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announced in January. It will be important to see soon what work, if any, the unit has undertaken. The Taoiseach mentioned on Leaders' Questions earlier today that he is in the process of setting up the disability unit in his Department. However, we are now five months … sense of urgency in action that was so vivid in pre-election rhetoric? My party colleague, Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, speaking on Leaders' Questions called on the Government to comply with the Disability Act and to complete AONs within the statutory timeframe. The Taoiseach responded with a frustrated

over ten years. There was a parliamentary question on 2 February 2017, and on 22 February 2018 I raised the issue during Leaders' Questions with the current Tánaiste, who was Minister for Health at the time. It is always the same answer: "We must do more." He said … they would be prosecuted. I wonder when a Government Minister will be prosecuted. I was shocked at the arrogance of the Taoiseach during Leaders' Questions today. His attitude was "shoot the messenger" and blame the psychologists - we are breaking the law but we will change

issues involved and I outlined what I will do and what the Government will do. I already outlined in a response under Leaders' Questions earlier, all the steps we will take. I was involved in drafting the 2005 legislation

services that are required for people to participate fully in society. I was really disheartened earlier to hear the Taoiseach's response during Leaders' Questions because it seemed to be simply about numbers. The argument is that the numbers are so overwhelming that the Government and the State

scope and scale of the devastating hip surgery scandal. Some 2,260 families have been sent letters. I raised this issue on Leaders' Questions two months ago in March. I called on the Government to get ahead of it and to tell parents what was going on. Parents

much for backbenchers wanting so much time on Leaders' Questions. The Government did all this for Lowry and now its backbenchers do not even turn up for the thing it forced through. It is so embarrassing. This week saw a historic vote in the Assembly in support

take Leaders' Questions under Standing Order

jobs. There are many more people in employment. Many of us remember days in this House where the biggest challenge being raised on Leaders' Questions and at every other opportunity was that people could not get a job in Ireland. There were very high unemployment rates. We have

decades. Before I get into those specific topics, today I have heard, for example, from the Tánaiste who gave an answer earlier during Leaders’ Questions in response to Deputy Murphy in the context of poor workers’ rights and low pay. He recalled a time when

legitimate aim. The problem is that the Tánaiste must not have got this memo because when I asked him about it during Leaders' Questions earlier, he said the quiet part out loud. He gave an answer for keeping sub-minimum wages that was all about reducing business costs