concerns, quite frankly, that have been expressed by workers. I want to h…