There is a clear commitment in the programme for Government in respect of developing affordable loans options, although they have been very poorly developed so far. In respect of the recently published affordable loans scheme, a significant number of people have been prevented from applying, namely, those who may have had property before. It seems that only first-time buyers can apply. A person who has been separated for over two decades and who is caring for his children came to me last week. Due to the fact that he had a property back then, he is now ineligible for this scheme. People who may have lost their homes during the economic crash will likewise not be in a position to apply under the scheme. An extraordinary number of people have been excluded, wrongly in my view. Some of them will face homelessness. In the case I mentioned, the person will no longer be able to rent that house in five or six months' time. He has an option to buy a house but can only do so under the affordable scheme.

I thank the Deputy for raising the question. The Rebuilding Ireland home loan is for first-time buyers but there is an exception for someone who is separated or divorced; if they have previously owned a property they will still be eligible to apply for the scheme. We are currently rolling out the first tranche of the scheme and we are reviewing it as we go to see what changes we might make with the second tranche.

That is not being communicated to people.

If the Deputy will give me the specific information, I will have it communicated to that person because if he is separated or divorced, he can apply for the loan.

I have seen the guidelines and that is not stated in them.

The Deputies can have a conversation afterwards. I call Deputy O'Reilly.

Public anger at the prospect of the sale of thousands of mortgages to a vulture fund continues to grow. The chance to regulate these funds was voted down by the Labour Party and Fine Gael in 2015. Sinn Féin legislation to regulate this issue remains on the Order Paper and we are prepared to work with those on all sides to advance it. However, the immediate concern is for the thousands of families now facing the threat of letters arriving to say that their mortgages are now owned by a company they never heard of and that does not want to know them. The people own this bank. The people saved this bank. Regulation alone will not stop these sales. Has the Taoiseach or the Minister for Finance communicated to Permanent TSB that the Government, as the owner of the bank, does not agree with the sale of these loans? Will he or the Minister for Finance commit to doing so?

The Minister for Finance will be speaking on this matter later today. The Deputy will be aware that it is already the law that loans can only be sold on to a company that is regulated or has an agent that is regulated. We are considering whether we need to amend the law to strengthen regulation in this area. Under the relationship framework that exists between the commercial banks and the Government, it is illegal for the Minister for Finance to make directions to the bank on commercial matters. That is there as a protection - with the agreement of the European Commission - for very good reasons. We need our banks to operate on a commercial basis. That is how we protect people's deposits. I ask the Deputy to bear in mind that this bank has 1 million customers and €17 billion on deposit

The Taoiseach cannot tell them.

It is also how we ensure that banks will be able to lend to people at affordable interest rates.

The Taoiseach cannot tell them that. That is not the question I asked.

I call Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.

Can an effort be made to answer the questions that are asked? They are asked in good faith and Deputies deserve an answer.

It is Questions on Promised Legislation.

I call Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.

I referred to legislation.

I also wish to raise------

What was Deputy O'Reilly's question on legislation?

We have moved on to Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.

It was to do with regulation. Regulation will not save these families. The Government has a consultative approach------

Deputy Doherty, please.

-----under the framework. What will the Minister for Finance say in that regard?

I call Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.

I also wish to raise the issue of the sale of so-called non-performing loans. It has emerged that many are domestic loans and have split mortgages or other arrangements, indicating that people have engaged with their bank. Members may have heard the Master of the High Court discussing his experience of people who come before his court on "Morning Ireland" this morning. I understand he has communicated with the Taoiseach. He and others drafted the National Housing Co-operative Bill 2017. I am unsure whether the Taoiseach or the Government have been able to examine the Bill but it discusses ethically sourced funding and a co-operative model, which seems to be thinking outside the box. It is a Bill that the Opposition probably could not introduce because it would involve a cost on the Exchequer. Has the Taoiseach seen the Bill, does he have an opinion on it or does the Government have any other proposals or suggestions on how to ensure protection for those who face the possibility of having their loans sold to a vulture fund even if they have engaged with their banks?

I have not seen that legislation and do not think anyone else has either. I am unaware of its having been published. However, I will give it full consideration when it is published, as the Government does for any legislation put forward in good faith,-----

The Taoiseach is not interested.

-----in order to examine it for constitutionality, effectiveness and unintended adverse consequences. Once the legislation is available, the Government will examine it.

In 2014, the then Minister of State at the Department of Health, former Deputy Alex White, signed into regulation the use of Sativex, a cannabis-based medicine for patients with multiple sclerosis, MS. The drug is not yet available on prescription or under the drug purchase scheme. Nobody who needs Sativex in Ireland can get it. If the Taoiseach has the time, and I will question him next week in this regard, he should look at a report broadcast by RTÉ in December on Paddy Doyle, an author who has MS and cannot get a prescription for Sativex.

This issue also throws into question the cannabis action programme for which the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, has set out guidelines. The Minister has referred to the guidelines on numerous occasions in the House but there are no guidelines and no programme. When will the guidelines be published? People are waiting for the programme to get up and running.

I will follow up in regard to Sativex and directly revert to Deputy Kenny.

As regards access to cannabis, I have now signed five licences to provide patients in this country------

Five licences.

Yes, I signed another last week. Every valid licence application I have received has been signed and processed in an efficient manner.

As regards the compassionate access programme, Deputy Kenny is correct that there has been great progress in the clinical guidelines now being drawn up. However, the issue is now to try to source a product------

There are no guidelines. I have been told by a very good source that there are no guidelines.

I also have a very good source in the Department of Health and I have the guidelines-------

I have been told by a very good source that there are no guidelines.

I have the guidelines and great work has been done by the clinical expert group that I set up to put in place a compassionate access programme. However, guidelines are only of use if we can access products and my Department is currently working on how we can access an appropriate product to the benefit of Irish patients.

My question relates to A Programme for a Partnership Government and, in particular, care of the elderly and hospital avoidance measures. The Versatis patch has been the subject of debate on the public airwaves for the past two weeks. The patches are being used off-licence, as are many other medications in Ireland. If medication was only to be used on licence, very little would be used. Many medications have an indication but are found to work in many other illnesses. Will the Minister for Health ask the HSE to remove the blanket ban on the prescription of Versatis patches? The proof of the pudding is that the patches are clinically efficacious in patients. Neuropathic pain is not all postherpetic neuropathic pain. Many neuropathic pains can be treated with Versatis and confining it to one illness is not appropriate, particularly as many other medications are used off-licence. I request that the Minister ask the HSE to review this issue.

I appreciate Deputy Harty's question and his medical knowledge in this regard. However, there is no blanket ban in regard to Versatis being provided off-licence. In fact, as the Taoiseach already outlined to the House, over 850 patients have been approved for off-licence use during the clinical process where a GP has lodged an appeal with the medicines management programme. Approximately one third of those approved for Versatis have received it to treat off-licence conditions. The Government and I have asked that the HSE applies maximum compassion and common sense in this appeals process and I believe it will do so.

It is an appalling decision.

As regards the proposed building control (construction industry register Ireland) Bill, thousands of homes built during the Celtic Tiger era are defective and may be fire traps, yet developers who allegedly built some of those homes are now building once again and announcing new estates, etc., with the help of NAMA in spite of the particular importance of this issue since the Grenfell Tower fire. I have been in contact with the Minister in that regard. Will it be possible to identify such rogue developers through the new legislation and exclude them from the profession?

I thank Deputy Broughan for his question. We are proceeding with the building control (construction industry register Ireland) Bill. The Deputy is aware that I received a report from the joint Oireachtas committee at the end of December which is currently being reviewed to see how we can accommodate some of its proposals into the legislation to come before the Dáil. As regards the Grenfell Tower fears raised by the Deputy, I last year set in place a task force which is shortly due to report on inspections that have taken place of local authority buildings and all private buildings of a certain height.

There has been much talk since I was elected to the House about homelessness and the provision of housing and several schemes have been implemented to deal with those issues, such as the repair and leasing scheme. However, that scheme only applies to larger towns, such as Killarney, Tralee and Dingle in Kerry. Rural villages and parishes are left behind, many of which contain houses that are lying idle and would provide grand shelter for the elderly or homeless. However, the repair and leasing scheme does not extend to those rural areas, although the Minister has previously contradicted me in the House when I have raised this issue. The repair and leasing scheme does not extend to rural villages, towns or the wider rural area, even where there are several houses which a small bit of work would make fit for habitation.

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for his question. The repair and leasing scheme extends to all towns and villages but is demand-led such that if the local authority determines a demand for the repair and leasing scheme, it takes appropriate houses back into use for social housing needs. If Deputy Healy-Rae has specific examples, I can raise them with the local authority.

At 7 p.m. last Sunday an accident victim in the accident and emergency department of Cork University Hospital was told after being triaged that it would be seven hours before he would be seen by a doctor. On Monday, an unwell 77-year-old man went into Kerry University Hospital at 7 p.m. and was told that he would be seen as soon as possible. He got a bed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. He was in the hospital for 25 hours before he got a bed. The Minister knows what is wrong in accident and emergency departments. It is not the fault of those working in them. Staff such as doctors and nurses are excellent and doing their best. However, it does not make sense that a person sent to hospital by appointment by a doctor can only be admitted through accident and emergency. What is the Minister going to do in that regard to alleviate the pressure in accident and emergency departments in order that hospitals can run more efficiently?

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising that matter and bringing those two personal cases to my attention. I am very sorry for the experience those people had-----

It is every day.

-----in Cork and in Kerry as well. He might send me the details regarding them. The Government is very clear on what it intends to do. We do not have a health service that is the appropriate size in terms of meeting the needs of our population. That means we will need more beds in the health service and that is the reason we approved, as part of Project Ireland 2040, the delivery of 2,600 additional hospital beds last Friday, which will see more beds go to Cork and Kerry. As we have also approved a new acute hospital in regard to Kerry and Cork, as well as an elective-only hospital for Cork, the South/South West Hospital Group's capacity will significantly expand.

We are taking a number of interim measures in the meantime, including looking at the front-loading of beds. We will open 300 new beds between the start of this winter and this year as well. We are increasing the capacity of the health service. It will take some time to get to where we want to be but we now have a very clear roadmap.

I call Deputy James Browne.

In page 44 of A Programme for a Partnership Government, the Government commits to applying to the European Union for the revision of the TEN-T core railway network. A submission is being prepared for the European Commission for a revision of the TEN-T core network, which would seek to facilitate consideration of transport-related project proposals for funding under the Connecting Europe Facility. The submission, to be made by the Government, will take into account also the implications of Brexit.

Iarnród Éireann has placed the future of the Rosslare Europort railway network south of Gorey in doubt. Surely that railway line should be upgraded in light of the dangers of Brexit. Can the Taoiseach confirm that the Belfast to Dublin and Rosslare Europort line will be part of the application to be upgraded to a TEN-T core railway network in light of the threats from Brexit?

I cannot. That might be an issue the Deputy could raise directly with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport-----

That will do no good.

-----either by way of a parliamentary question or Topical Issue. I can assure the Deputy that there are no plans to close the railway south of Gorey.

Tell that to Iarnród Éireann.

In terms of being upgraded, it is important to bear in mind how the Connecting Europe Facility works. I meet people about the TEN-T and the Connecting Europe Facility and they seem to think it is a big source of European money. It is actually not. If something is included on the TEN-T network, it imposes an obligation on Government to upgrade it and the Union will only provide a very small portion of that cost. There seems to be a sense that this is like the old days when big Structural Funds were available to Ireland from the EU. As that is not the case, anything we include imposes a very significant cost on the Exchequer for which there is a very small contribution from the EU.

I call Deputy Michael Collins.

On page 42 of the programme for Government, under jobs and rural development, it was agreed that the Government would increase the numbers on the rural social scheme, which was set up to assist low income farmers and fishermen. The Government delivered 500 places in 2016, which has to be commended. On the downside, the biggest area, west Cork, was allocated only 11 of those places. An additional 250 places were promised in the budget, which I welcome, but will the new allocation be fair, and when will it be announced?

I am afraid I do not know. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, to provide Deputy Collins with a reply.

I call Deputy Thomas Byrne.

Regarding the commitment in the programme for Government to make Ireland have the best education and training system in Europe, I do not know if the Taoiseach is aware that we have a severe crisis with the provision and supply of teachers. The Minister for Education and Skills does not seem to be aware of it. A report entitled Striking the Balance landed on the previous Minister's desk in December 2015. Eventually, after much pressure, it was published in June 2017. Recommendation No. 1 in that report was that a steering group be appointed to look at these issues. In the recommendation that steering group was to be started in October 2016. The Minister announced in January 2018 that he was establishing the steering group to the Irish Primary Principals Network, IPPN, conference. It transpired yesterday at the Joint Committee on Education and Skills that the Minister has not actually taken that step.

This is the latest in a series of announcements from the Minister, Deputy Bruton. One will find them every Monday morning in the newspapers or hear about them on radio. He announces something but does not back it up with any action or resources. We will compile a list but it happens every Monday. However, this is the most crucial issue affecting the education system at present. Unqualified people are engaged in teaching. There are children of principals and school secretaries teaching because they have to, and children are not getting the education they deserve and that the Government should provide. The Government needs to get to grips with this issue. As Brian Mooney said in The Irish Times-----

The Deputy cannot make a long statement on it.

-----sadly, there are no plans to deal with this and nobody seems to be taking responsibility for it.

There is no legislation promised on this matter, a Cheann Comhairle. I am aware that we have succeeded in recruiting 5,000 additional teachers since this Government of Fine Gael, Independents and the Independent Alliance came to office, which is a considerable number. I acknowledge there are difficulties in recruiting teachers in certain subjects and substitute teachers in certain instances but I am unable to give the Deputy an answer to his question, which does not relate to promised legislation or the programme for Government.

It does relate to the programme for Government.

The Deputy might like to raise it with the Minister for Education and Skills.

I call Deputy John Brady.

This morning, Barnardos launched its Lost Childhood campaign in recognition of the one in seven children, that is, more than 170,000 children whose childhoods and futures are being written for them through circumstances completely out of their control and because of poor policy on the part of the Government. One in seven children are lost to homelessness and poverty. Three thousand children in this State are currently homeless in emergency accommodation. I totally agree with what Fergus Finlay said this morning, namely, that children are the forgotten scandal within this State. The Government's commitment as part of the programme for Government is to lift 113,000 children out of poverty by 2020. Can the Taoiseach outline clearly how he intends to achieve those figures?

I share the Deputy's concern about child poverty. Nobody believes that any child deserves to grow up in poverty or disadvantage. While the Deputy has not acknowledged it, I know that if he had more time he would acknowledge that child poverty and poverty rates have been falling in Ireland for the past two years as a consequence of decisions made by Government.

That is not true in all circumstances.

I believe they will continue to fall.

The lone parent figures are up.

That is according to the Central Statistics Office, which collects these data.

In terms of our commitment to deal with the issue, the most effective way to lift people out of poverty is through employment. The Deputy will be aware of the work the Government is doing to boost employment in this country and through measures such as investment in education and housing. The Deputy will be aware also of the publication of Project 2040 on Friday, which includes massive investment in education in the years ahead. There will be €8.4 billion in capital investment in our education service and-----

It is 2020 we are talking about - the Taoiseach's targets.

-----very significant investment in housing as well. There will be €4.2 billion to build 112,000 new social homes in that period. I can assure the Deputy, therefore, that we are going in the right direction and with this Government remaining in office, we will continue to go in the right direction.

I call Deputy Scanlon.

Page 59 of the programme for Government states there will be an increase in ambulance emergency medical technicians and paramedics every year to improve response times, as well as a commitment to expand the national first responder network. The situation whereby it takes 80 minutes for an ambulance to arrive to an incident is completely unacceptable and it is failing people living in rural areas. Carrick-on-Shannon, for instance, has just one ambulance and one crew. During busy times, that ambulance can be servicing Longford, Mullingar, Cavan and Monaghan, which leaves that area very much exposed. We need a second ambulance and crew. A number of technicians have qualified in the past 18 months but most of those people have been taken to Dublin, which I understand.

The first responder schemes need to be rolled out in the north west. In Dublin, firefighters are trained to paramedic level. That means there are paramedics available on a 24-7 basis in the event of an emergency. What is the status of discussions between the national ambulance service and the national directorate for fire and emergency management on the issue of first responder provision? I am aware they are in discussions.

I call Deputy Martin Kenny on the same matter.

I wrote to the ambulance service earlier this year about this very point. We have a problem in north Roscommon and south Leitrim in that we do not have enough ambulances on the ground. A situation often arises where the ambulances are sent out of the area on a busy Saturday night in the town of Carrick-on-Shannon where we have huge numbers of people and accidents happening all over the place yet there is no ambulance service. An ambulance has to be called from Letterkenny or from Ballina to come to that area. That is no longer acceptable. We need the physical ambulance to be purchased and put into the ambulance centre either in Boyle or in Carrick-on-Shannon. The staff are available to staff it. All we need is the ambulance. I emphasise the need to put that in place as quickly as possible.

I thank Deputies Scanlon and Martin Kenny for raising this important matter. We have increased the budget for the national ambulance service by a further €10.9 million this year. Of that, almost €3 million is for new development. That will provide for more ambulances and paramedics on the ground. In fact, we have also increased the number of paramedics in training by an additional 112. In the west, which the Deputies referenced, the Government has delivered new ambulance bases in Tuam and Mulranny and 55 extra paramedics. I take the points that both Deputies raised and will revert to them directly.

In relation to the programme for Government commitment to strengthen community supports, what plans does to the Government have to increase community supports in the coming year?

Yesterday, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Michael Ring, announced funding of €815,000 for 12 new social enterprises under strand 3 of the community services programme, or CSP. The CSP supports local community-based organisations and activities to deliver a diverse range of services in communities while providing employment opportunities for people from specific target groups. Organisations funded by the programme are encouraged to develop and deliver good quality services and provide good quality employment opportunities to their employees. The funding announced will support services under strand 3 of the CSP. The strand focuses on services which meet two core objectives, namely developing and providing social enterprise through the funded organisations offering to the community and creating career progression opportunities for members of the target groups.

On page 136 of A Programme for Partnership Government there is a commitment to support the expansion of local drug task force projects. The Taoiseach will be aware that there were reductions in funding in 2012, 2013 and 2014 for all local and regional drug and alcohol task forces while in the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 funding has remained at the 2014 level. That is despite the fact that in the latter years, the Department of Health and the HSE have seen significant increases in their annual budgets. The Taoiseach will also be aware that the projects these task forces support represent services which are often not provided by statutory bodies or agencies, in particular in the area of education awareness and prevention, where they play a huge role. To meet the commitment the Government has made there must be a change in the budgetary allocation. They are operating at 2014 notwithstanding the reference in the programme for Government to the expansion of those projects. Can the Taoiseach make a commitment today that he will review the funding model for these task forces?

There has been a significant increase in the social inclusion element of the HSE's budget which covers the task forces and there are also additional funds which are routed directly through the Department of Health. It is very much within the domain of the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, to determine how that money is best spent and whether it is through local drugs task forces or other means. I will mention to her that the Deputy raised the matter and ask for a more detailed answer.

I raise the programme for Government commitment around drug pricing at paragraph 5.7.5. What steps are being taken to secure sustainable and affordable access to new and innovative medicines? Given that Ireland is at the heart of Europe, how can we best leverage that position, working with our colleagues in other member states to create greater purchasing power and access to many new and innovative drugs at affordable prices?

I thank Deputy Heydon for raising this important matter. The Government has done three things to drive down the cost of new drugs. First, it has agreed a deal with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association, which has saved hundreds of millions of euro and kept drug pricing roughly stable at €2 billion per year despite the fact that we are purchasing more drugs. Second, we have developed Ireland's first ever biosimilars policy. Third, I have received Government approval in recent weeks for Ireland to seek to join the Benelux "A" group which is composed of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria. As part of the group, we could voluntarily opt-in to try to purchase drugs with these countries and share information. I will be travelling to Belgium and the Netherlands next month to advance this objective.

Under the programme for Government, there is a commitment to enhance the services of the Department of Justice and Equality. I am still waiting for a date for the establishment of the protective services unit for west Cork. This will be an essential service for the victims of domestic abuse in west Cork. As such, I ask the Minister for Justice and Equality, as I asked him a few weeks ago, for a date. I hope he has one for me today. It was promised at the end of last year but is yet again a broken promise, which is not good enough.

I accept that this is an important issue in the context of domestic violence legislation and the Government's policy of zero tolerance. I do not have a date for the opening of the centre in the Deputy's constituency but I have taken careful note of the point she has made and am happy to communicate with her before nightfall.

The Taoiseach should be keenly aware of the housing shortage and the need for more houses to be built. The Minister for Finance has said he is dealing with the home building finance Bill and an agency to lend to those involved in residential house construction on terms and conditions equivalent to the commercial market from banks. I note that while the Bill is listed as priority legislation for the current session, it has not even gone to pre-legislative scrutiny. Is that an indication of what the Taoiseach considers to be a priority approach to dealing with the housing crisis?

The legislation is very much a priority. I met the Minister for Finance last night and we discussed it. The Department of Finance is working on drafting that as we speak. I should point out that through ISIF and other financial vehicles, the Government already provides finance to developers and builders who are looking to build new homes. However, the additional body will allow us to do this in a better way.

On 6 December, the parents of four adults with intellectual and physical disabilities met the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, at Leinster House. The outcome of the meeting was to set a date for a follow-up meeting by the end of January. I have spoken to the Minister of State since and he hopes to have the meeting by the end of February. It relates to finding a full-time residential centre for these four intellectually and physically disabled adults. Their ages are 39, 45, 37 and 37 respectively and their parents are in their late 60s and early 70s. Funding for a residential centre is badly needed to allow their parents, as they come to the end of their lives, to be secure in the knowledge that their loved ones are being looked after.

I thank Deputy Ferris. I appreciate the importance of that sensitive matter and the need for parents to have assurance and certainty on it. As he said, the Minister of State, Deputy McGrath, has met the group and I am sure he will do so again as he said. I will pass on Deputy Ferris's concerns to him directly.