Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I will try again but the Tánaiste never gives a direct answer. I asked him a simple question. After spending €2.2 billion, there has been complete incompetence from the Government with the national children's hospital. He cannot even tell us if he believes the hospital will be open to treat children by 2026. That was a simple question.

I will try again about the Government's other fiasco, the housing crisis, which has a crippling effect on society. Many are unable to find a home or place to live. Today, we have the ESRI report on the impact of this crisis on a particular group of people, which is children. The report found that inadequate, cold and damp housing has long-term impacts on the physical and mental health of children, while mothers living in inadequate housing tend to have higher levels of depression, worse health outcomes and damaging knock-on effects on children. Children are so often the victim of the Government's housing policies. Does the Tánaiste accept the findings of the ESRI report that the Government's housing crisis is having an effect on the mental and physical health of children? How does he stand over that? What does he say to those families and their children today?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy knows, the ESRI report is based on children born in 2008 and assesses them over a nine-year period. Without question, quality of housing impacts on the well-being of children and families. That is why we are building more social housing this year and the past three years. This Government has, notwithstanding Covid-19 lockdowns, substantially changed the dial in respect of house completions. We have also done far more than any other Government in retrofitting of local authority housing to make the quality of housing better and also retrofitting more generally. There has been a dramatic increase in the retrofitting of houses across the country, which goes to the heart of the ESRI report, with better quality housing in the rental market, local authority housing and housing more generally. That is the way to deal with it. Without doubt, since 2020, post Covid, there has been a dramatic increase. An additional 110,000 houses have been delivered but we need to do much more.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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We hear ominous reports from the Israeli Government that it intends to continue pursuing its genocidal war in Gaza until the end of this year and beyond, while it refuses to comply with the International Court of Justice ruling calling for an immediate halt to the military offensive in Gaza. We see children continuing to be killed in Gaza. We see what is happening in Rafah, which is horrific and a stain on our humanity. We need concrete action at EU level. Will the Government support Ursula von der Leyen for a second term even if she refuses to apply sanctions to Israel and refuses to review the EU trade agreement? In a week, Ireland will go to vote in the European elections. Only a vote for Labour candidates will deliver MEPs who will be members of the second largest group in the European Parliament, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. Only that group can challenge Ursula von der Leyen and the European People's Party for a second term. Will the Government continue to back Ursula von der Leyen even in light of her undue support for Israel?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy should acknowledge that two of the stronger MEPs on the Palestine question over the last four years have been Barry Andrews and Billy Kelleher. They have been robust, they have visited the area and they have been strong in respect of upholding the right of Palestinians to their homeland and state and having a fair resolution of the conflict. It is shocking that Israel has indicated this morning that this war could go to the end of the year. The suffering is horrific and the consequences are dire for Palestinians across Gaza and particularly in Rafah at the moment. That is why, at the last Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday, there was a call, which I supported, with a proviso that there would be a convening of the EU-Israel Association Council with a view to raising our grave concerns about what is happening. Regarding European institutions, much will depend on what happens in the European Parliament elections.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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Many parents in Wicklow rely on Tallaght hospital's emergency department for their children. I have often frantically made the journey on the hard shoulder with my child to bring them to the emergency department, where they get excellent care. When the new children's hospital is opened, the Tallaght emergency department will close for children and it will be an urgent care centre with daytime provision, which will close at 8 p.m. every day, so parents in Wicklow will have to bring their child into St. James's for any emergency care. We hear now that the handover will happen in 2025. That is what has been mooted. How many months will it be following that point until the Tallaght emergency department will close for children in Wicklow? Many parents in the county do not realise that the Tallaght paediatric service will close once the St. James's hospital is open.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Health can engage on that more specific issue but the more fundamental point I would make is-----

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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He can do it here now if he wants. I am happy for him to take it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I think I have to take the first four questions.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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He can tell the Tánaiste what the answer is.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I am not sure he can. That is the problem.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I can give the Deputy Whitmore the answer. She asked two or three questions. The first was the-----

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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When will the Tallaght paediatric emergency service close?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are not in a position to determine that right now. I have long enough around to know that in the health sector situations evolve and facilities rarely close. They are either redeployed or used for something else, or they are kept on as they are. Obviously the whole idea of the national children's hospital is to have the best and most appropriate care for children with particular conditions. All of these timelines have been BAM timelines. I resolutely refuse to become involved in an arbitration process that is ongoing, with a difficult contractual relationship between the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and BAM.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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Why is the Government increasing tax on workers? This afternoon, under the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, employees' PRSI will be increased from 4% to 4.7%. It is the most regressive form of income tax we have, which will mean that a worker on the minimum wage will end up paying almost an extra €200 in PRSI and a worker on the average wage will pay almost €350 extra in PRSI. Why are workers being hit in this way when the Government has just introduced a tax break for employers' PRSI? It is acting like a reverse Robin Hood, taking from the workers and giving to the rich corporations. This is not necessary to fund the pay-related jobseeker's benefit. The Government's own tax strategy group found that Ireland's employers' PRSI is less than half the EU average. That is what should be increased.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Employers' PRSI has been increased. The Social Insurance Fund is extremely important for the future. Overall, Government has significantly reduced taxes on workers and, through national wage agreements and so on, with the rate of inflation coming right down this year, net incomes will increase overall. Tax has come down every year since this Government came into office, including income tax and the USC. The Commission on Taxation and Welfare was clear that in order to sustain pensions, auto-enrolment and pay-related benefits in the future, we should make sure that we have a significant revenue base.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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During his recent visit to the community around Lough Funshinagh, the Tánaiste witnessed the devastating impact of rising water levels. These levels have exceeded all previous records. Without intervention, it is predicted that four homes will be lost to the floodwaters next winter. As he knows, in its most recent modelling, the Geological Survey of Ireland has confirmed this dire situation. Research published last week by World Weather Attribution indicates that increased winter rainfall driven by climate change will become more frequent. This exacerbates the risk to these four homes. Given this compelling evidence, I urge the Tánaiste to request an urgent re-evaluation by the Attorney General of the legal options available to protect these vulnerable homes in advance of next winter.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the question. I visited the area and met with many residents. It is quite shocking what the residents in this area have gone through. It is an awful pity that the pipeline, which was 60% completed, was not enabled to go the full distance because a human disaster continues to unfold for the residents of that area. It was heart-rending to see.

Even as we walked there, the levels have not gone down in some areas. Everybody is afraid of next winter. The Deputy is correct in terms of the climate attribution study by the World Weather Attribution group. A key finding of the study is that it identified an increase of approximately 20% in rainfall intensities experienced during the period between October 2023 and March 2024. The big fear is that this is not a once-off anymore. There are, therefore, two issues. The council should proceed with the planning properly and get all the studies and keep doing that. That will not sort it out for this winter and, therefore, I will revert to the Attorney General in respect of legal advice around what can be done in the short term. However, I am clear that something has to happen in the short term in respect of this.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I was asked to ask this question by representatives of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings group. On 21 May 1975, the then Deputy Tom J. Fitzpatrick replied to a question in the Dáil and when speaking of an An Garda Síochána investigation into the Dublin-Monaghan bombings said: "They have no positive information or evidence that would clearly identify the culprits."

We know there were eyewitness accounts from the day placing a certain loyalist in a car in Dublin that day. His photograph was then picked out of evidence books. On at least one occasion, a Garda representative was present at an RUC interrogation of a loyalist in which names relating to the bombings were discussed.

In the 1993 Yorkshire Television "First Tuesday" documentary, journalist Philip Tibenham stated: "All Ministers on the Irish Government security committee interviewed by First Tuesday say they were never told the gardaí had any suspects for the bombings."

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Go raibh maith agat.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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This is my question, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. The Government security committee was briefed by the Garda on the investigations into the bombings, during which members of the Garda briefed that security committee that it had no suspects. Will the Tánaiste hand over this information to the relatives when he meets them after the local elections? That is the information they are looking for.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are a number of steps to this. I was at the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary, which was very poignant and sad. Without question, we need to get answers for the relatives here, and it has to be done through a structured format. I met recently with Sir Iain Livingstone of Operation Denton, who took over from Mr. Jon Boucher. The publication of Operation Denton is important in this context. I hope it will shed further light on what happened on that terrible day, and in advance of and subsequent to it. I hope that will create a platform for further actions then by the two Governments in respect of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. That is where I see it at the moment. I will obviously meet the families of the victims and engage with them in terms of how best we can move forward on this. In terms of our own State, that will include any information either the Department of Justice or An Garda Síochána have. That should, of course, be made available.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Tánaiste.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Barron report identified that there was missing documentation from the British Government, which rendered it impossible to be conclusive in respect of it.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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This was a question about the Government security committee.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are way over time.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The McEntee report, which was also established, came to similar conclusions.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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However, which gardaí?

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are way over time, Deputy. I call Deputy Feighan.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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This time last year, the Tánaiste generously hosted a very successful Northern Ireland trade event in Iveagh House. This is an alliance between Hospitality Ulster, Manufacturing Northern Ireland and Retail Northern Ireland. Last week, the same trade event was held in Westminster and the Irish embassy generously hosted them in the embassy that evening. On 25 June, the event is again taking place in Iveagh House, and I believe the Tánaiste is hosting. We need to do an awful lot more of this. There are other organisations such as CHAMP, Anglo-Irish relations and so forth. What are the Tánaiste's views on expanding these organisations and hosting these events? They do an awful lot for North-South and east-west co-operation.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issues. I recall the event in Iveagh House last year. It is extremely important because many businesses and people who employ people in Northern Ireland were very insightful and enlightening in respect of Brexit and how various responses by both the UK Government and the Irish Government could negatively impact on their everyday working environments. It is extremely important that we continue to nurture and cultivate more engagements with organisations such as these, particularly in respect of Northern Ireland, because sometimes people have general notions and ideas. However, it is when we meet the people who are in the field and who are doing the work that we can learn a lot and then apply that learning to policy. Vice President Šefčovič of the European Commission, for example, had tremendous interaction with the Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group. That did help change attitudes within the Commission, which led to the Windsor Framework agreement.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I want to bring the Tánaiste's attention to the lack of services in Dublin Mid-West. I have a constituent from Clondalkin who needs a mobility scooter. He has been told that he must wait 37 months for an occupational therapist appointment in Rowlagh. In Newcastle, we have no public health nurses for one housing estate, but we have for the housing estate beside it. It is the same in north Clondalkin. Finally, we have no special educational needs officer for Clondalkin. I have families who are desperately trying to get a special educational school place for their child with little or no assistance. I have three questions. Does the Tánaiste think it is unacceptable for a person needing a mobility scooter having to wait three and a half years for an appointment? Does he think it is unacceptable that children are not receiving developmental checks? Does he think it is unacceptable for parents of children with disabilities to have no support in finding a school place?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Children should have support in respect of finding school places. I am not clear as to why there is no special educational needs organiser, SENO, in the area. Is that a recruitment issue?

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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It is a recruitment issue.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is a matter for the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. There are SENOs across the length and breadth of the country.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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There are none in Clondalkin.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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However, I presume there will be.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I beg your pardon.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Is that a-----

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I do not know. We would have to ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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The time is running out for the answer.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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There are none at all-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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If we ring, the NCSE will tell us what the story is. I presume there will be. Maybe someone has left the job or whatever. I am not sure; we will need to get the background to that.

On the mobility scooter, my own view is that it is an appliance, and any supports should be provided relatively seamlessly. The system the HSE operates at times in different parts of the country baffles me. Extraordinary additional funding has been allocated to the HSE over the past three years and mobile scooters should not be an issue financially.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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He has been waiting 37 months for the service.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Nobody should be waiting 37 months. That is ridiculous.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Go raibh maith agat.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The third point was-----

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Public health nurses.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Again, there has been very substantial recruitment with 28,000 extra people recruited in the last three years.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are over time. I call Deputy Stanley.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Staying with the health issue, we know how important primary care services are in keeping people out of hospital. As we move towards implementing Sláintecare, which has been moving way too slowly, I want to ask in particular about people in the east of County Laois near the County Carlow border. The people of Graiguecullen, Ballylynan, The Swan, Doonane, Crettyard and Killeen depend on the centre in Graiguecullen, which sits right on the border on Oakley estate. Before Covid, a lot of services were provided in that small centre. When Covid came, it obviously closed, like many other places, and many of those services have not been re-established there. An example of what is happening is-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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What centre?

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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What type of centre?

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Graiguecullen on the Laois-Carlow border.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Is it a primary care centre?

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Is it a day centre?

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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What is happening is that if elderly people and other people from that area need an eye test, they have to go to Athlone, which is a 230 km round trip.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Elderly people who need physiotherapy have to go to Portlaoise. They may not have a car. That is 85 km.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I am asking the Tánaiste to bring this back to the Minister for Health to ask him to get that centre expanded and upgraded in Graiguecullen.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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The Tánaiste to respond. We are way over time.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Is it a primary care centre?

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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No, it is a health clinic, but a substantial number of services were provided there.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will talk to the Minister for Health.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I accept that it is not a primary care centre-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I just want clarity, that is all.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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-----but we need is to have that health centre providing more services-----

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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-----for the people in that corner of Laois.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is no excuse for services that existed pre-Covid not to exist now.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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People have to travel 230 km for an eye test.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are eating into the time.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy referenced that point and I agree with him on that. For some reason, however, some services were very slow in coming back even though resources were not diluted. There is a question mark over how that happened. I will talk to the Minister for Health in respect of what the Deputy has raised.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach is meeting shortly with the business community in Drogheda to discuss the economic impact of the loss of the D Hotel and €21 million to the local economy. The people of Drogheda remain extremely angry at this decision. The Government needs to intervene and have a package for the tourists and businesses in our town. We need a moratorium on tourist accommodation being provided in the future in Drogheda for applicants under the IPAS, or International Protection Accommodation Services, and the beneficiaries of temporary protection, BOTP, scheme. We also need a ban on the use of ground-floor retail for this purpose. We are losing a major pub, which cost over €2 million to refurbish recently and is applying for IPAS accreditation. Business people in Drogheda are up in arms and very concerned about this.

The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, signed an agreement with the D Hotel for 500 beds for two years. Last week, the fire certificate for the building issued at last and it was for 465 beds. This means the greedy developers who own the hotel will have an additional €2 million in their back pocket as a result of beds that the Minister signed up for but which can never be filled because they can never be put into the hotel. The Minister's policy is a shambles in our town.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are way over time.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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He is throwing people out of tents all over the city of Dublin at present.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are way over time.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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He needs to re-examine this policy and bring ordinary people with him, rather than drive people into the arms of the extreme right which is getting oxygen from his actions.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Deputy O'Dowd has eaten into the time for the answer.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Merchant pub, which I believe the Deputy is referring to, was offered for international protection accommodation some time ago. The offer was rejected by my Department. I gather the Deputy is highlighting that there is potential that the pub may be re-offered. It has not been as yet and there is no offer currently with my Department. I cannot speak to what the owners will do in the future. All I can speak to is that the offer was rejected for significant reasons the previous time it was made. That is the position. There is no current live offer for that public house within-----

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Is there an application?

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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There is no application within my Department for that pub right now.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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It is there today.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The previous application we dealt with was rejected for significant reasons. As the Deputy will be aware, none of us wants to be in a situation where we are taking hotel accommodation. That is why we published a comprehensive accommodation strategy, one that moves away from reliance on private providers and towards a core of State-provided accommodation.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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If I can have a last word, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, in the short-term, it is about being able to provide accommodation for people who are rough sleeping at present. Another 109 people were offered accommodation today.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We will try to keep to the time limits.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I want to get clarity from the Government in relation to the roads budget. We have reports that Transport Infrastructure Ireland funding for local authority projects has been stopped in many areas of the country. I have a copy of emails between the Irish Asphalt Pavement Producers Association and Transport Infrastructure Ireland in respect of this. The association asked what was happening because some of its members were hearing reports that local authorities were stalling projects that were to go ahead. The reply from TII stated that it had issued instructions last week for local authorities not to go to tender without prior approval from TII, that its commitment across the expenditure profile exceeded the funding available and that, unfortunately, the consequence is that there will be a significant number of schemes that cannot progress to construction in the current year. In the case of a number of roads projects up and down the country, local authorities have funding in place and the industry is prepared to provide the materials to do them but now we find that the funding has been cut by central government.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I call the Tánaiste.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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This could involve up to €40 million in funding. We need to get clarity about what is happening here. Everywhere we go in the country we hear people complain about the state of the roads and the dangers on the roads. We need to ensure funding is in place to provide adequate improvement works.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I remind all Members that they may speak for up to one minute on one issue related to promised legislation and Government policy. I ask that they co-operate.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Is the Deputy talking about road maintenance or road projects?

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Road projects and maintenance.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are not having an interaction. We will have a question and a response.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is difficult to respond if we do not have clarity on what the Deputy is asking. The Government has allocated increased funding for road maintenance and will be allocating additional sums for road maintenance as well. There should not be an issue.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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It is in black and white.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I know. Different lobby groups come in. The local authorities, TII and so on are there to engage with groups. There has been inflation, which has eaten into a lot of projects and increased their cost, but overall the allocation has increased substantially, both for TII projects and road maintenance.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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There is a huge problem with medical card holders accessing dental services. Dentists are not taking on medical card holders and people cannot afford to pay for dental treatment privately. If people cannot have their teeth taken care of, there are long-term consequences for their general health and appearance. A review of the scheme was promised two years ago by the Minister for Health. Additional funding is not the only problem here. The scheme needs to be updated to include preventative care which would prove cost-effective in the long term. It is also having an impact on the provision of dentures. Will the Tánaiste give an update on the review? What measures are being taken to address the backlog of people who are being denied dental care?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Minister allocated additional funding in the interim period to try to deal with the challenges in the public dental health services. There will continue to be challenges there. I will talk to the Minister in respect of the timeline around the review and where that is at present.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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The Tánaiste recently visited Lebanon, a country in danger of further escalation due to the genocidal slaughter by Israel in Gaza. The recognition of Palestine by Ireland and other countries is very positive and needs to be followed up with real sanctions on Israel. I ask for an update on the quest for justice for Private Seán Rooney following the Tánaiste's interactions with the Lebanese authorities. The Tánaiste has spoken about his concerns at the slow pace and has said we need to leave no stone unturned. If we could get an update, I would appreciate it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon in respect of the case. Also present was a lawyer from the department of defence in Lebanon because the Minister was in hospital with Covid. The lawyer was very conversant with the case. I made clear in no uncertain terms our grave concern at the delay in the progress on the case and certain aspects of it. Notwithstanding the separation of powers in the Lebanese judicial system, I pressed the need for us to have a clear process and that it would be transparent but also far more timely that it has been to date.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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Bus Éireann, as the Tánaiste may be aware, does not allow drivers aged over 70 to operate on its school routes or passenger services. Other private operators can do this safely. In the area I come from, we have many companies operating school services on behalf of Bus Éireann which are having difficulty finding drivers, yet we have many people aged 70 or slightly older who want to drive the school buses but are not permitted to do so. We know lots of people of that age who are in great condition. It is not like it used to be - 70 is the new 60. I ask that this be reviewed to ensure that people are at least given an opportunity to be clinically assessed rather than having a blanket ban apply at the age of 70. Lots of colleagues in this House who are over 70 are flying fit and in great form. They are well able to do the job. The same should apply, on a case-by-case basis, to people who wish to drive school buses. Drivers are badly needed.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with the Deputy. I have spoken to the Minister for Transport on this. Bus Éireann has not facilitated it. It would cite medical issues. I put forward the idea that perhaps we should have an independent reference point from the medical world, for example, in the geriatric world, and people could give us an informed opinion on the point the Deputy made about those aged 70, 71, 72 and 73 being in a position to drive. Chronology is always a crude barometer of people's capabilities. I certainly think there are people in their early 70s who are quite capable of driving school buses on a part-time basis or whatever, which is generally the nature of the work. We have a real problem sourcing drivers. I am supportive of the general thrust of the Deputy's remarks. If we could get some sort of independent medical backing or advice to underpin a decision, that would be the way to go.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I raise again reports of antisocial behaviour that seems to primarily target women or households where women are the head of the household. In some cases, the family, the victim, has to leave the home, sometimes into homelessness.

Will the Tánaiste try to ascertain the full extent of this problem throughout the country, maybe through the local authorities? The issue affects both local authorities and private authorities all over the country, however.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will talk to the Minister for housing in respect of this in the context of his relationship or engagement with local authorities on antisocial behaviour and how it is impacting on tenants, neighbours and so forth. We need to have resolute and robust procedures. Generally speaking, there are agreements and so on but they need to be enforced.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It has been brought to my attention that at least 11 students from Gaza are on a scholarship programme here through the Irish Council for International Students-Department of Foreign Affairs Irish Aid programme. Academics have confirmed to me that those students have been written to and told they either have go back to where they came from or go somewhere else, while students on similar scholarships from other parts of the world are allowed to stay two years after they finish their studies in the capacity of getting work experience in what they studied. Why are we sending students from Gaza back to carnage or somewhere else? In those circumstances, why does the Government not relent and allow these students to stay? Given we are flying flags and recognising the State of Palestine, the very least we could do is extend a little compassion to those 11, if not more, students. Academics, students and admin people are furious such students are being treated in this way. Will the Government please relent and allow them to stay?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy tends to be very accusatory, negative and undermining of everything the Government does in respect of anything to do with Palestine.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I just asked you a question.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's tone was wrong. The Department of Foreign Affairs has been extremely supportive, as have I and successive Ministers, in respect of fellowships for students from Palestine. We have been for quite a number of years. I do not know the precise detail or background of the issue the Deputy raised. She did not approach me previously about it. I will examine the matter, and will intervene and see what is going on in respect of it. I am sure, however, there is no intention to send anyone back to Gaza right now-----

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That is what it says on the letters they got.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----given that the Department of Foreign Affairs facilitated getting hundreds of Irish citizens and their dependants out of Gaza. There should be a bit of fair play from the Deputy.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Sorry-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are a Department that applies humanitarian approaches to these issues.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I apologise for my tone. I am just asking-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will find out. I have not seen-----

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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-----you to do something to make sure those students remain.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----the details of that. I will find out what is happening and get it sorted.