I move:

Tuesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Appointment of Ordinary Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (without debate and any division claimed shall be taken immediately)

- Motion re Fourteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed shall be taken immediately)

- Motion re Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform Establishing Special Committee on Preventing and Responding to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (without debate and any division claimed shall be taken immediately)

- Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026 and Planning and Development (Licensing of Outdoor Events) Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed shall be taken immediately)

- Statement of Apology following the publication of the Report of the South East Commission of Investigation (not to exceed 2 hours and 20 minutes)

- Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026 [Seanad] (Second Stage) (to conclude after the first round, not to exceed 1 hour and 52 minutes and any division claimed to be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage on Wednesday)

Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Protecting the Copyright of Irish Artists in the era of Artificial Intelligence, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 9(2)) (Amount of Financial Contribution) Order 2025 (Revocation) Order 2026 (to be taken immediately following the SOS and to conclude within 1 hour, and any division claimed shall be taken immediately)

- Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026 [Seanad] (Committee and remaining Stages) (to conclude within 1 hour and 30 minutes)

- Guardianship of Infants and Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Amendments from the Seanad) (to conclude within 1 hour)

- Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 (Amendments from the Seanad) (to conclude within 3 hours)

- Health (Provision of Contraception Prescribing Service in Retail Pharmacy Businesses) Bill 2026 (Committee and remaining Stages) (to conclude within 30 minutes)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income and on Capital) (the Principality of Liechtenstein) Order 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income and Capital Gains) (Sweden) Order 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Planning and Development (Licensing of Outdoor Events) Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Digital Divide and Back to School Costs, selected by Labour Party.

Thursday's business shall be:

- Statements on the Fiscal Implications of a United Ireland (to conclude within 3 hours and 32 minutes)

Thursday evening business shall be the Waste Management (Single Household Waste Collection Service) Bill 2026 (Second Stage), sponsored by Deputy Marie Sherlock.

Proposed Arrangements for this week’s business:

In relation to Tuesday’s business, it is proposed that:

1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders:

(a) the time allocated to Government business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 10.48 p.m.; and

(b) Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 47(1) shall not be taken, and Government business shall commence at the time when Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach would normally be taken

(c) the Order of the Dáil of 7th July 2026 referring the Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026 and Planning and Development (Licensing of Outdoor Events) Regulations 2026 is hereby discharged

2. the proceedings on the Motion re Appointment of Ordinary Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission shall be taken without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately;

3. the proceedings on the Motion re Fourteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately;

4. the proceedings on the Motion re Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform Establishing Special Committee on Preventing and Responding to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence shall be taken without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately;

5. the revised Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026 and Planning and Development (Licensing of Outdoor Events) Regulations 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

6. the Statements of Apology following the publication of the Report of the South East Commission of Investigation shall not exceed 2 hours and 20 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the statements, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the sequence contained in the table immediately below (to be read across);

(b) following the statements, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make statements in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and

(c) members may share time; and

7. the proceedings on the Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026 Second Stage shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at the end of the first speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the first-round speeches, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across);

(b) on conclusion of the first speaking round, or where speeches conclude before the 1 hour and 42 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, whereupon proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion; Provided that any division claimed on the Second Stage proceedings shall be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage on Wednesday, 15 July 2026; and

(c) members may share time;

In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that:

1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders:

(a) the time allotted for Government Business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 9.30 p.m.;

(b) Oral Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 47(1) which were to be taken on Tuesday, shall be taken after Questions on Policy or Promised Legislation;

(c) the SOS pursuant to Standing Order 25(1) shall be taken immediately following Taoiseach’s Oral Parliamentary Questions, which shall be taken at the time when the SOS would normally be taken;

(d) the Motion re Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 9(2)) (Amount of Financial Contribution Order 2025 (Revocation) Order 2026, shall be taken immediately following the SOS; and

(e) the weekly division time shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on any motions without debate;

2. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 9(2)) (Amount of Financial Contribution) Order 2025 (Revocation) Order 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:-

— opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State – 10 minutes;

— speeches by representatives of Sinn Féin, Social Democrats, the Labour Party, Independent and Parties Technical Group, and Independent Technical Group – 7.5 minutes per party or group;

— speeches by Other Members – 7.5 minutes in total; and

— a speech in response by the Minister – 5 minutes; and

(b) members may share time;

3. the proceedings on Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026 Committee and remaining Stages shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 90 minutes by one question, which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration;

4. the proceedings on the Guardianship of Infants and Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2026 amendments from the Seanad shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 1 hour, and any amendments from the Seanad not disposed of shall be decided by one question which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments to the Seanad amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration;

5. the proceedings on the Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 amendments from the Seanad shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 3 hours, and any amendments from the Seanad not disposed of shall be decided by one question which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments to the Seanad amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration;

6. the proceedings on Health (Provision of Contraception Prescribing Service in Retail Pharmacy Businesses) Bill 2026 Committee and remaining Stages shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes by one question which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Health;

7. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income and on Capital) (the Principality of Liechtenstein) Order 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

8. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income and Capital Gains) (Sweden) Order 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

9. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; and

10. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Planning and Development (Licensing of Outdoor Events) Regulations 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that:

1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders:

(a) topical issues may be taken earlier than 7.24 p.m. with consequential effect on the commencement time for Second Stage of the Waste Management (Single Household Waste Collection Service) Bill 2026, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; and

(b) the Dáil on its rising shall adjourn until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, 16th September, 2026; and

2. the Statements on the Fiscal Implications of a United Ireland shall not exceed 3 hours and 32 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the statements, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the sequence contained in the table immediately below (to be read across, not down);

(b) following the statements, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and

(c) members may share time.

Not agreed. I was horrified by the decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála on Thursday, but if I was horrified, I can only imagine the level of distress, trauma and anger that survivors and their relatives felt. There is an enormous appetite to debate this. It is important that we have a debate. The Taoiseach has talked about and defended the independence of An Coimisiún Pleanála. That is not disputed. The reality is that the State still retains the ability to acquire the site voluntarily or through compulsory purchase order. It is important that we have a debate. I am asking for statements and questions and answers on Bessborough.

The Government is ramming through planning legislation this week that will exempt sheds out the back without proper scrutiny. It is satisfied with handing our young people to vulture landlords. The Government is now offering a future of renting a shed out the back with no rights whatsoever. Threshold has requested that the legislation be paused. It is seriously concerned that the Government will create a new class of renters, insecure without proper regulations. Will the Government pause this legislation, not bring it forward, and give time for proper scrutiny, or is it afraid of real scrutiny and captured by lobbyists?

I call Deputy Sheehan. Thirty seconds.

Do not worry. We need to have a debate this week before the House rises about the imminent report on Aughinish Alumina. There are up to 2,000 direct and indirect jobs at stake in Limerick. We cannot have a situation where the State is inadvertently complicit in the export of alumina to Russia. Where there is a will, there is a way.

As somebody who was born in a mother and baby home, I find it pretty despicable that the Government has not stated its intention to stop a private, profit-driven developer from building on a site where the mother and baby home commission has said there are likely burials and where 19 mothers and 859 infants remain missing. The Government can overcome the obstacles if it wants to. It must demand that the site be taken into public ownership.

Emma O'Shea and others living with Friedreich's ataxia are in the Public Gallery and outside the gates of Leinster House for a peaceful protest. Can we have a debate on the current status of Skyclarys reimbursement and will these sufferers have positive news?

As Deputies know, at the Business Committee last Thursday morning at 11 a.m., which the Ceann Comhairle chaired, two requests were made. One related to statements on the fiscal implications of a united Ireland. A request was made for additional time, and that was facilitated. Requests were also made for statements on Bessborough. I checked with the Minister. She is away on Government duty and it is not possible to have those statements this week. We have a huge amount of legislation to get through this week before the recess. It is really important, so the Order of Business stands.

People living with Friedreich's ataxia are once again outside the gates of the Dáil. They are, as the Taoiseach knows, waiting and waiting for confirmation that they will have access to Skyclarys, a drug that has the potential to be life-transforming for them. In the absence of it, however, far too many of them see disimprovement in their physical experience, and their symptoms and conditions are accelerating. We have a number of them in the Public Gallery. I acknowledge David, Oisín, Emma, Cherie, Joe, Erica and Isabella. Emily Felix, whose specific case I raised with the Taoiseach a couple of weeks ago, is outside, at the gates.

We need a decision from the HSE on access to this drug. I raised it with the Taoiseach last month. It was not on the HSE committee agenda. We need it to be on the agenda-----

The Taoiseach to respond.

-----and we need a positive decision for these people before we rise for the summer.

We stick to our time, Deputy, and that is that.

I think all of us have met with families and young people who have Friedreich's ataxia as a condition and who are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the drug approval process, and there is a process. It is science led, primarily. It is not politically led, primarily. We had an outcome at the last meeting in respect of another drug. All of us want a positive outcome in terms of the deliberations that are ongoing but I think we need to be mindful of the fact, and I mean this is in the best of ways, that we have to allow the meetings to happen and people to take decisions, and then-----

They are waiting two years.

They are not waiting two years specifically. I am not going into the details. It then has to move on-----

It is 700 days.

Taoiseach, time is up.

It then has to move on to the senior clinical team in the HSE-----

Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy Ennis.

-----and we want the right outcome here. I just make that point.

On Saturday night I witnessed a pack of eight scramblers and motorbikes taking over Dublin city centre. I went to Store Street police station because I saw the lack of Garda presence. This was going on for hours. The garda on the desk told me they had not got the resources to deal with this on a Saturday night in Dublin city centre, the capital of our country. One of those scramblers narrowly missed crashing into me. I do not know how he did not. He lost control after going up on a wheely. I thought that would be the end of it but they continued for hours after that, moving from street to street from O'Connell Street, Parnell Street, Portland Row, Sean McDermott Street and the North Strand road. I raised this with the Taoiseach two weeks ago, after a kid with additional needs, Jayden Deans, was knocked down at the Five Lamps, a stone's throw from O'Connell Street. When are we going to see emergency and immediate action on this? When are we going to give the gardaí the resources and protections they need to address this? How many people are going to be seriously injured or killed like poor Grace?

The Taoiseach to respond.

We need action, and we need action now.

Many Deputies in the House have raised this issue long before two weeks ago. Deputy McAuliffe and others have been active on this front. Laws have been passed, additional gardaí have been recruited and enormous resources are being allocated to An Garda Síochána.

It is not enough.

I do not think it is a good enough response.

It does not happen in his community.

Will the Deputy let me answer the question? I will make a point. It is not a good enough response. If someone goes to a Garda station and is told they are not going anything about it because they do not have resources, I do not think that is an adequate response. It just should not be thrown out-----

Are they nearly crashing into him in his private car? I do not think so.

Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy Bacik.

I am simply saying that it is not an adequate response.

It is not good enough.

Deputy, please. The direction of the Chair is final.

A deepening crisis is developing in the criminal justice system. More cases face delays due to the absence of solicitors. More solicitors are resigning from the criminal legal aid panel. This is a mess of the Government's own making. The justice Minister needs to intervene to end the crisis arising from the way in which he has introduced criminal legal aid fees' reforms. He should release the data on the reasons for adjournments, and he should engage urgently in dialogue with the Law Society to resolve this. The Minister said yesterday that he reserves the right to make, in his words, tweaks to his reforms. In one obvious tweak, he could look at section 32 of his SI 303 of 2026, which specifies that the fee will be payable upon the issuing of the final order by the court concerned. It might be possible to negotiate to change it to put in an interim payment method. There must be a sensible way to resolve this. The Taoiseach needs to get the justice Minister to engage to resolve this dispute before any more criminal cases are impacted-----

Thank you, Deputy. The Taoiseach to respond now.

I am sure the Deputy will agree that for a long time we have been seeking to reform the criminal justice system. There have been many calls for the elimination of inefficiencies. The objective of these reforms is to make the system more effective and efficient. The Minister has introduced a fee of €520 for District Court criminal cases under the criminal legal aid scheme. This figure represents the current fee paid for five appearances in the District Court, plus an 8% increase. The Deputy has said there should be a sensible resolution of this but there has to be reform. We cannot just keep doing the same old thing. In some cases, you can have up to 15 appearances where people are being paid for every separate appearance. That is not on either.

I am not disputing that.

I note the Opposition keeps saying they are for reforming but there comes a time when the Opposition seems to only respond and be reactive in support of every campaign group that develops on any particular issue.

Governments will ruffle feathers from time to time as they bid to bring in reform. The Minister has engaged with the Law Society and will continue to engage with it.

St. Joseph's Centre in Shankill is the largest care home dedicated solely to dementia care in the country. SIPTU members feel compelled to take industrial action tomorrow because of the failure of St. John of God's to recognise the work and duties that they do. They are employed at a domestic grade, but, in reality, they do jobs way beyond that. They feed people, drive people around and do care duties, but St. John of God's is refusing to acknowledge that in terms of their grading and their pay structure. Nothing was offered when the case went to the Workplace Relations Commission, so the workers feel compelled to take industrial action tomorrow. Many of them have been working there for ten , 15 or 20 years. One person has been there for 37 years. These workers deserve to be recognised for the duties they do. Will the Taoiseach intervene with St. John of God's so they do not have to continue with their justified industrial action?

I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue. Those around me are saying it is an excellent centre that provides great care. The industrial relations machinery should be used.

It is not working. It has been done.

St. John of God's should engage with the industrial relations machinery to resolve this issue. That is the most effective way of doing it.

It has been done.

It has rained for 77 days across Ireland so far this year. At the start of the year, there were 54 consecutive days of rain. We have been blessed with a couple of weeks of fine weather, but already we have a six-week hosepipe ban in a number of counties. There are towns and villages in my county that have not had a proper water supply for weeks. Uisce Éireann is spending €250,000 a year to tanker water to Ballivor. The local school had to close as a result of not having a supply of water. Uisce Éireann was fined €20 million for not reaching its targets in terms of fixing the 36% of water supplies that are leaking from the pipes. It has admitted that it will take until 2050 to fill the gaps that are blocking the building of homes in this country. Even in developing countries, it is government's responsibility to keep water in the taps. The Government here is failing in that regard. Will it commit to fixing Uisce Éireann?

On the hosepipe ban, there are certain precautions the State and Irish Water should take in light of the unprecedented heat that we have experienced this summer, particularly in the past number of weeks. That would make sense. The hot weather could continue. We have seen what has happened across Europe and the horrific consequences for communities in Spain, France and elsewhere. We have also seen the excess deaths that have occurred on the Continent because of excessive heat. We do need to be cautious in respect of water. That said, I do think we can do far more to conserve water when it is raining. All of us can. I would argue that the amount of rainfall amounts are increasing in volume. We need to capture that water, and conserve and preserve it-----

Uisce Éireann-----

I call Deputy Malcolm Byrne.

We have worked very hard to improve and enhance Uisce Éireann.

I thank the Taoiseach. The time is up.

We have allocated huge resources to it.

Time is time.

While we have a very strong economy and, in overall terms, full employment, I am concerned about the fact that youth unemployment has now hit a rate of 10.8%. That is in the region of 37,000 young people. We are also seeing a situation now where graduate unemployment is higher than the national unemployment rate. Some of this is obviously because there is reduced hiring in consumer-facing sectors. There is a concern about ensuring that work pays, but we are living in a time where we are seeing more access to education and training than before. It is a concern that if young people feel they are alienated from society because they do not have employment opportunities, it could have long-term repercussions. What approach is the Government taking to tackling this issue? I know it is not just confined to Ireland, but it is something that the Government needs to address.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Youth unemployment is a seasonal and volatile issue.

One of the areas we need to examine more closely is the cost involved for SMEs generally and whether young people are being taken on, even on a part-time. There has been a cumulative increase in costs over quite a while. We will do everything we can to support young people's progression into employment. In June, the youth unemployment rate was 10.8%, up from 9.8% in May and down from 11.6% in June of last year. It is always traditionally higher than the overall unemployment rate. We have to keep an eye on the graduate unemployment issue as well. There are changes occurring. It was interesting yesterday to hear about the additional €5 billion investment by Intel. The company is putting that down to AI having a huge impact on the semiconductor sector. There will be gains and potential reductions as well in various sectors of the economy.

With the pyrite mediation scheme closing in just four months' time, on 30 November, some people in my constituency have real concerns. Yesterday, I met two constituents who highlighted the fact that their neighbours had been impacted by pyrite in the past and they are concerned about how it might impact them in future. With the deadline looming, they feel the screw is being turned and that they might at risk in future. The scope of the scheme has been widened, which is a real positive. At the same time, however, what supports or transparency can the Government provide to ensure that these constituents will not be left in limbo when the scheme closes in November?

That scheme has been running for a long time. I will revert to the Minister for housing on the matter and come back to the Deputy with a more detailed reply. Schemes cannot go on forever, and there are limits to what the State can do on an ongoing basis. I will come back to Deputy Neville on the matter.

As the Taoiseach is aware, for many years people with mental health issues have been attending emergency departments in our hospitals. Many of them get very poor outcomes. They experience long delays and end up on trolleys. Sometimes they are referred for short-term stays or to community services, which offer little or no service. Recently, the Government has decided to put special mental health nursing teams in place in a number of hospitals. That is very welcome. However, a lot of the hospitals have been left out, including Sligo hospital in the north west, where large numbers of people with mental health issues attend the emergency department on a regular basis. These individuals can be in a very distressed state and do not get an adequate service. When will this be rectified? When will this service be extended to all hospitals, including Sligo University Hospital?

As part of budget 2026, €15 million in additional funding was provided for a crisis response. We are starting with ten hospitals, namely nine model 4 hospitals and one model 3 hospital. The model 3 hospital is the Mercy hospital in Cork, which had 1,200 presentations last year. Teams of nurses will be put in place to help non-consultant hospital doctors during out-of-hours periods. What I hope to do, with the help of the Minister, in budget 2027 is expand it to the model 3 hospitals. Sligo is very lucky because it has one of the six crisis resolution teams in the country. It also has the crisis cafe. I visited the hospital recently. It has a state-of-the-art department of psychiatry. My intention is to roll this out to model 3 hospitals next year.

Budget preparations will be intensifying over the summer period. With that in mind, I want to take this opportunity to raise the issue of stamp duty and first-time buyers. As the Taoiseach knows, first-time buyers have to pay 1% in stamp duty when they are purchasing a new or second-hand home. This is unfair and unjustifiable, and I ask that it be reviewed. There was waiver in place previously. At a time when house prices are so high and when it is such a challenge for first-time buyers to secure home ownership, we should not be charging them extra in the form of stamp duty. I ask the Taoiseach to please take up this matter in preparation for budget 2027.

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this matter. In fairness, he has raised it on a consistent basis. I understand the motivation behind it. Obviously, we undertook tax measures last year in respect of housing. We are anxious that the market has a certain solidity and certainty about it and that we maintain momentum in terms of housebuilding. I have taken note of the Deputy's advocacy.

There has been a substantial delay in issuing Irish residency permit, IRP, cards. Quite a number of my constituents have been let go from employment because they did not get their cards within the 12-week period. I know substantial changes have been made in the past few days, but the word is still not getting out to employers about their being able to take back employees who were let go two or three weeks ago and who now have no income. One person with whom I am familiar started the process in January and has still not got his IRP card. I ask that a clear message be sent to employers that they can take these people back until 31 August. Hopefully, the IRP card issue will have been resolved by then.

The Minister is aware of the issue. There are moves afoot to accelerate the process as quickly as possible. Deputy Burke's general point that employers may still employ people is worth making. I will contact the Minister for enterprise in terms of a communication campaign.

There needs to be clarification to employers.

I thought the Deputy said communication.

In 21 of the 27 EU member states, there are cities that charge a visitor accommodation levy. Dublin is an outlier because we do not do that. In Dublin right now, we have the highest performing hotel market in Europe, which is a good thing and which demonstrates the strength of our tourism industry. The Dublin city task force is already making great progress and has acquired the Carlton site. The long-term funding of Dublin city could be supported by the introduction of a modest tourist accommodation levy. The Dublin city task force sits in the Taoiseach's Department, and there is an oversight committee. What can he tell us about the progress that has been made in looking at this issue and with regard to the prospect of local authorities such as Dublin City Council being given the capacity to raise a tourist accommodation levy?

This is a hot topic at the moment. Deputy McAuliffe of my party presented a paper on it recently. My understanding is that one route is that it will be a matter for local authorities in the first instance. In other words, we would enable local authorities to raise this tax if they wish or if they feel it is something they want to do. There is a lot of merit in it. In major cities like Dublin, it would provide significant revenue to the city council to allow it to deal with a lot of issues in its jurisdiction. Dublin and other cities may wish to avail of raising this levy and may need to do so.

I am sure the Taoiseach will join me in welcoming Christy Hussey and Conor Burke to the Public Gallery. Since this morning, a 15-year-old child has been sitting in protest outside the gates of Leinster House. Cara Darmody is highlighting the fact that the State breaking its own law. I refer to the law which states children's needs must be assessed within six months. The law has been broken for 20 years. On the Taoiseach's watch, the number of children involved has gone from 15,000 to 22,000 children. How can people who write the laws of this country in this House break them outside the gates? The Taoiseach has accused the recent fuel protesters, the Irish men and Irish women fighting for their livelihoods, of committing national sabotage. Surely it is sabotage to have 22,000 children waiting for assessments of need. Their education, their future and their rights are being sabotaged. How can the lawmakers in the House be lawbreakers?

The Government is taking very strong action on disability generally. Some €600 million extra was allocated in the most recent budget and there have been major increases in expenditure on education. The general scheme of the disability (amendment) Bill 2026 will be published shortly. That deals with the assessment of need process. The proposed amendments will make that process more child-centred, enabling proportionate assessments with more intensive clinical input only where required. Alongside those legislative changes, a programme of operational and non-legislative reforms is being implemented, including: a new single point of access; a dedicated autism diagnostic assessment panel; the launch of a new autism assessment intervention protocol in May; the removal of the requirement for a professional report to access special classes and school placements; the introduction of 11 new in-reach clinical teams to provide additional clinical guidance and support to assessment staff; and the roll-out of the education therapy service across 45 special schools, with plans to roll out to all schools. The focus is on early identification of need and making sure that children get access to therapy services in the first instance. That is the direction of travel.

For carers and the loved ones they care for, respite is really important. It should not be beyond us to ensure that respite is guaranteed and consistent rather than having a situation where service providers go year to year looking at lists of people in terms of who they can and cannot give respite to due to funding implications. In County Roscommon alone, we have 120 people on waiting list for day and overnight respite. Ahead of the budget, I request that respite be looked at.

It is not only about the break for the loved one and the carer but should avoid the need for long-term residential care sooner than perhaps would otherwise be the case. I ask, therefore, that respite would be looked at and perhaps also on a more multi-annual basis in terms of funding.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and I agree that respite needs to be enhanced. In the last budget, an extra €600 million was given to disability services, which has at least helped to consolidate a lot of the section 38 providers and providers more generally. The Minister for housing has met with the Minister for disability. They have agreed a protocol that local authorities now have to prioritise people with disabilities for housing, that a quota of all social housing would be reserved for people with disabilities and that they would have a priority on housing lists so that from respite to residential, we will see a far more proactive approach. I agree with the Deputy on that.

I thought we had left these days behind us because we have made huge strides in the provision of affordable childcare under this Government. In my constituency, however, this progress is being seriously jeopardised by the fact that some providers are being forced to withdraw from the scheme because of the unviability of their businesses. If no alternative providers are available locally and when a provider withdraws from core funding, parents are then left with the equivalent of a second mortgage cost for their childcare when a provider withdraws from the core funding system. Providers are saying they are withdrawing and maintaining they cannot cope with the increased costs in food, energy and wages. I know the Taoiseach will agree with me that when it comes to the cost of childcare and its affordability, equality must mean equality. What steps can the Government commit to taking in addressing this issue?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. There has been an increase in funding and so forth, as well as new funding to help services meet the fee management conditions attached to core funding. Most services will see their core funding rise to help to maintain the fee freeze. However, about 10% will be required to reduce their fees. I do not know whether this is the case in the specific experience the Deputy has spoken of but I will raise this issue with the Minister for children and disability. We are anxious to fulfil the Government programme in terms of reducing the costs of childcare very significantly, and we are going to take action in the forthcoming budget to further reduce the cost of childcare for families. The Deputy’s issue is more one of maintaining people within the core funding system and what happens if certain providers pull out.

In the aftermath of the violent death of Jamey Carney in Kerry last week, and while I wish to express my sympathy to her family, especially to her daughter, and compliment the community in Killarney that rallied around her and the services there too, we have to acknowledge that violence against women is a crisis and mostly perpetuated by men from all races, cultures and ethnicities and all religions and none. I saw this when I worked in the courts for many years. However, I was disgusted last week to see practically unregulated and unmonitored social media content and abuse directed towards her, even on her own social media platforms.

Who was this directed at?

It was at her, even on her own social media platforms. Has the Taoiseach any comment to make on this being allowed to happen?

I thank the Deputy for raising the appalling and horrific murder of Jamey Carney. It does speak to a very significant crisis in our modern-day society where such violence against women is excessive. I think the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, articulated this in plain language last week. This is something we will again be considering in Government, notwithstanding all the measures that have been taken, legislative and so on, and the establishment of Cuan.

This has been compounded and exacerbated by the filthy and horrific material that the Deputy has described on social media. The social media platforms have obligations here and should act very quickly to withdraw such material. It is unacceptable and there has to be a zero-tolerance approach to that type of social media content. One can only imagine the suffering that family is going through, and then they have had to experience this afterwards. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.