Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy, please. You are over time.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I will be bringing forward a set of amendments today in the Seanad to ensure the views of the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence providers are explicitly taken into account in terms of the determination of the rate of pay.

That is the best way we can ensure those people-----

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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-----who are working on the front line, such as Women's Aid and the groups the Deputy referred to, will be able to influence the decision taken on the rate of pay.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Those amendments will be made in the Seanad today.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, we cannot go back on it.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I will return to the issue of home ownership. We are all aware that those who aspire to own their homes, and are simply being priced out of being able to do so, are being failed by current Government policy. We all hear from constituents, young and old but particularly those from the younger generation, who cannot afford to buy their own homes and see no prospect of doing so, or of ever being able even to aspire to home ownership here and are looking at emigration as a result. Another group of people, who are already homeowners, are also being failed by current Government policy. These are homeowners who, because of interest rates, are seeing their monthly outgoings on mortgage repayments rising by hundreds of euro every month, with more interest rate hikes in prospect. People despair of being able to budget effectively for their household bills because of this increased outgoing they face every month. They are in homeownership but despair of being able to meet mortgage repayments and are very fearful of what the future holds, if they are not on fixed rates.

Will the Taoiseach consider adopting the proposal of my colleague, Deputy Nash, to cap mortgage rate hikes, and introduce legislation to do so, in order to offer something to that squeezed middle?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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We will certainly examine that issue. I am not sure if it is possible for us to cap rate increases. Interest rates are set by the European Central Bank and not by the Government. Of course, banks and lenders are commercial entities and will set a rate that is above the ECB rate because they have to cover both their own costs and the fact some people are not able to repay, which means the cost of that has to be socialised. I appreciate that many people are seeing their mortgages go up and, pretty much every couple of weeks at this stage, are receiving letters from the bank stating that their monthly repayments are going up. That is particularly acute for people who have tracker mortgages. It is important to bear in mind, however, that in some of those cases people are now paying interest rates other people, who were not on tracker mortgages, were paying for quite some time. We need to also bear that in mind.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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The Children's Rights Alliance annual report card indicates a significant decrease in the quality of conditions experienced by children living in direct provision. The rating fell from a B to a D grade in just a year. I appreciate the complexities of the past year but children are living in temporary accommodation centres throughout the country that are grossly unsuitable, with no inspections carried out by HIQA. The same report made two suggestions I implore the Taoiseach to take on board. The first is the call on the Government to introduce an international protection child payment, equivalent to that recommended in the White Paper on children living in the international protection system. The second is that the Government should also commence HIQA inspections of existing international protection centres against national standards as a matter of urgency, and develop a clear framework for independent inspections of the future accommodation model.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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We will certainly take those suggestions under consideration. The Children's Rights Alliance gave us a B- last year for our plans to end the direct provision system and replace it with a not-for-profit accommodation model, which is Government policy. The report downgraded us to a D this year. That has happened because of a massive increase, a near trebling, in the number of people coming to Ireland seeking international protection. We have to bear in mind that anything we do must not create a pull factor. We do not want to increase the number of people coming here. We have to also bear that in mind.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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As today is 1 March, the Minister for Health should by now have the final report of the review of abortion legislation. This review was to look at the evidence of the operation of the Act. This evidence was collected from women who use the service and health professionals who provide it. We know from research carried out by the National Women's Council of Ireland and others that women still have to travel to Britain to receive abortion care, which defies the whole basis of what we attempted to do in repealing the eighth amendment. We need to know, from the Minister, the timeline for publication of the review. We have a timeline indicating he was to receive the final report from Ms Marie O'Shea by yesterday, but there is no timeline for its publication. This review was triggered on 1 January 2021, which was three years after the legislation came in. We are now getting a little worried about what will happen to women who continually have to travel abroad to receive abortion care.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I could be wrong but my understanding is the Minister for Health has the report. It has not yet been shared with me or the Government. If the Minister has it, he is obviously giving it consideration but we will not delay it much further. I agree it is important the report is published as soon as possible.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Could the Taoiseach press him to give us a timeline for publication of the review? He has never given that to us.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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I am contacted on a regular basis by individuals in my constituency regarding difficulties in accessing health services. These difficulties exist across a wide range of services, including home help, services for children with disabilities, respite services, nursing staff and even down to a shortage of administration staff to type letters, which results in delayed or inaccurate treatment of patients with neurological diseases. On making further inquiries with relevant authorities, I am informed these delays are a result of staff shortages. The problem is coupled with nurses and doctors leaving the health service and emigrating for better contracts and working conditions abroad. It is clear there is a serious problem across community care and acute health services, and these staff shortages are adding to chronic waiting lists. We also have a problem with dentists leaving the medical card scheme and a possible shortage of GPs in the coming years. What is the Government doing to address the chronic issues of staff recruitment and retention across our health services? When are we likely to see an improvement?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The recruitment and retention of healthcare workers is a real problem. We now have a huge budget for our health service. It was €14 billion when I was the Minister for Health and is €22 billion now. There is no lack of money or political will when it comes to improving our health services but there are other restraints, one of which is the ability to train, recruit and retain an adequate number of healthcare staff. This is by no means unique to Ireland; it is an international phenomenon. It is a global labour market. Why are the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and the United Arab Emirates taking in healthcare workers from around the world? It is because they are short too and the people they train also go abroad. We all face the same problem. It is a tough battle but one we are winning. I say that because there are nearly 20,000 more staff in our health service than there were two and a half years ago, including nearly 6,000 more nurses and midwives and nearly 2,000 more doctors and dentists.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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County Tipperary, despite its size, has only one vacant homes officer to cover the county in identifying vacant houses and assessing applications under Croí Cónaithe and the repair and leasing scheme. As the Taoiseach knows, there is significant interest, thankfully, in these grants from the public. For a county the size of Tipperary, I ask that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage find some budget to appoint a second officer so that the grants can be turned around pretty quickly, vacant houses can be assessed and there will be efficiency in the scheme, which will make a dent on the housing crisis.

In addition, I ask the Departments of the Taoiseach and Housing, Local Government and Heritage to get together to re-examine Croí Cónaithe. The current situation whereby it is only available to owner-occupiers is stymying many of the applications. We need to tweak this scheme to allow it to be used in respect of the rental market in order for people to do up vacant houses, some of which are derelict, and get them back into use. That scheme needs to be tweaked. We also need a second vacant homes officer for these assessments in County Tipperary.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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If the Deputy was in the Chamber for questions on housing about three weeks ago, he will have heard the Minister give a commitment that any local authority that wishes to appoint additional housing officers can make a business case to the Department, which will be very receptive to it. I ask the Deputy to go back to Tipperary County Council to make a case for additional vacant homes officers wherever they are required in Tipperary.

The Croí Cónaithe scheme has been very successful to date, with more than 900 applicants. As the Deputy is aware, it is working throughout the country. There is €30,000 available where the house has been vacant for more than two years and up to €50,000 is available for a derelict site. We want people to take up this scheme. We want people to live in houses that are currently vacant and derelict. I ask the Deputy to go back to Tipperary County Council and tell the relevant staff that if they wish to appoint vacant housing officers, to make the application and business case to the Department. We are very receptive to that.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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The Taoiseach has said the future is offshore. Investors were told to go west. We were all told the Atlantic coast would be the Saudi Arabia of wind energy.

Investors spent millions identifying sites off the west coast that were suitable for wind generation and sites where they could bring that energy ashore. This was all going to be part of phase 2. Very recently, the Department announced that phase 2 would be limited to two sites: one on the south-east coast and one on the south coast. No criteria were given as to why those sites were selected, notwithstanding that the decision benefits some investors over others. Equinor and Royal Dutch Shell left the market a long time ago. The remaining investors are feeling very startled by it all. The Taoiseach will know from his time in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment that certainty and continuity are key requirements for investment. Instead, in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, they seem to be replaced by chaos and confusion. Will the Taoiseach confirm whether the announcement last week is Government policy, and can he offer any rationale for it?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am not familiar with the exact announcement to which the Deputy refers. My information is that this matter is still under consideration by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. The future is offshore wind - west, south and east coast. That is what will secure our energy independence and energy security and energy price stability.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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The west?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Yes. This needs to be plan-led, however. It should not be a free-for-all led by investors and developers; it should be plan-led. That is why it is important we have a plan, but it has to be the right plan.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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The recent sickening attacks on our gardaí carrying out their duties have appalled most people in this country. They are extremely worrying and concerning. The lack of regard for the uniform that has crept in in some places is extremely disturbing. The lack of regard for the human being wearing that uniform is even more disturbing. Will the Taoiseach assure me that this problem is being given the highest priority in the Government? It is completely unacceptable. It is a very dangerous road for this country to go down. Figures I have obtained show that, in a period of under four years up to 1 October 2022, over 200 Garda vehicles were rammed. I tried to raise this under Oral Questions but was told that under Standing Order 44 I could not. This needs a serious response from the very highest level in the Government.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Griffin for raising this issue. Attacks on the Garda or any of our uniformed services are unacceptable. They are not just attacks on an individual; they are also attacks on the wider community and on our State. The Minister, Deputy Harris, had a meeting with the Garda representative bodies very recently and assured them that we are taking this extremely seriously. Among the actions we will take are legislation to allow gardaí to wear body cameras, which would be a potential deterrent and would make it easier to prosecute people who attack them, and changes to increase the sentences imposed on people who attack not just gardaí but other uniformed and emergency services personnel as well.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Leddin is not here. I call Deputy Daly.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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Eligibility for the tenant purchase scheme has evolved over the years and continues to evolve. However, a widow recently contacted me to say she had made an application to purchase the house she has lived in for the past 30 years, after she lost her husband, only to be told that, because she is on a widow's pension, she is excluded from the scheme because a State pension is regarded as earned income but a widow's pension is not. Will the Taoiseach take steps to amend this and to end the discrimination against widows applying for this scheme?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising that point. He might give us the specifics of that case, but the point he makes is valid and is one we in the Department will look into under the tenant purchase scheme. He raises a point on which there appears to be an anomaly. He might bring forward the specific case so we can look at it in the context of the overall policy.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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The programme for Government commits to reviewing our electoral laws. Political parties, as the Taoiseach will know, receive substantial sums of taxpayers' money and are subject to strict rules on how it is expended and, importantly, how it is recorded. Last week Deputy Pearse Doherty told "Prime Time" that SIPO is not investigating Sinn Féin. On Thursday The Irish Timesreported that SIPO is examining the party. On the following day, I believe, Deputy McDonald told The Irish Timesthat Sinn Féin's money was fully accounted for but admitted that her party had been questioned by SIPO over its declarations. If Deputy McDonald says her party's finances are all accounted for, surely she and Deputy Doherty, the party's treasurer since 2015, will have no problem addressing this issue in the House to allay the very serious concerns we all have with each new revelation. If they have nothing to hide, they should be able to debate the matter in the House. If it were any other party, I am sure we would have already had the debate. Can time be set aside for this important debate?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Last week The Ditchpublished an article on the business interests of Sinn Féin's finance director. He is more than a mere employee; he is one of the eight grey eminences who manage the Sinn Féin Party, North and South. He was the executor of the estate of William Hampton, the Englishman who left millions of pounds to Sinn Féin in the Republic of Ireland, only for the money to turn up in the accounts of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland. It is a murky story of planning irregularities, substandard rental properties and cash businesses. It comes one week after it was reported that SIPO was examining irregularities in Sinn Féin's accounts in the order of hundreds of thousands of euro, according to an independent forensic accountant. I agree with Deputy Farrell that it is high time the president and the treasurer of Sinn Féin made a statement in the House to clear up this matter. It is far too serious for the House to ignore.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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At the moment there are 47,000 L-plate drivers awaiting a driver test and there is a huge delay, as we all know, at the Road Safety Authority, RSA. The wait is 19 weeks on average nationally, but in County Clare there is a 35-week waiting period. That is all the more punitive for younger drivers in rural areas. Because of the cost of living away from home and the lack of accommodation, many of them live at home and drive a car their mam and dad bought them to get to college. This is totally punitive. One of the requirements for these 47,000 drivers is that they have an accompanying driver. I ask that the Government look at waiving that rule temporarily for the next few months, until we catch up and close in on that gap. Also, given the national car test, NCT, delays, it is important for somebody to clarify for the people of this country whether they are properly insured if they do not have a valid NCT. If your test is delayed by three or four months, why does the rollover period for your next test not account for those three or four months such that the next test catches up six or seven months later again? It is wrong and it is punitive.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I agree that people should be able to get their driving tests in a timely manner. People in rural areas in particular need their cars to get to work, get to college and go about their business. This is a really big problem. I would be reluctant to make any commitment on waiving the requirement to have an accompanying driver. That is a road safety issue, and I would be reluctant to make any changes there, but we are investing in the service and hiring more driver testers. Like the work permit delays and the passport delays we faced six months ago, we will get on top of this.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to raise with the Taoiseach the cases of two elderly people who have contacted me over the past two days. Kitty from Trim, County Meath, is over 100 years old. Her electricity bill with Electric Ireland from 7 December 2022 to 3 February, 59 days, is €957.49 after all subsidies. I have Kitty's bill here. Her previous bill was €133.42. Her electricity usage involves a fridge, a washing machine, an immersion heater, lighting and two electric heaters on timers, with no central heating. Gerry Clarke, 77 years old, from Ballivor, County Meath, told me I could use his name. He received his Electric Ireland bill this week. It amounts to €1,678.65. His previous bill was for €671, and the one before that was for €290. His bill of €1,678.65 works out at €26.22 a day over 64 days, not the highest price in Europe for domestic use but the highest in the world. Is it any wonder that a third of all households are experiencing energy poverty? The Government and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, need to get the finger out and deal with these energy companies, which are making massive profits on the back of pensioners and the Irish public in a cost-of-living crisis

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I have had the same experience the Deputy has had and have met many people in my constituency who have been really shocked by some of the utility bills that have landed in their letter boxes in recent weeks. These are the winter bills. They are extremely high. Unfortunately, there is another one on the way. The Government is acting. We have extended the 9% VAT rate on electricity and gas until the end of October. There is another €200 energy credit on the way and, of course, we have provided for targeted welfare payments to increase pensions, increase the fuel allowance and widen eligibility for the fuel allowance, among other actions, and we will not stop here.

The next step is the introduction of a windfall tax so that we can take back some of the profits of the energy companies and give them to people to help them with their bills.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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The recent allocation of funding for roads in County Cork that was announced by the Government leaves our county with €1,000 less per kilometre than the national average. At a recent Cork County Council meeting, councillors were told that County Cork has lost €273 million for roads since 2008. We have the third lowest sum per kilometre of all local authorities. They were also told that if County Cork got the increases every other council got in the last 16 years, instead of us getting €83.6 million this year we should have got €273 million. I recently got an email from a man who had returned home for his mother's funeral in west Cork. He said that he was greeted once again with atrocious roads, plenty of potholes and surface water all over the place. His friends who attended the funeral from Armagh stated that they were astounded at our road conditions. He said that we have a road network designed for horses and carts from the 18th and 19th centuries and there have been no major upgrades. At the council meeting last Monday, councillors reacted furiously to what they were told, leading one Fine Gael councillor, who must be in la-la land, to point the finger at his Deputies and Senators who are not working on our behalf. Fine Gael has been in government during the decades of underspending. When will this under-resourcing of roads for west Cork end? What will the Taoiseach do about it?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I will have to ask the Minister for Transport to engage with the Deputy on that matter. Local authorities do not need to entirely rely on central Government for funding for local and regional roads. Local authorities have other income, including income from commercial rates, the local property tax and other sources, and there are councils in Ireland that do not rely entirely on central government grants for roads. That has to be taken into account as well.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Today is the day when the Government reintroduces the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, levy of 2 cent per litre on the price of fuel. It might not sound like a lot but NORA does not just store oil; it also stores money. In 2021 NORA raised €120 million, with a surplus of €39 million. That surplus has accumulated year on year, and the Government feels the need to introduce a levy on the hard-pressed people of rural Ireland who are working hard. I am collecting for a food bank to give those people a leg up because they cannot afford both food and fuel. They are paying to go to work. These are the people who are raising the taxes for the Government to pay for the cost-of-living measures that it pontificates on day in and day out. I am asking the Government to reconsider the 2 cent levy and remove it because it affects people outside of the M50 far greater than those who have the option of public transport.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The NORA levy is there for a reason; it is there to fund the operations of NORA, which ensures we have energy security and we have supplies of petrol and diesel on hand if we need them. It is paid by everyone, including people in urban and rural Ireland and people who live beyond the M50 and commute long distances. That includes most of my constituents, who are beyond the M50. The levy is paid by everyone. I appreciate that people travelling long distances, whether it is commuters or people in rural areas, will pay more but it is there for a reason and it is there to make sure we have 90 days worth of supply of petrol and diesel should we need it.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I want to talk to the Taoiseach about the proposed move to put EmployAbility services throughout Ireland out to public tender in April. EmployAbility companies throughout Ireland have been successful in sourcing employment for people with a disability or for people with a mental illness and they have been doing that for years. I have met numerous people who have availed of this service. They have gone from barely being able to get out of bed to proper full-time employment and vibrant lives. The success rate of the service is immense. EmployAbility West Cork is a perfect example. It has been providing the service with dedication, passion and, above all, experience for years. It is unthinkable that a company like that would lose out through a public tender process. I am asking the Taoiseach to review this. If a company is not performing or getting results, by all means its contracts should be reviewed but other than that I ask the Taoiseach to review this and pause this move to a public tender process.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am not across the detail of this so I will have to ask the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to engage directly with the Deputy. As a general point, I do not think people should be afraid of competition or going out to tender. I have seen this happen with other services and in the vast majority of cases the existing provider got the contract because it was doing a good job. In some cases it did not get it because it was not doing a good job. People should not be afraid of being accountable and being held to a bit of scrutiny. They should not be afraid of the possibility that they could lose the job if they are doing a good job.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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This time last year the Canadian Parliament passed a unanimous motion designating the month of March as Irish Heritage Month. Will the Taoiseach and Ceann Comhairle acknowledge that this was done? It is the only country in the world that has done this. It did it to mark the contribution of Irish people to Canada in the past and in the future. It was unanimously passed by the Canadian Parliament as a gesture of acknowledgement of what Ireland has done for Canada over the years. I want to make that known and to acknowledge my gratitude to the Canadian Parliament and to James Maloney MP in particular, who drove this initiative.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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So say all of us

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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That is duly acknowledged.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach will know that the reform of the leaving certificate started seven years ago and it was designed to build on the difficult but successful reform of the junior cycle. The latest postponement which we read of may reflect genuine concerns but we cannot move to a situation where reform is at the pace of the slowest mover. The last reform was nearly 30 years ago and there has been a radical change in Irish society. The OECD describes our leaving certificate as creating second-class robots in a rapidly changing world of technology. We need to move on and we need momentum to deliver serious reform. I am concerned that we are losing that momentum and determination to deliver the change needed.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and the Government, remain committed to a reimagined senior cycle of education where the student is at the centre and where students are prepared for the modern world of work and the modern world in which they live. The decision to defer the move of paper 1 to fifth year was done following reflection on the views provided by stakeholders in answering a call for clarity from students. The Minister has decided to defer the change in the scheduling of paper 1. Taking this step now will facilitate teachers in their planning for the coming school year. Although there are no changes to the syllabus or the principle of integrating language and literature, the additional time will facilitate enhanced planning for the introduction of remodelled papers and the sequencing of the methodologies and approaches to support teaching, learning and assessment.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The European Union has made it clear that in developing offshore renewable energy, one industry cannot replace another. I spoke to fishers on the east coast again today and I have raised this matter on several occasions here. They are saying that because the Government has let the developers decide about certain sites, most notably the Kish and Codling Banks, their entire industry will be wiped out. This will happen because the developers have decided the location and there has been no proper consultation with the fishers. They point out, for example, that their fishing gear is 600 m in length but that the gap between each of the wind turbines will only be 800 m. If they foul their gear on cables or the turbines it could be a disaster. They say it will destroy the spawning grounds on those sand banks for haddock, cod, whiting, whelk, crab and lobster and wipe out an industry that creates about 800 to 1,000 jobs. What does the Taoiseach say to them?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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There is a planning process.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Not for this project.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Before any offshore wind farm gets permission, there is a planning process and the planning authorities have to listen to what the developers have to say. They also have to listen to what the fishers have to say. I am sure that they will do so and that they will take account of what the best thing to do is. I would not dismiss their concerns whatsoever. The fishing industry is important to Ireland, as is the offshore energy sector, which certainly will be important to Ireland because it is the key to our energy independence. I am getting a bit confused about the Deputy’s approach to politics. Every day he is in here talking about the housing and climate crises and yet he is the one who seems to be at the forefront of opposing housing and renewable energy in his constituency.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That is rubbish.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It does not make sense.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That is just rubbish. It is called sustainable and democratic planning.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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And NIMBYism.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Deputy O'Donovan would know all about that.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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A new floor of apartments has been added on top of an apartment building in Mulhuddart. There is a replacement heating system for the building because the existing one broke. Nothing else was done in the apartment block and the landlord has now increased the rent by 103%. A number of those tenants have now been given an eviction notice following an increase that they were not even informed of. Does the Taoiseach believe that protections are required or need to be strengthened so that we can have a long-term, functional rental market?

Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
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It is four years since the people of Limerick decided that we would have a directly-elected mayor. My constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, has helpfully indicated that we will have legislation next month, all going well. I thank the Minister of State. We need to make sure that the legislation is meaningful and that there is proper devolution of power from Dublin to Limerick, but also that we have an election. Realistically, 2024 would be the time for such an election, concurrent with the European and local elections. It should be a high priority for the Government to deliver this legislation and to have an election for a directly-elected mayor in Limerick as soon as possible.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Donnelly might bring the specifics of the point he raised to me. I am not aware of it but we can look at it. We want people to be able to remain in their homes. That is certainly the intention.

In response to Deputy Leddin, we are on track to have the legislation for a directly-elected mayor published in April. It is a priority for this Government, particularly for the Taoiseach and me. Once the legislation is published, it will go through both Houses, then there will be a decision by the Cabinet about when the election is to be held. I want to see it happen as soon as possible.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Good. I thank Members.