Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I do not know whether the Taoiseach is familiar with Dublin city's flat complexes. If he has been in and out of them, he will know that they are fairly unique and are incredible communities. He will also have observed how badly let down they have been by successive Governments. Some of the living conditions for citizens in our inner cities are reminiscent of another era, such is the level of hardship and the extent to which there is overcrowding and damp. There is a real need for regeneration. People have been waiting a decade or more for the promised regeneration to be delivered on. The flats on Dominick Street are one example. It has taken more than 15 years. I can see the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, speaking. It is only half way complete. It is a long-----

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Deputy McDonald would not have acknowledged that.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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-----saga. Do not mind me, Minister. This issue is about the people who live in these flats, not his sensitivities, with all due respect to him.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I know that. Nor is it about the Deputy’s sensitivities.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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In O'Devaney Gardens, only 56 units have been delivered 20 years on. There has been a six-year wait for progress for the flats at Constitutional Hill. I could go on and on. Why are these communities and families left to wait and live in conditions that no one here lives in and or would be prepared or tolerate living in?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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While I do not want to get in the way of a discussion between the Deputy and my colleague the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, I accept the important issue in respect of regeneration. It is not only about the regeneration of homes and flats but also of communities and the importance of getting on with that. I am proud of the progress made. The flats on Dominick Street have now seen significant progress, as have the flats in O'Devaney Gardens, although I am not sure whether her party was always in support of that. As regards the flats at Constitutional Hill, my understanding is they are now being upgraded. We continue to want to see the regeneration of those projects. The Dublin city centre task force places a focus on a number of areas around this. I know Deputy McDonald fed into this task force and I hope we can work together on this issue in the time ahead.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I jest and I joke that the Taoiseach's choice of tie today was unfortunate, given the events that have transpired in the United States. I am sure it is not an act of solidarity with the result there. I am sure it is an act of solidarity with the Labour Party as we head into the election.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is my outreach.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I want to ask the Taoiseach on his last Leaders' Questions about an issue I have raised here previously, which is the issue of the Dean Maxwell nursing home in Roscrea. I got a very good letter from the newly appointed regional executive officer, REO, saying that they are willing to build a new 50-bed unit, something I fought for for a decade in Roscrea, on a new site or on a HSE site. This is something the people of the area will support 100% because Dean Maxwell is so important. Does the Taoiseach feel that the HSE will be in a position in the future to support this as part of its capital plan? That is where this decision needs to be made.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As I said, the tie is more outreach, maybe, to others in this House rather than anything to do with America.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and I thank the new REO for HSE mid-west, Sandra Broderick, for the very good work I believe she is doing in that region, often in a pressurised environment, but also for the constructive suggestions she is putting forward as regards seeking capital approval to identify a greenfield site close to the Dean Maxwell unit. It sounds to me to be very sensible. I welcome the fact that she has instructed her capital estates team to commence those works and identify that site within the Roscrea area. Should I be in a position to do so, I certainly will work constructively with the Deputy on trying to make progress on it.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I thank the Taoiseach.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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I want to ask the Taoiseach about investment funds buying up apartments. A report published by the Department of Finance shows investment funds snapped up more than half of new-build apartments last year. A total of 6,203 apartments were bought up by investment funds, while just 846 apartments were available for individuals and families to buy. This is infuriating for the thousands of people struggling to find somewhere affordable to live. It is no wonder home ownership levels are at their lowest in more than 50 years. The Government voted down amendments put forward by the Social Democrats to ensure that at least 50% of new-build apartments would be ring-fenced for individuals and families to buy. Allowing homes to be hoovered up by funds drives up prices and drives down home ownership levels. Why did the Taoiseach vote down our amendments and why did he side with the funds and against individuals and families?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Because the Social Democrats' amendments do not understand some of the points the Housing Commission makes. We need a diversity as regards investment when it comes to housing, and this Government has taken a number of steps, including-----

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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Where is the diversity?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy asked me a question; I am just trying to give him my answer. He can like it or not but I am just giving it to him. My answer is as follows: we have taken a number of measures when it comes to protecting homes and newly built homes, including on stamp duty and as regards planning permissions. We also need private investment, though, and rental properties, and we need to look at a diversity of supply. This Government has seen a very significant increase in the number of homes available to buy. That is a trajectory we want to continue on, and we published new housing targets, but there is also a role for private investment, and the Housing Commission itself says that.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Taoiseach says the Government is trying to recruit people to address the staffing crisis in our hospitals and our health services. The pay and numbers strategy proves that he is speaking out of both sides of his mouth on that issue. Setting that aside, however, if we are to recruit the people we need into the health service, we need to make it attractive for people to train as nurses and midwives and allied health professionals. As I have highlighted a number of times in this Dáil, in Scotland, a student nurse or midwife or in allied health professional training gets £12,000 a year as a bursary to train. There is a real incentive to do nursing and midwifery or to study to become an allied health professional. Here, student nurses and many other people, including the allied health professionals, face massive financial barriers and get very little financial assistance for transport, their accommodation costs and so on. Will the Government introduce a serious bursary of the sort available in Scotland for our student nurses and our allied health professionals who are trying to train in order to address the staffing crisis in our health service, the waiting lists, the crisis in our CDNTs and CAMHS teams and emergency departments?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy can absolutely always argue that we can and should do more regarding the number of people working in the health service. What he cannot dispute is the fact that there are now significantly more people working in the health service than there were only a few years ago. There are actually 27,744 more people working in the health service now than when this Government came to office, including 9,185 more nurses and midwives, 4,160 more health and social care professionals and 3,479 extra doctors and dentists. We can have a debate about health, but let us not pretend there are fewer people working in the health service than there were a few years ago. There are significantly more.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Let us not pretend there is not a staffing crisis.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There can be only one set of facts.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Taoiseach.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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No. Excuse me for saying "No", a Cheann Comhairle, but the Deputy asked me an important question and it deserves an answer. On the issue about how we better support our student nurses, I am open to having engagement on that. A number of measures have been taken by the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, as regards improving the supports and subsistence, and it will be a matter for a future government after an election to see what more can be done.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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With the barrage of Bills guillotined, no doubt the Taoiseach is a man calling time on the Thirty-third Dáil and perhaps my time in this Chamber too. How can the people of my city and county can trust any new promises made by the parties of Government when promise after promise has turned to dust? The Government has burned through €44 billion on capital projects with less than one third of a fair share for Waterford. Our airport, our agrifood sector, 24-7 cardiac care and our university PPP have all been slow-walked and strangled. Waterford people have been loyal to their parties for generations and now those parties are fielding just one candidate apiece. I suppose at least they are self-aware of how much they have let us down. I have kept my word to my constituents and it has been my honour to stand here and fight for them, but can the Taoiseach and his Government say the same? Do they feel they have kept their promises over 24-7 cardiac care, support to our farm sector, our SETU, our engineering PPP and Waterford Airport?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do. I feel we have made a lot of progress as regards the south east and investment in the city and county that I know the Deputy is proud to represent here in the Dáil. There is more to do, and there is always more to do. That is what politics is always about. You never get to the end of the job; you always have more to do. However, we have delivered a university for the south east, we have invested significantly in the north quays, we have significant expansion plans for that university, and that has already been seen in respect of Waterford Crystal. I know there is ongoing engagement on important issues including the airport, and whomever the people of Waterford return to the next Dáil, should the people of Wicklow return me, I look forward to engaging with the Deputy on those issues.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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In Ireland, in politics and in life, we should be careful what we wish for. I am looking at a picture sent to me of a recent tweet the Taoiseach posted with a picture of a Kamala Harris baseball cap. Was he supporting one side or the other?

How come it is only in Ireland that we are having an evaluation of what happened during Covid? In every other jurisdiction I am aware of, they are having a proper independent inquiry, including in Northern Ireland, across the water, and in many other countries around the world. I attended an event with party leaders in Government Buildings before Deputy Harris was Taoiseach, with the previous Taoiseach. The cry that day nine months ago was that Ireland was too small a place and we could not really inquire. Thousands of lives were lost. We did some good things. We made terrible mistakes. How are we going to learn from our mistakes if we do not have a proper, meaningful, independent inquiry with teeth and powers of compellability? This evaluation is only a charade, and people's lives mean nothing, with the suffering, the mental health issues, the damage to businesses and families and everything else. We need a proper inquiry, not an evaluation. It is just another cop-out and an Irish solution to an Irish problem - a cover-up again.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Harris 2024 hat was me trying to give the Deputy a helpful tip to get the posters ready this year and not wait until next year, but I will talk to him-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Even though the election was not going to be until next year, end of term.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I was just trying to help the Deputy, but that is okay.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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That will not get you out of jail.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please let the Taoiseach answer.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy because he has raised an important issue regarding Covid. There was engagement, as he said, with parties across this House. I would describe it as good engagement. It predated my time-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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One engagement.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I was told it was good engagement, and I believe lots of parties made suggestions. There were draft terms of reference, and an excellent independent chair has been appointed. We will need to keep these matters under review. We have had a history in this House of establishing statutory and non-statutory inquiries, and sometimes one has worked better than the other. The Dr. Gabriel Scally evaluation was non-statutory and got answers and, I think, won the confidence of many people who engaged with it. It will be for the next government to continue to monitor this closely.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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On page 36 of the programme for Government, it states:

As Ireland moves towards carbon neutrality, we do not believe that it makes sense to develop LNG gas import terminals importing fracked gas. ... We do not support the importation of fracked gas ...

Yet the Government has done a U-turn with the amendments to the planning Bill, which means we will end up importing large quantities of fracked gas to feed either an onshore or offshore LNG terminal.

The Taoiseach’s Government must take responsibility for the negative health impacts on those communities, mainly in the US, from which we will import fracked gas and, crucially, for the upstream methane emissions that will accelerate climate change. My question for the Taoiseach is very simple: will he keep his promise during his last days as Taoiseach of the Thirty-third Dáil to reinstate the ban on all LNG terminals and the importation of fracked gas?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Deputy is reading something into the planning amendment that is not the case. There is no intention in it to open the door to changing the position with regard to either fracked gas or the development of commercial LNG facilities in this country. It was purely made for technical reasons, namely to ensure the legislation would be in line with other legislation so there would not be legal uncertainty regarding any development here. It gave no preferential benefit or signal in that regard.

We do have to tackle the climate change crisis, which is all the clearer every day, and that requires us to switch to the electrification of everything in our country and stop the use of all gas. I believe that, with the building of interconnectors, battery storage and solar and wind power facilities, we are starting to see a significant reduction in our own emissions, but a significant reduction in the use of gas is now also possible. That will be the way we provide greater security.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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That is a classic non-answer.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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That is true.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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It is a non-answer.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach will be familiar with the pilot scheme to introduce therapists to special schools. I am sure he will be aware that many schools that did not make the initial pilot scheme were very disappointed. Six schools were initially approved to go forward. I have no doubt that the Taoiseach is also aware that the scheme has been beset with problems and delays, particularly with recruitment. We were due to have the next ten schools announced as part of the pilot at the end of last month. It is now 6 November and that has not happened. Therefore, it is another delay. Can the Taoiseach assure us before we leave here this week that the ten schools due to participate in the pilot project will receive news to that effect?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. I am glad he raised it. An absolute priority of mine, as Minister of State with responsibility for special education, is to get the therapists into schools. I assure him that we will be rolling out the rest of the phasing of the pilot scheme, as promised. Work is ongoing with the Deputy’s colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Anne Rabbitte, on the identification of the therapists and putting them into schools as quickly as possible.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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Previously the Department of Social Welfare provided a diet supplement for people on special medical diets. This was an extra allowance to help to cover the increased cost of such special diets. Numerous coeliac constituents have been on to me to say the coeliac diet and the specialist food they require because of their medical condition cost significantly more. They are asking for a return of the diet supplement. Currently, there are people getting it, so there is complete inequality and a disparity. Some people are lucky enough to get the supplement and others are left with no help whatsoever. It is imperative that we bring back the special diet supplement. In the dying days of the Government, I ask that we start the process in this regard within the Department of social welfare.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We are more optimistic in the dying days. I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue affecting his constituents, namely the diet supplement for people on special diets, including coeliacs. I am not across the detail but I will raise the matter directly with the relevant Minister, Deputy Humphreys, today and ask her to revert to the Deputy.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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We still suffer the consequences of the decisions of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments to remove services from Monaghan hospital. I challenge anyone who doubts the consequences to have the misfortune of ending up in Drogheda or Cavan emergency rooms. Over the past five years, I, along with the local community, have been campaigning for the return of services to Monaghan hospital. We have had some success, particularly the increase in operating hours at the minor injuries unit. However, why are beds currently lying idle in Monaghan hospital? I am told there are currently seven closed in the Diamond ward. This is a ward with three rooms that are currently being used for storage space, I am told. The ward was opened to much fanfare. The then Minister announced that seven new beds were to open in Monaghan hospital when, in fact, there were only two additional beds; regardless, those beds are now unused, even as several families try desperately to secure a stepdown or rehabilitation bed in Monaghan hospital. Will the Taoiseach intervene? I have asked questions to the Minister for Health and he has fobbed them off to the HSE, which has not answered me. Will the Taoiseach intervene to ensure Monaghan hospital is used to its full capacity and that every single bed space is utilised?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and, indeed, acknowledging that we have seen an expansion of several services in Monaghan hospital. I take seriously the issue he has raised because the hospital does have an important role to play in the overall delivery of health services in the region. I have been in it myself and I will raise directly with the HSE and the Minister for Health the issue of the seven beds.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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As we come into the middle of the winter, a most severe time for colds and flus, a special effort might be made to ensure that people, particularly the vulnerable, who may have been through Covid or have had flu experiences, will avail of opportunities to get their shots for Covid and flu as soon as possible.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. That was an important, timely and seasonal reminder. I was in a number of pharmacies over the past couple of weeks and saw that some were participating in the roll-out of the vaccination programme, along with GPs, health clinics and the like, and in reaching to a number of services. That is really important. The more people who get vaccinated in advance of the flu season, the better. It will certainly stand to them. However, it will not stand to them alone; it will also stand to the population at large. Therefore, I encourage people to get themselves vaccinated.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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As east Cork residents are continuously hit with long-lasting water outages and boil water notices, can we see a commitment from the Government that the new Whitegate water treatment facility, which Deputy Stanton and I have worked very hard to deliver, will be delivered, and also some focus on water outages in Ballyhooly? I acknowledge the huge frustration being caused locally for people we represent.

The year 1997, the year Deputy Stanton was elected to the House, was the year I was born. I wish him a happy retirement with his family as he stands down before the upcoming election.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We all join the Deputy in that.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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That is very gracious. Just in case I do not get an opportunity to do so in the future – I may or may not – may I wish everybody who is retiring from this House before the next election, of all political parties, the very best? I believe politics is a noble service and everybody, of all political persuasions, comes here with the intention of doing good for their community and country. I join the Deputy in congratulating and thanking Deputy Stanton and others right across the House. I thank him for reminding me of this.

I will certainly follow up on the Whitegate facility. As the Deputy knows, the Government has committed a lot of additional funding to address water supply, including in the most recent budget. I hope that will benefit his constituents. What the Deputy said was also a very subtle way of reminding people of his relative youth.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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Baggot Street post office is closing, Ballsbridge post office is closing and Rathmines post office is being sold off. This will have a devastating impact on the local communities. It comes on top of the closures, not too long ago, of the post offices in Donnybrook and Kevin Street. All five closures have come in the lifetime of the current Government. The legacy of the Government on the postal network will be dismal. If it is not the plan to kill off the post office network, will the Taoiseach reverse what is happening? What will he do in this regard?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. The Government has invested historic amounts to support the post office network, including an allocation of €30 million, but I do take the point the Deputy has raised regarding issues in his constituency and I will ask the relevant Minister to contact the chief executive of An Post on these specific matters.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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Last week, the Minister for Health announced that Blessington football club was successful in its sports capital grant appeal and was to receive its €130,000. Another club in our constituency, Newtown football club, was also turned down for a grant in the first round but it has appealed the decision. It was very much about a minor administrative issue. It is unfortunate that the matter was not resolved at the time, because we all know that Newtown has been through a very difficult period. I hope the club’s appeal is successful. It has written to us about this. Is the Taoiseach aware of the status of the appeal and when the club will finally find out whether it is successful?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is an all-Wicklow shootout. I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am pleased the issue was resolved for Blessington. I am aware of the issue related to Newtown football club and I will work with the Deputy on the matter. I am aware that the club’s appeal is being considered and I will link with her on it.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I have raised with the Taoiseach so many times the issue of vulture fund-owned student accommodation. We now know that vulture funds own almost as much student accommodation as the universities themselves. We now have a situation where in Cork and Dublin, there is more vulture fund-owned student accommodation than beds owned by the universities themselves, and Galway is actually getting to that point now as well. There are 1,000 beds proposed in Menlo in Galway. The issue here is that for students and people in the local community, they do not have the access to affordable accommodation to rent or to buy. This kind of development deliver neither of these things. It is also in a Gaeltacht area. How is it possible for vulture fund-led accommodation of 1,000 beds to adhere to Irish language-speaking guidelines for a Gaeltacht area?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and I will ask the Minister for further and higher education to look specifically into that issue she raised. I take the importance that she made of the particular issue around the Gaeltacht and supporting the Irish language and Irish language guidelines as well. The Deputy and I had these exchanges before in my last role but I believe where we need to get to is much more State-owned or university-owned accommodation. I am sure we will all be putting forward our proposals as to how we can ramp that up. It is the way to do this. There will always be some private accommodation and that is fine but we need to have much more university-owned and taxpayer-invested student accommodation. We have started that process and I hope that together, we can achieve a lot more in the years ahead.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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Over the past 20 years, 500 people in south Kerry and 400 in north Kerry have participated in the rural social scheme, RSS, providing services such as meals on wheels, care of the elderly, the Valentia lighthouse, social farming and working community centres. The benefit to the participants and to the community has been immeasurable and the value for money, according to a Pobal review, is that for every €1 spent, there is a €3 benefit back to the community. However, the RSS has not been supported enough by this Government. Supervisors are still locked out of the pension scheme. Participants still have to retire at 66 and not 70, and the top-up on their social welfare should be increased to at least €50. Can the Taoiseach do something about that because very few people leave it? The Department of Social Protection should invite everyone on farm assist schemes to participate because numbers are falling but the structures need to be put in place so this work can continue in communities.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. It was an interesting point he made because we all share, across the political divide in here, an understanding of the value of the sorts of projects that he mentioned. I argue that we have put a lot of support in in recent years but the points the Deputy made are valid, and I will certainly ask the Department to consider them in advance of any new government coming to office.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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The latest CSO vital services report shows that County Clare recorded the highest suicide deaths by population size in Ireland last year. There were 25 deaths by suicide in Clare, which is the highest figure since records began. It has also come to my attention that there is currently a very important vacant post in the Ennis day centre, that being the psychologist. The previous psychologist was in that position for an extensive period but it was a planned retirement. It was known that he was going to retire and he has not been replaced as such. It is a massive concern to my constituents in Clare. It means they are only able to receive the services from the psychiatrist, which is a huge concern of mine. The Taoiseach mentioned that the ceiling and the pay and numbers strategy are not impacting recruitment. Is he able to explain why this post has been left vacant for this period? It is at least five weeks now. When will it be filled?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The honest answer is that I am not aware but I will certainly find out for her today. Often in this House, I come across scenarios where posts are funded but recruitment campaigns have yet to find a suitable candidate. I do not know whether that is the case in this regard but I will certainly inquire. We have provided very significant additional funding to hire more people to work in our health services, and the Deputy has highlighted a post that is clearly crucial to the mental health and well-being of people in Clare. She has given the CSO statistics to show the urgency of it. I will inquire and come back to the Deputy directly.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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The consequences of the delays in scoliosis operations are very real and very cruel. I have given the Taoiseach a letter from one of my constituents who has had his operation delayed. In fact, he has been sent home to make himself comfortable. He is 16 years of age, and his name is Mikey. I am asking the Taoiseach for two things at this stage. I am asking him to get his full file from Crumlin hospital and the other relevant hospitals, and I am asking him for a second opinion from abroad and to facilitate that. The Taoiseach may say that with regard to some of these children, he and I are not clinicians and they cannot travel. I am asking the Taoiseach to use the technology that is available - whether that is Teams, Zoom or whatever it is - to make the files available so that experts from abroad can at least give a second opinion to the families. It is not right to send a 16-year-old home to be made comfortable. That may be the case for a 96-year-old person but a 16-year-old boy deserves more than this, and his family deserves more. Could the Taoiseach connect these desperate families with the experts from abroad for a second opinion?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I will certainly bring this to the attention of the Minister for Health, and most particularly ask that it is brought to the attention of the clinical lead in this area, Mr. David Moore. I will try to connect the family through that way and see if the points the Deputy has made can be addressed.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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He does not have the time, and this is the problem.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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This is my last time speaking here. I thank everybody, including the staff, the Ceann Comhairle and everyone else in the House for their courtesy and professionalism over the last 27 years. I also wish everyone well into the future. Finally, I suggest to the Taoiseach that with all the other great work that has been done over the years, he might consider establishing a fund so that communities can purchase land to build community centres, sports tracks, swimming pools and so on, which would help communities in a big way, especially younger people. It is a positive suggestion to finish up with.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I would expect it no other way from the Deputy, and I will certainly do that. His contribution to this House, and the way he goes about his business, personifies the best of politics and public service.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Hear, hear.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I wish the Deputy all the very best and I hope we may see another Deputy Stanton in here in the not-too-distant future.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Taoiseach.

I just want to refer to something. The case raised by Deputy Conway-Walsh is obviously utterly heartbreaking. In the past year or so, we have had an increasing number of very personally tragic cases being brought to the attention of the House. I think the next Dáil will need to find a way in which submissions can be made on these, rather than them being discussed. I see the necessity-----

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I have already done that and got nowhere.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We need an effective way-----

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I agree.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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-----for people to raise these concerns at the highest possible level without them being aired here in the House.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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It is desperate.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We cannot expect the Taoiseach or the Minister to be clinicians, to make decisions or whatever. If we had a way of communicating these matters, it would be good.