We are on the side of renters. Sinn Féin is on the side of absolute hypocrisy. Seriously.

When you cut through the noise, all you get from Sinn Féin is hypocrisy.

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this very important, sensitive and real issue in our country, our prisons and in relation to our mental health services. It is something that I know is having a real and painful impact and is a worry for many families in our country too. I join with the many who have already thanked those who spoke on the recent "RTÉ Investigates" programme on the forensic mental health services for sharing their lived experiences and giving voice to issues that should not be seen or debated in t…

I take the Deputy's point and I accept her bone fides in relation to this but this is an issue Government is taking extraordinarily seriously. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is taking a very hands-on leadership approach to this area. I thank her for that. She has the support of all of us in government. On the specific, very worrying and concerning revelations in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme, the Minister has sought a full report from the HSE on each of the experiences and cases highlighted in that progra…

I have never been accused of having a craven ideology before. Our only policy objective in this coalition Government is to make sure we build more homes for our people to buy and rent and to make sure we deliver supply. Without properties, apartments and homes to buy or rent, every conversation we have in this House is interesting but academic. It is interesting but abstract if we do not build enough homes. The Housing Commission, which I am sure did not have any ideology either, as it had lots of different perspec…

As has Deputy O'Callaghan.

I patronisingly get asked by the Opposition whether I do not understand, but does the Opposition not understand that we have to increase supply? We have to increase supply. I never hear from the Opposition, beyond more State investment - which we are doing - what policy lever the Opposition would pull to encourage more people to build more apartments. The people who vote for them and those who vote for me-----

We have very significant levels of State investment. We have a Land Development Agency-----

Maybe the Social Democrats will give Deputy Hearne a go at Leaders' Questions one day. We are investing more than ever in housing. We are investing more than most European countries - genuinely.

However, there is a need and it is not just my view and it is certainly not my craven ideology; it is the view of the Housing Commission-----

No, it said to get in private investment. There is no Government policy to do that.

The Government's policy is to stimulate private investment-----

-----but alongside that put in place a package that the Opposition is refusing to acknowledge because it does not work for their social media clips.

There will be an effective no-fault eviction ban. The Opposition will put up a selective clip that will put the fear of God in people in relation to rent but it will not tell them about the no-fault eviction ban.

It will not tell them about nationwide renters' protections. It will not tell them that, actually, the sound bites delivered in here yesterday were dispelled on national radio today. Let us be fair on this sensitive issue. Let us actually bring forward ideas in relation to this. We are bringing forward a balanced package to stimulate supply and protect renters.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and reminding us of a lot of the very good work that has been done by that office since its establishment. I recall the appointment of Leigh Gath, who I think was the first confidential recipient. She was a woman whom I knew and she did incredible work. She was a Thalidomide survivor herself and a disability advocate. She really did excellent work and I acknowledge that and think of her today. I will ask the Minister for Health to come back to the Deputy directly with any f…

I disagree with the Deputy's characterisation of it but I appreciate the point he is trying to make. It is a highly important issue that we all need to be alert to. This office has operated since day one as an independent office. It was an independent office that receives confidential information and then reports it to the HSE's CEO. When it was reporting it as an independent office to the HSE's CEO, there was no chief social work officer responsible for reforming and driving reform in this area. There now is. Cert…

-----the HSE now operates and the role and the value of the chief social worker because the chief social worker has been a positive addition, for the many reasons that the Deputy outlined, to the HSE. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy further.

I thank Deputy Ward for bringing up this issue. I am particularly grateful to him for mentioning Michelle Cotterell, the principal, because I saw the report on the Six One news the other night. I have never met Ms Cotterell - I would be happy to meet her - but I thought her presentation of the issue was exceptional. She made the point - indeed, it is a point I have been repeating in the days since - that we have to use the period of time between now and future school years to look at the fact that the school commun…

Something good has to come from this. When you are a parent under pressure worrying if your child is going to get the supports that they need, you do not really care which arm of the State, which office, which Minister or which Department. The buck stops with us, the Government. That is why we needed to stop the review, provide the additional SNAs where that was identified, not have a downward revision in schools but then crucially use this time - that is the really important bit. I say this in the spirit it is mea…