I thank the Deputy. We touched on this question earlier. The Minister for Health and I are doing a scanning exercise to see how we can radically increase the size of the health service from an education point of view. We updated the Cabinet committee on health on that on Monday. The Minister for Health has arrived here just on cue. I expect to be able to bring a joint proposal with the Minister for Health to Cabinet in the coming weeks to see how we can expand particularly in 2024, 2025 and beyond. There is potenti…

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter and for the opportunity it provides me to supply what I hope are some useful updates to the House on the issues he raised. The Coroner Service is a network of coroners in districts throughout our country. As the Senator reminded us, coroners are independent, quasi-judicial officials whose function is to investigate sudden and unexplained deaths so that a death certificate can issue. This is an important public service to the living and, in particular, to the nex…

I fully acknowledge that. It is very important that the Senator has highlighted and raised this issue. It is a sensitive and important matter which requires constant focus and attention. He is right that for this process to work seamlessly and efficiently requires all parts of the pipeline to work effectively. This is not in any way a criticism of the health service or hospitals. As the Senator highlighted, it may well be down to a lack of pathologists. However, the issue of hospitals withdrawing provision of patho…

Not 1 million.

We need bit of order in the House, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

First, there is a complete misrepresentation being put forward by the Opposition, which is this monopoly on concern and compassion. It has been made very clear by Government. Deputies heard from the Taoiseach's speech today and from the contributions of all Ministers the options that are being put in place to support people around the time period of six months. The six months was used to provide more solutions. Solutions exist today in my county that did not exist six months ago. We should not, therefore, try to de…

-----and is trying to grab anything.

Deputy Ó Ríordáin has probably objected to more homes than any other member of Dáil Éireann. He has probably objected to more-----

He probably has-----

Deputy Ó Ríordáin is not a múinteoir anymore. He does not need to wag his finger at me.

Do not wag your finger at me-----

-----and stop objecting to homes in your constituency.

It is running out because the Leas-Cheann Comhairle is allowing my time to be taken.

I am sorry, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I will talk to you directly. Sadly, we saw this last weekend when the Labour Party promised to deliver "one million homes in ten years" to tackle the housing crisis, which is a direct quote, with no ifs, no buts, no asterisks, no caveats and no detail. A few hours later, it turned out that only half of them would be new homes. Retrofitting a home is good for the climate but it is not a new house. It does not provide a new housing solution.

To paraphrase a former Labour Party leader, however, is that not what you say during a national conference?

This Government will reaffirm today that we have a majority in Dáil Éireann, and Dáil Éireann will reaffirm its confidence in this Government to get on with the job. We will continue not to reduce housing to an issue of sloganeering but actually to work night and day with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to come at the housing challenge from all angles. This is a Government making more interventions than ever before in the history of the State, and the Deputy knows it.

He cannot plead ignorance. The Deputy was in government. He knows how challenging it is.

Amendment No. 1 provides that the proposed new section 3DA of the Firearms Act 1925, as inserted by section 10 of the Bill, shall not begin until the completion of all stages of the proposed new section 26B proposed in Deputy Kenny’s amendment No. 2. Colleagues will be aware the proposed new section 3DA of the Firearms Act 1925 provides that, “On the day that is 3 months after the relevant date, any firearm certificate for a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle that was first granted after 18 September 2015 and that wa…

I, too, thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for his work on this issue and for the way in which we are engaging on it. I hope we will engage to find a way forward. As the Deputy has said, he discussed this issue with my colleague, Deputy McEntee, on Committee Stage. It is an issue my Department has been considering and one on which I have spoken in recent weeks because I share the concern. We all want to reach the same point in this regard. I am particularly conscious of the issue in my dual role because, as Minister for Furth…

I thank colleagues for their contributions. I will engage constructively. Subject to this House passing the Bill, it will move to the Seanad where we will have an opportunity to tease it through further. We will also have an opportunity with Private Members' time and the general scheme of a sexual offences Bill we intend to bring to the Cabinet shortly. Further to Deputy McNamara's point, there will be plenty of opportunities in this Dáil to tease through further, consider and try to make progress. For anyone follo…