2026-02-10

In accordance with Standing Order 35, I call on the Chief Whip, Deputy Butler, to move the arrangements for this week's business.

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - International Protection Bill 2026 (Second Stage, resumed) (to adjourn on conclusion of the second speaking round, not to exceed 3 hours and 24 minutes) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Second Stage of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences (Amendment) Bill 2026, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be:- - Statements on the Report of Operation Kenova (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes) - Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024 (Amendments from the Seanad) (to conclude within 1 hour) - Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 (Committee and remaining Stages) (to conclude within 5 hours) Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Flood Prevention, selected by Independent Technical Group. Thursday's business shall be: -International Protection Bill 2026 (Second Stage, resumed) (to conclude after the third speaking round, with any division claimed to be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage on Wednesday, 18th February, 2026) Thursday evening business shall be the Second Stage of the Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021, sponsored by Deputy Sinéad Gibney. 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)private members’ business shall be taken following the proceedings on Second Stage of the International Protection Bill 2026, with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business; 2. the resumed proceedings on the Second Stage of the International Protection Bill 2026 shall be interrupted, and stand adjourned on conclusion of the second speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply: (a)the second-round speeches shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across); and (b) members may share time; and 3. notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 177(2), the proceedings on Second Stage of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 2 hours. 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)the Statements on the Report of Operation Kenova, shall be taken at the time when the SOS pursuant to Standing Order 25(1) would normally be taken, and on the conclusion of the Statements, the sitting shall stand suspended either for one hour or until 4.30 p.m., whichever is the later; and (c) the weekly division time shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026; 2. the Statements on the Report of Operation Kenova shall not exceed 2 hours and 25 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 a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and (c) members may share time; 3. the proceedings on the amendments from the Seanad to the Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024 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; and 4. the proceedings on Committee and remaining Stages of the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 5 hours 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 Housing, Local Government and Heritage. In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, topical issues may be taken earlier than 7.24 p.m. with consequential effect on the commencement time for Second Stage of the Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; and 2. the resumed proceedings on the Second Stage of the International Protection Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at the end of the third speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the third-round speeches, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across); (b) on conclusion of the third-round speeches, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; (c) any division claimed on the Second Stage proceedings shall be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage on Wednesday, 18th February, 2026; and (d) members may share time.

Not agreed.

We will start with Deputy McDonald.

Working households are struggling with price hikes and rip-off bills and no help coming from the Government. People with disabilities in particular have suffered as a result of the Government's budget leaving them €1,400 worse off. The Government refuses to provide a cost-of-disability winter payment. Now, those people are forced to protest outside the Dáil. It is not lost on anyone, by the way, that the Government makes these cruel decisions while hiking up the pay of CEOs. We need a debate and discussion on the Government's very unfair approach to the cost-of-living crisis.

Earlier I spoke with Jacinta Graham, who is the mother of Stephen Loughnane who is the subject of the RTÉ "Prime Time Investigates" programme tonight. He had a brain injury following a car accident and has been in continuous seclusion in Limerick Prison since 2021, then in the Central Mental Hospital and then in Portrane because there is no residential place for him. He is in uninterrupted 24-hour seclusion all of the time.

Thank you, Deputy.

I raised his case here with the Taoiseach on 15 September 2021.

The Deputy had 30 seconds and he has raised it. I call Deputy Aidan Farrelly.

Can we have time in this House to find out what the Taoiseach and his Government has done for him and people like him in the past five years?

Deputy Kelly, you are overstepping.

Under Standing Order 35(3), I wish to amend to Thursday's business to include statements on the failed Government election promise regarding €200 per month for childcare. We were told by Deputy Simon Harris that we would see a roadmap within 100 days. The action plan produced before Christmas was really useful in some ways but completely ignored this €200 per month plan. We have announcements with no details about State-led services and communities around this country continue to go without. I ask that there is time allocated on Thursday for this.

It is short notice but a protest has been called tomorrow for 5.30 p.m. outside of the Dáil. I urge people who are angry at this Government's failure to address affordability in rents and the housing crisis to get out and demonstrate against the decision of this Government to ram through the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 and impose a guillotine. There will not be proper scrutiny of it. Most of the public do not understand how far-reaching and detrimental this Bill will be in jacking up rents and a Government that is facilitating landlords driving up rents even further.

I have been looking for statements in relation to the fishing industry for quite some time. I know the Government will say we have had them but the bottom line is that a task force was set up nearly two months ago. We have not heard whether it has met? What are the terms of reference? What is it doing? I was at a funeral the other day and I met a fisherman. He said that one day fishing and the quota is filled. They are facing ruination, and we are not doing much about it.

Thank you, Deputy. The Chief Whip to respond.

I thank the Deputies for their suggestions. We will have the debate on the International Protection Bill 2026 this afternoon for several hours. Tomorrow, we will have statements on Operation Kenova. We will have the residential tenancies Bill before the House tomorrow for five hours. On Thursday, we will again have the International Protection Bill. We can discuss different statements at the Business Committee meeting on Thursday, which we do every week. The Order of Business stands. I am not accepting the suggestion under Standing Order 35(3).

Are the proposed arrangements for this week's business agreed to?

Not agreed.

I welcome, on behalf of Deputy Thomas Gould, a further contingent of students from UCC and Trinity College. Everybody in the Gallery is very welcome. I call Deputy Mary Lou McDonald. If you cannot make your point in one minute, you have asked the question in the wrong forum.

I am sure the Taoiseach will take that on advisement. I return again to the growing concern about the safety of Seamus Culleton, who, as we know, has been held in an ICE detention centre in Texas for the past five months. People were very shocked yesterday to hear him describe the conditions that he is being held in and say that he now fears for his life. I understand his family have only gone public because they felt they were left with no other avenue. Can the Taoiseach tell us specifically what representation has been made on his behalf? Has the Taoiseach raised his case with the US Administration? Can he be precise and tell us how many Irish citizens are caught up in this same nightmare situation?

As I said earlier, I heard of the case yesterday. The Department of foreign affairs has been aware of the case since October and has been engaging with homeland security through the consulate general in Austin and the embassy in Washington. There are further meetings being held today. When I finish Taoiseach's Questions and so on, I will be updated in respect of the matter. I will proceed as I see best in helping Seamus Culleton. We are very concerned about the conditions he is being held in and in terms of his seeking permanent status in the US.

Just two days from now, 14-year-old Joseph Oyekanmi, his two brothers and his mother face deportation from their Dublin home. There is enormous concern in my constituency and in the area of Sandyford, Dundrum and Kilternan, where they have been living, where they have been integrating with the local community and where there has been a huge groundswell of support. Councillor Lettie McCarthy and I have been engaging on this matter. I have already made representations on behalf of the family to the justice Minister. Joseph is a pupil in Gonzaga, which is a school in my constituency. His brother Samuel also attends school there. They are involved with local sports clubs and are both talented athletes. Samuel is doing the leaving certificate. This is a family that are so well integrated. It is absolutely shameful to see them facing deportation. Former professional athlete David Gillick has sought help on their behalf. Five thousand people have signed a petition noting the immense positive contribution this family has already made to their community in Dublin. I appeal to the Taoiseach to enable them to stay here in Ireland, which is the country they have made their home and which they have already made such an important and positive contribution to.

I will ask the Minister for justice to review this case.

Thank you.

Again, however, it speaks to the issue the Deputy raised earlier in the context of America and migration law. The Deputy has raised two deportation cases today-----

I have.

-----I mean this sincerely - one in terms of the US implementing its law and the other in terms of Ireland-----

You are doing the same as Trump.

-----implementing its law.

This is not a back-and-forth.

What is interesting is that the debate moves along the continuum, depending on given situations. I take the Deputy's presentation in very good faith and I will talk to the Minister for justice in respect of it. There were quite a number of cases like this seven or eight years ago. That reversed and the mood changed in Irish society and more generally. There have to be rules for migration. The key issue is that we accelerate the applications for asylum as quickly as we possibly can in order that people are not here for any undue length of time, and that we also accelerate the appeals dimension. However, there has to be a framework governing migration to give everybody-----

There has to be humanity-----

It is not a back-and-forth.

Last night's "RTÉ Investigates" made for harrowing viewing. We saw people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties being subjected to degrading treatment and even dying in custody. Such was the tragic case of Ivan Rosney. These vulnerable people require care and compassion, not cold prison cells. Last October, I visited Cork Prison. As a result of what I saw, I started asking questions. At the end of January, figures provided to me showed that 38 people are being held in prison waiting to be transferred to the Central Mental Hospital. That is a 23% increase since November. The average waiting time for a transfer from the prison to hospital is now seven months. For somebody in the midst of a mental health crisis, that is an eternity. At the same time, 50 beds in the Central Mental Hospital are lying idle. Three years after the hospital opened, that is an utter disgrace. The HSE promised to open 18 of those beds last year but just two opened - another broken promise. On top of that, unforgivably, there are 28 vacancies in the hospital. Will the Government immediately fill these vacancies and open the overdue mental health beds?

First, welcome all the students from UCC, both those who were here earlier and those who are here now.

They would be gone.

The study of politics in UCC has always been a very positive and productive endeavour, as I know myself to good effect. The issue the Deputy raised is very serious. The Central Mental Hospital relocated to the new state-of-the-art purpose-built health facility at Portrane in November 2022. The new facility cost of €240 million, which was a demonstration of moving to a new era in respect of forensic psychiatry. It is now one of the better facilities of its kind in Europe.

Fifty beds.

Sorry, Deputy.

What is the answer?

Please wait, and I will give the answer. We either want a genuine debate or Deputies just want to score points. They should make up their minds. Some 93 patients had been transferred at that stage, and 114 beds are now open in the Central Mental Hospital. In 2025, we funded the recruitment of 41 additional staff to open a further 18 beds, two of which opened in December. The other 16 will be opened next month.

Thank you, Taoiseach. Time is up.

That is progress. We want to do more. We want to get to 140 beds.

Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy Coppinger.

There were 60 complaints of sexual abuse or misconduct against members of An Garda Síochána in the past three years. There are 18 active investigations. We saw what happened with Margaret Loftus. I raised with the Taoiseach the case of a Scott medal being awarded to former detective Noel McMahon, who was named at the Morris tribunal in connection with all sorts of corruption, who assaulted his wife, Sheenagh, with a firearm and who got her children taken from her by lying and using his position. The Taoiseach said that I had a point, that the man in question should not have got the medal and that he would have had issues with it as well. In a letter I have seen since, however, the Garda Commissioner said in reply to Senator Paul Daly that matters such as those to which I refer cannot be taken into account in the award of the medal and nor can general misconduct where a member's courage and heroism are such that they clearly entitle him or her to the award. In other words, it does not matter what bad deeds people do, how much gender violence they commit, they can still get a medal for bravery.

Thank you, Deputy.

Does the Taoiseach think that is acceptable? Will he take it up with the Commissioner-----

Taoiseach is to respond now.

-----and ask for historic cases like Sheenagh O'Doherty's to be investigated.

Taoiseach to respond

I will discuss this with the Minister for justice. If a garda or any other person is guilty of domestic abuse and violence, that takes away from acts of heroism or courage. There is no doubt. I do not know the specific case or the act of bravery that merited the award of the Scott medal, but it must have been a significant act of bravery and perhaps An Garda Síochána took the view articulated by the Commissioner. However, I think there needs to be a broader look at that. If a person engages in domestic violence or sexual abuse , it takes away from courageous acts the same person may have undertaken.

The Bord Bia Act and governance and professional standards state that there should be no legal impediments or conflicts of interest. It is also stated that compliance is essential in ensuring adherence to the code of practice for the governance of State bodies. Larry Murrin is allowed to be chairperson of Bord Bia, when there is a complete conflict of interest. On the basis of what the Act states, he is involved in is insider trading. It is actually cartelling.

No, it is not.

It is. Would the Taoiseach allow the general secretary of Fine Gael to sit in on a Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meeting and listen to all the points being made? The Government is allowing Larry Murrin to sit as chairperson where he has access to full access to Bord Bia and to information on suppliers to Bord Bia. That is insider trading under Irish law.

That is a serious assertion-----

It is.

-----which should be taken off the record

No.

That is in breach of Standing Orders. It has to be.

I apologise. I did not hear it.

Insider trading is a criminal act. The Deputy will have to withdraw that.

I ask the Deputy, if he-----

I will not withdraw it.

Then there is a problem.

It is too serious for people here and for all the farming organisations.

It will have to be dealt with-----

The Taoiseach is not willing to deal with it. I asked a question the Taoiseach will not answer.

Deputy, sorry.

I will deal with the question, but the point I am trying to make is-----

We will deal with that-----

On a point of order-----

It is in the Act.

Please.

-----I do not like having to do this but it seems that Standing Orders-----

Taoiseach, we will have to deal with it outside Standing Orders. We will have to have-----

It is either a clear breach of Standing Orders or it is not.

I have asked the Deputy to withdraw it. I cannot make him do so. The same goes for all Members. The Deputy will have to deal with the consequences of it being on the record.

We have had a history in this House, where people-----

This is-----

Sorry now a second, if I may, through the Chair.

There is no point, because he will not withdraw it.

I am not talking about this case, but when will the House get serious about people's names being undermined and their reputations-----

Standing Orders as part of Dáil reform. The Chief Whip is behind the Taoiseach. If he wishes to put something into Standing-----

Who? It is in Standing Orders.

It is dealt with in a way there, but the Deputy has refused to withdraw it. I asked him to withdraw it.

I know that, but I want to make a general point before I go on. It is a point worth making.

The Ceann Comhairle said that she did not hear it

Excuse me.

It is worth making this point.

I did not hear it.

I heard it.

The Taoiseach heard it, and he is asking the Deputy to withdraw it.

The Ceann Comhairle should have heard it as well.

I was having a conversation with the usher, which should not be the case. The thing is, we are now in a position-----

Of course, the Ceann Comhairle is going to refer it to the committee.

It will be referred if a complaint is made.

All I want to observe is that this has been going on for quite a long time. I am making------

I reiterate that all Members have a responsibility-----

There is a casualness and nonchalance that is making a joke of Standing Orders.

It is not a joke by any means. All Members have a responsibility to follow Standing Orders. That is it.

Clonburris strategic development zone, SDZ, in my constituency will provide 11,000 homes when it is completed. The development is well under way. Hundreds of homes have been completed. Thousands are either under construction or planning permission has been granted in respect of them. As part of the SDZ framework, infrastructure, including transport provision, was heralded as a key feature. The community in Clonburris is expanding rapidly. Dublin Mid-West one of the constituencies in the country where the population is growing rapidly. Traffic volumes on the R136, the N4 and the N7 are already characterised by high levels of congestion. We have already discussed the need for and importance of the DART+ South West project to help to alleviate that congestion. In the interim, however, people living in Clonburris need access to bus stops and specific bus routes. I have engaged with the National Transport Authority, NTA, on this matter. It is important that we ensure access to new routes for people in Clonburris in order that they will not just be obliged to use routes in Lucan and Clondalkin that are already under pressure. I ask for the Taoiseach's support in the context of engaging with the NTA in respect of this issue.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know he has been particularly strong on the DART+ South West project and the need to have it greenlighted. He has, more or less, been successful in achieving the latter. I will support the Deputy's dialogue with the NTA. I have made the point that, generally speaking, there has been a great deal of negotiation, dialogue and engagement with residential groups across the country, particularly in Dublin and Cork, in respect of BusConnects. This has created a lot of challenges. Given the fact that the NTA is a State agency, there needs to be a constant, robust mechanism for engagement with communities, because some of these proposals are not landing well. Different age cohorts have different responses to how BusConnects manifests itself in the context of, for example, safety and so on. I have made that point to the NTA. It has improved in many areas regarding its consultations with communities. As the services are being rolled out, some communities do not feel they are getting what was envisaged.

The tragic deaths of Mary Holt and Tadhg Farrell in an arson attack caused profound shock and concern across the community of Edenderry and beyond before Christmas. As the investigation continues, I have met with many members of the local community who want the opening hours of the Garda station to be extended and increased visibility of gardaí on the ground in the town. Last week, 168 new gardaí were attested. However, just two of these new officers were appointed to the Laois-Offaly division. Both were assigned to Portlaoise Garda station. I have constructively engaged with the Minister for justice and with the local gardaí. If we are going to apply adequate resources to Edenderry, it cannot result in an adverse impact on other parts of the county or across the division. Will the Taoiseach engage with the Commission in order to ensure that in the context of the next attestation later in the year, Edenderry will be specifically prioritised, particularly in view of the concerns that exist in the town.

I agree with the Deputy's condemnation of the horrific murder of Mary Holt and Tadhg Farrell. The savagery involved absolutely numbed people. We are increasing throughput in Templemore. The Commissioner is taking a position of allocating substantial numbers to given locations. The first tranche was given to Dublin in order to increase visibility in a meaningful way, which happened. Cork and Limerick have now benefited. Instead of putting dribs and drabs of two or three here and there, the bulk have been allocated to the centres. That will happen gradually. There will be three more attestations this year. We have healthy numbers coming through, so we will be in a position to get to Edenderry and Laois-Offaly more generally. The policy in this regard is having an impact where it is being rolled out. However, I fully accept the frustrations of those locations which have not yet received the benefit of the increased number of gardaí being recruited.

To continue with that theme, as the Taoiseach knows, the report of the Policing and Community Safety Authority report at the end of last year the continuing failure of the Government to address Garda recruitment and retention and rural policing in particular. It identified serious risks to policing performance from staffing shortages due to missed recruitment targets and increasing pressures on gardaí. People I have talked to in rural areas of County Waterford are experiencing the sharpest impact. Too few gardaí are covering large areas. There is limited visibility on the ground. Gardaí have indicated that they the supports or resources to do their jobs. People across County Waterford refer to understaffed stations, empty stations and slow response times. We have had a number of violent incidents, particularly in towns and villages in west Waterford in recent months where response times were just too slow. People do not feel safe in their communities. We need to get to grips with this. People in places like Cappoquin, Clashmore, Tooraneena, Ballymacarbry, Kilmacthomas, Dungarvan and Ardmore tell me that they do not see a garda from one end of the week to the next. When are we going to get real about this and ensure that rural areas have the policing response that they need?

Seventeen extra gardaí have been recruited to Waterford since last August. The Minister visited Waterford and Dungarvan Garda stations recently and had good conversations with the chief superintendent, superintendents and gardaí more generally. People are seeing many more gardaí much more often now. The good news is that 215 trainees entered Templemore last Monday. That is the third intake in a row where the numbers have exceeded 200. Those candidates were all recruited from the 2024 and 2025 recruitment campaigns. We are on target. The Government is making progress on significantly increasing the number of gardaí in the force. That will continue.

I want to return to the case of Seamus Culleton, whose family hail from Glenmore in County Kilkenny. He has spent 20 years in Boston in the United States. I spoke to his wife, Tiffany, and his sister Caroline yesterday. They are deeply concerned about the length of time for which he has been detained and about the substandard conditions in the detention centre in El Paso. Why was he moved from New York to there? There are emerging financial difficulties because he is not working. Will the Taoiseach and the Minister for foreign affairs intervene immediately at the highest political level in order to get this man released? In November 2025, he was coming up on the last of his green card interviews. Obviously, he could not attend because he was being detained.

I thank the Deputy.

What consular assistance has been provided from September to date?

The Deputy's time is up.

I spoke to John Deasy, who would, maybe, have offered greater assistance.

We are concerned about the situation pertaining to Seamus Culleton. We fully accept people's concerns. I heard about the case yesterday. As I said earlier, our officials are engaging. The local consulate general in the US is engaging with ICE officials. We do not have the authority to interfere in the application of law but we do have the capacity to advocate strongly on behalf of our citizens to ensure that they are properly and humanely treated. We are conscious that this happened is in the middle of an application for status. We do not want to do anything that would undermine the securing of that status for Seamus Culleton. The Minister and the officials are engaging. They were meeting before I came in. I will have a further update when I leave here and I will see where we take it from there.

Tomorrow will being a dignified and respectful protest to University College Hospital in Galway, where people will be campaigning for a dual-pathway system in our emergency department. People who present in emergency departments with acute mental health issues need a different environment in which they can be triaged separately and given a moment to become calm and to have their concerns heard by the appropriate personnel. They are there because they are seeking help and support. They want to meet the people who will support them. I support this concept fully. Where are we at with regard to that plan going forward and a dual-pathway system for those who are acutely challenged by mental health issues?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and for his constant advocacy on in respect of those who have mental health challenges, disorders and illnesses. As he knows, budget 2026 focused on the provision of a crisis resolution response, especially for those who attend acute hospitals out of hours. I was able to secure the funding, and I want to thank the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, for her work with me on this, for our nine model 4 hospitals and one model 3 hospital, so there are ten hospitals in total where each emergency department out of hours will be provided with four clinical nurse specialists or advanced nurse practitioners who will be able to support the non-consultant hospital doctor on call to deal with that crisis. We are working very hard. There are six hospitals that do not have that additional room capacity with regard to emergency departments to make sure that there is a quiet space there, so I can speak to the Deputy about it offline. The crisis resolution response and the crisis cafés are where we are going.

The Government has utterly failed to tackle the energy rip-off through inaction, with the national energy affordability task force meeting only three times since Government formation and no action on cutting energy costs while this crisis continues unabated. A total of 360,000 households are at risk of being cut off due to stealth disconnections relating to pay-as-you-go meters while 300,000 people are in arrears and older people are afraid to turn on their lights to cook. Companies are hiking unit costs at contract breaks with seemingly no notifications to customers and the CRU is asleep at the wheel lacking direction from the Government. What is the Government going to do? Is it going to make the CRU deal with this crisis? Unit costs are going up and people are not being told about it in advance. What is the Government going to do about it?

I dealt with this issue during Leaders' Questions. In the budget, we brought in specific measures to target those most in need and most under pressure as a result of the cost of living and the elevated level of the cost of living over the past four years, which is easing. Nonetheless prices are still high for people generally. In the budget, we brought in significant measures to deal with that. In terms of affordability, the CRU and the task force have published their work in respect of this. We will work with the European Union in respect on energy pricing given that the system and model that operates within the EU has impacts here and in terms of our own regulatory framework but that will take time to develop. Regarding the budgetary measures we have taken, we do not agree with universal supports, particularly providing support for those who do not need it, which seems to be Sinn Féin's position.

I am glad there are rumours that the Government is going to dilute the short-term letting in the Bill and to increase the population of towns so that it will apply to towns with populations of over 20,000. However, I believe anybody who has been doing Airbnb for more than seven years is entitled to planning permission because they already have it. There are people who have been doing this for 20 years and more. Whatever the Government is bringing forward should allow the people who have been doing Airbnb to continue doing it as they were. If the Government wants to bring in laws for new people going into Airbnb such that they have to go for planning permission, that is all right but the people that have been at it for years, especially for over seven years, should not have to go for planning permission. They have it by default.

Thank you.

The other thing I want to say to the Taoiseach is that this is very urgent.

No, Deputy.

It has to be dealt with urgently-----

The Taoiseach to respond. You have one question, Deputy.

-----in order to let the people continue what they are doing for this season otherwise they will lose this season.

You are destroying Questions on Policy or Legislation for everyone. The Taoiseach to respond. Members have one question on Questions on Policy or Legislation.

Deputy Cahill has made equally strong representations to me on this issue. He has been in my ear about this now for the past month or two months and has not stopped talking to me about it. The point is the Government decided that towns with a population below 20,000 will not be affected by the short-term letting legislation. Planning laws were there prior to this legislation. Any variation to commercial use requires planning permission. The Deputy referenced seven years plus. He is on the ball to a certain extent; that is the existing position, which is not changed by anything.

Budget 2026 announced an additional 1,717 SNA places, which is a very welcome intervention by Government. However, the reality in my own area of Kildare South is that late last week, Scoil Mhichil Naofa in Athy received notice that it will lose five SNA posts while Patrician Secondary School in Newbridge will lose three. As the Taoiseach can appreciate, this has a devastating impact on the entire school community. We all know the great work SNAs do day in, day out assisting teachers, assisting students and creating a school environment for parents and students alike. Will the Government intervene in these losses? We need SNAs in our schools. SNAs with posts will not know until next September whether or not they will still have a post and are getting calls to go into principals' offices. It is devastating for them all.

I do not have specifics in terms of the individual school but the numbers of SNAs have increased exponentially. The budget for special education has increased significantly and somewhat dramatically over the past three years and continues to increase so we need to work this out now as well. I will refer the case to the Minister for Education and Youth but it is not a context of cutbacks or anything like that. We are expanding the budget and we do have to allocate SNAs to children in line with best advice on our side.

Last week, a pregnant horse was literally driven into the ground on the N4. The horse was taking part, or was being made take part, in sulky races on Dollymount Strand. She was with foal. She collapsed on the road and was forced up to continue on that road. She collapsed again and this time, she could not get up. Her abusers kicked her and tried to drag her up but she was unable to get up. My Lovely Horse Rescue went out and rescued this horse and brought her to UCD but, unfortunately, she had to be put to sleep. This is pure animal cruelty plain and simple, so can the Taoiseach tell me what the Government is going to do to stop these horrific things from happening to animals in broad daylight?

That was absolutely horrific and I condemn very strongly what happened. Obviously, An Garda Síochána will have to follow up and the relevant authorities will have to pursue those guilty of this horrific crime. I appeal to people who witnessed this to give their evidence to the authorities, so that prosecution can follow.

At lunchtime, hundreds of retired An Post workers and Eir workers protested outside this House about the fact that even though An Post asked that a 7% increase in their very meagre pension entitlements be approved and signed off on by the Government as far back as October, it still has not happened. For inexplicable reasons, Ministers and the Government are sitting on this when these pensioners, who worked hard all their lives and have been hit with the cost-of-living crisis, have not got the pension increase they were expecting. Can the Taoiseach confirm that the Government is going to sign off on this and that they will get their pension increases?

I will talk to the Ministers concerned about this. It is never as simple as one issue but nonetheless I will talk to the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and the relevant Ministers, so that whatever issues pertain here can be progressed.