I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising the need for more affordable homes and the concerns of Saoirse and Darren so that it is an option for them to purchase their own home which is something they want to do. We have included in the new housing plan that local authorities not only must have commitments to social housing and social housing action plans for their own county but must also now have affordable housing plans as well. I do not have the specifics in respect of Cherrywood with me but I will ask the Ministe…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. He is right. In areas like his constituency in west Cork - Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Bandon - we have seen a number of flood relief schemes that have really helped. I know the people of Bantry are waiting and we are very eager to work with them on that. The point I am trying to make, and to be fair to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, the point he is loudly making in Government and we agree with him, is that there is a need to look at what can be done in the interim and in t…

The Deputy's broad point is right. Without being flippant, when it comes to capital planning we have to start somewhere. It was important to get the first tranche out there and moving because a lot of other schools are wondering what it means for them. The Minister for education is conscious of that, as am I along with the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Chambers. In the period ahead, we will be looking at what other schools not on the list have an ability to move forward. The Deputy has been in this House long …

I thank Deputy Carrigy for raising this important issue. He is right that people in Longford are currently being told that the pathway to access a consultant ophthalmologist is the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin. I think that is the primary referral centre. It is a long way from Longford to that hospital in Dublin, particularly for someone with an ophthalmology condition. Currently there is no consultant ophthalmologist based at the Regional Hospital Mullingar. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, …

I know that Deputy Ó Snodaigh has been a supporter of this initiative for quite some time. There will be a new development in relation to this. I am reluctant to say it will be at Cabinet next week. That is what my memory tells me, but it is certainly imminent. The Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, will be bring proposals on it to Cabinet this month. It could be as soon as next week but certainly this month. I will ask the Minister to update the Deputy directly on the details.

I thank Deputy Brabazon for raising the need for clarity for these pensioners, which I know he has raised previously in this House. I will speak with the Ministers, Deputies Chambers and O'Brien, and get the latest update.

I thank Deputy Cullinane for raising this issue. Yesterday was World Cancer Day and it is really important topic. I fully accept his bona fides in this. We all want to see real progress on this. We have made significant progress as a country but there is certainly no room for complacency. The Deputy and the Irish Cancer Society are right to highlight the areas in which we have to challenge ourselves to do better. I know the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is fully committed to this. I will certainly take the Dep…

I thank the Deputy. I know St. Joseph's well. It is a school I have frequently visited. I was out there relatively recently with the school principal, Bernadette, and others for the opening of their extension. Any time I have been there, including during the general election, I always find the students give me a good grilling and are very engaging. I thank the Deputy for raising with me the output of some of his engagement with them. On the issue of Seanad reform, the Seanad referendum was one of those ones that we…

I certainly will. I acknowledge the huge sense of loss and tragedy the Deputy's community is experiencing now. I thank him for telling me about the Hear Me Out youth mental health and counselling service. It sounds like it has made a really positive impact in his community. On foot of the Deputy raising it here today, I will raise it with the chief executive of the HSE and with the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, in relation to where the service's application for funding certainty is at. I will ask that the …

I thank Deputy O'Shea for raising this important matter but also for his continued focus on infrastructure development in Cork. I agree that the N/M20 Cork-Limerick project does represent one of the most strategically important infrastructure investments we can make for the southern region. When completed, this project will really transform connectivity between Ireland's second and third largest cities, Cork and Limerick, and will deliver better links not just for these cities but for all the communities including …

I do agree and I thank the Deputy for raising it. I will certainly undertake to engage with the Minister for housing, primarily, and the Minister for Health on this and revert to the Deputy directly. While I am on my feet, I also want to say the Deputy raised an issue with me before in the House in relation to victims and survivors of domestic abuse, when they are moving from one local authority list to another, and the time they were on the previous list not being recognised. It is an important issue. I acknowledg…

We will not remove the chair. The Deputy has come for a head and he is not getting one. That is the position of the Government of Ireland. This is a Government that follows due process. This is a Government that does not decide that protest removes people from office. This is a Government that listens and engages. We believe that if a person puts up their hand for public service, which is what serving on a commercial semi-State board is, and makes a positive contribution, then they have the support of the Governmen…

Yes.

Wow. We do not need Bord Bia. Get rid of Bord Bia.

Not in mine.

Usually when you deliver your response, it should be in some way linked to what I just said. You have accused me of being evasive. Here it is, really clear: I support the chair of Bord Bia. I think the chair of Bord Bia should continue. I think he should go in front of the agriculture committee. I do not accept Deputy Carthy's smears. I do not agree with his position. That is my position. How is that evasive? It is pretty clear to me. That is a pretty clear position to have.

Instead of the prepared lines that he has been working on in front of the mirror this morning, maybe the Deputy should listen to what the Government is saying. We are very clear in relation to our position on this. There is significant value. I do not like the way the Deputy just dismissed the work of those in Bord Bia because they are not out in the rain. Bord Bia is doing incredible work across the world at a time of extraordinary global-----

The Deputy just dismissed them.

Bord Bia is doing incredible work promoting our farmers' goods right across the world. I am so proud of the work of our farmers and of Irish produce.

Do not come into this House and attack the Minister for agriculture, who has achieved more-----