Micheál Martin

What entity?

What entity created by the Government?

I did not get that bit.

It is a good catchy soundbite but-----

-----I interrupted Deputy Bacik to get clarity from her because of the outrageous, disingenuous suggestion that the Government established An Coimisiún Pleanála when the Oireachtas, through legislation, voted for its establishment.

Deputy Bacik knows that as a legislator and as a person with legal background. It is a creature of the Oireachtas. Yes, the Government proposed reforms but it is a creature of the Oireachtas and Deputy Bacik knows that.

She would be the very first person calling on a Minister to resign if that Minister tried to interfere in an independent planning process.

It is utter hypocrisy of Deputy Bacik to call us bystanders because we did not interfere and tell An Comisiún Pleanála that, no matter what its views are, it is to pass that along and rubberstamp it because that is what the Government wants. That is what Deputy Bacik is saying.

That is what the Deputy is saying.

All of us have met the Rotunda. All of us support the Rotunda. I have met the master and the people involved, and so has the Minister for Health.

The clarity is that An Coimisiún Pleanála has made a decision. We now have to deal with that decision and we will.

I believe this project is in the overwhelming public interest and that there is an overwhelming public benefit. That is why we funded about €16 million into Hampson House to facilitate decanting but also provision of a first-class service now in terms of outpatient facilities, antenatal clinics and all of that. The Government is 100% behind this project but An Coimisiún Pleanála is independent, as…

----- in the interest of public health. Deputy Cairns has summed up the neonatal intensive care unit correctly. I do not argue with her summation of the conditions there. Those who objected to this vital project should have taken up the invitation of the master of the Rotunda. They should have visited the neonatal intensive care unit and they should have then weighed up what they are objecting to…

The Deputy has omitted the fact that Dublin City Council approved this planning and the inspector at An Coimisiún Pleanála recommended and approved the decision of Dublin City Council. There was no expectation-----

Sorry, now. I know it is the job of the Opposition to blame the Government all of the time. An Coimisiún Pleanála took a decision which obviously went against the Dublin City Council decision and the recommendation of the board's own inspector, I am informed.

There was a split decision as well but that can happen. In fairness, I do not believe in microscopic examination. People make decisions in their own right as officers of An Coimisiún Pleanála. In my view, it is the wrong decision. In my view-----

Anyone who knows anything about this and sought to know anything about it would know that this critical care wing is needed now. It is not needed in five, ten, 15 or 20 years' time. It is needed now, as Deputy Cairns has articulated, because we are all aware of-----

Do not be interfering with the Social Democrats' time, please. You tend to want to monopolise the Opposition a lot. I know that but you should not be trying to do it on Leaders' Questions. Anyway, that is-----

The critical care wing is needed now. An Coimisiún Pleanála knows that. Dublin City Council was clear, that it was okay and it approved it, and so was the inspector.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As he will be aware, I dealt with it earlier on a previous Leaders' question. It is important to make the point that no SNA is being removed from any school during this school year. Second, no SNA will lose their job. Those are two very important points. There are no cuts to overall special needs assistants' numbers. By September next year, we will have …

I said earlier the reviews should be regular to match resources to the needs of children, and new children will come into schools. We have about 4,000 schools with children who leave primary and go into second level, and children develop differently and so on. As the Deputy knows, the SNAs are allocated to the school, so the general number is allocated to the school. Obviously, within the context …

I did not write the letter.

I did not write the letter.

We paused it now.

I would be worried if we brought clarity to Deputy Michael Collins's campaign-----