Micheál Martin

-----and the reason they did not want to go into government was that they are afraid of the people alongside them.

You were afraid to jump in case they would not jump and vice versa.

I have no difficulty in taking responsibility, but maybe it is time Deputy Bacik took some responsibility and fleshed out her details.

But they have all joined forces now.

I reject the use of language like "chaotic" and all that. It is a good sound bite, but that is all it is - a sound bite with no substance behind it. The bottom line is that the reforms announced last week will enhance protections. The Deputy says it will drive up rents. Every existing tenant will have their rent capped at 2%. There will be no increase. Does the Deputy acknowledge that? Not one of …

There is no real detailed teasing out of issues or discussion of issues in here on Leaders' Questions - it is get up and have a go. The Deputy mentioned the proposal around the SSIA, a savings and investments scheme. She must acknowledge that it would take some years before the necessary funds would be available. The State itself is investing hugely with about €6.8 billion in capital on housing in…

The Government's focus has been on housing supply. The Government has dramatically increased the level of public sector investment. We had record numbers of social houses built in the last four years. One would need to go as far back as 1975 to get an equivalent level of social housing built.

We have built up to 36,000 social houses since.

We have also supported affordability.

For example, the help to buy scheme and the first home scheme are significant supports for first-time buyers. I know the main Opposition party, to which the other parties have all aligned, wanted to get rid of the first home scheme-----

-----and wanted to get rid of the help to buy scheme. It wants to get rid of those two schemes for first-time buyers. In addition, we have produced very significant grant support for people who want to renovate and live in a derelict house, for example, or in a vacant house. This is not investor led. This is people-led investment and support that we as a Government have introduced and will continu…

First of all, "Yes" is the answer. We will. Utilities need certainty. Utilities can be a great enabler of both housing and infrastructure. The national development plan will reflect the prioritisation of water in particular, expansion of the grid and public transport along with road infrastructure. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, has established an infrastructure division within the Department of p…

Absolutely, funding and reform. The funding will be made available through the national development plan. The issue will be whether we can get societal buy-in to a lot of the required infrastructure. That is the big issue. The Deputy mentioned the ring road in Galway. His former colleagues in the Green Party were very much against roads. That is just a fact; that is their political view. Even in g…

I think we have had too simplistic a debate on roads from those on the environmental pillar who see roads as just a total non-starter. We need better debate around these issues because they can also have beneficial environmental impacts.

Increasingly, Deputy McDonald's use of language-----

-----is lacking any credibility. We have words like "botched", "made a bags of" and "astonishing". There is nothing astonishing about it. I pay tribute to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, who has handled this very well. Approximately €29 billion was invested and €29 billion has been recovered. We have a fully functioning bank. Europe-wise, legislation and the regulatory environment have been transfor…

Where is the Bill at the moment?

You are proposing to introduce it. We will certainly examine it and look at it positively. We believe that the religious orders, first and foremost, should be accountable and contribute redress, even though this will never compensate for the appalling abuse inflicted on any individual or group of persons. Compensation or redress can never do so, but they constitute an aspect of accountability. Cer…

The Government does fulfil its legal obligations. In respect of aviation, there are international conventions that the Government and all other governments have to adhere to regarding inspections or state flights as opposed to commercial flights. The Government is adhering to and observing those obligations. I have not seen the Deputy's letter to the Attorney General. If it is okay, I will ask him…

I presume the Deputy has approached the HSE on the matter. If she could forward the details to me or the Minister for Health, I will certainly follow it up with the Minister and HSE. Was it a private practice?

The public health service has some remit there-----

----- and the HSE would too.

There is a set procedure for how protected closures are dealt with. I am not familiar with the full details of this case. I do not know whether the Deputy has raised it with the-----

With the Ministers for justice. That is fine.

I cannot intervene in every case, but I will ask the Minister for justice for his perspective on this to see what the situation is and what help can be given.