The Taoiseach and his Cabinet colleagues were advised in a secret memo in 2011 that the withholding of the disabled persons maintenance allowance from people with disabilities was illegal. In the words of the memo circulated to the Taoiseach and the Government, the regulations were "plainly ultra vires and void". The State had not, as the Taoiseach said, a leg to stand on and, therefore, a strategy was pursued to keep these matters under wraps and out of court. Given that the State did not have a leg to stand on and that the withholding of this allowance was illegal and wrong, why did the Taoiseach do nothing about that? How is it that, 12 years on, he continues to deny these vulnerable citizens what is rightfully due to them?

There really is no allegation the Deputy would not just throw out there. There are members of the Opposition who at least have some sense of truth. There is nothing the Deputy would not throw out there. That memo was not a Cabinet memo. I am sure Deputy McDonald has read it at this stage. It does not say "Cabinet memo" on it.

The Taoiseach said yesterday that members of the Government were on a distribution list.

It is a memo for advice and was sent to four Cabinet members at the time.

He said they were on a distribution list.

Yet Deputy McDonald just throws out there the statement that everyone-----

The Taoiseach was briefed on it, though.

-----in the Cabinet saw this memo, which was not even a Cabinet memo. There is absolutely nothing-----

The Taoiseach was briefed on it, was he not?

-----the Deputy would not say, whether it is true or not - and there she goes again. The issue I was briefed on was the nursing homes issue. The Deputy is trying to conflate that with a different issue.

It is all in the one memo.

It is impossible to answer questions from somebody who just does not care-----

The Taoiseach does not understand-----

So Deputy McDonald does not care.

-----what is vaguely related to the truth.

The Taoiseach has been caught out.