Order of Business

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment in Food and Beverage Services Sector) Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Marine Planning Policy Statement (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform "Oral Questions to the Taoiseach and Topical Issues" (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach under Dáil Standing Order 142 on COM(2026) 560 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude at the end of the first speaking round; not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Drug Debt Related Intimidation and Community Safety, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - State Apology to the family of the late Brian Stack (to conclude within 2 hours and 20 minutes) - Defence (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude at the end of the first speaking round; not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes) - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 as regards the extension of the timeframe for the establishment of the Eurojust case management system* - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 as regards digital information exchange in terrorism cases* - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann for Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament on combating terrorism* *Three separate motions to be debated together and brought to a conclusion within 60 minutes, with questions to be put on each motion separately; any divisions claimed to be taken immediately) Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Second Stage of the Non-Binary and Intersex Recognition Bill 2026, selected by Independent and Parties Technical Group. Thursday's business shall be: - Statements on Children’s Health Ireland (to conclude within 2 hours and 25 minutes) Thursday evening business shall be the Motion re Report entitled "Report on Civil Legal Aid", sponsored by the Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. 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 Government Business with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business; 2. the proceedings on the Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment in Food and Beverage Services Sector) Regulations 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 3. the proceedings on the Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 4. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Marine Planning Policy Statement shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 5. the proceedings on the Motion re Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform "Oral Questions to the Taoiseach and Topical Issues" shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; 6. the proceedings on the Motion re Report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach under Dáil Standing Order 142 on COM(2026) 560 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; and 7. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at the end of the first speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the first-round speeches shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across); (b) on conclusion of the first speaking round or where speeches conclude before the 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; and (c) members may share time. In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders: (a) the time allotted for Government Business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 9.30 p.m.; and (b) the SOS, pursuant to Standing Order 25(1), shall be taken immediately following the State Apology to the family of the late Brian Stack, which shall be taken at the time when the SOS would normally be taken; 2. the State Apology to the family of the late Brian Stack shall not exceed 2 hours and 20 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the statements, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the sequence contained in the table immediately below (to be read across); (b) following the statements, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and (c) members may share time; 3. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at the end of the first speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply: (a) the first-round speeches shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across); (b) on conclusion of the first speaking round or where speeches conclude before the 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; and (c) members may share time; and 4. the proceedings on the Motions on Protocol 21 opt-in to EU Counterterrorism and Eurojust measures shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto: (a) the three motions shall be debated together, with separate questions put on all proceedings thereon; (b) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be in accordance with the table below; (c) members may share time; and (d) any divisions claimed thereon shall be taken immediately. In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that: 1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders: (a) topical issues may be taken earlier than 7.24 p.m. with consequential effect on the commencement time for Motion re Report entitled “Report on Civil Legal Aid”, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; (b) the Dáil on its rising shall adjourn until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 3rd November 2026; and 2. the Statements on Children’s Health Ireland 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.

Not agreed.

The Taoiseach has proposed-----

The signage is out of order.

-----the Defence (Amendment) Bill, which proposes getting rid of the triple lock, not to amend it or not to adjust it, but to get rid of it.

The Ceann Comhairle should suspend. That is in breach of Standing Orders.

The Taoiseach's response earlier was quite desperate. He looked to me like he was flapping, to be totally honest. It reflects the fact he knows the public does not support getting rid of the triple lock. He knows that-----

I am entitled to raise-----

The Taoiseach is constraining the time because he knows a considerable number of his own party have significant reservations about his proposal on the triple lock.

There is no reason the debate should not be adjourned tomorrow and continued next week.

No respect for the Chair.

The Government is out of order.

The guillotine is out of order.

In all jurisdictions, Sinn Féin decides what the rules are.

No respect for democracy. The Government is selling out the people.

The Deputy does not care about the people.

I will tell the Ceann Comhairle what is also out of order. It is the fact that the Taoiseach is hell-bent on breaking a commitment given to the Irish people to pass the Nice treaty and the Lisbon treaty. Has he any recollection of the Seville declaration? Does he not feel he is a custodian of a commitment given to the Irish electorate? It is shameful that he is rolling through the breaking of the triple lock.

There is a modest ask today before the debate takes on its full volume. We ask the Chief Whip not to end the debate on the Defence (Amendment) Bill tomorrow but instead to adjourn it. We can then have a proper Second Stage debate on the Defence (Amendment) Bill instead of ramming it through.

Irish neutrality does not belong to any single government. It belongs to the people. A commitment was made in the Nice and Lisbon treaties about the triple lock and the Taoiseach is in breach of that. When we stick up these signs, we are holding the Government to account for commitments that were made to the Irish people about neutrality, which is their property, not yours.

I support fellow Deputies who have spoken. We do need extra time. We need this to be debated properly. Irish neutrality cannot be thrown out the window. The whole country is upset and concerned about this and I ask the Taoiseach to reconsider this and give the people the extra time they need. That is what we need to do tomorrow.

The amendment is that the debate be adjourned tomorrow.

No guillotine.

No guillotine. That is the proposition.

Can we hear a response from the Chief Whip? Allow us to have a debate.

We are having a debate.

No guillotine.

The Chief Whip has not responded.

Just adjourn it. We will debate it the following week.

Deputies can absolutely hear from the Chief Whip if they allow me to speak and do not try to shout me down. What is shameful about having a debate? The Bill to reform the triple lock will get a full three hours and 34 minutes of debate here on Second Stage tomorrow. It was explained by the Clerk of the Dáil at the Business Committee yesterday that voting has to be completed by 9 o'clock because of the work to rule that we are under orders on.

It is nothing to do with the work to rule.

Adjourn Second Stage.

The Dáil is being censored.

The Government is respecting industrial relations now.

Maybe I will hold up the sign. Will that do?

Yes, hold this one up.

The Bill will then be referred to committee-----

So, last week's strikes were not warranted and industrial action was not warranted but now it has to be respected. Now, industrial action has to be respected.

-----where there will be opportunity for further debate. I reject the assertions the Government is in any way rushing this through.

You are.

The Order of Business stands.

Ceann Comhairle, that is absolutely disgraceful. All we are asking for is to allow this Dáil to debate it. This should be put to the people.

Not agreed.

This should be put to the people. The people should be able to vote on this. At the very least, the debate must not be guillotined.

They are not agreed to.

Not agreed.

Not agreed.

Not agreed.

What is the Government so afraid of? Why are they opposed to a debate? They are afraid of their own backbenchers.

Thirty-six people from Depaul's Rendu Apartments in my constituency face eviction on 27 November. Of those, 15 are children. One is a newborn baby, one is a woman undergoing cancer treatment and another is recovering from cardiac arrest. Why are these 36 people facing eviction? The reason is funding of about €450,000 that is required to make the buildings where they live safe was refused by the Department of housing - by the Taoiseach's colleague, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. I would like an explanation for that. I would like to know why women and their children are facing eviction on the brow of Christmas because the Government could not come up with such a modest sum of money in the grander scheme of things. We know the Government is pretty indifferent to the issues around homelessness but this is a pretty callous-----

-----example of it and one that is entirely-----

-----avoidable. Can the Taoiseach-----

-----ask the Minister to come up with the money-----

-----to save these people from eviction.

First of all, we are not indifferent to homelessness. That is an outrageous assertion. I do not have the specifics of this case. I will speak to the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne. It is not Darragh O'Brien; James Browne is the Minister for housing.

I did not notice.

I will come back to the Deputy.

Today's The Irish Times reports on the horrific sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old girl, who has an intellectual disability, in Tusla's care by multiple men. The High Court has ordered the girl be moved to a special care setting but the Government has failed to ensure Tusla can provide the protection and support she desperately needs. The court also heard of another teenage girl being sexually exploited by men and a 16-year-old boy being drawn into drug trafficking by adult criminals. These cases are so serious the judge took the extraordinary step of ordering that the Ministers, Deputies Foley, O'Callaghan and Chambers, be informed of them. Nearly half the State's 26 special care beds remain closed because of staffing shortages. It is utterly shameful that in 2026 children who have already suffered extreme adversity are being subjected to appalling abuse and exploitation while in State care. What immediate action will the Taoiseach's Government take to protect these children and when will all 26 special care beds be safely operational?

The case reported this morning is very serious and deeply worrying. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and other Government colleagues are engaging on this case. The fundamental issue is, as the Deputy said, a shortage of staff in terms of being in a position to open all 26 special care beds. At the moment 15 of the 26 special care beds are staffed. These are for children with particularly complex needs who need sufficient and significant staffing resources. Sometimes it can be as high as 14 staff to an individual child or young person. It is not for the want of funding or supports but in a very core, complex number of cases the recruitment of staff has proven to be extremely difficult. However, the Government is continuing to work on this and on this case.

I want to again express my deepest sympathy to the family and community of Kim, Philip, Callum and Jayden English, whose funerals took place in Waterford yesterday. I know our thoughts are also with the two surviving children who are receiving care in Crumlin children's hospital. We must ensure that the horrific crime carried out against this family becomes a pivotal moment in the national response to drug debt intimidation because we know that families and entire communities across the country are being terrorised. As a constituency TD, I regularly hear from and support those who are being targeted by drug gangs. Gangs are taking over entire neighbourhoods and flat complexes. They extort from innocent people and vulnerable drug users. As has occurred in Waterford, they even take the lives of people. Tackling this violence will require a great deal of work but we do owe it to the memory of the English family. One commitment I ask the Taoiseach to make today is to ensure adequate funding for the DRIVE project - the drug related intimidation and violence engagement programme, which is a national interagency programme. The funding increase announced last month is well short of what is needed.

Could we see a commitment to adequate funding?

First of all, I agree 100% with the Deputy. We are all still shocked at what transpired in Waterford last week and our hearts go out to the family of Kim and Philip English and their children who lost their lives and the two more who are in hospital. We have significantly increased the resources for An Garda Síochána. The DRIVE initiative is strongly supported. Since its launch, more than 800 individuals across the 24 drug and alcohol task force areas have received training to support those impacted by drug-related intimidation. I will talk to the Minister again in terms of anything additional. I think it is the right approach. A multidisciplinary, multi-pronged approach is probably the correct one to deal with this issue of intimidation.

The current income limits for council housing are completely outdated. They are too low and they need to be increased urgently. These low limits have the effect of locking large numbers of low and middle income families out of both public housing and of private home ownership. Families do not qualify for council housing or for the housing assistance payment nor do they qualify for a mortgage, so they are condemned to rent privately at enormous rents forevermore. They cannot save for a deposit because of that. Some of these families have been on council lists for anything up to ten years only to be removed on review. I know the Taoiseach is going to tell me about various schemes, like help to buy, affordable housing and rent to buy, but these categories of families do not qualify for these schemes. They live from week to week and cannot afford a deposit. These income limits need to be increased urgently.

I agree with the Deputy. The Minister for housing is undertaking a review of this and is giving very serious consideration to some related issues that have to be dealt with as well in the context of increasing the thresholds but he is certainly actively looking at it.

The murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan in 2020 shocked the nation. In Mayo it brought back very painful memories of when two gardaí from Mayo were killed in the line of duty - John Morley and Henry Byrne - in 1980. In recent days the family has come forward and called for a full independent public inquiry into the circumstances of Colm's death and the role the holster may have played. I have spoken to the family, whose request for transparency into what happened that night has been ignored. Today the Irish Examiner reports that Garda management was aware of the holster as far back as a year before the death of Colm Horkan. Does the Taoiseach support the family's call for a full, independent public inquiry?

A horrendous trauma was visited upon the Horkan family following the murder of Colm Horkan. We should not lose sight of the fact that a person has been convicted of that murder. We should not make assertions yet that there may be other factors involved. It was referred to Fiosrú but my understanding is that it is not being actively engaged with. The Minister is anxious to be as responsive as possible to the Horkan family but we are not convinced that a public inquiry is necessarily the way to provide transparency, information and the facts to the family, to which they are entitled. I will talk to the Minister in respect of this but the Minister is engaging with it.

My constituency of Dublin Mid-West is one of the constituencies in the State in which hundreds and thousands of new homes are being built for families. It is important that infrastructure keeps up with this rapid housing growth and one particular area is public transport. Congestion is now a feature of life for people in Lucan, Clondalkin, Adamstown and Clonburris. This is why it is important that we bring forward the funding for DART+ South West as a priority, to enable the building of new houses and to enable a quality of life, and, in the interim period, to fund the bus services that are needed to connect people in Adamstown and Clonburris to the city centre, taking pressure off existing services in the constituency and to see whether additional carriages can be put on the train lines to support commuters in Clondalkin, Kishoge, Adamstown and Hazelhatch. This is a priority to bring people with us as we zone land for housing and to show them that housing growth should not impact on the overall quality of life in the communities we all represent.

I fully agree with Deputy Moynihan in respect of the centrality of infrastructure. The DART+ South West project is key enabler in the overall programme that would quadruple peak-hour capacity on the line from 5,000 passengers to 20,000 passengers. It would be a significant game changer. Since the Deputy first raised this issue with me, I have been in touch and I have been advocating very strongly with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. Funding has been allocated to DART+ South West to progress to planning and design and procurement between 2026 and 2030. I hope the Minister will be in a position to confirm realising the project. Deputy Moynihan is right in terms of the bus services. Hopefully the Minister will be in a position to expand public transport services in particular in 2027. A total of 140 services are due to be expanded and hopefully Clonburris will be part of this.

I warmly welcome the Government's arts capital investment fund announced in budget 2027. My concern is for the towns and villages that do not have existing entertainment venues. I feel they are simply being excluded. Arklow, for example, is a case study for lack of investment. It has a proud tradition of arts, music and culture but it has no entertainment venue. It does not even have a community hall to hold such events. Do not get me wrong: Arklow will be transformed in the next decade with huge investment in the green energy park, offshore wind turbines and great progress on the greenway. However, as it stands we do not have entertainment venues. If there were to be a concert tonight in Arklow, a town of 14,000 people, the school, the church or the local hotel would have to be used. It is simply wrong. It is a missed opportunity. The lack of investment in the town in the past ten years has simply been deplorable.

I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this issue. I am very fond of Arklow and have been there on a number of occasions. The wastewater treatment plant is the latest investment we officially opened. It has a beautiful design, which received some celebrated colourful coverage which I cannot repeat in the House. I take the Deputy's point. There is an arts capital investment fund. It is a new €6 million scheme that delivers on the Government's commitment to explore a dedicated capital scheme for the arts and cultural facilities. There are three categories. I wonder whether it could be of some help to the local authority if there was a particular initiative coming from Wicklow County Council for the Arklow area that we could respond to. If the local authority could come forward with a specific proposal, I would be hopeful that the Government might be in a position to respond.

Since the Taoiseach took office, he has been hell-bent on dismantling our neutrality. His first step on this is dismantling and scrapping the triple lock. Before he was Taoiseach, he believed in the centrality of the triple lock in terms of our neutrality and I completely agree with him on that. Since becoming Taoiseach, he has changed his mind. I find this very convenient. I ask him to ask the people whether they have changed their minds on the triple lock, something that was promised to them. Irish neutrality does not belong to the Taoiseach or to me, but to the people and the people should have their say on it. Will the Taoiseach put it to the people and ask them whether they want him to scrap the triple lock?

Hear, hear.

I am not going to be intimidated or browbeaten by campaigns of untruths-----

I am 5 ft.

A 5 ft woman.

-----and falsehoods. I am not on any campaign that is intent on dismantling Irish neutrality. The triple lock is not in the Irish Constitution.

We are aware of that.

There is no need for a referendum to amend something that is not in the Constitution in the first instance.

You know the promise you made.

The Deputies knows this but they ignore it. This is about the campaign.

No, it is about Irish neutrality.

It is not about the truth and it is not about objectivity. I also have to say, through the Chair, that it is unacceptable the degree to which people on the Government side are constantly interrupted when we speak whereas we allow Members of the Opposition to speak without interruption, as I have on all occasions this afternoon.

I did not interrupt.

The reality of this is that there seems to be one rule for Sinn Féin and a different rule for everybody else in the House.

It is not actually.

In Northern Ireland we witnessed it during Covid-19 and so on like that.

I have an issue with that.

What I want to say is that my only commitment is-----

You abandoned the nationalist community. As Fianna Fáil leader-----

My only commitment is to peace-----

-----like all that came before you, you abandoned them. Now neutrality.

Sorry, Deputy. We have a problem here, a Cheann Comhairle.

It is not "out of time". The problem is the constant heckling-----

You accused our party of being Nazi sympathisers.

The problem is the constant heckling and interruption when I endeavour-----

There is no point appreciating it. There should be no Order of Business if this continues.

If this continues, there will be no Order of Business. I will not be turning up if I cannot say what I have to say. Just be on notice, a Cheann Comhairle.

I did not interrupt the Taoiseach, to be very clear. It was a question that I asked-----

-----and I am not intimidating. I have an issue with the Taoiseach saying that.

We have had good news on housing in County Roscommon, with a planning proposal approved in Monksland in south Roscommon this morning. It will follow a number of housing developments that have happened in the area. Similarly in Ballinasloe I attended a meeting last Thursday night with regard to a number of housing developments, all of which are very welcome. We have a need for affordable housing in Roscommon and Galway for those people who cannot get on the council list and cannot get a mortgage very easily. There is also the infrastructure in the communities to be built around this housing. Residents who already live in the area are coming to me to say they are happy for more houses to be built, and they want them, but they also want the amenities, services, supports and supermarkets, in the case of Monksland, to follow. Will the Taoiseach please direct the local authorities once again, via the Minister for housing, that it is about communities, and services should go hand-in-hand with the housing developments, particularly in rural communities?

Yes, I will talk to the Minister in respect of this. I am glad Deputy Kerrane has welcomed the significant housing that is happening now in Roscommon in Monksland. She also mentioned Ballinasloe. Affordable housing is a key issue for people, particularly those above the social housing income thresholds. I will certainly engage with the Minister in respect of the issues the Deputy has raised. The optimal position is that we have community services going hand-in-hand with housing developments.

Given the lengthy waiting times under the warmer homes scheme, will the Government bring forward or amend existing legislation so that vulnerable applicants, especially older people living alone, are prioritised? Recently I dealt with an 89-year-old lady, a constituent of mine, who has been approved for the scheme. She has been told it may take up to two years before her works are even started or completed. Her home is cold and damp but her age, her health or the condition of her home cannot be taken into account when determining the priority. I appreciate that clear criteria must apply to any national scheme to ensure fairness and accountability but there must be scope for exceptional cases and common sense must prevail. The warmer homes scheme is essential for vulnerable isolated people. Flexibility would ensure the benefit reaches those who need it most when they need it most.

Perhaps we do not need legislation to make this accommodation or to make these changes. In terms of broader retrofitting schemes, the Minister is more going directly to the person, with the grants going directly to the contractors, to get the job done and to try to bypass some of the bureaucratic processes. This is different, in the context of the warmer homes scheme. I will talk to the Minister about this because he is an open kind of guy and he is into reform and doing things as expeditiously as possible. Certainly in the case of the 89-year-old which Deputy Aird has outlined, it seems very clearly urgent and the kind of case we want to support. We have to understand, to be fair to the scheme itself, that people have to try to administer it. I will talk to the Minister to see what he can do in respect of that, if the Deputy will give us the details of the case.

On Sunday, republicans in Cork and London will remember two republicans who died on hunger strike. Ard-Mhéara Chorcaí Terence MacSwiney began his hunger strike in the detention centre, the old Cork Prison, a building that the Government now intends to demolish. He spent his first night there with the chain of office that the Taoiseach once wore as Ard-Mhéara of Cork. Seventy-four days later, he died on hunger strike in Brixton Prison. Now the Government wants to demolish that prison building. That prison is Cork's Kilmainham and it must be saved. On the same day, on Sunday, we will remember Joe Murphy, who died in Cork Gaol. That was demolished. Republicans and Irish people need to remember their history. Will the Taoiseach give a commitment today not to demolish the old Cork Prison? If other prisons need to be built, they should be on greenfield sites. Cork's history and republican history must be remembered.

Hear, hear.

I think we have had a noble and historic tradition in Cork never to create division over the legacy of the two martyred Lord Mayors of Cork, Terence MacSwiney and Tomás Mac Curtain. I am a republican. I come from a republican family, members of which served in the IRA and in Cumann na mBan contemporaneously with Terence MacSwiney and Tomás Mac Curtain. I know full well the necessity and importance of conserving and preserving their legacy and heritage, as we have done by naming various parts and dimensions of our city after both Lord Mayors. Indeed, as the Deputy knows, they are very well remembered in Cork City Hall, which was burned during the War of Independence. My late grandfather was in de Valera's guard of honour when the new building was opened in 1932. We all share a heritage, Deputy, and I do not think we should-----

Will the Taoiseach commit not to demolish the old Cork Prison?

He never answered my question.

The closure of the memory clinic in Cashel came as a huge blow to my constituency and the wider region, and it was a particular blow to the families of loved ones suffering from dementia. As of July this year, there was a waiting list of more than 450. I suspect that figure is now more than 600. I acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is in the Chamber. I acknowledge his work. We urgently need both a short-term solution, whether that is some type of blitz clinic, and a medium- to long-term solution, which is the establishment of a memory assessment and support service. Best practice in dementia care is very clear. Referrals should be seen within six weeks. At present, we have people waiting more than three years. I think our elderly people, particularly those in south Tipperary, deserve better. As I said, I acknowledge the work of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. I look forward to working with him on that short-term and long-term solution.

I know the Deputy's interest in this on behalf of his constituents. The south Tipperary memory clinic has been paused, but I want to see it reopened as quickly as possible. I have met HSE personnel in the region. I have been in touch with them, and I had a formal meeting on 29 September. I had a further meeting scheduled for last week. I am rescheduling it for this week because it had to be deferred. I understand the real concerns of people in the area regarding waiting times. The situation is unacceptable. I want to get the clinic up and running as quickly as possible. There are some alternative options. People can go to GP services and the integrated care programme for older persons, ICPOP, teams. Fundamentally, we want to get the south Tipperary memory clinic reopened. We then want to examine the en masse rollout in the region. I look forward to working with the Deputy and the HSE locally to get this reopened.

The HSE acquired the old Blarney golf links hotel and has developed a 50-bed unit there. Some 30 beds are currently managed by Mercy University Hospital. People are discharged from hospital and follow-up rehabilitation care is provided there. The remaining 20 beds are idle because funding is not available to staff them. Those 20 beds are for neurorehabilitation. Will a commitment be given to provide the necessary funding in 2027 so that those 20 beds can become operational and we can move people out of Cork University Hospital? The beds being provided for neurorehabilitation are an extremely important development. The 20 beds are lying idle at present, and it is important that they are brought into use.

I thank the Deputy for the question. As he knows, the Mercy regional rehabilitation unit, MRRU, is under the governance of Mercy University Hospital and provides 30 level 2 older persons rehabilitation beds, of which 24 are operational. HSE South West can confirm that a regional strategic rehabilitation group is reviewing rehabilitation services across the region. The MRRU is part of that group, and a workstream has been established to increase neurorehabilitation services. It is co-chaired by the chief executive officers of Mercy University Hospital and Cork University Hospital. This group will review the various workstreams, including governance, workforce and operational guidelines. The aim is that, following the national service plan 2027, HSE South West will deliver 20 level 2 neurorehabilitation beds in 2027, subject to funding.

Thirteen days ago, we had a saltwater intrusion into the groundwater source for the Ballyheigue public water supply. It also affects the western Clanmaurice group water scheme and parts of Ardfert and Kilmoyley. This is very serious, as it affects more than 4,000 customers, including businesses, schools, residents, and older people and vulnerable people. The unusual thing about this is that it is probably the most serious effect we have had on a public water supply in my living memory. The long-term outlook is very worrying. I commend Irish Water on identifying the problem and trying to deal with it. There are what I would call communication difficulties. Even as late as today, there have been difficulties with the delivery of bottled water. Not enough is happening quickly enough. We need to do more and have a more organised approach. I want the Government to support us in dealing with this problem.

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this issue. I was alerted to it this morning by the Minister from your constituency. This is a very serious issue. I was taken aback when I heard about it. Uisce Éireann issued a do-not-consume notice for the public water supply in Ballyheigue, Kilmoyley, Causeway and surrounding areas on 7 October. Uisce Éireann has mobilised operational and water-quality teams to respond to the issue. Investigations remain ongoing, and extensive monitoring and testing of the raw water source continue. Current investigations are focused on suspected saltwater ingress affecting the source water, with teams working around the clock to determine the precise cause and implement any necessary corrective measures. I hear what the Deputy is saying, namely, that not enough has been done quickly enough. I will revert to Uisce Éireann on that question. Uisce Éireann is providing alternative water supplies, bottled water and bulk-water arrangements, with supports available for customers and ongoing engagement with schools, businesses and other key stakeholders.

Lipoedema is a painful and chronic condition affecting one in 11 women. If men were affected like this, there is no doubt that full treatment would be available in Ireland. However, because it is a women's health issue, like endometriosis, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PMDD, and abortion, lipoedema has been neglected, with women waiting years for a diagnosis, never mind treatment. Until the end of last year, the HSE was reimbursing lipoedema surgeries carried out abroad under the cross-border healthcare directive within four to six weeks. This year, women are waiting ten months after borrowing money in the belief that they could repay it quickly. The HSE promised to tell the support network if reimbursement was being stopped and is still saying there is a backlog. I am now told that an HSE staff member has let slip to one of the women that the HSE has paused the applications. What is going on? It is outrageous. I have a photograph here of the legs of a woman affected by this debilitating condition. How dare the HSE and the Minister mess her around? What is the Government going to do about it?

I do not accept the Deputy's first point about women's health. Over the past five years, in particular, there has been very significant investment in women's health across the board. The former Minister, Stephen Donnelly, was particularly proactive in providing a range of services. We have more to do, particularly when one considers the Women's Health Action Plan and the progress to date. There is now approximately €180 million in specific funding. There are four additional postnatal hubs, bringing the national network to 13. We have the free contraception scheme. There are also see-and-treat ambulatory gynaecology clinics, of which there are now 19 across the country, established in rapid time. There are six specialist menopause clinics, free HRT medications, dispensing fees and so on, and six regional fertility hubs. I could go on. On the specific issue, the cross-border directive is in place and we have to abide by and adhere to that. I will follow up with the HSE in respect of the specific issue.