Yes.

I am only smiling because the Deputy is the first voice from the Opposition that has actually suggested-----

I really appreciate that because this united Opposition thing gets presented a lot, but there are different voices and different perspectives. The Deputy is the first Member of the Opposition who has critiqued the Government for not going further with our VAT reduction measure. The rest of them have slated us for doing anything at all in respect of it. That is a point of difference. When you are in government, you are trying to get these balances correct. We made a decision that the acute viability issue related to…

Go raibh maith agat for raising this matter. I thank the Deputy for the work he is doing on the Oireachtas committee and as our party spokesperson in the area of climate action. He triggered a number of thoughts on my part in relation to this. The overriding priority has to be that the perfect is not the enemy of the good when it comes to homeowners being supported. The Government and I consider the current system to be too rigid in certain areas. There are many people who want to do more in relation to making thei…

The Deputy is entirely correct. People are fundamentally good, and they fundamentally want to do what is good for them, their families, their kids, the next generation and their communities. Everybody wants clean air. Everybody wants a better environment. Everybody wants a better climate. We instinctively want to pass on our planet to the next generation in better shape than we inherited it. That is how people work. Government and State schemes need to comprehend that as well. There is no doubt in my mind that the …

I helped to write it.

I admire the Deputy's passion, but I question his accuracy. For the people listening in and the-----

I will tell you now.

I am about to. There is information on page 52, page 53, page 54, page 55, page 56-----

-----page 56, page 57 and then a nice summary on page 58. Please do not mislead the people of Ireland.

Please give me a chance to speak. Deputy Gould is right in relation to dereliction and vacancy. It is also factually correct to say that we are making substantive factual, statistical progress on that. It is also that we have now appointed and funded vacant housing officers in each local authority. It is also that we are planning in this plan-----

Then I am sure you welcome it.

For the Deputy from Cork specifically, we have a commitment in relation to a Cork city centre task force, which will also make a real difference in looking at issues like vacancy, dereliction, over-the-shop living and the regeneration of the beautiful city that he represents.

I thank Deputy Kenny. I agree with him on the importance of community infrastructure. We talk frequently about building homes, which is vital, but having community infrastructure in place is also vital, as the Deputy will know as a public representative and teacher. I am pleased to hear that Mayfield Sports Complex received some funding from the Community Recognition Fund, but I hear the Deputy loudly and clearly that this is not enough, given the scale of the challenges it faces. I will ask Deputy O’Donovan, as Mi…

No, I am not. I have three points. First, I agree with the Deputy on this issue and I am quite alarmed in terms of online media, including social media. We talk a lot about the positive impacts, but not about the negative and detrimental impacts in many areas, most particularly child safety. To use parliamentary language, I am irked – this is a very weak word – by some of the advertisements I see from social media companies in national media telling us they are doing this, that and the other. That is not what we wa…

I am not disagreeing with the Deputy on that, so just let me finish. Third, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Deputy O’Donovan, is engaging with the Attorney General and others across government to examine what is possible within domestic law to take further action. I expect he will have proposals on that very shortly, and I hope within this calendar year. Fourth, since entering this House in 2011, I have never called for a debate on any issue, but I actually think having one on this is something …

I thank Deputy O'Gorman. The Climate Change Advisory Council has acknowledged today that progress has been made, particularly on the roll-out of retrofitting and the use of renewable energy and solar in our homes, but it is also crystal clear that the progress being made is not enough and that we need to do much more. It is important that we not be fatalistic about climate change. The Deputy is certainly not fatalistic about what we can do. There has been significant progress. Ireland's emissions have fallen for th…

I am not going to comment on our President, because we do not do that in this House, other than to congratulate her on her election and wish her well. I also thank all of those involved in the inauguration this week. It was a moment of immense pride in our country. We have had only ten Presidents. The inauguration was done very well. We have our elections, we have our ruaille buaille and then we pull together as a country. We all send every best wish for strength, resilience and joy to our President. I thank the De…

I will certainly do those things on behalf of both the Deputy and his constituents. I will make contact, via the Minister, with An Post regarding the local postal service disruptions that people are experiencing. When I think back to the Covid period, which was a difficult period of time in our country, some of the unsung heroes I think of are the postmen and postwomen. I remember that we did not even have to ask them. They contacted the Government to say that they knew where the vulnerable people lived in their co…

I thank Deputy Burke for raising this matter and his work on promoting vaccination during his time in the Department of Health. I know it is an issue on which he worked very hard. I am told that we generally have one of the highest flu vaccine uptake rates for older adults in Europe. That is positive. I join the Deputy in reiterating to everyone the importance of getting that vaccine. Based on the trends he has referenced, we could very well have an intense flu season. Vaccination provides people with important pro…