The Minister for Transport, who also has responsibility for environmental issues, delivered what can only be described as a punch in the gut to the people of Swords and the north side of Dublin by deferring and delaying the delivery of MetroLink to 2034. Many people believe it is the indefinite deferral and delay of MetroLink. The programme for Government not only mentions MetroLink but states, "the Government will prioritise plans for the delivery of Metrolink". Deputy Micheál Martin is the Taoiseach, the chief, the boss. Will he assure the House and the people of Swords and north Dublin that the Government is still committed to Metrolink; that once the railway order goes through and planning permission is given, work will begin as soon as possible; and that the Government will deliver MetroLink as close as possible to 2027 and not push it out to 2034, as the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has said? Will the Taoiseach give that commitment today?

The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is the one Minister in this House who wants that to happen. That is what he wants. He has not delayed anything; he just gave a realistic assessment of where things are and are likely to be, given the planning issues and so on. Be under no illusion, it is a priority and the national development plan will deal with that issue as well. One has to be honest and realistic, and the realistic and honest comments of the Minister were translated into a suggestion he is delaying the project. That is a completely wrong interpretation.

People with disabilities in Ireland vastly and disproportionately experience greater poverty and social exclusion. Disgracefully, it took Ireland more than ten years to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and we are still awaiting the ratification of the optional protocol, which crucially enables people to enforce their rights acknowledged in the convention. The programme for Government commits to ratifying the optional protocol after the first reporting cycle, but it is now very likely this schedule will delay the ratification by several years. People with disabilities cannot wait that long to be able to guarantee their rights. Human rights and legal experts have told the Joint Committee on Disability Matters we can ratify the optional protocol immediately if the political will is there.

There is no reason for any further delay. Will the Government please prioritise the ratification of the optional protocol immediately?

The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is working on the ratification process. In the meantime, we are allocating substantial resources across the board in respect of children with special needs, both in education and in the healthcare area. More critically, we must work on facilitating people with disabilities to work in the workplace as well-----

When the Taoiseach says she is working, is there a timeframe for that work?

-----which is an important point. We are not doing enough either in the public service or more generally to facilitate people with disabilities to work.

When will we ratify the optional protocol?

As I have said, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will work on that. If the Deputy wants my honest perspective on things, one can ratify conventions, but we need the system and we need people to work and deliver. That is the most pressing issue for me right now.