Vol. 1026 No. 8
1. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh den Aire Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán an léir di na fadhbanna bunúsacha, atá soiléir ón Taighde ar Dhúshláin na gColáistí i gCorca Duibhne a rinneadh le déanaí, atá ag Coláistí Samhradh maidir le lóistín a sholáthar amach anseo do na mic léinn a fhreastalaíonn orthu agus cé na céimeanna atá á nglacadh aici chun feabhas a chur ar an scéal sula ndúnfar coláiste nó coláistí samhraidh. [47273/22]
Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. Tá an chéad cheist seo dírithe ar na dúshláin atá ag coláistí samhraidh agus go háirithe ar an tuarascáil Taighde ar Dhúshláin na gColáistí Samhraidh i gCorca Dhuibhne. Ar léigh an tAire Stáit an taighde seo agus cad iad na gníomhartha a dhéanfaidh sé chun a dhéanamh cinnte de go mbeidh lóistín ar fáil dóibh siúd atá ina mic léinn sna coláistí samhraidh amach anseo?
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist seo. I dtús báire, níor mhiste dom a rá go bhfuair mo Roinn cóip den tuarascáil atá mar ábhar na ceiste seo dar teideal Taighde ar Dhúshláin na gColáistí Samhraidh i gCorca Dhuibhne agus go bhfuiltear á breithniú faoi láthair.
Agus an tuarascáil seo á breithniú, ní gá a rá go mbíonn an Roinn ar an airdeall i rith an ama faoin tábhacht a bhaineann le polasaithe agus beartais chuí a aimsiú agus a fheidhmiú a chuirfidh le hinmharthanacht fhoriomlán na Gaeilge ar bhealach a luíonn isteach leis an bpróiseas pleanála teanga.
Ar bhonn ginearálta, aithníonn mo Roinn, ar ndóigh, ón bplé leanúnach a dhéanaimid le teaghlaigh Ghaeltachta atá cláraithe faoi scéim na Roinne, le lucht stiúrtha na gcoláistí Gaeilge agus lena scáthghrúpa Comhchoiste Náisiúnta na gColáistí Samhraidh, CONCOS, go bhfuil dúshlán faoi leith le sárú de thoradh teaghlaigh de chuid na scéime ag éirí as a bheith ag coinneáil scoláirí ar iostas ó 2019.
Níor mhiste dom a rá go bhfuil sonraí beachta faoin staid reatha ina leith seo uile á gcur i dtoll a chéile ag mo Roinn faoi láthair, anois go bhfuil tréimhse na gcúrsaí samhraidh thart. Déanfar an scéal trí chéile a bhreithniú go cúramach nuair atá na sonraí sin faoi lámh.
Níor mhiste a nótáil ar bhonn níos ginearálta gur ghlac an Roinn le roinnt bearta faoi leith i mbliana chun tacú tuilleadh le hearnáil na gcoláistí samhraidh. Níos luaithe i mbliana, cheadaigh mé ardú 10% sa deontas laethúil a íoctar le teaghlaigh scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge ar chostas tuairim is €400,000. Cabhróidh sé seo, gan amhras, le hiarrachtaí na gcoláistí teaghlaigh a choinneáil agus a mhealladh.
Anuas air sin, cheadaigh mé ciste faoi leith ar fiú €400,000 eile chun go mbeidh an deis ag breis agus 400 scoláire ó iar-bhunscoileanna DEIS na tíre freastal ar chúrsa Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht. Lena chois sin uile, ceadaíodh gearrchúrsaí Gaeilge nach giorra ná trí oíche faoin scéim mar bheart eisceachtúil don bhliain seo amháin. Is fiú tuairim is €800,000 na beartais seo agus is ionann le maoiniú os cionn €5 milliún ar fad ar leas na hearnála i mbliana é.
Maidir le ceantar Chorca Dhuibhne go sonrach, níor mhiste dom a lua gur cuireadh ciste faoi leith ar fáil d'Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne Teo. mar chuid den chiste foriomlán bliantúil, ar fiú breis is €237,000 sa bhliain é, chun tacú go sonrach leis an eagraíocht. Críochnóidh mé an chuid eile den fhreagra níos déanaí.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. Tá tuarascáil cuibheasach cuimsitheach curtha le chéile ag an Ollamh Pádraig Ó Duibhir ó DCU. Bhí moltaí sách dearfach aige, deich gcinn san iomlán, agus tá roinnt eile fite fuaite leis má léitear an tuarascáil ina iomlán. Bhí ceann de na príomhchinn faoi mhaoiniú. Luaigh an tAire Stáit ansin gur ardaigh sé an maoiniú i mbliana. Is ardú ó €10 go dtí €11 an dalta atá i gceist. Bhíodh an maoiniú ag €10.50 roimh 2010 nuair a rinneadh gearradh siar air. Nílimid ag dul suas ach 50 cent mar sin. Luaigh an tOllamh Ó Duibhir, agus luaigh na coláistí samhraidh nuair a bhí siad os comhair Chomhchoiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge é seo freisin, gur chóir go mbeadh sé €12.50 ar a laghad, is é sin ag cur an ráta boilscithe idir 2010 agus anuraidh san áireamh, mar níl an ráta boilscithe sin curtha san áireamh. Ba chóir go mbeadh an maoiniú mar sin ag €12.50. Cad iad na céimeanna atá i gceist ag an Aire Stáit a ghlacadh le go mbeidh an maoiniú sin á thabhairt suas go dtí an ráta sin?
Ní raibh deis agam an freagra iomlán a chríochnú cúpla nóiméad ó shin. Maidir le Corca Dhuibhne, mar chuid den chiste foriomlán bliantúil, is fiú breis is €237,000 sa bhliain é chun tacú go sonrach leis an eagraíocht chun teaghlaigh an cheantair a chumasú agus a mhealladh i dtreo lóistín a chur ar fáil do lucht freastail na gcoláistí. Tuigtear dom, go deimhin, go bhfuil roinnt tithe nua sa cheantar tar éis clárú le scéim na Roinne le gairid. Ar ndóigh, tá seo uile á dhéanamh mar bheart faoi leith chun tacú le feidhmiú foriomlán an phróisis pleanála teanga atá á mhaoiniú ar bhonn leanúnach ag mo Roinn sa cheantar, ar nós gach ceantar Gaeltachta eile.
Mar atá luaite agam cheana agus mar a gealladh roimhe seo, tá mo Roinn i mbun na socruithe a dhéanamh faoi láthair chun cruinniú a eagrú gan mhoill leis an scáthghrúpa CONCOS chun go mbeidh deis ag an Roinn breathnú chun cinn ar na bealaí breise a mbeifear in ann tacú tuilleadh le hearnáil na gcoláistí Gaeilge ar mhaithe le tuilleadh teaghlaigh Gaeltachta a mhealladh chuig an earnáil.
Ní gá dom a dhearbhú go bhfuilim féin agus mo Roinn tiomanta leanúint ar aghaidh ag tacú le hearnáil na gcoláistí Gaeilge faoi réir na mbearta ábhartha atá leagtha amach i bPlean Gníomhaíochta an Rialtais don Ghaeilge.
Ba chabhair mhór an t-allúntas chun cuidiú a thabhairt do mhná tí agus do na teaghlaigh Gaeltachta arís an bhliain seo chugainn agus beidh an t-allúntas seo ag dul suas an bhliain seo chugainn. Beidh mé in ann é sin a fhoilsiú sna seachtainí amach romhainn.
Tá sé go maith go bhfuil céim glactha agus go bhfuil an tAire Stáit ag rá go mbeidh céimeanna eile ann. Tá súil agam go mbeidh an tAire Stáit in ann plean cúig bliaina nó fiú amháin deich mbliana a chur ar siúl le go dtuigeann iad siúd atá ina mná tí faoi láthair, agus na brúnna san áireamh, cad atá in ann dóibh, agus dóibh siúd freisin atá ag teacht isteach san earnáil. Is earnáil rí-thábhachtach é seo ó thaobh gheilleagar na nGaeltachtaí, go háirithe. Is gá dúinn níos mó a dhéanamh, ní hamháin chun cuidiú leo le linn na tréimhse samhraidh, ach ina dhiaidh sin freisin chun daoine eile a mhealladh.
Chomh maith leis sin, tá athchóiriú agus a leithéid de dhíth agus caighdeáin nua toisc Covid-19 ag teastáil. Beidh ar mhná tí, ar bhrúnna agus a leithéid, infheistiú a dhéanamh chun athdheisiú nó deisiúcháin a dhéanamh ar fhoirgnimh. An bhfuil aon chiste ar leith ar fáil dóibh sin?
Táimid i dteagmháil le CONCOS agus le Teaghlaigh na Gaeltachta anois agus an samhradh thart anois agus táimid ag déanamh athbhreithniú ar gach rud. Tá allúntas breise ar feadh na bliana seo chugainn agus beimid ag féachaint ar an allúntas seo idir an bhliain seo agus an bhliain seo chugainn. Beimid in ann níos mó tacaíochta a thabhairt le linn scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge an bhliain seo chugainn freisin. Nuair a bheidh an t-athbhreithniú seo críochnaithe, beimid in ann é a fhoilsiú.
2. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she has considered the introduction of a leisure card for children and young people that would allow for State funding to be given directly to families for the purposes of paying for sport and or cultural activities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47809/22]
Has the Minister of State given any consideration to the introduction of a leisure card for children and young people which would allow for State funding to be given directly to families for the purpose of paying for sport and-or for cultural activities and will he make a statement on the matter?
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist seo. Although a developed and costed proposal has not been presented by the sector to my Department, the cost of introducing a leisure card as outlined by the Deputy could potentially involve a very significant level of Exchequer support. On the basis of a national scheme with coverage extending to all children and young adults in Ireland under the age of 25, currently totalling some 1,500,000 people, with a weekly subvention of just €10 per week or over €500 per annum, the total cost would be in the region of €750 million.
As the Deputy is aware, under the National Sports Policy 2018–2027 introduced in 2018 there is a target to double the level of State investment in sport from €111 million in 2017 to €220 million by the end of this policy.
As a result of the Government's strong commitment to the development of sport in recent years, we are well on track to achieve our investment targets. In budget 2023, a total allocation of €174.8 million has been made for sport, which will allow for increased availability of sporting opportunities next year for all ages, young and old alike. Additional resources have been allocated to Sport Ireland, the agency responsible for the development of sport in Ireland, which will permit improved budgetary resourcing of the governing bodies and local sports partnerships that deliver so much to families and children across the country.
In the area of the cultural activities provided by the State, visits to the national cultural institutions are free of charge to all, including children and young people. The institutions also continue to develop and expand on their learning and engagement activities for children and young people. Under the all-of-government Creative Ireland programme led by my Department, access is provided to children and young people to engage in free creative activities through its Creative Youth and Creative Communities pillars. For example, the flagship Cruinniú na nÓg provides free creative activities for children and young people nationwide in June every year.
Although the introduction of a national leisure card is not currently considered a feasible or realistic proposition in the circumstances outlined, either from the Exchequer perspective or due to the considerable complexities that would inevitably arise from the administration standpoint, it would be inappropriate to completely rule out its introduction in all circumstances. Future circumstances may allow for the adoption of such an approach, perhaps modified for particular sports, age ranges or population cohorts, and I would be open to considering specific proposals in that regard.
According to research published by the Federation of Irish Sport, for every €100 invested in sport by the Government, the Exchequer receives up to €195 back through taxes on sports-supported expenditure and incomes. We also know that half of the money invested by the State in the arts later comes back to the Exchequer. This proposal is based on the Icelandic experience of a leisure card. We propose a three-year pilot scheme where every child in junior and senior infants would get €130 worth of credit to use on extracurricular sporting and-or cultural activities as they choose. We then expand the scheme over the remaining primary school classes on a phased basis and, over a five-year period, the scheme would be rolled out to all children in primary and secondary school.
As I said, a similar scheme was introduced in Iceland in 2007 as a response to the crisis among its youth around alcohol, tobacco, drug use, mental health issues and social isolation. The changes in the experiences of children have been transformative. As a long-term measure, the benefits far outweigh the initial costs and, as I said, the research shows that those costs can be recouped by the State.
I agree that investment in sport, physical activity and cultural opportunities yields huge benefits for young people. That is why we put significant investment into all aspects of this Department for 2023, in particular given that one of the major challenges facing sports clubs and grassroots organisations is around energy costs in the coming months, so they can maintain their level of activity to promote participation. That is why we have secured an overall €60 million fund for community, arts, Gaeltacht and sporting organisations, with €35 million directly for sport so we can mitigate some of the cost increases and support the membership and continued volunteerism that is central.
As I said, the cost of this proposal would be around €750 million across all age cohorts. It is not something we are immediately able to do but it is not something we would rule out into the future. Any initiative to promote sport, physical activity and cultural opportunity is something we can have a discussion on.
This leisure card could be used for sport, dance, music, art or some other enriching pursuit. The voucher would be used via a designated website that lists providers who are trained and approved for youth development. That would ensure not only quality control and mentoring through what is being offered, but also that the money circulates in the local community, boosting the after-school sector. It has been transformative in Iceland and, as I said, the research shows that the money invested would come back. As we know, given the current cost of living crisis, there are many families and working parents who, with childcare costs, mortgages and so on, cannot afford to pay for extracurricular classes. There are also many families who just cannot afford it full stop. In the long term, the benefits far outweigh the costs involved. If every child had access to that voucher, they would be engaging in extracurricular activities and would find their forte. The benefits of that speak for themselves.
It appears to be working well in Iceland, where there is a subsidy system for leisure activities from age six to 18. There is a similar model in France, which has a culture pass that gives all under 18-year-olds €300 to spend on art, music, theatre and other cultural activities. I believe Australia has an active kids programme which provides $100 vouchers towards sport and active recreation costs each year.
We need to look at all policy initiatives or ideas around how we promote participation opportunities and activity in the culture and sports area. As I said, we have seen a step-change in investment in sport this year, with cost of living being a big dimension of it. Similarly, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, has secured ongoing funding for the arts and the cultural area. The cost of this in any one year would be €750 million, so it is important in the budgetary process to consider that and weigh up the choices around continued investment in existing schemes and initiatives and policy ideas like this.
3. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the assistance that is available to community festivals and shows to help with their running costs, including insurance. [47526/22]
I want to ask about the assistance that is available to communities that run festivals, fairs, shows and so on to help with their running costs. In particular, I want to focus on insurance costs and the fact that many local communities right now, in the Minister of State's constituency the same as in mine, and across the country, are facing the awful fact that they cannot even get insurance, they cannot even get a quote, to run events that they have successfully run for many years.
My Department runs a small-scale local festivals and summer schools scheme. The scheme is designed to support local cultural festivals and summer schools which are not in receipt of other central Government moneys and which may not be eligible under funding criteria for larger scale events supported by Fáilte Ireland, the Arts Council and similar bodies. The maximum funding available under this scheme is capped at €5,000.
My Department provides funding to support Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which is the largest group involved in the preservation and promotion of Irish traditional music, both at community and national level. The Fleadh Cheoil is organised by Comhaltas at community level by the local branches in partnership with the local authority, media and other partners and sponsors.
Under the Creative Communities initiative within the Creative Ireland programme, my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage provide funding to each of the 31 local authorities to enable them to implement their individual culture and creativity strategies 2018-2022. Within this context, many festivals and events have received support from their local authorities. Further information is available on the Creative Ireland website.
The Arts Council offers a range of financial supports for festivals. The council provides financial support to a number of single art form festivals, for example, theatre, dance and film, and such festivals are supported within the policy context of those art forms. The council also supports many multidisciplinary arts festivals across different art forms, including literature, music, street arts, theatre, visual arts and different areas of arts practice. Its festivals investment scheme, for example, is specifically designed to support local and voluntary organisations to develop arts festivals. Further details can be accessed on the Arts Council's website.
Through collaboration with the local authorities, Fáilte Ireland's regional festival scheme is available to local community festivals. The scheme seeks to influence culture and arts sector investment in outdoor activation to enhance visitor experience in local communities aligned to tourism objectives. Tourism Ireland is working closely with many festivals to provide exposure for them in key markets overseas.
I might get more time to come back to the issue of insurance, which the Deputy specifically referenced.
I take the Minister of State’s point that the Government supports many local festivals, fairs and so on.
However, the issue for many of them is that they cannot get an insurance quote. Some of the money the Department is making available will never get to local communities.
The Mohill horse fair in County Leitrim has run for hundreds of years and was reinvigorated 25 or 30 years ago. It has been a huge success and is the town's biggest day. It essentially keeps local businesses going until Christmas and creates a great sense of excitement and community. Despite that, the fair cannot get a quote. It is not about money. Last night, the International Wild Rose festival told a public meeting in Manorhamilton in north County Leitrim that it still could not get a quote to cover the series of events that it ran in 2019.
The Minister of State referred to funding for local authorities. Could that funding be used to help these groups to get insurance?
I take the Deputy's point about the festivals in Mohill, Manorhamilton and many other areas. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, has responsibility for insurance reform. He has advanced legislation on insurance. There is also a Cabinet sub-committee that specifically addresses insurance issues. In the sports sector, we are engaging on the challenges that certain sporting organisations and community groups are facing. Every Deputy or Senator is well aware of the challenges that certain groups or activities face in terms of insurance.
I will bring to the Minister of State the Deputy's feedback on festivals' insurance costs or their inability to get a quote. I appreciate the Deputy's point that issues are arising prior to the drawing down or application of specific funding. It is important that festivals and historical activities continue in towns and villages across the country. There is an action plan to try to deal with insurance reform.
I know about the work that is under way on insurance reform. It will be useful, but what will happen before those recommendations are made and put in place? The Minister of State spoke about the funding that the Government had given local authorities. In the interim, could work be done to ensure that at least some of that funding is made available to local communities so that they might get some level of insurance? It could be an umbrella scheme or whatever. Many groups that are sitting down to plan for the end of this year and next year will not be able to proceed because they cannot get quotes and cannot take on personal liability. This is an urgent matter. Once some of these festivals stop, how we will be able to get their committees back up and running again? Can anything be done in the short term before the insurance reform committee reports?
There is an action plan on insurance reform. It is not a case of the sub-committee reporting. Rather, there is ongoing implementation of recommendations, legislation is being advanced and there is regular engagement with the sector around the challenges that community organisations and festivals are facing. Significant progress has been made. It is a key Cabinet sub-committee with a cross-departmental focus, including from the perspectives of the Departments of Finance and Justice.
I will bring to the Minister of State the Deputy's suggestions on engaging with the insurance sector and local authorities. It is important to ensure that local festivals can continue and that insurance is not an impediment to important and historical local activities continuing. I will ask the Minister of State to engage with the Deputy directly on the issue.
4. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the steps she will take to protect the tourism industry, which employs 10% of all employees in the country (details supplied) and if there are plans to protect this industry against energy price rises. [47830/22]
What is the Government proposing to do to protect the tourism industry, which employs 10% of all workers? The 9% VAT rate was a godsend for many hotels. How will the Government protect them against gouging by electricity and gas suppliers, who are making it impossible for hotels to continue operating?
Businesses are facing cost inflation and other economic stresses, including rising costs in food and energy, increased wages in a competitive recruitment market and the cost of insurance. The aim in budget 2023 is to support the tourism industry to recover and grow in a sustainable way. A total of €214.762 million is being provided for tourism. We have secured €15 million in continued additional funding for overseas marketing of Ireland as a leading holiday destination. This includes €5 million to develop further a new tourism initiative aimed at stimulating international demand, namely, the Year of the Invitation. The budget contains an additional €15 million for a range of industry initiatives, including a €3 million fund for the continuation of investment in skills development and retention and a €2 million increase in funding for domestic marketing. We have also secured additional funding of €3 million for the hosting of American college football. Additional funding of €3 million was secured to allow Fáilte Ireland to continue its work in the area of sustainability. Other allocations include €36.5 million in capital funding for tourism product development in terms of the continued delivery of enhanced visitor experiences in line with the objectives of the National Development Plan 2021-2030.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Minister for Finance announced in Tuesday's budget a package to help businesses with escalating energy costs and to plan for the future. This included a temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, providing qualifying businesses with up to 40% of the increase in electricity or gas bills up to €10,000 per month. It will be administered by the Revenue Commissioners.
I am conscious that the reduced VAT rate has been an important element of the business supports secured for the tourism and hospitality sector. Taxation is a matter for the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and he has extended the reduction to February 2023. All measures and supports will be kept under review in the months ahead, given the current uncertainties in the market.
The hospitality and tourism forum, which is co-chaired by the Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, is the appropriate arena in which to discuss issues with the industry and other key questions arising as the sector rebuilds.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
The most recent meeting was held on 12 September 2022.
I am acutely aware of the importance of the tourism sector throughout the country. It is woven into the fabric of Irish cultural and social life and is critical to the regions. I will continue to work and argue for this important industry.
The labour-intensive tourism and hospitality sector provides employment to more than 270,000 people, whose livelihoods depend on tourism. Some 70,000 of those people are directly employed in hotels. That figure had grown to 90,000 in 2018 and 2019 and the hotel industry was hopeful that it would return to pre-pandemic levels, when it generated €12 billion in revenue for the economy.
Consider the obstacles that the hotel industry overcame this year. There was a major surge in demand, amounting to 140% of pre-pandemic levels. The industry stepped up to the mark during the war in Ukraine when it provided 15% of its capacity under Government contracts. I believe that the figure has far exceeded 15%. What will happen next year when we have visitors from other countries? Will Ireland be full?
There is concern about the energy crisis. Since mid-summer, the hospitality sector has constantly requested a central point of information from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, so that the sector might minimise its costs and update its information appropriately, but this has not happened. The SEAI has not done its job and provided a central point of contact for the hotel industry.
We are conscious of the increased costs for businesses as well as the tourism and hospitality sector's importance for employment. That is why a specific scheme has been developed and announced by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, namely, the TBESS, which will provide businesses with up to 40% of the increase in electricity or gas bills up to €10,000 per month. It in this context that we want to support businesses with their increased energy costs.
The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, has secured specific funding to continue supporting the development of the tourism sector in 2023. Approximately €214 million is being provided to underpin and support the sector in terms of marketing and promoting and to fund the capital development schemes that Fáilte Ireland and many other agencies will progress across the regions, in which regard there will be continued progress next year.
The hotel industry was accused of gouging. However, the Smith Travel Research, STR, report, which provides benchmarking and marketplace insight in a global hospitality industry monitor, stated that the average price of a Dublin hotel room during the high season was €187 and much lower throughout the country. It was definitely much lower in Limerick.
For a Fianna Fáil Minister to say publicly that the hospitality industry was guilty of gouging hurt the entire sector. I am glad to say the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, corrected the record yesterday while speaking on the radio and said this was not a true reflection of what was happening around the country. It was definitely not happening in Limerick. For a Fianna Fáil Minister of State from Limerick to say the hotel industry was gouging meant he had not done his homework and he had just singled out the entire hotel industry.
One question the Minister of State might answer concerns the fact that more than 15% of our hotels, or well over that, have now gone in the context of the war in Ukraine. What are we going to do with visitors who will be coming in next year? What is going to happen to the businesses depending on these hotels having visitors coming in? Nearly 30% of our hotels are now full with people, and the Government wishes to take in more. The Government is going to destroy our industry and destroy Ireland.
It was important for us to have provided a humanitarian response for those who arrived from Ukraine. Thankfully, we have been able to provide accommodation and support for people when they arrive. It has been very important. I hope Deputy O'Donoghue is not suggesting-----
I am not suggesting it in the first place. I am asking where we are going to put our visitors-----
I do not think that we should-----
Deputy, please.
I was not suggesting it in the first place. I am asking the Minister of State where-----
We must be very careful not to-----
The Minister of State is correct, and he would want to be very careful in how he is suggesting-----
Deputy O'Donoghue must be very careful to not suggest that those who are arriving from Ukraine-----
We signed up for women, children and the over 60s.
Deputy, please.
I think-----
Males between 20 and 50 are arriving.
The Deputy should be very careful. We are providing a strong humanitarian response for those who arrived from Ukraine. We have an obligation to provide-----
Yes, we are. We welcome them.
-----accommodation and welfare to those who have arrived.
We welcome them.
To apportion blame to them, however, around the-----
I am not. I am saying 20-to-50-year-olds are coming in. We signed up for women and children.
I respectfully ask the Deputy-----
Please, Deputy, allow the Minister of State to speak.
The Deputy should be respectful-----
I know, and women and children-----
Deputy, please.
We should be very respectful-----
The Minister of State should behave.
-----and considerate-----
Women and children.
-----of those who have arrived-----
Women and children.
-----and not to-----
Women and children.
Address the Chair please.
To start pitching those who have come from war-torn circumstances is-----
The Minister of State has gone off the topic because he cannot answer the question.
-----a very unfair departure-----
I ask the Minister of State to answer the question.
We will move on to Question No. 6 as the next Deputy is as láthair. I call Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, or rather Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan.
