Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Before moving on, by way of information to the House, I want to let Members know that one of our longer serving and most respected ushers will retire tomorrow after 22 years' service. Before he came to us here, Martin Murray worked in the newspaper sector, in journalism and editing. In fact, he worked from the age of 14, I understand. He is a great traveller and he loves Malta, one of his preferred destinations. He was an avid footballer in his youth and a keen boxer. We are very lucky we never called on him to use his boxing skills since he came in here. We understand that his plan for his retirement is to spend time with his daughter, Aisling, and his granddaughters, the apples of his eye, Elsie and Evie. On behalf of everyone, we can wish Martin many, many long, happy and productive years of retirement with his three special ladies. Thank you for putting up with us during all those years.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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A Cheann Comhairle, if I can just say, this will give Martin plenty of time to practise his fantasy football.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Okay. Now, we go to Questions on Policy or Legislation.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle and let me also, Martin, be associated with the words of the Ceann Comhairle. I wish you all the best in your retirement and thank you, on behalf of Sinn Féin, for all the assistance you gave us and the whole team in the Oireachtas throughout the 22 years. We really appreciate that.

Yesterday, the public had a case of déjà vu, with the chair of the RTÉ board telling the Oireachtas media committee that the national broadcaster is considering paying out €400,000 to an unnamed individual. The chair of RTÉ's board said he could not name the person or say whether the person had appeared before the Oireachtas committee previously to deal with the crisis at the national broadcaster.

This comes only a few months after the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin , said confidentiality agreements should be avoided and threatened a pay cap in RTÉ's exit packages, so I am sure the Minister will agree this will not go down well with the public. We thought these days were over and I ask the Minister what the Government will do about this. Is it also not time to implement the recommendation made by the Government's independent Future of Media Commission which called for the abolition of the licence fee or maybe the Minister will elaborate to the Dáil as to whether he has been in discussions with Revenue to bring in a new charge that will apply to all households?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I join the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Doherty and others in thanking Martin for his service over all of those years. He has been a thorough gentleman to everyone and I wish him the best in his retirement. Thankfully his boxing skills were not called upon here. It may have seemed to come close a few times across the floor but thankfully he never had to intervene in that way.

I am not familiar with the detail of that individual case but I am sure the Minister, Deputy Martin, and her officials will follow up with RTÉ on that and perhaps have already done so. I can say that the work of making a decision on a sustainable funding basis for RTÉ into the future is well under way. There are ongoing meetings across Government and we are anxious to make a decision on that to provide certainty not just to RTÉ but to all of those who provide public service content in the country.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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The European football championship begins tomorrow and the Republic of Ireland will not have a team there. We do not have a permanent manager. It has been nearly a year since the Labour Party brought the first ever debate on football and grassroots football funding into this Dáil. Football is still the most widely played sport in the country, and despite the vibrancy of the League of Ireland and great moments and achievements of our women's football team in recent years, both sections of that football world would say it is not down to but in fact is in spite of the level of funding given at grassroots level. When will this Government and the State take football seriously in this country and give it the investment it deserves for the many girls, boys and young people who are thriving? We spoke about the funding the horse and greyhound industries get. We need to see funding for our other sports not just through the sports capital grant but through a proper plan for the development of football - the beautiful game - in our country.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is a pity we will not be at the Euros but we will enjoy the football nonetheless. The Government is fully committed to supporting the development of football in Ireland. There will be an announcement of a record allocation of sports capital grants in the next number of months by the Minister, Deputy Martin, and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne. Football will be a major beneficiary of that. I know we have had a memorandum of understanding between the FAI and the Government. My understanding is that there is not one in place at this time but the discussions have been under way. They need to be concluded so we can put in place longer term arrangements for funding because we have extraordinary talent. I see it every weekend in the young boys and girls at the matches I go to. We have fantastic academies in our League of Ireland clubs. They need greater support and funding but the key to unlocking that is to have an MOU in place. We need to get that memorandum agreed so the Deputy might use his influence to help us in that regard.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Today is the first day of the special Joint Committee on Drugs Use. Paul Reid attended the meeting and I was present. The recommendations from the citizens' assembly are about saving lives, but an article on the front page of yesterday's Irish Examiner stated that the European drugs agency's report found that Ireland has the highest rate of drug deaths in Europe. Shockingly, Ireland has four times the rate of drug deaths of the European Union This is really startling. Also there is a proliferation of synthetic drugs because, as I stated a number of months ago, alarming news is coming from outside Europe of heroin coming into Europe. It is not from Afghanistan but is a synthetic drug which is deadly in terms of overdoses. We have to have a meaningful intervention in terms of saving lives. The citizens’ assembly made radical recommendations but these have to be matched by radical action because, at the end of the day, this is about saving lives and we have to be radical about that.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the appearance of Paul Reid before the first meeting of the new Oireachtas committee which will examine and respond to the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use. We await the outcome of that with huge interest and the Government will be prepared to make decisions arising from that. Drugs are an absolute scourge and we need to have a serious debate as a society about the prevalence of drugs and why people start taking illegal drugs in the first place. It is just so visible now in all parts of our country, particularly in our cities. It is entirely unacceptable and we need to have a very serious conversation about why people start to take illegal drugs in the first place.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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On behalf of the Regional Group I want to be associated with the best wishes for Deputy Whitmore and we hope to see her back in the House soon. I also thank Martin Murray for his 22 years of service in the House. Many Members may not realise the reason his boxing skills were headhunted in the House was because, in a previous Dáil, we had a colleague, former Deputy Joe Higgins, who handcuffed himself to one of the seats. That is why we needed Martin's particular skills and I wish him well in his retirement.

Children's Health Ireland has produced a national strategy for accelerating genetic and genomic medicine to build a strong national genetic service. That was launched in December 2022. We cannot do that without having basic laboratory facilities. When the children's hospital is relocated from Crumlin, the existing laboratory will remain behind. The Government has decided to redevelop that site and there is now no home for our genetics laboratory in this country. I raised this issue with the Tánaiste on 9 May and asked him where this laboratory would be based. He promised me he would come back to me but a month later I am still waiting for information on where this laboratory will be based.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise that I do not have that information to hand but we will follow up and make sure a reply is issued to the Deputy and, more importantly, that there is full clarity on the continued provision of what is a vital service. We agree with the Deputy on that so we will respond promptly.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I wish Deputy Whitmore well and thank Martin for his sterling service over 22 years. He was always cordial and helpful.

I have just come from a Business Committee meeting to be told that the EU migration pact, which was buried conveniently and in a deceitful manner for the election will now be discussed in the House next Tuesday in a five-hour debate with a guillotine at the end of it. This is shocking. We have also been told today the pact has been ratified in Europe. There is trouble all over the country and the Minister, as one of the more reasonable Ministers in the Government, might be able to do something about this. There have been awful goings on in Heywood Road in Clonmel and we have the situation in Dundrum House Hotel. There has been no engagement whatsoever. Then we have Rathcabbin and Borrisokane, the second of which was the model for how to integrate Ukrainians and now it is in turmoil again. There has been absolutely no consultation from the Department of integration - none whatsoever - in Clonmel or with regard to Dundrum House Hotel. There is a failure to get information, meetings or to get any answers through the public representatives. It is a shocking situation that is going on in County Tipperary today.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am not aware of the outcome of the Business Committee's deliberations but the Government is anxious to provide as much time as possible to debate the EU asylum and migration pact.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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There is a guillotine.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are different perspective on this across the House and we acknowledge that, and the Government deems it is in Ireland's national interest to be part of an EU-wide system with an EU-wide agreement. The Deputy holds a different view and there will be ample opportunity to air those views-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It is being guillotined.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and tease out all of the issues-----

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Nine hours.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----over the course of next week and the Whip will respond on that in due course.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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I wish Martin all the best in his retirement as well. I had the pleasure of meeting him many years before he started working in the House here.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Of beating him?

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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Yes, many years ago, and we rekindled that when he began to work in the House. I wish him well in his retirement.

I am sure the Minister will agree that migrant doctors, nurses and consultants play a vital role in our hospitals and GP clinics and are keeping our healthcare system from collapsing completely.

It is essential that we are doing everything we can to retain all healthcare workers, especially given the crisis in healthcare we have been experiencing for a number of years. Despite this, it has come to my attention that there are multiple cases of doctors and consultants who have been unsuccessful in securing visas for their or children, with many then forced to take the decision to leave Ireland. Not only is it incredibly unfair and cruel to force this decision on people who make an immense contribution to our society, it leaves vital consultant roles vacant in hospitals such as Letterkenny and Limerick at an extremely critical time. Why has the Government made it difficult for families of consultants to obtain visas? Does the Minister think this is reasonable given the healthcare crisis we are currently experiencing?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy makes a very good point about how vital a role is played by people who come to our country to provide healthcare facilities. They include doctors, nurses and other allied health professionals. I am aware of the issue raised by the Deputy because it has come to me at a constituency level and I have followed up on certain cases. We are following up on a policy level with the Department of Justice. There are established rules and procedures regarding allowing family members to come here to join somebody who holds a visa, but we will make sure the system is fair and efficient and I will relay to the Minister for Justice the points made by the Deputy.

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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I raise the issue of teacher allocations and the apparent inflexibility of the current system. The key factor for determining the number of teachers for the next school year is the number of pupil enrolments in the previous year. I am dealing with a situation in a school in Bray where, despite the school having had a significant increase in student numbers over the course of the school year, it is stuck with the allocation from the previous year. Is this the best way to do it? Could we look at some other system, especially in areas where we are seeing significant fluctuations in school population growth?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I think all TDs in the House will have had experience of dealing with individual cases where schools might have fallen just on the wrong side of the relevant threshold to keep an existing teacher or to get an additional teacher. My understanding is that it is based on a point in time. I think it is the end of September of the previous year in question but I also understand there is a provision where a case can be made by a school to the Minister and the Department based on the circumstances. For example, if there has been a significant change in numbers, I understand that a case can be made, so I encourage the Deputy to take up the issue with the Minister, Deputy Foley.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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This week, Deputy Ward, who is the Sinn Féin spokesperson for mental health, arranged a meeting with Families for Reform of CAMHS, which I attended. These families report that 70% of parents surveyed were unhappy with the handling of complaints relating to their children in CAMHS, saying that they were not listened to and were worried about how the complaint would adversely affect their child's care. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was not there, and I mean that respectfully, but had she been there, she would understand the families' distress over having to bare their souls and personal lives to get the care their children deserve. Can we get clarification about what is being done to put in place a fit-for-purpose and transparent complaints resolution system for parents of children seeking to access CAMHS? Children need efficient CAMHS care and parents need a complaints mechanism that works when care is denied.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I met that group last October and will meet it again shortly. We contacted it today. I was not in the House on Tuesday. Regarding anybody who wants to make a complaint against the HSE, it falls under "Your Service Your Say" but there is no doubt that many families have children with a dual diagnosis, be it autism, intellectual disabilities and mental health, where the pathway is not as clear as it should be. We are working on that. I had a round-table meeting with the HSE to see whether we can find clearer pathways. The 2% of children who need the support of CAMHS will always have to have a primary diagnosis of mental health problems first and that is where some of the challenges arise, but we are looking at it. Your Service Your Say is the way at the moment to make a complaint.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to ask the Minister about the OPW's delivery of the Midleton flood relief scheme. There is an urgent need to expedite the delivery of this scheme before another disastrous flood event takes place. Will the Government look at trying to speed this up with the OPW and Cork County Council so that we can get works that are urgently required under way? I would highly encourage the use of the Arterial Drainage Act as an effective mechanism for delivering this flood relief scheme in an urgent and proper fashion rather than putting it on to Cork County Council because that will slow down land acquisitions that are required for this scheme.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and acknowledge his work and that of his colleagues in helping the community to recover from the devastation of Storm Babet. It was shocking to see the impact. I know the vast majority of businesses have reopened, which is great to see, but homes were destroyed as well and nobody wants that to happen again. The commitment I can give is that we are open to any way that accelerates the delivery of a new scheme for Midleton that minimises the risk of a future occurrence of this. In addition, because it will take some time, we must make sure that, in the interim, mitigation measures are implemented to minimise the risk of a repeat. I am happy to work with the Deputy, the OPW and Cork County Council to ensure that whatever needs to be done is done to deliver a comprehensive flood relief scheme for Midleton as quickly as possible.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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Yesterday, hundreds of students from five Gaelscoileanna in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 gathered outside Leinster House. The 520 students from these five Gaelscoileanna have no Gaelcholáiste to move on to so the families of these students are calling for a Gaelcholáiste in their community. The programme for Government clearly states that it will "provide Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcoláiste, where there is strong demand". There is clearly an established demand for a Gaelcholáiste from more than 500 students in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8. The reality is that students are not going to attend a Gaelcholáiste that takes over an hour to get to. Why will the Government not open a Gaelcholáiste in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 in line with the programme for Government?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is really heartening to see the popularity and growth of Gaelscoileanna. I think pupils who leave sixth class in those Gaelscoileanna in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 should have the option of going to a Gaelcholáiste in their wider area. In my community of Carrigaline in recent years, we developed a state-of-the-art brand-new Gaelcholáiste that is really popular. Children are coming to it from a number of feeder schools, which is great to see. I encourage the Deputy to take up the issue with the Minister, Deputy Foley, her colleagues in the Department of Education and the patron bodies as well because there is a need for a sponsor to act as patron for such a project. The planning and development and forward planning units in the Department would have an important input into the process because they are looking ahead at the future demand for new schools.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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iCARE, which is based on the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal, has been in existence for 24 years. It provides a vital service to children and young people with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities. Most of iCARE's funding comes from community fundraising. Along with Bluestack Special Needs Foundation in south Donegal, iCARE has campaigned for years for core funding from the State to allow it to continue to run services. It got some funding after a protracted campaign but not enough. Recently, there was an announcement of millions under the children's disability service grant fund. That was allocated to organisations, including those in Donegal, but those in iCARE had no idea there was substantial funding made available. Nobody told them and they are really angry, so I ask that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, meet with iCARE and Bluestack Special Needs Foundation to give them once and for all the core funding they need so they do not need to go fundraising every year to provide these vital services.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To be fair, the Minister of State is very accessible and I have no doubt she will facilitate a meeting, so if the Deputy wants to make contact with the Minister of State directly or through me, I have no problem in assisting with that and the case for core funding can be made by the organisation. I take the opportunity to thank all of the disability service providers in the country for the work they do, be they section 38 or section 39 organisations or neither of these.

We are very anxious to support them. The first step is to set up a meeting.

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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It has been nine very difficult and worrying months for staff and the families of service users associated with St. Christopher's Services in Longford. The service has been historically underfunded and issues have been compounded by its section 39 status. I appreciate that the HSE has forward-funded the service since October, but it still needs an additional €140,000 per month to stand on its own two feet. I would also expect and hope that the soon to be advanced KOSI money in the region of €800,000 can be retained by the service and the HSE will not seek to recoup it as it has already taken a lien over some of its property. We need a commitment that the ongoing uncertainty over St. Christopher's will be brought to a close as it is taking an unnecessary toll on families, staff and voluntary board members and is ultimately having a negative impact on the wider community in County Longford.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Flaherty. I am familiar with the excellent work the staff in St. Christopher's do on an ongoing basis. I thank him for advocating for them in the House this afternoon. There are ongoing meetings between the HSE and St. Christopher's. As he has acknowledged, the HSE has assisted St. Christopher's in dealing with financial challenges through a cash acceleration process and work is continuing between the HSE and St. Christopher's to make sure there is a sustainable basis for the continued provision of services for the people of the region. We have to arrive at a point where St. Christopher's is on a sustainable funding basis. That may well involve enhancements to governance and oversight processes, which I am sure the service is open to. If I can be of any assistance, I ask the Deputy to reach out.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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In light of a number of very serious incidents involving dogs described as XL bullies, it has been indicated by the Government that it intends to introduce legislation to ban these dogs. I have seen a worrying increase in the number of such dogs in my constituency, often without any restraints or leads. This is of real concern for residents. XL bullies are not a specific breed, so how will the Government identify or define an XL bully dog? When does the Government intend to introduce legislation to ban such dogs? What are the repercussions for current owners of these dogs?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Ellis. We are all absolutely horrified by what happened in Limerick and our hearts go out to the family of the victim. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is awaiting a report and expects to receive it very shortly. I anticipate it will be received in the coming weeks and the Government will make a prompt decision on the back of it. In advance of that, we are looking at the legal options and what role primary or perhaps secondary legislation might play in that regard. The specific issue the Deputy has raised will be considered as part of a Government decision which will be recommended by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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Dublin West has seen a significant increase in population but Garda numbers have not kept pace. Limerick has a similar population size to that of Dublin West but it has three Garda stations and three times the number of gardaí. There has been a surge in criminal activity and antisocial behaviour in Dublin 15 recently. A key starting point was a double murder on Christmas Eve in Blanchardstown village. Since then, things have further escalated, with over 13 houses damaged by petrol bombs thrown in a targeted way. The homes of many innocent families were completely destroyed. Children and teenagers on scramblers operate with impunity, putting themselves and others at risk of serious injury or, worse, death.

I commend gardaí who are working in very difficult circumstances. I have met many constituents, business owners and youth and community activists who have all said the same thing, namely, that they rarely see gardaí on the streets in our communities building networks and relationships. As I said, this is not the fault of gardaí. I will pre-empt the Minister's answer and guess that he will mention it is the operational responsibility of Drew Harris to allocate resources. However, it is the Government's political responsibility to ensure our communities are safe.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Donnelly. He pre-empted my response because it is the truth. It is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner to decide on the allocation of resources. I am not sure if a Sinn Féin Government would propose a different way, whereby the Government would decide where gardaí go. The Garda Commissioner will do so. We accept our responsibility, which is to increase Garda numbers. That is why we have a series of recruitment campaigns. This year, 6,300 people applied to join An Garda Síochána. We have increased the Garda training allowance by two-thirds and the age of entry has been increased to 50. We will shortly enact legislation to increase the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 62. In addition, we have commenced a recruitment campaign for the Garda Reserve to complement the work of fully qualified gardaí. We are increasing Garda numbers. We know more needs to be done, but progress is being made.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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My question relates to the nursing recruitment embargo. Yesterday, I heard the Taoiseach say there was no embargo. I received a letter from somebody who is waiting to be transferred to CAMHS in Portlaoise. The person said he or she is currently working in Dublin, but is on a panel to work in Portlaoise with Laois CAMHS and the position is being delayed due to the nursing recruitment embargo, with no start date in sight. There is a huge shortage of staff. Perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, can help in this regard. I am aware of another nurse in County Laois who is travelling to work a 12-hour shift in Cork every day. She is on a panel for Kilkenny Hospital, but has been told there is an embargo. The Taoiseach stated yesterday there is no embargo on the recruitment of nurses. Is there or is there not an embargo? Can somebody tell the hospitals in question and CAMHS in Portlaoise that nurses can be employed? I ask for clarity.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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For clarity, there is no embargo for newly trained graduate nurses into CAMHS. That is a fact. There are 130 staff currently being recruited across all CAMHS teams for youth mental health across the country. A preliminary notification was issued over the past two weeks to various CHOs across the country. There is a moratorium in place for certain posts, but not for consultants, graduate nurses or 130 dedicated staff members across several CAMHS teams. I put a geographical focus on that so that every part of the country would see an uplift.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Last week, I was contacted by a constituent who had received a letter from Cork City Council stating it had no emergency accommodation. All it was short of saying was that there was no room at the inn and people should go out to the stable. The crisis in emergency accommodation and homelessness in Cork is now so bad there is nowhere to put people. I received an email from a husband and wife who have two children aged five and one and have lived in emergency accommodation for 16 months. The mother told me it is soul destroying and heartbreaking. She is at breaking point and does not know who to turn to. This illustrates the homelessness crisis. This Government's policies are keeping these families in emergency accommodation. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? I want to give this couple and the other lady hope. Can the Minister give me hope for them today?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The hope is in the amount of construction that is under way across the country in terms of public house building, at scale, once again.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I asked about the homeless. These people are homeless today, not in 16 months' time.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Let the Minister answer.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am making the point. The Deputy will have seen in his constituency, throughout Cork and around the country the amount of house building in which the State is directly involved, with a view to meeting the needs of that family. It is clear for everyone to see. The numbers are there. If the Deputy wants to provide me with the details of the individual case to which he referred, I will work with him on it. We have made huge efforts to increase the number of emergency accommodation places. The Department of housing worked with local authorities last year to bring an additional 2,000 beds into use for homeless emergency accommodation. I am happy to work with the Deputy off-line on the case.