Micheál Martin

-----and in terms of other measures the Minister is prepared to consider. More fundamental, however, than all the legislation in the world is a change of culture and approach within society itself.

I know the Deputy's job is to criticise the Government and so on, but there are more fundamental issues at stake in terms of violence against women. The Minister has done some research and so on. Universal access to violent pornography, for example, is now emerging as a factor in the level of violence that has been perpetrated against women.

We need to deal with this collectively.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I agree with him. There is a serious issue facing society which will undermine the cohesion of society in terms of the level of hate out there and the level of hate that is articulated online and, worse, in terms of the actual murder of people and physical attacks, as the Deputy mentioned, on two drag queens in Cork recently, but also the murder of a pers…

There was a time in the last Dáil when there was a preponderance of opinion that suggested-----

-----that hate crime legislation was not needed. We have a real problem.

I certainly will revert to the Government in respect of that and will also ask the relevant Ministers to engage with Coimisiún na Meán on this. It is hate across different sectors. What happened to Citywest was appalling, as was the deliberate attempt to burn out a family in Drogheda. These are new thresholds that are being crossed. Children could have been killed. It was a very lucky escape for c…

I thank Deputy Dolan for raising this issue. Obviously, the big challenge facing this country is energy sustainability and security into the future. That is a significant challenge. We are importing about 80% of our fossil fuels from the United Kingdom essentially through the gas interconnectors. We have developed a very strong onshore wind performance nationally, which is to our credit. It is at …

I take the Deputy's point. By the way, Galway East is a strategic region of growth for the Government. We are putting a lot of money into towns like Ballinasloe, Loughrea, Athenry, Gort and Portumna. They are being strengthened as a result of residential, commercial and service centres. We want to create more investment flow into east Galway, more economic opportunities, better regional balance an…

Pepsi did a rooftop one, which provides 25% of Pepsi Cola manufacturing plant's energy. There is a role for solar, but nobody can argue with the need for planning guidelines.

We committed in the programme for Government to work with like-minded states, particularly France, Poland and Italy, in respect of the Mercosur deal. Additional safeguards which resulted from that endeavour are now, hopefully, being translated into a legal instrument. Of course, we still have concerns with the Mercosur deal. There are many issues on the agricultural portfolio that I am dealing wit…

The draft multi-annual financial framework only gives farmers about 80% of what we got on the last occasion. That is a big issue we have to negotiate down the line with the Commission as well. On the blocking majority, all countries are engaging with the Commission, including those countries the Deputy mentioned, in respect of Mercosur. It is not as clear as Deputy McDonald suggested.

The lifelong package is there. We have a liaison person from the HSE and there is an office working with survivors and victims of the thalidomide drug. It is substantial. No one wants to get this concluded more quickly than I do, and indeed the Tánaiste and others do. We met recently with the group. We had a very good meeting. We will be meeting again in early December. We had set up a mediation p…

I am somewhat surprised by the Deputy's comments. Most people who are working will make a contribution to their accommodation and food.

For those who are working that is the general view across society. It was always provided for in legislation in respect of those working in direct provision who have residency and could be earning good wages. Surely it is not too much to say that they should make a contribution to their upkeep. That is all. The Deputy is way out of order to suggest that it is something extraordinary to ask for or …

What is that?

I have not seen the Bill. Normally what happens is that a Bill is published and people look at it and make up their minds whether they want to support it. The colonial appellation is a new one on me.

A lot of people have practised this throughout rural Ireland historically. They have been involved in hunting. There is always balance in debates of this kind. We await publication of the Bill.

The first thing the Government did when coming into office was to commit to establishing a national in-school therapy service. Within a very short time we will establish it, with €16 million allocated to that in the budget. CDNTs are now supporting almost 45,000 children, an increase of 5% since December last year. Waiting lists have come down by 21%. Workforce capacity within CDNTs has grown sign…

I thank the Deputy for so eloquently articulating the situation in the two beautiful towns of Broadford and Cooraclare. The Minister recently brought a memorandum to Government to deal with the issue. The scheme was announced some time back when local authorities were given supports. To be fair, the Deputy is correct when he said there has been a problem in the delivery of those schemes. The Minis…

It is a good idea to follow up with the newly appointed Minister for Finance on this issue. I agree with Deputy Neville. We have to look more generally at disincentives to investment and returns. This also affects quite a number of other areas. We need balance. When we try to do something like this, there is an inevitable cry that we are only looking after wealthy people and so on. We are trying t…

I am glad the Deputy has raised this matter with the National Transport Authority, which has statutory responsibility for it. The sectoral transport plan under the national development plan will be published today, although that is for bigger projects. There is substantial money for public transport if the need and demand is there. I do not understand why Bus Éireann and the NTA do not provide add…

Does the Deputy expects me to bring clarity to that presentation?

Revenue is the guiding light, obviously, in this matter. I will discuss it with the new Minister for Finance but I would have thought Revenue implements the impact of the legislation faithfully and dutifully.

If the Deputy can do so, I would appreciate it. There were some challenges some time back in terms of that entire issue. If I am thinking of the same issue the Deputy referenced, there was a reason change had to happen. Revenue will identify what is required.