I would also like to be associated with those comments.

The Taoiseach does not need me to remind him of the damage that was done to children in Kerry during the CAMHS overdosing of children. For example, children with social anxieties were given anti-psychotic medication.

Even the most vulnerable of children with intellectual disabilities and autism were given polypharmacy, leading to long-term physical and mental damage.

For years, we, in Sinn Féin, and many other people have been saying that anybody who has received an apology, where liability is therefore not an issue, should be allowed into the scheme for compensation. If they are not in the scheme, they are doubly punished - apart from all of the dosing - by not being able to access money to pay for medical reports and private therapies.

Today, we see the news that a lawyer representing some people has applied to the High Court to take a case where siblings are included while other brothers and sisters are not and where neighbours are included while other neighbours are not. Where there is an apology, everybody should be included in the scheme so they are not doubly punished-----

Deputy Daly should conclude. The Taoiseach to respond.

-----and the time limits should be abolished. This case should be looked at rather than spending more money that is not there in defending it.

I do not believe there is any need for the High Court case. It will only ramp up costs on all sides. No affected young person is being excluded from the scheme. A small number of cases have not been excluded but are being progressed through the further file review. These would have been patients who had previously received open disclosure letters through previous ad hoc independent reviews. It has always been the intention that they would be included in the compensation scheme and they have been prioritised in the current review process so they can be among the first invited to apply when formal notifications issue.

To be fair to the Minister - and I was involved as Taoiseach at the time this first arose - we moved very quickly to ease trauma on families in terms of the redress side of it.

I disagree with that.

We did not wait for cases or anything. We just brought in a non-adversarial compensatory framework which, I think, has been the better way to do things.

It was brought in after many lot of years.

Some 100,000 public sector workers begin work to rule today. Next week, they will be joined by their colleagues in the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, and the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO. On 14 October, we are facing a public sector strike. The Social Democrats and I stand in solidarity with all of those workers. Those commencing work to rule are nurses, hospital workers, local authority workers - people who are on the front line of public services. They help us when we are sick. They keep our communities clean and safe. They step up and do the vital work for each and every one of us every single day and they do so in services that are frequently underfunded and overstretched. The industrial action taking place today and in the coming weeks is because of this Government's failure to engage in meaningful public sector pay talks and, sadly, this could have been avoided.

It has been a frustrating summer, where unions have been clear that they will not accept talks without the basis that there would be a meaningful offer on pay. When will the Government come to the table to avoid further disruption and strike action, engage in good faith with the unions for a new public sector pay deal and deliver for our public sector workers and all of us who rely on those crucial public services?

Deep down the unions and their leadership know there will be a meaningful discussion on pay. They know that. There is no need for this strike action. It is causing unnecessary disruption. There is no need for it, in my view. After a long interval in opposition, I came back into government in 2020 and we have had pay agreements. We entered into pay agreements in good faith and we had good negotiations. I participate in the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, on an ongoing basis. The unions know my attitude and that of the Government towards continuing social dialogue and public service pay negotiations. We have expanded the public service exponentially in the past five or six years. The membership has grown, and all the unions as well, because of that expansion in the public service.

We understand the pressures on everybody. We will have a budget that will help workers, so there is no need for this industrial action. Yesterday, the Minister issued a formal letter of invitation to the unions. He already publicly articulated his openness and that the door is open for negotiations. Of course we want to negotiate a pay agreement; that is clear to everybody. I do not believe there is a need for strike action. A letter has issued from the Minister for public expenditure. I think the unions should call off the industrial action and enter into negotiations with the Government. You will find that in next week's budget, there will be a significant provision.

First, I wish to pass on the condolences of the Labour Party on the passing of Seamus Carroll, a genuinely warm presence in these corridors for many years. He will be sorely missed and out thoughts are with Treasa and his wider family.

There is a need for this industrial action. The 100,000 front-line workers across health, education and local authorities do not want to be on a work to rule. They do not want strike action on 14 and 21 October and they feel they are being gaslit by the Government because it does not want to engage on pay. That is the key thing. The Government has let the current pay agreement lapse. The unions, as the Taoiseach knows, will negotiate but they want to negotiate on pay. The best method to tackle a cost-of-living crisis is more pay for hard-pressed workers. This Government is not engaging on this. It can gaslight and say all it wants, and the Department can put out its statements but the fact is that this Government is not willing to negotiate on pay. Until it is willing to negotiate on pay, the unions will escalate their strikes and will have our support to do so. Will the Government please come to the table and negotiate a public sector pay deal?

I am not one for games or all sorts of industrial relations, IR, mechanisms and processes. I will be straight with the Deputy: that is a nonsense statement. There will be a substantial provision in the budget and the Estimates next week for public service pay. How can anybody credibly say we are not prepared to discuss pay? Come on. Everybody knows that is not true. Let us have a bit of common sense here. There will be a public service pay offer. It is well known. We are open to negotiations.

In any pay agreement, by the way, we discuss a whole range of issues pertaining to public service reforms and local pay bargaining. A whole range of issues get discussed in the context of a pay agreement. We have invited the unions in; there should not be this industrial action, in my view. The previous two agreements were beneficial, particularly to lower-paid workers, and were above inflation. If you look at the increase in public service pay, it has been quite dramatic. I think it has gone from about €21 billion in 2018 to €36 billion in the present day. There has been a very substantial increase in public service pay but, of course, pressures have grown as well because of all the crises we have experienced. We were very responsive during the Covid-19 pandemic to workers generally. We responded with agility and so on. It is not fair for the Deputy to say what he just said.

The budget is coming next week and the family resource centres provide very essential services at 136 locations. The family resource centres in Portlaoise and Mountmellick are doing excellent work that is making a real difference in local communities with services such as childcare, counselling, health and well-being programmes, adult learning, social inclusion and much more. They are right where it matters and I can see the evidence on the ground in towns like Portlaoise and Mountmellick.

The budget is next week and I appeal to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to ensure they are funded to continue doing that important work. Their core funding at the moment is €180,000 per year. They have three employees; some of them have four. That core funding needs a substantial uplift. Second, they need dedicated funding for the huge amount of counselling they are providing. Last year, they provided 64,700 counselling sessions for people. Some family resource centres, FRCs, are in need of capital funding. I know the Taoiseach has a lot of asks but I ask him to ensure these family resource centres have the funding to continue that important work into 2026 and 2027.

I thank the Deputy. He is on a very good topic.

It is a good day to do it.

The Minister, Deputy Foley, in particular, is a very strong supporter of family resource centres and last year, she secured funding for the establishment of ten new family resource centres. I agree with the Deputy that family resource centres play a very significant role in communities across the country. I am a strong advocate for them and I know the Minister is as well. I hope she will be successful in securing some funding for them in the budget.

I wish to extend my deepest sympathies to Treasa and family on the passing of Seamus Carroll. He was a great friend, with great banter, and his friendship will be dearly missed in this House.

After co-chairing a conference in Dublin Castle during our EU Presidency and after speaking to many colleagues across Europe, I have a question for the Taoiseach. I need him to be very clear in his answer. Is it possible to cap the taxation on fuel from budget to budget in this country? We could cap it from budget to budget and if there was an increase in the cost, the cost was would be the cost and it would not be an increase in tax. It would not take away from any taxation that preceded the capping. We could tax it at €1.70, which is 10% more than the taxation of last year's average, and after that we would pay the increased cost.

In that way it would have no implications for the public finances. In the shocks that are coming forward, people would only pay the increased cost, without a tax.

Is the Deputy talking about VAT?

I am talking about a cap on the complete taxes.

The bottom line is we have given back about €1.3 billion. Not given back, I am sorry, that is-----

The Government took it back in increased costs.

We did not. That is the point.

You did.

No, that is a false comparison.

It is not.

We did not, in any shape or form, have anything equivalent to €1.3 billion. The figure for increased VAT returns and so on is much lower.

When it is taken over a whole year, you did.

No.

Order, Deputy.

No, you are wrong.

I will try to arrange, through the Minister for Finance, a meeting between the Deputy and others and finance officials to get the full, transparent presentation of that. I make the point, however, that revenue across government is also required to sustain schools, as the Deputy advocates, and to support farmers and so on.

And also to put food on the table for the people who go to those schools-----

I agree 100%, which is why-----

-----and to let people go to work and pay their taxes for those schools to open.

Order, please. I call Deputy Séamus McGrath.

That is why we have free hot school meals in every single school at primary level.

Taoiseach, resume your seat.

Will you go away?

That scheme costs €300 million.

I highlight the concerns being raised about the curtailment of the domino midwifery service at Cork University Maternity Hospital, CUMH. As the Taoiseach knows, the domino service provides midwife-led, community-based maternity care, with continuity of care from pregnancy through to birth and postnatal, providing care in the community and in the home. It has emerged in recent days that due to staff shortages at CUMH, there is likely to be redeployment of nurses and midwives from the domino services to the labour ward. The INMO has said that up to 80 nursing and midwifery posts are vacant at CUMH due to a recruitment pause imposed during the summer. The domino maternity care service provides care for up to 400 women annually, providing critical options for them in their maternity care. I strongly urge that any potential curtailment of this service be reversed and that normal levels of service be protected and provided in future. I ask the Taoiseach to take up this issue with the Minister for Health and the Department.

My understanding is that the domino scheme at Cork University Maternity Hospital remains operational and available both to women currently using the service and new patients who meet the eligibility criteria. Care is delivered through three pathways, namely, the supported care pathway, the assisted care pathway and the specialised care pathway for high-risk pregnancies led by a named consultant obstetrician. To cut to the chase, the HSE has advised that from 12 October, changes to staffing arrangements within the service will come into effect. However, the service will continue to operate. Women will continue to be able to access the scheme and patient safety will remain the overriding priority in the implementation of these arrangements. Antenatal care will continue to be delivered through the domino pathway, supported by midwives in the outpatient department. Antenatal education and support will be available through the parentcraft education programme. The HSE has confirmed that where operationally feasible domino services will continue to support women who present in labour at the birthing suite in CUMH. There is a lot more information here, which I can give to the Deputy.

In January of this year, the faculty of pathology at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland published a report on autopsy provision in Ireland, which it described as a crisis emerging. We already see this in Waterford. HSE pathologists have withdrawn from Department of justice contracts to provide coronial post-mortems in Waterford. This will have a devastating impact for families waiting to bury their loved ones in a timely manner. I have two questions. First, the report calls for an interdepartmental working group in which the Departments of Health and justice would come up with a sustainable national solution. Second, I asked the Department of justice to make available the costs associated with bringing in three locum pathologists weekly since January to provide that service in Waterford in the interim. The Department has refused to give that information. It has cited commercial sensitivities. I see none here and I ask the Taoiseach to commit to making that information available to the House.

Securing the provision of a post-mortem examination service for the coronial death investigation function has proved challenging. The Ministers for justice and Health have engaged on the issue. The short-term solution in operation at University Hospital Waterford is one in which locum pathologists provide coroner services three days per week. This is obviously necessary to minimise any impact on bereaved family members who would otherwise experience lengthy wait times for the release of remains. Officials from the Department of justice are working on drafting the heads of a Bill to significantly reform the coroner service. A more sustainable solution is required than a locum service. I will talk to both Ministers in respect of this issue, as I already have. There are also issues within the pathology profession, including with training and recruitment, as well as competing demands on pathologists in areas of diagnostic and research work.

It is just the costs for Waterford.

I do not have those here.

I implore the Taoiseach again to ensure an emergency funding package is provided to Monaghan and Cavan county councils in respect of local road restoration. In many areas, our local roads are in the most deplorable state I have ever seen. Over the past number of years, in real terms there has been a substantial reduction in the funding provided to those local authorities for these works. This year, bizarrely and amazingly, there has been a decrease at a time when inflation in road restoration costs is rising constantly. Many people in rural communities are now in a situation where they cannot drive on their local roads without fear of bursting a tire or damaging the suspension of their cars. They pay their taxes, motor tax, local property tax, carbon tax and huge insurance costs. They are paying and paying but they are not getting the level of service with respect to the condition of their roads that they deserve. Will the Government provide emergency funding packages to local authorities this year to address this crisis?

The Deputy will be glad to know that at the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meeting last evening, Deputy Brendan Smith, Senator Gallagher and the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, articulated similar concerns to those the Deputy raised about Monaghan, Cavan and some other areas of the country. We are very conscious of the pressure on roads, especially from storms and inclement weather, which have compounded the problem. Enormous sums of money are going into the national road network. About €1.5 billion was announced on 17 February this year for national, regional and local roads in total. It is a 13% increase on 2025, or €163 million more than last year's allocation. Inflation is eating into that and, as I said, the weather is compounding the problem. As a result, in July we added a further €40 million to address damage to local and regional roads caused by Storm Chandra. We accept there is an issue and we will, in the context of the Estimates, see if we can do more for roads.

I raise with the Taoiseach again the planned new school for St. Anne's Special School on the Curragh in County Kildare. I raised this issue with him four months ago and he got the Minister for education to respond to me on that occasion. Unfortunately, there has been no progress since. Instead, two planned meetings with school management to progress the project have been postponed with no alternative dates offered by the Department of education. The Taoiseach and I spoke that day about school management dealing with continuous leaks, inadequate heating and children who are wheelchair users not having access to inclusive equipment at lunchtimes. Given the Taoiseach's commitment to special education I ask him once again to contact the Minister for education and get this much-needed project at St. Anne's Special School moving, with either an interim solution or the long-term solution of a new school build.

I thank the Deputy, who has raised this with me before. I am glad he had contact with the Department. I will talk to the Ministers again in respect of it. We are focusing strongly on special education and capital provision to get as many places secured as we possibly physically can. Obviously, this would be a significant advance on that.

As the debate on the three-day wait continues at the health committee, women still face barriers to accessing abortion care. The HSE clinical director said there was no medical evidence behind retaining this provision and the Government must act urgently to remove the three-day wait. More significantly, it has been a number of years since the then Government commissioned the independent O'Shea review into how our abortion legislation works. That review contains several recommendations, including decriminalisation of medical practitioners, reforming fatal foetal abnormality restrictions that are still forcing women to travel and addressing geographic gaps in service provision. Will the Government outline a legislative roadmap for implementing these recommendations beyond the three-day wait? I know this issue is difficult and contentious but we cannot continue to ignore the recommendations of the review.

It is a very sensitive issue, with many different perspectives across the House and the country in respect of it.

We had a referendum a number of years ago that essentially created the legislative framework that now governs termination of pregnancy services. Significant progress has been made in that respect over the past number of years, which sometimes does not get acknowledged in the commentary.

As the Deputy knows, a Private Members' Bill relating to the three-day waiting period for termination in early pregnancy passed Second Stage in June and is currently undergoing detailed scrutiny by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health. Officials from the Department of Health and the HSE appeared before the joint committee as part of the process. The Minister and her team will continue to engage constructively with the joint committee and Deputy Cullinane regarding the progress of this Bill. We are aware there is a varied and broad range of sincerely held opinion on the abolition of the three-day waiting period, so we have allowed a conscience vote on this issue and support respectful debate on it.

As committed to in the programme for Government, Ireland is to establish a statutory national security authority that can provide, and is capable of providing, the full range of personnel and facility clearances. Given the current security environment in which we are all operating, this is not just a security issue but also, potentially, an economic one. Certain EU research programmes require those clearances. Can the Taoiseach indicate when the national security authority will be fully operational and whether the current gap is limiting opportunities for research institutes like South East Technological University, SETU, and businesses I represent across Carlow and Kilkenny that are seeking to compete for these European opportunities?

I am obviously very well aware of this issue. It is challenging legislation and work is under way in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in respect of it. Interim arrangements have been put in place as well to accelerate security clearances for personnel where this is required, particularly in research and industry. It is a very important issue.

I raise the situation affecting newly qualified nurses from the University of Galway, a number of whom come from County Clare, who have been in touch with me about an issue in the past few days. In January, the graduating class of about 80 nurses was told they would get permanent positions after graduation. They followed the usual pre-recruitment steps over the next few months and were expecting to get their job offers during the summer. Interviews were done and a panel was formed but that seems to have been totally undone now, with recruitment almost completely stalled. Orientation for these nurses was due to start in the past week but so far, I am told, only nine of the 80 nurses have actually received jobs. The remaining 71 are in a total state of limbo. I understand there is a huge number of staff nurse vacancies in University Hospital Galway that could be filled with these posts. At a time when we need nurses more than ever, these nurses are wondering what can be done, given the promise that was made to them when they graduated. Can the Government give any commitment to these nurses that they will be offered jobs in our front-line hospitals soon?

During the summer, there was an acceleration of recruitment within the HSE. That was even above approved staffing levels, so it has created a challenge for the HSE. That said, the HSE is looking at the nursing issue, specifically what can be done to accommodate those who have graduated. There are pressures on the HSE budget. There is no point in saying otherwise. We would like to prioritise front-line workers and particularly the recruitment of nurses. Over the past number of years, we have been in a position to provide vacancies for the full complement of graduates coming out of nursing colleges. That has been good because it creates good opportunities and prospects for graduates and is also good for the health service. I will continue to engage with the Minister on this.

I should not have to stand in this Chamber and ask for services for survivors of rape or sexual assault, but here I am because there is no 24-7 sexual assault treatment unit in the mid-west. This means that survivors have no immediate access to forensic medical examination, leaving some survivors travelling significant distances - some on buses - to access specialist, time-sensitive care that is not available locally. The forensic medical examination service in University Hospital Limerick, UHL, is only available at certain times, meaning someone could be waiting hours in order to be forensically examined. The person needs to report this to An Garda Síochána. This means that if the person has just been raped or sexually assaulted, they have to make an on-the-call at the moment to report this in order to be seen in their locality. We know the report levels are extremely low, meaning many in the mid-west will not be able to seek the help they need. When will survivors of rape or sexual assault in the mid-west be given the same standard of care as those in other areas? When will a 24-7 sexual assault treatment unit be placed in the mid-west?

I thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue. I support the provision of services for those who have been sexually assaulted and the establishment of centres to do that. I do not have the specifics in respect of the progression of this in the mid-west but I will talk to the Minister about it. I would be fully supportive of it, subject to resource availability.

Residents of Carragh Hill and Carragh Drive estates in Knocknacarra in Galway city have raised significant concerns regarding the construction of an 18 m telecommunications mast by Vantage Towers under a section 254 licence by Galway City Council. Construction commenced despite ongoing efforts by the community to challenge the licence and seek further information regarding the approval process. Residents state that many households became aware of the development only after contractors arrived on site and there was no engagement, notification or site notice, despite the fact that the tower would be 15 m from some residents. As I said, it is 18 m high. There appears to be a loophole under section 254 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, which is advertised by Government as a requirement for a licence for such items as vending machines, advertisement structures, cables, wires, pipelines, telephone poles, cabinets and kiosks. I do not believe an 18 m telecommunication structure or mast was ever envisaged under a section 254 licence. My colleague, Councillor Clodagh Higgins, has arranged a meeting with the CEO of Galway City Council on Friday morning. I ask the Taoiseach to engage with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to see that this loophole is closed.

Under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, the Minister with responsibility for planning is specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular planning-related matter with which a planning authority or the board is or may be concerned. There is a legislative prohibition on a Minister intervening in any specific planning application or issue. In terms of the legislation more broadly and what the Deputy has identified as a potential loophole, I will refer this to the Minister, get the background to it and get the up-to-date position to validate what has been said in terms of the Deputy's presentation.

I also express my sincere sympathy to Treasa and the Carroll family on the death of Seamus. He was a thorough gentleman who helped each and every one of us here with a smile on his face every day that he was here. I have been asked by several farmers in County Kerry, and indeed around the country, to ensure that ample ferries are made available to transport live cattle to mainland Europe. We are an island country surrounded by water. Brittany Ferries gave up in the past few weeks. Irish Ferries continues to do its level best at all times for animal exports. However, from 1 January next, the seasonal increase will occur. I ask the Taoiseach to ensure we have adequate ferries to take our calves and cattle to mainland Europe. It is vital and imperative for farmers. It is a real concern of theirs to ensure we have adequate ferries to transport our cattle to mainland Europe to the Single Market. I ask the Taoiseach to make sure of that from 1 January.

Obviously, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is very aware of the situation with regard to ferries and the capacity to transport live cattle. Other companies are also examining this and we hope that a solution to it will be in place by 1 January. I know the Minister is very concerned and is acting on it.

I offer my condolences and those of the Green Party on the death of our colleague, Seamus Carroll. Yesterday, the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence heard from EirGrid, ESB Networks and the CRU. They raised some of the clearest concerns yet about the impact of data centres on our grid. These are not NGOs that the Government can brush off. They are State bodies and they were warning in no uncertain terms that there are trade-offs to the level of data centre growth the Government wants to pursue. Jim Gannon from the CRU stated that large AI-focused facilities can exceed 100 MW in demand, with annual electricity consumption comparable to that of around 100,000 households.

The CRU stated that data centres could account for 35% of Ireland’s electricity demand by 2035.

The Green Party believes there should be a moratorium on new data centre connections until our grid's capacity has been expanded. Is it not time that the Government, at a minimum, set restrictions on the amount of grid capacity that data centres can use? Without safeguards, these data centres will continue to push up household energy bills, which will be a disaster for energy affordability and for our private targets.

Essentially, over the last five years, there was almost a de facto moratorium on data centres, and the exponential increase in data centres predated the last four to five years. Under the large energy user action plan, LEAP, which was published in January of this year, we are moving to a plan-led system that will provide greater certainty for industry and ensure that the cost of developing necessary additional infrastructure is borne in a manner that is fair and balanced. This has been reinforced by unprecedented grid investment. Up to €18 billion can be spent on the grid, which supports all areas that are beneficial to the economy. The 2025 CRU large energy user connection policy sets out the criteria that must be met by new data centres seeking connection to the electricity system. That policy is being implemented by EirGrid and ESBN system operators.

We need a more measured debate. There is no doubt that data centres are using significant amounts of energy, and AI is going to compound that. Are we saying that we are going to decouple ourselves from AI investment into the future? The ICT industry is a critical industry, and by that I mean ICT generally. The world we live in today depends on data centres. The issue is where they are located, but there will have to be data centres located somewhere. The issue for us is that we have to do it in a balanced way. I accept that.

I acknowledge the €10 million allocation for the Ring of Kerry road by the Minister for Transport this year. However, this national secondary road has been neglected for decades, with many sections in a dangerous and shocking condition and with many humps and hollows. It is up to 70% substandard. Thankfully, at long last, €1.5 million has been announced for Cahersiveen town, with works to commence in the coming weeks. Significant additional funding is required for Cahersiveen, Glenbeigh, Killorglin, Sneem, Caherdaniel and many other areas along the route. This is Ireland's premier tourist route where people drive along the Wild Atlantic Way beside the sea, yet they cannot see the ocean. This beggars belief, and given the Ring of Kerry’s magnificent views, it is a disgrace.

There is an urgent need for TII to allocate funding for a long-reach hedge cutter and for trained personnel to climb down underneath the cliff edge, where they can cut the trees that are growing up from under the cliff edge. This should be a priority for locals, tourists and all road users.

First, I want to thank Deputy Cahill. He has been a strong advocate for that road on the Ring of Kerry. I know that he is welcoming the €10 million, but he is looking for more. It is a nice phrase - humps and hollows. It is poetic, but while it may be poetic, it is not good enough for the driver traversing that road. The €5 million for Cahersiveen, which the Deputy lobbied strongly for, is very welcome. The Ring of Kerry is a famous and beautiful route, with some great views and so forth. We will talk to the Minister. We know that roads are an issue. We will see if we can secure additional funding next year again, although there is a fair degree of investment going down in that direction. I hear Deputy Cahill loud and clear. I am not familiar with the technical details of long-range cutters but, again, I will see what can be done.