2026-01-20

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Appointment of Chairperson of Standards in Public Office Commission (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Seventh Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill 2025 (Referral to Committee) (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 (Second Stage) (to adjourn after 3 hours and 24 minutes, if not previously concluded) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Second Stage of the Sale of Nitrous Oxide and Related Products Bill 2025, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Statements on International Developments (to conclude within 2 hours and 25 minutes) - Statements on Water (to conclude within 3 hours and 32 minutes) - Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025 (Report and Final Stages) (to commence no earlier than 7 p.m. and to conclude within 1 hour) Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Flexible Work and Commuter Delays, selected by the Labour Party. Thursday's business shall be: - Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to adjourn after 3 hours and 24 minutes, if not previously concluded) Thursday evening business shall be the Second Stage of the River Boyne Task Force Bill 2023, sponsored by Deputy Ged Nash. 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 Referral to Select Committee of the Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill 2025 shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on any motions without debate; (b) 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 (c) private members’ business shall be taken following the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025, with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business; 2. the proceedings on the Motion re Appointment of Chairperson of Standards in Public Office Commission shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 3. the proceedings on the Motion re Seventh Report of the Standing Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 4. the proceedings on the Referral to Select Committee of the Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill 2025 pursuant to Standing Order 188, shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 5. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned after 3 hours and 24 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the first speaking round shall be in accordance with those contained in the table immediately below (to be read across, not down); (b) where speeches conclude before the 3 hours and 24 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; and notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 177(2), the proceedings on Second Stage of the Sale of Nitrous Oxide and Related Products Bill 2025 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 2 hours. (c) members may share time; and 6. notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 177(2), the proceedings on Second Stage of the Sale of Nitrous Oxide and Related Products Bill 2025 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 Dáil may sit later than 9.30 p.m.; (b) in the event the Statements on Water conclude before 7 p.m., the sitting shall stand suspended until 7 p.m. when the order of business shall resume with the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025; and (c) the time allotted for Government Business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business, with consequential effect on the commencement time for the weekly division time; 2. the Statements on International Developments 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, 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; 3. the Statements on Water 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; and 4. the proceedings on the Report and Final Stages of the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025 shall be taken no earlier than 7 p.m. and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 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 Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. 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 River Boyne Task Force Bill 2023, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; and 2. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned after 3 hours and 24 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the first speaking round shall be in accordance with those contained in the table immediately below (to be read across, not down); (b) where speeches conclude before the 3 hours and 24 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; and (c) members may share time.

Are the arrangements agreed to? They are not agreed.

Thousands of carers have received letters from Revenue saying they owe tax. They are not tax dodgers; they are people who save this State a fortune of money, literally billions of euro each year. We need the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to come into the Dáil this week. We need statements. We need to deal with this issue. We need the Government to present how it is going to resolve this issue. To be clear, again, these carers are not tax dodgers. They give a huge service to the State. It needs to be sorted out.

Last week was a dark week for road safety in this country. A judge made derogatory comments about cyclists. A Government TD was convicted of speeding, going 190 km/h to a constituency event.

Give it up.

What does this say about this Government's attitude and our country's attitude to road safety? I am calling urgently for a debate on road safety in this House.

The handling by An Garda Síochána of a domestic violence complaint against Garda Trevor Bolger is hugely concerning. His ex-wife and victim, Margaret Loftus, had to compile her own case file and fight for the case to be taken seriously. Furthermore, it has now been revealed that a Garda investigation was launched into journalists reporting on the case. Having dragged its heels investigating Bolger, no such hesitation was shown in investigating journalists. This is disturbing. The Minister for justice should make a statement in the Dáil on this.

As if the monthly increase in the number of people in emergency accommodation is not bad enough, the Simon Community produced a report stating that there is a major problem now with older people facing the possibility of homelessness. One woman attended my clinic who is 86 years old and is facing homelessness and possibly emergency accommodation because of this crisis. I have asked at the Business Committee that there would be debate on homelessness in the next short while. Will the Chief Whip commit publicly to having that?

I am back speaking about the Mercosur deal again. It is of huge importance this week in Strasbourg. We have asked the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to attend the meeting in Strasbourg this week to let them know the importance of the situation we find ourselves in. Independent Ireland has written in Spanish and Italian-----

And in Russian - let us face it.

-----to each MEP there to make sure they are on our side of the border.

And the Russians as well.

We need to make sure we are fighting that as well. I am talking to the Taoiseach, not to the Ministers of State.

Can you imagine if another leader came over to tell us what to do?

The Chief Whip to respond, please.

I note all the various requests from the various Whips. There have been many requests in the past weeks here and before Christmas in relation to statements on water and on international developments. They are all being facilitated tomorrow. We have important legislation this week including the home support providers Bill, the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill and the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. We have a very busy schedule in place. It was discussed last Thursday and it will stand.

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

Not agreed.

May I just say that, if Members cannot make their points within their 60 seconds, then they have asked their questions in the wrong forum?

I want to return to the issue of carers, thousands of whom have received letters telling them that they may owe tax. This is a mess of the Government's making. Carers are not tax dodgers. They are people who care for others and who save the State a fortune. Some of them may work part-time just to make sure they can make ends meet because carers experience the cost-of-living crisis just like everyone else. Now, out of the blue, they get this letter from Revenue stating they may in fact have a tax liability and a bill. It is not lost on any of us that this happens at the same time that we discovered that ten of the Taoiseach's own Ministers who had been overpaid had failed to make arrangements to pay back the money they owed. Carers are in shock. Some of them are very distressed and this matter needs to be cleared up now compassionately, giving carers the respect they are entitled to.

First of all, nothing has changed. Nothing has changed at all in respect of the tax situation governing carers. I think we need to keep everything in perspective and not create unjustified fears because I have checked this with both the Department of Finance and the Department of Social Protection. No new tax has been introduced, but what has happened on a forward-looking basis is the Department of Social Protection is providing Revenue with details of taxable carers' income in real time. About 90% of all carers are either registered already or are not liable for tax. We will obviously do everything we can because the Government, as Deputy McDonald knows, has dramatically increased the threshold for the means test income disregard. We have increased the carers' allowance by over €50. When you compare that to Northern Ireland-----

But they are after getting a letter telling them they have a tax bill. The Taoiseach should sort that out.

-----where it is £83, our level of increase is very significant.

I thank the Deputy and call Deputy Bacik.

We will be talking.

Tomorrow morning, Labour will bring forward a motion in the Dáil on flexible and remote work: a practical response to the daily pressures working people face. We are asking the Government to support this motion and enable it to be passed tomorrow. We need to see practical steps taken to support workers' rights. Unfortunately, what we have seen from the Government has been a general approach of words not deeds. We have seen sympathy but no delivery. We have heard sympathetic words in response to our Bill on leave for women who endure miscarriage or early pregnancy loss, on protections for SNAs who are injured in schools, and on rights for gig economy drivers.

Is it not a motion?

We have a motion tomorrow and I ask the Government not to oppose it and to enable it to be passed. It seeks a real right to flexible and remote work for workers. It looks for the public sector to lead by example and to ensure that people are not forced back unnecessarily into the office where they can work productively from home.

I call on the Taoiseach to respond.

There are huge public benefits on climate and so much more.

We have quite a flexible labour market in this country already. The previous Government introduced a right to request remote working. There is a significant degree of remote working happening within the economy. As Deputy Bacik knows, by definition, it is not applicable to every workplace. The Government is not disposed to support the Labour Party's motion tomorrow evening. That said, we have a healthy labour market in Ireland. Our objective is to try to maintain that for SMEs, major Irish indigenous companies and multinational companies. We want to make sure that we have an environment that continues to facilitate the generation of new jobs. In some areas it is much easier to organise flexible and remote working and in other areas it is less so. One can be overly prescriptive too-----

I call Deputy Hearne.

-----with unintended consequences.

This week a Simon Communities of Ireland report reveals a national scandal of elderly people being made homeless in Ireland. It is heartbreaking and a stain on this country that the number of elderly people over 65 in homelessness has increased by 165% in Dublin and 500% in the west since 2017. Pensioners in their 70s and 80s are being evicted from their homes by landlords. Vulnerable elderly people who have worked all their lives for this country are being made homeless right now because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will not stand up to the landlords and investor funds. Will the Taoiseach take responsibility for this homelessness catastrophe? Will he apologise to these elderly people that he has failed? Will he stop shamefully blaming immigration for homelessness and focus on the real cause - evictions by landlords and the lack of social housing for the elderly?

I call on the Taoiseach to respond.

Why will the Taoiseach not put in place a ban on evictions into homelessness-----

The Deputy's time is up. I call on the Taoiseach to respond.

-----to ensure that no more elderly pensioners are made homeless this year?

The most effective way to prevent elderly people becoming homeless is through social housing. Some 52,000 social homes have been added to the social housing stock between 2020 and now. In addition to that, about 14,000 voids were brought back into use - these are houses in the social housing stock that were empty. In quarter 3 of last year alone, 1,600 new social homes were delivered, including 1,330 new-build homes. We can and will work to prevent elderly homelessness through the increased building of social homes, acquisitions, the tenant in situ scheme, and other mechanisms that would prevent elderly people from becoming homeless.

It is not enough. Why does the Government not ban evictions?

Joan is 86 and she is facing homelessness and emergency accommodation because her landlord is selling up. Joe is 78 and sleeping on his sister's couch for over a year. Meanwhile, as I highlighted yesterday, there is an apartment block nearby in Cherrywood with 30 two-bedroom and one-bedroom apartments lying empty for 18 months. They are supposed to be for social housing to house people like Joe and Joan. Since I highlighted that yesterday, I have heard there are two more apartment blocks in south Dublin also sitting empty, which are also designated for social housing. I also note that the Irish Independent highlighted at the weekend another apartment block in the Phoenix Park, which is designated for social housing but is sitting empty for months and months. This is systemic. This is property developers sitting on empty property that was supposed to be used for social housing and the Taoiseach is letting it happen. What is he going to do about it?

It is not that we are letting it happen. Come on.

It is happening.

What is the Deputy saying? It is wrong that it is happening but the developer and the approved housing body have contractual disagreements. Is the Deputy saying the Government should just ignore that and take a side?

Will the Government sit back and do nothing?

You do not sit back either but you get the thing resolved in the best interests of the taxpayer-----

Eighteen months later.

------and those seeking housing. There are reasons particular cases like this happen. They are disgraceful but they happen. We will work hard to resolve this in the best interests of the taxpayer and those seeking housing.

My Aontú colleagues, Deputy Paul Lawless and Melissa Byrne, are in Strasbourg today lobbying MEPs to vote to send the Mercosur deal to the European Court of Justice. Our team has spoken to dozens of MEPs. A referral to the ECJ would legally freeze the agreement and allow for proper scrutiny of its environmental, competition and legal implications. While the Taoiseach's Government says that it is opposed to the deal, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil MEPs will nonetheless support the deal and hammer Irish farmers. Barry Andrews and Regina Doherty need to be reined in. Is the Taoiseach going to speak to them? This vote could be tight so why is it that only Opposition parties like Aontú and organisations such as the IFA are doing the heavy lifting on this in advance of tomorrow's vote? Where is the Government in lobbying these MEPs? Will the Government tell Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael MEPs to vote to send this deal to the ECJ? Does the Taoiseach have any control over them at all?

The Deputy failed to mention the fact that Billy Kelleher, Barry Cowen and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú will be voting against Mercosur in the Parliament. I am intrigued by his language. I know he is a former member of Sinn Féin. He spoke about reining in these MEPs and controlling them.

You would not get that in Fianna Fáil.

We have a somewhat different ethos to the Deputy.

Will the Taoiseach not-----

We will have one voice.

This is outrageous. My question was not answered at all. The reason the Taoiseach is not answering it-----

I have answered it.

You did not.

I have.

You said you-----

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle.

That is why Deputy Tóibín left Sinn Féin.

We will have silence. I call on Deputy Ó Cearúil.

I assume I will have my full time. Last Wednesday, the Minister for education visited St. Patrick's Primary School in Celbridge, Kildare North, which the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, also visited last May. The school in question has been in temporary accommodation for 19 years, since its foundation. The floor is collapsing and the ceiling is falling down. I have asked the Minister to ensure temporary accommodation is in put in place as soon as possible. The school cannot keep going on in this way. On the same theme of education, Stepping Stones Special School in Maynooth is experiencing severe issues with funding. The capitation afforded to the school is not significant enough. It is fundraising to pay for heating and devices for the school and for the children. I ask the Taoiseach to engage with the Department and the Minister about these two specific schools, St. Patrick's Primary School in Celbridge and Stepping Stones Special School in Maynooth.

I accept that 19 years is far too long to spend in temporary accommodation. I am not aware of the specific background but I will talk to the Minister to see what can be done to improve the situation. In relation to Stepping Stones Special School, there has been a significant uplift in capitation for special schools arising out of the last budget. I presume that will take effect some time this year. I will ask the Department to look at the financial situation in respect of Stepping Stones to see if any once-off help can be delivered while that uplift is awaited. That uplift in capitation is significant and has long been sought by those involved in special education.

Birr Men Together is a men's shed established in recent years. It is trying to find a permanent home. We made inquiries to the Department about an old weather station. We were told it is currently under consideration by a State body and is therefore not available for community use. The problem I see here is that this property has been lying idle since 2009. It has been idle and decaying. Now, when a community group takes an interest in it, that group is told that it is under consideration. Such situations are replicated across the country. Is there any way the Taoiseach can intervene to expedite this matter and to make such facilities available where communities can benefit from them to such a degree?

Again, these issues are optimally resolved locally. All idle property that is not earmarked should be used. There should be more proactivity among State agencies, the OPW and local authorities in utilising existing buildings. A good local authority will do that and will proactively seek to get buildings utilised, particularly for an organisation like Men's Sheds, which has been very impactful in terms of men's health and well-being. I do not know whether the HSE has any temporary premises. The Deputy has identified one and we will pursue it and see what we can do.

Budget 2026 outlined that a new DEIS plan would be published in late 2025. A key action in the plan will be the creation of a DEIS+ scheme, providing additional targeted resources to schools or students most at risk of educational disadvantage. I recently met with a principal of a DEIS school in Drogheda which is providing an incredibly supportive environment for local children to thrive in, despite the ongoing social and economic challenges in the area. For decades, St. Paul's National School has been at the heart of a community that has been forgotten by successive Governments. They have been watching and waiting for the Government to provide information on the long-awaited DEIS+ scheme and it was very disheartening for the school to tell me it is really worried about being forgotten once more. We have been told an extensive stakeholder engagement has taken place. We have had an OECD review. We have been told that implementing DEIS+ is a stated goal of this Government and that €48 million will be allocated next year. When will the DEIS+ scheme details be finalised? When will they be published? When will schools like St. Paul's and others, for which the evidence supports their inclusion, be offered the assurances they are long overdue?

Is St. Paul's a DEIS school at the moment?

It is.

It has not been ignored, so.

I said that the community has been ignored.

DEIS status affords very significant opportunities to schools in terms of pupil-teacher ratios and additional supports. The Deputy has outlined the position with DEIS+. The budget has approved it and allocation of resources has happened. Obviously, a scheme has to be developed. It is going to be a very targeted programme for those most in need in education. I will ask the Minister to revert to the Deputy. The Deputy has outlined the details in terms of where we are with stakeholder consultation and so on. Hopefully by the next school year, we will have this in place.

Last Saturday I and other public representatives attended a public rally in Dunmore town in east Galway. The campaign was orchestrated by Dunmore tidy towns and the Dunmore business people association because of dereliction on both sides of the street, where most properties are privately owned. They are dogged with tiles and slates falling off the roofs onto main street, where children and indeed their parents and teachers gave testimonials. It is a horror story in terms of the length of time it is going on. It is years and years. I am asking that we have some framework to expedite regeneration and to deal with people who are willingly sitting on private properties and allowing them to go into such disrepair.

There is a responsibility on the local authority. The derelict sites levy is there. We are changing that as a result of the budget, as the Deputy knows. The Government has decided that the responsibility for dereliction and derelict buildings will transfer to Revenue. Work is under way between the Department of Finance and local authorities to get the proper maps for local authority areas that will fall under the remit of Revenue to determine dereliction and to apply the appropriate levies to get activity going.

I want to raise the issue of rural transport, in particular the car parking situation at Bagenalstown train station. The train service there is excellent but the car park is consistently full, leaving commuters having to park in the town, clogging up much-needed space for local businesses and shoppers. I also firmly believe that the car parking charges at the train station should be abolished. The Government is doing its best in trying to encourage people to use public transport but these charges are a deterrent as they are an additional cost. Carlow-Kilkenny is now part of the commuter belt. I ask the Taoiseach to discuss the issue with the necessary bodies to make sure funding is make available for additional car parking facilities and to abolish car parking charges for Bagenalstown train station and indeed all rural train stations. We have to be encouraging people to use public transport, incentivising them rather than punishing them and making it unattractive. We have to ensure the public infrastructure is there. People in Carlow-Kilkenny should not be punished with additional costs and lack of facilities just because we live outside the M50.

Public transport is the way forward. Rail is particularly important. The more people we can encourage and incentivise towards using rail, the better, particularly in areas like Kilkenny and Carlow which are very close to the Dublin area where people would commute for work and so forth. Sustainability in terms of financial sustainability is potentially an issue. Sometimes charges are made because if they did not have charges, the car park would be filled by others who might not even be using the facility. I will reflect on what the Deputy is saying and will engage with Iarnród Éireann on the points he has made, particularly in terms of Bagenalstown and whether further capacity is needed there and the impact of the charges. It is costly enough to get the train. I take the Deputy's point.

I would like to remember Mickey Brady, who was a real people's MP and a former MLA, a seriously sound gentleman, a proud Newry man. He has recently been lost to all of us. I would like to pass on my condolences to his wife Caroline, and his children Saoirse, Michael, Seán, Niall and Lewis. Mickey was somebody you could always rely upon and engage with. He was really helpful to me. His work and involvement goes back to the civil rights movement and right through to the fear of the imposition of a hard Border. What I remember about Mickey as well is that he was a welfare adviser. If I could just read out a particular-----

Ten seconds, Deputy.

It is the issue my leader, Mary Lou McDonald, brought up. It is somebody who has been sent one of these letters, who is absolutely frightened and who talks about the great work she does as a carer. We need to answer those people and to look after them, along with the need for an emergency cost-of-disability payment.

I appreciate the Deputy taking the opportunity to express sympathies on the death of his late colleague, Mickey Brady. I join in the sympathies to his wife Caroline and his family more generally. On the carers situation, I answered the Deputy's party leader earlier in respect of that. Nothing has changed. There is no additional taxation. Rather, the Government has significantly increased the income disregard to record levels for couples and for single people, which is quite dramatic in its impact. We have also increased the value of the carer's allowance by €10 this year but by €50-odd over the past number of years. Other measures are also committed to in the programme for Government. We will continue to work on this over the coming months.

The long waiting times being experienced by people waiting to see someone in the pain management clinic in the Mater hospital in Dublin are very concerning. I am dealing with quite a number of people currently who are waiting for an appointment. They informed me that it will be about ten or 12 months before they are seen at the Mater hospital. This is impacting on their health, well-being and quality of life. What actions will Government take to intervene and tackle the unacceptably long waiting times that people have to wait, particularly when it concerns pain management?

I thank the Deputy for the question. I would be obliged if she might share the details with me so that I can follow up directly to see what the specific circumstances are in the Mater, and specifically whether it relates to a particular condition or to broad access to the pain management clinic. If I could follow up with the Deputy directly, I will see what is going on.

The potential for Maynooth education campus is being greatly limited by a lack of investment. On site we have three phenomenal schools, Gaelscoil Ruairí, Maynooth Community College and Maynooth Post Primary School. Maynooth is one of the very few towns in Ireland where a student could attend primary, post-primary and third level education entirely as Gaeilge. According to my friend, Councillor Peter Melrose in Maynooth, the Gaelscoil has been in temporary buildings since 2019, despite plans being ready to execute for some time. The Taoiseach has heard from other Members here that capital investment in schools in Kildare really is at desperate levels at this point. Can he outline to us when the Department expects to publish its plans under the NDP for capital investment and can he ensure that Kildare will get its fair share of that investment?

I thank the Deputy. As he said, other Members have also raised this issue. I did a tour of Maynooth with Deputy Ó Cearúil. It is a classic education town. It is a beautiful town with tremendous potential at all levels of education. Is féidir leat do thuras oideachasúil idir bhunscoil, an dara leibhéal agus an tríú leibhéal a dhéanamh trí Ghaeilge. Is áit speisialta é. We are very committed to expanding investment in schools in Maynooth and across Kildare more generally.

It is quite obvious to me that as a country we need to go ahead and deal with the issues relating to AI, Grok and X. The Taoiseach had a high-level meeting last night with various Ministers. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, on her work to date. I will ask the Taoiseach two questions that are outside of political rivalry in here or anything like that. Will he help me as Chair of the media committee by asking X representatives to turn up at our meeting next Wednesday? Google, Meta and TikTok representatives are turning up. Will he contact X representatives to ask them to turn up and say that it is imperative that they does so to be answerable to the people of Ireland? Will the Government bring in emergency legislation in relation to the issue of the sharing of AI-generated images of adults, which is obviously a gap in the legislation?

I will help in that I will communicate with X and ask that they turn up. There is not that the gap in the legislation. The 2020 Act does cover-----

Not for sharing images.

It does cover the sharing, dissemination and distribution of intimate adult images.

Is the Taoiseach absolutely certain?

There is no back and forth.

We can arrange legal advice for the Deputy in that regard.

Perfect.

The Oxfam wealth report published yesterday exposed the stark class divide that exists in society between billionaires, the wealthy and everyone else. Ireland's 11 billionaires have the same wealth as 3.5 million Irish adults combined. It takes them just seven hours to rack up the annual income of an average worker. Oxfam shows how a tax on the top 1% of the wealthiest people in the country could yield €1 billion a year. It is a no-brainer. Why not take from the super-rich, who can well afford it, to address the cost-of-living crisis for ordinary families? The Government refused to do it in the past but wealth inequality is still rising. Vital cost-of-living payments were cut in the budget, including the shameful cuts for disabled people. A sum of €1 billion would go a long way towards that. Will the Government stop dancing to the tune of billionaires, put ordinary people first and introduce a wealth tax?

We always put the worker first. I question much of the basis of the Oxfam report, as I have in the past, as the Deputy knows. Economists are dubious about some of the basis and premise upon which the research is based and its application to Ireland, in particular. Certainly, there is no €1 billion waiting out there in terms of a wealth tax.