The business for the week shall be as set out in the report of the Business Committee for 9 to 11 July. Today's business shall be No. 14, motion re ministerial rota for parliamentary questions; No. 15, motion re the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality; No. 16, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the terms of the host country agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Permanent Court of Arbitration; No. 17, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income and on Capital) (Swiss Federation) order 2019 - back from committee; No. 18, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income and Capital Gains) (Kingdom of The Netherlands) Order 2019 - back from committee; No. 19, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Animal Health Levies (Pigs) Regulations 2019 - back from committee; No. 20, motion re Twenty-fourth Report of the Committee of Selection which is to be taken without debate. Any division demanded on No. 15, motion re Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality shall be taken immediately.

It is proposed that the Order of the Dáil of 13 June, referring No. 43a, Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill 2018 [Seanad], to the select committee be discharged and that Committee Stage of the Bill be taken in Committee of the whole Dáil on 10 July.

The proceedings on Second Stage of No. 2, Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions (Amendment) Bill 2019 [Seanad], shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 90 minutes and any division demanded at the conclusion of Second Stage shall be taken immediately. Speeches shall be confined to a single round for a Minister or a Minister of State and the main spokespersons of parties or groups, or a Member nominated in their stead, and shall not exceed ten minutes each.

A Minister or Minister of State shall have a ten-minute response and all Members may share time. Proceedings on Committee and Remaining Stages shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes by one question, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Justice and Equality. No. 40, statements on EU Mercosur trade agreement, resuming on questions and answers, shall commence not later than 7 p.m. and shall conclude within two hours. Should a division be in progress at 7 p.m., the questions and answers shall be taken for two hours once the division has concluded. Each party and group in opposition will have 15 minutes each for questions and answers, with a 15-minute response from a Minister or Minister of State, and all Members may share time. The Dáil shall sit later than 10 p.m. and shall adjourn on the conclusion of Private Members' business, which shall be taken for two hours on the conclusion of the statements on EU Mercosur trade agreement, resuming on questions and answers.

In relation to Wednesday’s business, it is proposed that the Dáil shall sit at 9.30 a.m., questions to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs shall be taken at 9.30 a.m., and the Dáil shall sit later than 10.15 p.m. and adjourn not later than 11 p.m. No. 40a, statements on Government response to the decisions of the independent assessor, Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill, in relation to the State's ex gratia scheme shall conclude within 45 minutes. Statements shall be confined to a single round for a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons for parties and groups, or a Member nominated in their stead, and shall not exceed five minutes each with a five minute response from a Minister or Minister of State and all Members may share time. No. 21, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (Specified Bodies) Regulations 2019, back from committee, shall be taken without debate. The proceedings on Second Stage of No. 10, Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Bill 2019, shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after one hour and 30 minutes and any division demanded on the conclusion of Second Stage shall be taken immediately. Speeches shall be confined to a single round for a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons for parties or groups, or a Member nominated in their stead, and shall not exceed ten minutes each. A Minister or Minister of State shall have a ten-minute response and all Members may share time. Proceedings on Committee and Remaining Stages shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after one hour and 30 minutes by one question, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Justice and Equality. No. 42, statements on the report of the Public Service Pay Commission on recruitment and retention in the Permanent Defence Forces, shall conclude within 85 minutes. Statements shall be confined to a single round for a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons for parties and groups, or a Member nominated in their stead, and shall not exceed ten minutes each, with a five-minute response from a Minister or Minister of State and all Members may share time.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that the Dáil shall sit at 9 a.m. and questions to the Minister for Rural and Community Development shall be taken at 9 a.m., and the Dáil shall sit later than 8.03 p.m. and shall adjourn on the conclusion of Topical Issues, which shall be taken on the conclusion of Government business or at 9 p.m., whichever is the earlier. No. 43, statements on Government update to Brexit Contingency Action Plan shall conclude within 90 minutes. Statements shall be confined to a single round for a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons for parties and groups, or a Member nominated in their stead, and shall not exceed ten minutes each with a ten-minute response from a Minister or Minister of State, and all Members may share time. No. 21a, motion re Twenty-fifth Report of the Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate. The proceedings on Second Stage of No. 3, Citizens' Assemblies Bill 2019 [Seanad] shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after one hour and 30 minutes and any division demanded on the conclusion of Second Stage shall be taken immediately. The speech of a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons for parties or groups, or a Member nominated in their stead, shall not exceed ten minutes each. A Minister or Minister of State shall have a ten-minute response and all Members may share time.

The proceedings on Committee and Remaining Stages shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes by one question which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. No Private Members' Bill shall be taken under Standing Order 140A and no committee report shall be taken under Standing Order 91(2). The Dáil, on its rising, shall adjourn until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 17 September.

We have heard the announcement of the business for the week. There are three proposals to be put to the House. Are the proposals for dealing with Tuesday's business agreed to?

They are not agreed to. We cannot agree to an Order of Business for the final sitting week before the summer recess that does not allow the Dáil to address the scandalous abuse of money messages by the Government. The Government has been acting in a manner that is completely undemocratic and arguably unconstitutional by using the denial of money messages to ensure Bills that have the support of a majority in this House are prevented from progressing. I have a list of over 50 Bills in alphabetical order.

Okay.

The first is the Anti-Evictions Bill 2018.

The Deputy does not have to go through them. I will not let him do so.

The third is the Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016.

We get the Deputy's point.

The last in alphabetical order is the waste management Bill.

The Deputy does not agree with the Order of Business.

We know that the Bills on the list will be be joined by others-----

The Deputy is not saving the planet with all that paper.

-----including the No Consent, No Sale Bill 2019 and the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018.

Will the Deputy, please, listen?

This is relevant to the Order of Business.

I know the point the Deputy is making.

The irony is completely lost on him.

He does not agree with the proposal.

The reasoned response to the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018 which is extremely important gives the game away.

We will deal with it.

The content of the reasoned response is not about money.

There is no need for an explanation.

The Government thinks it has an executive veto which it does not have.

There is no need for an explanation.

It is using that executive veto.

Will the Deputy, please, resume his seat?

Time needs to be provided this week to amend Standing Orders.

There are other Members who want to use the Order of Business also.

No problem.

There is a problem.

We have proposed a motion to amend Standing Orders in a way that would resolve this issue.

This is a stunt.

There are other proposals-----

I will hear from your-----

-----for which time needs to be allocated.

I will be putting it to the House.

We need to have that discussion this week.

The House will decide.

We need to stop this veto.

The Business Committee makes recommendations and the House decides.

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

No, the Deputy has been represented. I ask Deputy Mattie McGrath to be very short.

The Rural Independent Group is not happy with the proposal to consider the establishment of a citizens' assembly today without debate.

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

No, one for each group.

I support Deputy Paul Murphy. The Government has treated the Order of Business in this House in a way that is completely undemocratic. The Deputy has cited the example of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018 which is critical. The Government has used money messages at the end of a lengthy process which involved this House voting to proceed to Committee Stage.

Okay. The Deputy does not have to expand.

The Government's approach to the climate emergency Bill is the worst and most egregious example.

Hear, hear.

Deputy Eamon Ryan does not have to expand.

It is absolutely appropriate to stand up for the rights of this House.

Members are allowed to put their case.

The Government has interfered in the ordering of legislation in an unconstitutional way.

The Deputy has had his chance.

It is fully appropriate that this be a key issue for consideration before we adjourn for the summer.

Are the proposals with which we are dealing-----

I am sorry, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

No. The Deputy was represented. I took one Deputy from each group. Are the proposals for dealing with Tuesday's business agreed to?

Can we get an answer from the Government?

Does the Chief Whip wish to speak?

We are in the last week. The amount of business we are trying to get through makes it one of the busiest weeks of the year. We have tried to comply with all of the requests that have come in in recent days. We are facilitating a question and answer session on the Mercosur deal. We are setting aside time for a debate on Mr. Justice O'Neill's report. The Ceann Comhairle submitted the request that came to the Business Committee with regard to money messages to the Committee on Procedure. He expects to receive a report on the matter in the autumn.

You cannot end the business of the parliamentary year on such an anti-democratic note.

I am putting the question.

We should be able to put the motion before the House without debate.

All of this can be discussed at the Business Committee.

This is a stunt.

A Cheann Comhairle, the answer we have heard from the Government is not acceptable.

No. The Deputy got his response.

It is not acceptable.

Are the proposals for-----

The Government is riding roughshod over the democratic rights of the Dáil.

Are the proposals for dealing-----

It is using a procedure in Standing Orders that was clearly not meant for the purposes for which it is being used.

Please, Deputy. Are the proposals for dealing with Tuesday's business agreed to?

The Government is refusing to deal with its unconstitutional actions.

Iad siúd atá ina bhfabhar, abraidís "Tá".

Tá.

They are not agreed to.

Iad siúd atá ina gcoinne, abraidís "Níl".

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

Sílim go bhfuil an ceist rite.

They are not agreed to.

You are not allowing us to make the case.

Is the business agreed to?

Yes.

Not agreed.

Not agreed.

I deem the-----

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, why are you not allowing people to make the case?

I ask both Deputies to resume their seats.

We want to answer what the Minister of State said.

Everyone is showing contempt for democracy.

I put the question. I cannot be responsible for the Chief Whip.

It is sabotaging democracy-----

When the Chair is standing, Deputy Paul Murphy knows it is a long-standing rule. I will put the question. Is the proposal for dealing with Tuesday's business agreed to?

Sorry, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

Not agreed.

Are the proposals for dealing with Wednesday's business agreed to?

Not agreed.

With what aspect does the Deputy not agree?

We cannot finish the business of the Dáil for the summer without dealing with the issue of the over 50 Bills which have been supported by a majority in the House and which the Government is undemocratically blocking. We cannot proceed in that way. It is unacceptable. The response of the Government is unacceptable, as is the fact that Fianna Fáil which is having its own Bills blocked is continuing to back up the Government.

The Deputy has made his point.

It is completely anti-democratic of the Government-----

The Deputy has made his point. The question is-----

-----to be blocking a series of progressive Bills-----

I am now putting the question. Deputy Paul Murphy has made his case.

-----which have majority support-----

I have no control over-----

-----and seeking to block-----

I am putting the question. Is the proposal for dealing with Thursday's business agreed to?

Agreed.

The business is agreed.

We cannot proceed with business.

I ask Deputy Paul Murphy to resume his seat.

The Government is acting as if it had an executive veto or a royal prerogative.

Deputy Murphy will resume his seat.

I am sorry a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I will not be.

On No. 3, is the proposal for dealing with Thursday's business agreed to?

Agreed.

It is agreed.

We have not agreed Wednesday's business yet.

If the Deputy had listened to me and not shouted me down he would have heard it was agreed.

It is not agreed.

It is agreed. I am moving on to Thursday's-----

It is not agreed.

Deputy Boyd Barrett-----

It is the Government that is abusing the democratic process; we have no choice but to make an issue of it.

Does the Deputy want to deliberately force me to suspend the House?

There must be-----

Deputy Boyd Barrett, you have no monopoly on the time in this House.

They seem to think that they have a monopoly.

I will deal with it. If the Deputy is trying to deliberately-----

They seem to think that they have a monopoly; they do not.

The Deputy should show some respect for the Chair.

On a point of order-----

The Deputy should show some respect for the Chair.

With all respect to you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

The Deputy is showing no respect for the Chair.

-----I cannot respect what this Government is doing.

The Deputy is showing no respect for the Chair and he is deliberately disrupting the House.

It is outrageous.

On a point of order-----

I am going ahead. Is the business for Thursday agreed to?

No, it is not.

I deem it is agreed.

Not agreed.

No, it is not agreed.

I just said it is.

But you cannot say that.

In respect of the programme for Government and the implementation of Sláintecare, I was somewhat taken aback by the Taoiseach's comment that he has read the de Buitléir report on a key recommendation of Sláintecare, which relates to the disentanglement of private care from public care. The fact that it has been decided to go ahead with a private suite in the national children's hospital means that the recommendation is to a large extent dead and buried before it starts. The de Buitléir report belongs to the House because Sláintecare was a product of the House, produced by all parties on an Oireachtas committee. The de Buitléir report is on one of the committee's recommendations. There is no case for the Government to withhold that. That needs to be published this week. It does not have to go before Cabinet. It can go before it in the ordinary way but given that Sláintecare is a product of the House, that report in my view is a product of the House and it should be published. I could take a cynical view and suggest that maybe it will not be published until the Dáil is up because maybe there are some unpalatable proposals in it and the reality of whatever commitment the Government has made to do anything about it.

I do not believe there is anything unpalatable-----

Publish it.

-----in it in the sense that it points out that if public and private practice were to be disentangled it would have to be done over a long period of time, recognising that hundreds of millions of euro would be lost to the public hospital system by removing private fees, that the contracts of thousands of consultants would have to be changed and it could make our recruitment and retention problems more difficult. I will speak to the Minister for Health about it. If there is a good reason not to publish it I do not know what it is but I do need to speak to the Minister for Health.

Publish it then.

Has the Government made a decision on the legislation necessary for the extension of presidential voting rights to the diaspora and people living in the North? When will the legislation be published? When does the Government propose to establish the commission? Does the Government intend to hold a referendum on this matter in the autumn?

The plan is to have the legislation published before the end of the month. That allows us establish the referendum commission immediately and the intention, subject to everything running smoothly in this House and the other House, is to have the referendum in October or November of this year.

It is reported that An Garda Síochána and the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, are developing a system that will allow for the application of an adult caution, rather than a criminal prosecution, for people in possession of drugs for their own use. Apparently this is a recommendation in a Government working group report but this report has not been published and has not been presented to, let alone approved by, the Government. Who is in charge of this initiative? Where does it come from? Under what authority are public agencies developing what is a new policy, apparently without the authority of a formal Government decision or the chance for us all to debate it? The initiative might be very good but we would like to have the opportunity to debate and discuss it in this House. How does that decision sit with the view of Government on criminal justice matters?

The working group was very important and I thank those who took part in it. The Ministers for Justice and Equality and for Health and I have reviewed the report and are finalising a memorandum on it to go to Government and it is hoped to take it in the next couple of weeks before the recess.

Why is the policy being decided before the report is given to Government?

There is no policy being decided.

The report was drawn up by a working group and was presented to me and the Ministers for Justice and Equality and Health.

The report examined how we could approach the possession of drugs for personal use as a health issue rather than criminal justice issue, which we all support. I will speak to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, later about progress in this regard and bring the matter to the Taoiseach's attention after the publication of the report.

Last week, the living wage technical group calculated that the living wage in the country in 2019 should be €12.30 per hour. They said the increase was needed, first and foremost, because of the increased costs of housing, accommodation, rent etc. A group of people is fighting to make the living wage a reality. They are thousands of Tesco workers - members of Mandate - who are campaigning for 1,000 new full-time jobs in the company, which has a 90% part-time workforce, and that the starting rate of pay should be €12.30 per hour, rising to €16.

In view of the report, does the Taoiseach accept that the reality for low-paid workers is that €12.30 should be the minimum figure on which to live and does he plan to legislate to provide for that?

Everyone's financial circumstances are different. As the Deputy will know from all the studies and reports done in respect of the national minimum wage, very often it is not the main income of the household but a secondary or part-time income in many cases. It depends on the individual circumstances whether there are rent or housing costs, or not.

As it stands, the national minimum wage is the second highest in Europe and the sixth highest when the high cost of living is taken into account. The law states the national minimum wage is calculated by the Low Pay Commission, which was established by the current Oireachtas to do that work. It takes into account a number of factors, such as the need to ensure that people who are at work get a decent wage but also the need to ensure we do not end up doing anything counterproductive by causing people to lose their jobs, particularly in Border areas, or to lose their hours, thereby ending up worse off if we make it too high.

There is great concern and anxiety in Clonmel and wider County Tipperary at the fact that Glenville Crisis House, a mental health crisis house in Clonmel, is still waiting to be signed off by the HSE. I received a reply to a parliamentary question from Mr. Jim Curran, the HSE's head of estates. He confirmed to me no funding will be announced until the HSE capital plan for 2019 is signed off. As has been acknowledged, the plan is holding up everything. We cannot wait any longer for the crisis house. We have no long-stay places but we need the crisis house and the upgrade to proceed immediately. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, means well but nothing is happening and we have been told it will be two years before we get any stone upon a stone. It is totally unacceptable to the people of County Tipperary. Mental health is a very important issue.

I do not have information on that project. The Deputy may wish to raise it as a Topical Issue matter, or I can ask the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, to correspond with him.

Last week, I raised with the Taoiseach the issue in the Murray report on the difficulties in recruiting hospital doctors and he undertook to speak to the Minister for Health about its publication. Since then, the report has been published on Twitter by Susan Mitchell and, therefore, it is a bit of a joke for the Minister to sit on that report, as he is doing on many other reports such as the de Buitléir report which was mentioned earlier.

Has the Taoiseach yet spoken to the Minister and will he undertake to ensure that the report will be published and that we will have an opportunity to have a debate on it?

I have not yet had a chance to speak to the Minister about that matter but I will do so. I am sure there is no reason we cannot have a debate on it, although the scheduling of debates and decisions on those matters are for the Business Committee, not for me.

The European Council recently failed to get agreement on a net-zero climate emissions target by 2050. The Government's climate action plan states the Government would agree to such a target subject to European agreement. Is the Government willing to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050, irrespective of what happens in the European Union process, or will we wait for agreement among all European countries before we do it?

The short answer is that we are willing to commit to that. I think that is what is stated in the climate action plan - maybe it is more nuanced than that. My understanding is that we are willing to commit to it. I was one of the Heads of Government who was willing to commit to it at the European Council summit last week. Three or four Heads of Government were not willing and they raised the question of how we will get there. As it stands, it seems that getting there will require many technological advances to take place, particularly in respect of carbon sequestration and storage, which may not happen. Their concern relates to making a commitment without a roadmap as to how we will get there. We would like to make that commitment because we may never get there if we do not set down that ambition in the first place.

There is only 5 minutes remaining. I will call as many as I can. I do not like doing this, but if there are names that I cannot call they will be on the list tomorrow.

The programme for Government promised a better health service. Parkinson's sufferers in Ireland feel like second-class citizens and they have to suffer silently in a country that ignores their pain. In most European countries, deep brain stimulation operations are offered to Parkinson's sufferers but this vital operation is not available here. In Northern Ireland, there are 31 specialised Parkinson's nurses, whereas in the Republic, there are only five, three of whom are based in Dublin.

When will Parkinson's sufferers be treated like their counterparts throughout the world?

Different treatments are available in different countries. I imagine there are countries that do better than us and I am sure there are many more countries that do not do as well as us. I am not entirely sure, therefore, how to answer the Deputy's question. Deep brain stimulation is available in Northern Ireland for Irish patients but is provided through the service at the Mater Hospital. It is probably best if I ask the Minister for Health to give a more detailed reply because I do not have a briefing to hand.

Last week, the HSE sent a letter to 50 respite service users which stated the HSE disability services in County Louth plan to close the residential respite service in Sruthan House in Dundalk. The reason given was that the HSE was prioritising the provision of services to enhance cost efficiency. The HSE went on to state patients with physical and sensory needs could go elsewhere and suggested they go to places as far away as Sligo or Roscommon, or to a nursing home. What is wrong with the Government? How arrogant is it that it can stand over something like that-----

The Deputy has made her point.

-----and believe that it is okay to do so as a cost-cutting measure? It is not good enough.

The Taoiseach to respond, please.

Does the Taoiseach believe that the Government can trample all over the rights of people with disabilities and their families and that it is okay to do so?

The Deputy should have some respect for her colleagues.

How dare the Government attempt to close such a badly needed respite facility?

I have to move on.

Will the Taoiseach stand up-----

Deputy, please.

-----to give his response?

The Deputy is wasting her colleagues' time.

The Taoiseach had better say the Government will discuss it.

Deputy Munster is being unfair to her colleagues. I will move on. Three minutes remain and I will not put up with this. I call Deputy Fitzpatrick on the same issue. I remind Deputies to think of their colleagues, not themselves.

Sruthan House has operated for the past 23 years. It has very experienced staff. Some 400 families have availed of it over the past number of years, while 50 families currently do so. The word in the street is the reason for all the cuts is the overspend on the new children's hospital. The Government has the opportunity to reverse the decision. Some 50 families depend on this adult respite unit in Dundalk, County Louth. Will the Government please reverse the decision?

I thank the Deputies for raising the issue, which I am sure is of great concern to the service users, but I have not seen the letter, I did not write it and I did not sign it. Therefore, I cannot account for it. I suggest Deputy Munster may wish to take it up directly with whoever wrote it.

I assure Deputy Fitzpatrick that current budgets and capital budgets are separate and an additional €200 million has been provided in capital reserve funding for the children's hospital next year. Once again, I assure the House that the rising costs of the national children's hospital will not impact on the budget for health services at all.

I call Deputy O'Dea.

The Taoiseach should say that to the Health Service Executive.

I have called Deputy O'Dea.

Following the Taoiseach's apology this morning which I appreciate, he is aware that there were two requirements to qualify for the ex gratia scheme for people who were sexually abused in primary schools. One was the prior complaint element, which has now been exploded as a result of Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill's recent declaration. The other was the requirement for a person to have initiated legal proceedings within the time set by the Statute of Limitations, even if they were subsequently withdrawn. Is it the Government's intention to leave the second requirement in place?

Who advised the Government that a prior complaint should be required to access compensation for historical child sexual abuse that took place in schools based on the interpretation of the judgment in the Louise O'Keeffe case? This condition was clearly designed to block survivors from accessing the redress they deserved and I want to know who came up with that incorrect criterion. I welcome the Taoiseach's comments earlier when he said he would not fail them a third time. Will he confirm that he will remove the need for a prior complaint in these cases?

The requirement for a prior complaint will be removed. We will have to examine the other matter. I am not an expert in the area, but I believe it relates to a Supreme Court judgment from 2008 which differs from a European Court of Human Rights judgment in 2014 or 2015. That is why I have asked officials from the Department of Education and Skills and the Office of the Attorney General to come together to formulate options for the Government to consider. In response to Deputy Quinlivan, I do not know for sure who gave the advice. As the scheme was drawn up in 2015, I imagine it would have been officials from the Department of Education and Skills, the Minister for Education and Skills and the Attorney General at the time.

The online safety and media regulation Bill is promised legislation. Given its importance, when is it likely to be published, brought before the House and concluded?

I am advised that work is under way on the Bill, but we do not have a date for its publication. It is a priority and we hope to advance it in the session that will start in September.

I call Deputy Healy-Rae.

Which one?

I was first. I raise the important matter of the passenger motor car industry. The Society of the Irish Motor Industry has indicated that sales have decreased by 7.5% this year and it is blaming the Government's scaremongering on climate change. It is causing uncertainty and people are not buying cars like they were before. There is another issue-----

The Deputy is only allowed to raise one.

The society has indicated that 55,000 used cars have been imported to the country already this year and that it is feeling the effects.

The Deputy should speak to proposed legislation.

It is the Taoiseach's proposed legislation that is causing the problem.

On the same matter, the report on climate change published by the Government and the legislation it proposes to bring to the Dáil have severely impacted on the sales of motor cars in Ireland. In County Kerry it has been reported to us that car sales are falling dramatically. What is the Taoiseach going to do to support the struggling car sales industry which has been affected by utterances from Ministers in the past few weeks?

That is a straightforward question.

I thank the Deputies for raising the matter. I appreciate that many people work in the motor sales industry. For many, it is their business and livelihood. However, there is no scaremongering on climate change which is very real. There is plenty to be afraid of.

Climate change is-----

The Taoiseach is answering the Deputy. He might not like the answer, but he must listen.

It has not been the Government's policy to discourage people from purchasing a new car. Newer cars produce fewer emissions than old cars and less SOx and NOx which damage air quality. We particularly encourage people, if they are buying a car, to buy an electric or hybrid vehicle.

Where would they plug them in?

They could do it at home. I am pleased that 15% or 16% of new cars sold this year are electric or hybrid, which is great.

There are only 13 State-owned electric vehicles.

My question to the Taoiseach relates to the strength and operational capacity of the Army, the Naval Service and the Air Corps which have been substantially weakened. It is no wonder that morale is so low within the forces. Listening to the Taoiseach I got the distinct impression that only five vessels in the Naval Service fleet would be operational. Will the Taoiseach clarify the matter? Last Thursday's announcement of the report of the Low Pay Commission had very little in it to help to contain the systemic flow from the Defence Forces. Particularly alarming was the fact that 60% of personnel said they would leave within two years.

There are nine vessels in the fleet, which is more than we had before. We have five new vessels and four were decommissioned. It was never the case that all nine would be operational or at sea at the same time, but I can confirm that six are fully operational, two are in planned maintenance and one is in long-term refit. We will go from six vessels to seven later in the year, but that can only be done if we see an improvement in the number of staff and specialists in the Naval Service. It remains to be seen whether that will be possible. The minimum is six vessels.

If Deputies will be brief, I can accommodate more of them.

I raise with the Taoiseach the rehabilitative training allowance which I have learned is to be abolished. It is a training allowance for young students with a disability that is worth €31.80 per week for a maximum of four years. I acknowledge that the HSE is struggling with a deficit, but this is nothing short of scandalous. Rehabilitative training is essential for young people with disabilities in developing independence and the payment is much-needed by the most vulnerable group in society. It is a job to go to every day for them. It is a disgraceful decision. I ask the Taoiseach, as the leader of the Government, to have it reversed straightaway. We are talking about €2 million out of a budget of €17 billion for the HSE.

As I am not aware of it, I will have it checked out. I will get back to the Deputy as soon as I find out what is the story.

With respect to the Government's Brexit contingency action plan, earlier this year the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, announced that after Brexit students from the North who wished to study in a third level college in the 2019-20 academic year would still be eligible for the Department's free fees and student grants scheme. He said the position would be reviewed for the 2020-21 academic year. I recently met Dr. Michael Mulvey, president of Dundalk Institute of Technology, and separately representatives of the Teachers Union of Ireland. I also facilitated a meeting between public representatives from the North and the institute of technology. The Taoiseach might know that 1,319 students from the North attend third level college and universities here, of whom 250 are in Dundalk Institute of Technology. As they are clearly concerned about the availability of free fees and grant schemes beyond next year, will the Taoiseach tell us whether it is the Government's intention to continue them?

I will double-check with the Minister, Deputy McHugh, but my understanding is that European Union citizens resident in Northern Ireland will continue to be eligible for student grants and free fees as though they are EU students resident in Ireland. The status quo should continue for Irish EU citizens who live and are resident in Northern Ireland. There is a citizenship and residency element, but the status quo will remain.

Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ar an Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna agus níl sé ann. Mar sin, cuirfidh mé ar an Taoiseach í. As every child in the country should be entitled to a place in a school, what is the Government going to do about the many hundreds of children, including 156 children with special needs in Cork, who cannot secure a school place? What will be done to rectify the problem?

Every child in Ireland is entitled to a school place, although it may not be in the school of first choice.

Some cannot find any.

In some cases home tuition is provided as an alternative. The Minister has powers under section 8 of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, which deals with admissions to require schools to open new special classrooms.

They have only been used once.

He is not using those powers.

I am informed that he has just used them at a school in my constituency and that he may need to do so in some other places also. It would be preferable for schools to co-operate in providing special classes, but he now has the powers to compel them to do so. We must bear in mind that the issue is not straightforward and that a school must have space. There are other issues also.

I welcome last week's broadening and extending of jobseeker's status to include self-employed artists. It recognises the unique creative circumstances of artists in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and gives special assistance during their first year out of work, allowing them to focus on their creative output. This is to come in from September. I ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht whether consideration will be given to extending the scheme to artists who did not previously come under it, people who are already at a resting period or on jobseeker's allowance? Could the Minister please clarify that point?

I thank the Deputy for his question. I was very pleased, with the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, to announce the scheme last week. The scheme was a pilot that will now be put on a permanent basis and will also be expanded to include other artists. It will not only be artists and writers but will include actors, musicians, choreographers and opera singers. I also pay tribute to the Taoiseach whose idea it was originally.

The 12-month activation period of the scheme will not commence until 1 September so, if people want to apply at that stage, the 12-month delay of activation measures will not kick in for at least 12 months.

Other Deputies outlined earlier how money messages are being used to frustrate the democratic intentions of this House and I agree with them. I want to highlight another blatant disregard of the democratic wishes of this House. On 28 June 2017, this House unanimously passed a motion calling on the Government to instruct the military authorities to immediately cease the administration of Lariam to all Irish soldiers as a drug of first resort. The motion, in fact, went beyond that. It is more urgent now given the fact that a decision was recently taken to send soldiers to Mali. There are soldiers and ex-soldiers who are still suffering the effects of Lariam and others have died, some through suicide. What will the Taoiseach do, as Minister for Defence, to give effect to the decision made by the Dáil two years ago?

The Government and Oireachtas have their functions but, when it comes to prescribing a licensed medication, the decision on whether it should be prescribed or not is for doctors, whether within the community or the Defence Forces. Whether a doctor prescribes a licensed medication is not a decision for the Government or the House.