Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Children with scoliosis and spina bifida waiting for spinal surgery have been repeatedly failed by the State. Confirmation that the majority of the €19 million allocated by the Government to tackle surgery waiting lists was not used for this purpose is just another broken promise to these children and their parents. It is scandalous that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, did not act immediately when advocacy groups raised their fears that this money was being directed into other services.

It is time to end the broken promises to these children and their families. On 16 April last the Taoiseach gave two commitments. First, that the scheme through which children can travel abroad to get operations would be reinstated. Has that scheme been reinstated? When will it be reinstated? Second, he committed to engaging with the HSE about funding second opinions for children, independent of CHI. Parents, as the Taoiseach knows, have been demanding this for quite some time. Can the Taoiseach answer on those two promises for the parents and children today?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Can I, with the indulgence of the House, give Members an update on Ms Tori Towey, which I have just received in real time? I do not want to take away from Deputy McDonald's question but I have just been informed that the travel ban has been lifted. Embassy staff will take Tori to the airport as soon as she is ready to go. The embassy, of course, will continue to follow up on the case, which is still active, as of now. I just wanted to inform the House of that and to thank all in our embassy for their work in relation to that.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Thanks.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Well done.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I had a very good meeting with the new consultant surgeon who is heading up a paediatric spinal surgery unit, Mr. David Moore. Deputy McDonald may have met him. He is a very accomplished individual and I must say that I left the meeting with a great degree of confidence in terms of the work that he is undertaking. I will have to come back to the Deputy directly, and will do so today, on the two specific questions she asked. I am very clear on the second opinion and on the ability to access treatment abroad. On the treatment abroad issue, I had a discussion with Mr. Moore at the meeting and my understanding is that it is being arranged. On the second opinion issue, I need to check that but will revert to the Deputy on both issues today.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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First, I welcome the update on Ms Tori Towey. I very much welcome the news that the travel ban has been lifted. It was appalling to see any woman, any Irish citizen, treated in this way. We all wish Tori and her mother well on their return home.

I want to raise the appalling situation facing so many vulnerable children in Ireland, namely, those who are in the care of the State. On Monday the Child Law Project published its latest volume, comprising 70 reports on court proceedings related to children in care, detailing some really harrowing and difficult situations for children, including concerns around sexual and criminal exploitation. The report also highlights a serious shortage of appropriate care placements.

The Child Law Project has been doing vitally important work in shining a light on in camera proceedings over many years now, since 2013. What does the Government propose to do when its contract comes to an end in October? I am very concerned, as is the project, that there will be no further communication between the courts and the public. The Ombudsman for Children has raised concerns too. We do not have any indication as to what will happen when the reporting of child protection proceedings comes to an end in October and whether any new mechanism for reporting will be commissioned by the Government.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Deputy McDonald raised an important issue there and I was getting an update on Tori Towey at the same time. I apologise if I did not do her question the justice it deserves and I am happy to come back on it.

On Deputy Bacik's point, the Child Law Project has done incredible work in shining a light on what is extraordinarily difficult, and it should be doing that. I am very eager to meet with the project. I am very happy to meet and to find a mechanism to ensure that its work can continue.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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Yesterday at the launch of the summer economic statement the Taoiseach stated that the budget will support people with disabilities. If the Government is serious about that commitment, this budget has to deliver more than one-off measures. It has to address the structural issues around income inequality for disabled people, including a weekly cost-of-disability payment and an increase in core social welfare rates. In every meeting that I have with disability groups, they highlight the one-off cost-of-disability payment as something that feels insulting because they have a disability for 365 days of the year and a one-off payment just does not cut it. Vital disability supports are inaccessible for so many. This is down to the consistent failure of government after government to invest in critical services. In last year's budget, disability services received an extra allocation of a pathetic €64 million, when the Department's own capacity review said we need €1 billion in the next couple of years. That is not to mention the lack of workforce planning and the impact that is having on children's disability network teams, not one of which is fully staffed around the country. Will the Taoiseach commit to providing more than one-off measures in this year's budget for people with disabilities, including a cost-of-disability payment, and to investing in recruitment for those vital roles?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will absolutely commit to doing more than one-off payments for people with disabilities across a range of areas. I am now chairing the Cabinet committee on disability, which met again last week. Myself and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, have met with a number of advocacy organisations in recent weeks.

On the specifics of payments, I have to leave that for the budget but I can say, and I say it to be helpful, that I can produce data to show the Deputy that the biggest challenge we are having at the moment, particularly in relation to children's disability network teams, is not a budgetary one but a recruitment one. We actually have funded posts-----

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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Section 39 organisations still do not have pay parity.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am not disputing that but I just want to make the point that we genuinely have, from memory, more than 200 vacant funded posts currently. We are working intensively with the HSE. I met the chief executive of the HSE on this last week to discuss how we can improve recruitment and retention to our CDNTs, but also how we can grow the therapy places in our colleges. I will send the Deputy a note on those actions.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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An Post is pursing a privatisation agenda. Tallaght post office, along with five others, is on the chopping block. This will mean that one of the busiest post offices in the State will be closed down. The workers will be forcibly redeployed elsewhere and the community will be left with a much-reduced service in a smaller post office in a different location. I have raised this again and again in here but every time I get the same answer, which is that An Post has indicated that the change in business model will in no way alter the range or extent of the services offered by An Post in those locations. That is simply not true. I have it in writing from An Post that there is no guarantee of the same number of staff or counters. That means there will be reduced services. People are fed up. They have taken to the streets in Tallaght over this. They have signed petitions. Over 1,000 people petitioned to save Tallaght post office and save many of the others. Today they will be outside the Dáil. They want the Government to act and to instruct An Post to withdraw from this privatisation agenda.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this issue, which he has raised in this House previously. I will ask the Minister for communications to specifically revert to him on the points he made today.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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We are seven weeks away from the start of the new school term and just five weeks after the payment closing date for school transport applications. Temporary alleviation measures were approved which allowed for the provision of additional school transport for post-primary students in Gowran, County Kilkenny last year. In Kilmore, County Wexford, we have approximately 102 students requesting school transport to secondary schools in Wexford town with just one bus. I am told by the Minister for Education that the school transport scheme is a demand-led scheme. I demand that the people of Kilmore, as well as those of Wellington Bridge, Marshalstown and Gorey, in County Wexford are met with the same respect and action afforded to people in County Kilkenny. Is there a county preference when it comes to the Government's responses for hard-working families trying to manage school runs and work? I ask the Taoiseach to confirm that school transport alleviation measures will be implemented in County Wexford before the end of August.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this matter and how it impacts people in Kilmore, Wellingtonbridge, Gorey, Marshalstown and other parts of her constituency. I am actually due to have a meeting on school transport today with relevant Ministers. I will specifically raise the issue of school transport alleviation support and revert to the Deputy directly.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I raised here last week with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, Dundrum House Hotel in Tipperary, a famous hotel, being turned into a services centre for Ukrainians and then an IPAS centre. We now also have Hearns Hotel in Clonmel, steeped in history, including that of Charles Bianconi, and 87 IPAS people going in there. There are rumours about Killusty, which is not even a village but a hamlet. I asked the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, last week to meet a deputation from Dundrum - and I am asking the Taoiseach today about Clonmel - and the Minister said he would be back to me further. I have written three times since and have heard not a word - níl aon fhocal amháin. Clonmel is a fine town, as the Taoiseach knows, and it needs a lot of help. What we did not need was one of our hotels in the town centre being taken over as an IPAS centre without any consultation or engagement with public representatives or anybody else. It is a totally unfortunate situation. I ask the Taoiseach to direct the Minister for integration to meet with a small number of people. They will come to meet him in Dublin. They will not bite him. They just want to have a sensible discussion about issues and concerns they have. There was no consultation of any shape, make or form about Dundrum House Hotel and Hearns Hotel.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McGrath for raising the issue relating to Dundrum House Hotel and the views of his community on it. I will raise it directly with the Minister for integration, Deputy O'Gorman, and ask him to come back to the Deputy on his request for a meeting.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I too welcome the lifting of the travel ban on Tori Towey. I recognise the fact that Sinn Féin raised the issue but I thank the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs for their work in helping to ensure her release.

The issue I wish to raise today, along with my colleague, Michael Fitzmaurice, is the fact that the Expert Review Body on Nursing and Midwifery recommended to extend the revised clinical nurse manager and clinical nurse specialist salary scale. This salary scale applies to those and other linked grades. While the majority of those grades have been paid, some have not been paid, and clinical nurse specialists and clinical placement co-ordinators have not received their salary increase. According to the INMO, a differentiation on salary scales has now been introduced, and this is unacceptable. One of the huge challenges we face is to recruit and retain nursing staff, and the expert review body recognises that the development of clinical nurse specialists is particularly important for Sláintecare. I ask the Taoiseach to speak to the Minister and avoid any disruption.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Harkin for raising this matter. I am aware that the INMO has raised it with the HSE and that the HSE is engaging with the Department of public expenditure and reform. It seems to be an anomaly. Not to be dismissive of it, but I think a solution should be found. I will seek an update on it from both the Department of Health and the Department of public expenditure for the Deputy.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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As Chairman of the Good Friday Agreement implementation committee here in the Oireachtas, I warmly welcome the reset of relations between Britain and Ireland and, in particular, the Taoiseach's immediate engagement with the British Prime Minister on how fruitful, I hope, their meeting next week will be. I also welcome Hilary Benn's appointment as the Northern Ireland secretary. He has been a frequent visitor to this House and we, Members of the Oireachtas, have met him in the United Kingdom Parliament as well. His appointment augurs well. Coming from a Border constituency, I know that the huge impact the peace process has had on our areas has been absolutely fantastic. We have grown our economies and grown closer together. Brexit, unfortunately, has been a spanner in the works in that respect, and I wish the Taoiseach's discussions the best outcome possible. The improvement in North-South relationships is hugely important, particular in Border counties.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Dowd for his kind words and good wishes in terms of my engagement with the British Prime Minister next week. I see this as a moment of reset for Anglo-Irish relations and I take my responsibility as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement on behalf of the Irish Government very seriously, as I know Prime Minister Starmer takes his responsibility as co-guarantor of that agreement for his Government. I too welcome the appointment of Hilary Benn, a politician who is serious and of substance and knows Ireland, the island of Ireland and the importance of the relationship between our two islands. I thank the Deputy for all his work as Chair of the Good Friday Agreement committee. I think we are seeing in his constituency - I was in Omeath recently with him - the benefit we can have when we work together on issues that make sense, such as the new Narrow Water Bridge. This is a major moment of reset. I have said it before and I mean it: the next generation will not forgive us if we do not seize this opportunity to reset relations.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Costello is not with us. I call Deputy Thomas Gould.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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There are 7,000 people and families on the housing list in Cork city. In the month of April, the most recent report I have, 35 families and individuals were housed. That means it will take 16 years to clear the waiting list in Cork. To make matters worse, in the same month, 131 families and individuals came onto the list, which means that for every social house that was allocated, four more families came onto the list. This is a catastrophe. The social housing crisis will not be solved. Every week I come in here, the Taoiseach, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and other Ministers talk about the great work they are doing. They should explain that to the people of Cork who have been on housing waiting lists for years. This is destroying the lives of children in emergency and temporary accommodation. Where is the support and the hope for them? In years to come, we will ask why we have so many problems with children's mental health, and one of the reasons will be this Government's failure of children when it came to housing.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important matter. It is not a question of the Government coming in here and saying, "We are doing a wonderful job on this", nor, I hope, is it a question of the Opposition coming here and just saying, "You are doing a terrible job on this", like a Punch and Judy show. It is a reality of outlining to the Irish people, including the people of Cork, the steps we are taking to try to move beyond the housing crisis, and I have outlined what those plans are. We have published a plan called Housing for All. The Deputy's party has yet to do that. It is a costed plan. It shows how we will significantly increase housing supply. What I say to the people of Cork is that every day more homes are being built and allocated and the highest number of social homes are being provided. I accept, however, that we have much more to do.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Four families are coming onto the list for every one that is allocated a home.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please, Deputy.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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What about the children?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Bernard Durkan.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to bring to the attention of the House the increased use of and dependency on illegal drugs, the damage being done to our society, urban and rural, throughout the entire country, and the urgent need for an enhanced programme of drug treatment and, at the same time, renewed efforts to cut off the supply with the intention of reducing dependency, recognising that all secondary schools throughout the country have a problem and that most of our primary schools are trying to face the same problem. I ask that this be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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My understanding at present is that more than 13,000 people are receiving treatment for drug addiction. That has increased by more than 1,000 in the past 12 months alone, so there is a major challenge there and there will have to be a joined up approach. As the Deputy knows, the Committee on Drugs Use is dealing with the citizens' assembly report. My Department will have to wait until the committee comes back with its proposals as to how we go forward. We have huge challenges in education, healthcare and a lot of other areas. We must work together to try to reduce the level of dependency on drugs. Unfortunately, it appears now that it will be a growing problem because of the way it has developed over the past few years. There are, however, over 440 centres around the country now dealing with drug and alcohol addiction, and every one of them is working extremely hard to provide the level of care that is required.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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This Saturday, 13 July, will mark the fourth anniversary of the disappearance in Portugal of Jean Tighe. Jean is a member of a very highly regarded family who have been friends of mine over many years. Very understandably, Jean's loving family are distraught and have been at their wits' end over her disappearance. Those concerns are shared by their many friends in the community in Cavan and neighbouring areas.

To put it mildly, the investigation into Jean's disappearance has been totally inadequate. It is simply just not good enough. I have been raising this very important issue constantly with the Tánaiste and with the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Justice. As Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar raised the case directly with his Portuguese counterpart. The Tighe family has got no response whatsoever as to why the Portuguese police authorities did not use modern investigative and search tools to trace Jean. Has there been any response to Deputy Varadkar's questions to the Portuguese authorities, which I hope focused on the importance of accessing Jean's entire digital footprint and DNA screening? The family is very patiently awaiting results but sadly they have had no substantive updates from any authorities. The Government and our authorities must be robust and demanding in their ongoing contact with the Portuguese authorities to get an update on what has been done and what has not.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Smith for raising this issue. None of us can comprehend the agony the Tighe family must be experiencing since Jean went missing in Portugal on 17 July 2020. She was reported missing, I think, by her boyfriend at the time. The family had not been contacted regarding her disappearance and in March 2021 they lodged a missing persons report with An Garda Síochána. I understand that Portuguese police have been investigating her disappearance but that sadly no strong leads have materialised as of yet. A member of An Garda Síochána in Portugal, the Irish Embassy in Lisbon and the ambassador have engaged with Portuguese police a number of times. The Tighe family has also been working with a family liaison officer. In August of last year, An Garda Síochána and the Portuguese police met via video conference and Ms Tighe's photo and profile was added to the Portuguese police's missing persons website. As the Deputy has said, my predecessor raised the matter with the then Prime Minister of Portugal. I will now directly seek an update myself. I say to the Tighe family that I am very happy to raise the matter with my counterpart in Portugal and to come back to Deputy Smith directly.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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I begin by thanking the Taoiseach and everyone else who played a part in the very swift action to ensure that Tori Towey is brought home. Tori grew up in my hometown of Ballaghaderreen and the town, the county and, indeed, the entire country have been right behind her. I know she has been overwhelmed by the support she has received. I look forward to seeing her come home.

I will raise with the Taoiseach the ongoing crisis in home care. More than 600 people in County Galway are waiting for either a new home care package or additional supports they have been found to be entitled to. More than 100 people in County Roscommon are also waiting. There is an ongoing crisis in home care. What is the Taoiseach going to do to ensure our very vulnerable citizens who need such care receive it?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge on the record of this House Deputy Kerrane's work on Ms Towey's case and helping to bring her home. She contacted me and the Department of Foreign Affairs directly and worked diligently behind the scenes. Gabhaim buíochas léi.

On the issue of home care, I will get a specific update from the HSE on the situation the Deputy is seeing in her constituency and ask the Minister for Health to revert to her.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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The non-alcoholic beer sector is experiencing very substantial growth of approximately 18% per annum in Ireland and there has been a 50% increase in production. This is wonderful news but the industry is looking for support from Government to bring about further increases in the sector. Will the Government look at supporting this area in budget 2025? It is key to encouraging safe drinking in Ireland. Those who do not want to consume alcohol may like to enjoy a non-alcoholic beer. This is a good thing for rural Ireland, for rural pubs and for investment in our hospitality sector. Is this something the Taoiseach and Government will consider supporting further in the upcoming budget?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I was listening to some discussion about this matter on the radio the other day. Growth in the sector can clearly be seen. I recently attended the announcement of Diageo's climate plans with the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke. The company wants to make its plant carbon-neutral. Diageo was talking about the substantial growth it has seen in the non-alcoholic beer sector. It makes sense from a health point of view and I assume it also makes sense from the point of view of business diversification. I will certainly ask the Ministers, Deputies Chambers and Burke, to give consideration to Deputy O'Connor's suggestion in the context of the upcoming budget.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I have raised this issue before but I want to raise it again before the recess. Workers in community and voluntary sector posts not in receipt of funding through HSE channels are not technically section 39 organisation workers. I refer to workers in organisations such as local drugs and alcohol task force groups. Such workers have been excluded from pay restoration and WRC processes. In nominal terms, many earn less now than they did in 2008. For example, a regeneration worker in a local community project now earns €5,000 less a year than he or she would have in 2007. I have more case studies here showing how poorly wages compare with pre-2009 levels. Despite the fact that I have submitted a number of parliamentary questions and put a number of questions to Ministers, I have not received clarity. The workers certainly have no clarity as to how and when this issue will be resolved. Terrible disrespect is being shown to this group of workers. The most recent reply I received said that the Department is aware of the issue and is working to resolve it in a timely manner. That is 15 years after the austerity cuts and nine months after the WRC agreement. What measures is the Government taking to ensure that all workers in the voluntary and community sector receive pay restoration and are part of WRC processes?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will try to help because I have heard the Deputy raise this issue in the Dáil before and am conscious that it cuts across the remits of a number of Ministers and Departments. When I was answering on this matter in the Dáil the last time, I quickly became aware that it did not come down to any one Minister. Perhaps my office and I can play a part in trying to compile an update on the timeline for each of the workers impacted for the Deputy because I am conscious that this has been going on for a long time. I will undertake to do that and to revert to the Deputy in writing.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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That would be appreciated.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I am deeply concerned because, once again, families in Galway city are coming to me as they are homeless and unable to access emergency accommodation. One woman came to me with her three young children. They had fled domestic violence but were told they had to wait for emergency accommodation because there were 11 other families waiting before them. She has now been homeless since April. Her children are two, four and ten. Where have we come to as a society when we cannot offer shelter to those who are most in need? Emergency accommodation should always be seen as the last resort for any family. Of course, the family wants rental accommodation or a permanent home but this is not available and now even that last resort is not available. What are the Taoiseach's exact plans to increase the amount of emergency accommodation in Galway city as the situation is at a crisis point?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It is obviously a very distressing case for that poor family and the three children. I will talk directly to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and Galway City Council about the status of emergency accommodation in the city and what more we can do and then revert to the Deputy.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I raise the issue of the striking workers in the national advocacy service. I know a number of colleagues raised it yesterday but I am not sure the reply the Taoiseach gave reflects the true situation. The WRC recommendations said that SIPTU, which is acting on behalf of the NAS, had a well-made case and that a business case should be submitted to the Citizens Information Board and the Department of Social Protection. These recommendations have not been honoured by either. Last week, the independent chairperson, Kevin Duffy, made a proposal and this was accepted by the union but rejected by the Department and the Citizens Information Board. The NAS was told to go to the Labour Court, a Government-funded organisation with a Government-appointed chair. That court made a recommendation but a Government Department is refusing to accept it. This group of workers has had no pay increase in 14 years. They do vital work on behalf of very vulnerable citizens. If the Government does not ensure that these workers are sufficiently paid for the work they do in representing vulnerable people, it will be in contravention of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge Deputy Tully's question. I recognise the good work the national advocacy service does. I understand that, in the interests of resolving the dispute as quickly as possible, the Citizens Information Board has written to the Labour Court confirming its acceptance of the recommendations but seeking clarity as to the appropriate comparable grades in implementing them. The situation has moved on from the point the Deputy has described. I urge all parties to get back to the table and to reach agreement to reduce unnecessary impact on NAS users.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I raise with the Taoiseach the issue of Ballyshannon Community Hospital. After a long refurbishment project and the construction of a large extension, the hospital has reopened on the site of the old Sheil hospital in Ballyshannon. I attended the reopening with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and many other dignitaries. Everyone was there and everyone was delighted to see this new facility being put in place. It is an 80-bed facility but fewer than 30 of those beds are occupied due to staff shortages. That was the case when the hospital opened a couple of months ago and it is still the case today. When the State is spending a lot of money, as it needs to, to provide services for older people in a town like Ballyshannon, we need to have the staff in place to ensure those facilities can be utilised to their full potential.

That is not happening. We need to step up to the mark. The Government needs to employ the staff that are required, nurses and others, to ensure that those beds can be occupied. There are people in hospital who cannot get out of hospital. They want to go home or get to other services. This is creating a situation which is simply intolerable in a small area where this community needs it.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Kenny for raising the issue of the community hospital in Ballyshannon and the fact that there are unoccupied or unused beds in that new facility.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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It is a brand-new facility.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is. I will speak directly to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. She is obviously familiar with the situation because she was at the opening with the Deputy. I will ask her to come back to him directly and to see what can be done.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I believe the Cabinet is about to make an imminent decision on major funding for RTÉ without workable solutions being proposed for the independent sector. In the face of digital disruption and steadily escalating challenges and without any fair funding, the core news and current affairs services and resourcing are at risk of decline and serious erosion. I understand that in parallel with an announcement of major funding for RTÉ, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media will also announce two journalism schemes. These will apparently be operated without any dedicated funding for local radio. I believe that these schemes may be presented as the support required and requested by the independent sector. However, this is not the case. Independent ratio stations do not currently receive any State supports for their core news and current affairs services. What is being proposed would not improve their lot. These schemes would not help them. I would be grateful if the Taoiseach could look at that matter. The Ceann Comhairle knows that independent radio stations such as Radio Kerry are irreplaceable.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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So are Shannonside and Northern Sound.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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We would appreciate anything the Government can do to keep the airways open for us.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Let us hear the Taoiseach on this matter.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We are all almost duty-bound to name our local radio stations now. Not for the first time in this House, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae seems to be more familiar with the detail of some matters than I am. Let me assure him and, more particularly perhaps, radio broadcasters and the like that the Government has not yet made a decision. The Government intends to make a decision this month in regard to funding for public service broadcasting. I will make sure the serious views the Deputy reflected on the importance of local radio for public service broadcasting are reflected in our decision-making. I will talk to the Minister about it.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Ireland needs a register of people who have been convicted of crimes of animal cruelty. Following the "RTÉ Investigates" programme on Shannonside Foods in Straffan, I wrote to the Minister and asked if we could create such a register. He indicated that we do not need one because all cases are reported in the media. That is not the position at all. I will be bringing forward legislation in respect of this matter in the autumn.

I also asked the Minister about the horses that were moved from Straffan following the "RTÉ Investigates" programme. This morning, I received a bizarre reply to a parliamentary question in which the Minister stated that he cannot seize these animals on the basis of a conviction that was handed down 12 years ago. That completely ignores the savagery that was shown on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme. It beggars belief that the Minister is ignoring the latter. How much cruelty does the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine need to see before it seizes the horses and make sure that owner cannot be in possession and so-called care of them?

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine takes animal welfare extremely seriously.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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It did not seem so.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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There are a number of cases, some of them historical, relating to that particular matter. They are before the courts at the minute, which restricts what we can say. The scenes we saw on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme were unacceptable. We have acted swiftly. Actions were in place prior to that because concerns had been raised. Work is ongoing to ensure that the highest standards will be applicable in this case and all other cases.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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That completes Questions on Promised Legislation. I understand the Taoiseach has some remarks to make.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have two quick matters to raise. I am conscious that not just my colleague but my friend Deputy Simon Coveney, the former Minister, has announced his intention not to seek re-election to the Dáil. As in the past in this House, when people announce their retirement, I want to thank him for his service to his constituency of Cork South Central, to his party but most importantly to his country. Even people who have different political views across this House would acknowledge the very serious body of work he did on behalf of our country during the very difficult and turbulent times relating to Brexit. I wish him, his wife, Ruth, and his children all the very best with the decision.

I am also conscious that today was the final Leaders' Questions that Deputy McDonald and I will be present for before the summer recess. It is therefore the last opportunity that I will have to thank all of the people who work in the Leinster House complex for all their effort and dedication throughout the year. I am conscious that people tune in and watch Leaders' Questions and other business, but there is a whole machine that sometimes people do not see, in terms of ushers, cleaners, caterers, people working in canteens, restaurants, bars, the committees, the Bills Office and the Ceann Comhairle's team, who really keep his place running. For all our limitations at times, this is the home of Irish democracy. Every one of those people plays an absolutely crucial role in facilitating and safeguarding it.

Across the divide in this House, while we can disagree on issues, people work extraordinarily hard. People do their best to serve their constituents. That work continues when this place is in recess. I assure our constituents of that. It is a place that can have antisocial working hours and is not family friendly. In that context, I hope that everybody here gets an opportunity to spend a bit more time with family and to work in a somewhat more organised structure. I wish everybody the very best.