Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 13 Dec 2023

Vol. 1047 No. 5

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

I rise for the last time this year. I wish everybody a happy Christmas. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for all his work. I thank the staff here in the Oireachtas who I am sure will be relieved to see the back of us for just a short while.

Life in Ireland is hard for renters. Research published this morning by the Residential Tenancies Board cites affordability and insecurity of tenure among their top concerns, while a new survey conducted by EPAM reveals that 60% of young adults cannot meet their living expenses. They are living from pay cheque to pay cheque. Against this backdrop of insecurity, the homelessness crisis has never been worse. More than 4,000 children will wake up on Christmas morning in a hub, a hostel, or a bed and breakfast.

For many of these children, it will be their third or even fourth visit from Santa in emergency accommodation. No child or family should spend Christmas this way. Each child deserves a place they call home. Sinn Féin’s Bill to be voted on in the Dáil tonight would reintroduce the Government’s ban on no-fault evictions immediately, with the reintroduced ban lasting until the end of March. It would protect workers and families from being evicted when they have done nothing wrong. I remind the Taoiseach that more than 80% of eviction notices are issued to people and families who have done nothing wrong, who have paid their rent and who have looked after their homes, but still got the devastating news that they are to be evicted. Let me share the stories of some of these families.

Lily and her five-year-old daughter face eviction from their home on New Year’s Day. This little girl goes on Christmas holidays from school next week not knowing if she will be back with her class in January or where she will be living.

Barry, Eimear and their new baby face eviction. Eimear says the experience has taken a serious toll on their mental health and has left Barry, who is a hard-working, committed front-line worker, feeling defeated as a father. They feel betrayed as working, tax-paying citizens.

Louise and her four children have lived in their rented home for over ten years. Louise has been served with an eviction notice for January. Her landlord is willing to sell the house to the council, but Louise is currently not being considered for the tenant in situ scheme. She and her children face losing what has been their home for a decade.

Damien and Amy are a young couple expecting their first child. They too have been served with an eviction notice. They have desperately searched for alternative rented accommodation but to no avail. They now face the prospect of being homeless at Christmas. They say they feel angry, broken and terrified. Damien and Amy say they will have no choice but to sleep in their car.

These harrowing stories are replicated across the country. Ní mór don Rialtas an cosc sealadach ar díbirt gan locht a chur ar ais le chinntiú nach féidir le oibrithe agus teaghlaigh a bheith caite amach nuair nach bhfuil aon rud mícheart déanta acu, agus le stop a chur le níos mó páistí a bheith gan dídean an Nollaig seo.

Tonight, every TD has the chance to vote to protect these families that are faced with eviction. I ask everyone to do so. This is something that should unite us. However, the Government has set its face against reinstating the temporary ban on eviction for these families. I ask the Taoiseach very simply to change his mind. I ask him to act this evening to prevent more children becoming homeless this Christmas.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for her question. As this is my last time to speak in the Chamber this year, I also want to thank the Ceann Comhairle, all colleagues in the House and particularly the staff of the Oireachtas, the members of the Press Gallery and others for all of the work they have done this year. I look forward to seeing everybody in the new year after a well-earned break.

I would like to confirm that Santa Claus has permission to enter Irish airspace and to our cross our borders on December 24 through December 25. I want to thank the IAA, INIS, the Department of agriculture and the Revenue Commissioners for allowing the necessary exemptions to occur.

While Christmas is a great time for most people, I appreciate that it is very stressful for many, not least those who will spend Christmas in emergency accommodation. There are about 13,000 people, including almost 4,000 children, in such circumstances at present. However, I do not believe the solution the Deputy is putting forward is the correct one. The Sinn Féin proposal is for a temporary eviction ban to run until March. I do not think this is a good idea because all that will happen is that we will end up with a glut of evictions in April, May and June, which will be even harder to deal with. We do not want that to be the case. We know from the last temporary eviction ban - one that I voted for and introduced as Tánaiste at the time - is that the number of people in emergency accommodation did not fall. It continued to rise during that period. Once the ban was removed, we had the glut of evictions which I referred to. I do not think the Deputy's solution is the right one. The right one is to continue to ramp up investment in social housing and cost rental so that people have secure tenancies. This is exactly what we are doing.

In the early part of her remarks, the Deputy mentioned that many people have a very bad experience with the private rental sector. Of course, this is true. Many people face high rents, are in substandard accommodation or may not have good landlords. However, it is very important in this House that we have evidenced-based debates, which are measured and balanced. What may be the lived experience for a lot of people or some people is not necessarily the lived experience for most people or the majority of people.

The Deputy mentioned the RTB survey in her remarks. I wonder if she has actually read the survey, which is a detailed survey of renters and landlords. It shows that 80% of private renters said that they are positive or very positive about renting their current property. They said that the median amount of rent they spend is 30% of their net income after tax. Academics say that the affordability threshold is 35%, so it is well under that figure. This has been unchanged since 2019 or 2020. This indicates that affordability has been stable since then. In addition, it shows that the median rent in 2022 was €1,350, which means that half pay more than that and half pay less.

The median rent in the country is roughly €1,350. Two people sharing pay just under €700 each. Perhaps most interestingly of all, of the more than 2,000 people who took part in an independent survey, 70% said their current rent was the same or lower than when they first moved into the property. That is what is happening on the ground. I do not deny for second that many people may have a lived experience that is different, but it is important the Deputy should acknowledge that survey because that is the reality for the majority of people.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Rents are too high. I hope the Taoiseach is not disputing that. I hope he is also not disputing the fact that in the third quarter of this year, 4,518 people received notices to quit - eviction notices. More than 80% of those were no-fault evictions. In other words, the people concerned had done nothing wrong. They had paid the rent, looked after the property and so on. The Taoiseach is not disputing either that there are 13,000 people who are homeless and who are in emergency accommodation. Some 4,000 of them are children. I do not think that the Taoiseach or the Government should try to evade those harrowing and heartbreaking facts. I have shared four stories; I could share hundreds more stories of people under real pressure. Is a temporary ban on evictions of people who have done nothing wrong the solution to the housing crisis? Of course it is not. Of course it is about supply. Of course it is about intervening to bring rents down and in fact banning rent increases. We have rehearsed all of that and we will, it seems, again and again.

An Ceann Comhairle

Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

For families facing eviction now and particularly at this time of the year, at Christmastime, it is a solution for them for the Government to intervene and protect them and ensure that they will not present as homeless, as hundreds do every single month. In October, it was 352.

An Ceann Comhairle

Go raibh maith agat. Tá an t-am caite.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

We can avoid that happening at Christmastime. We can give these families the care, support and breathing space that we need. We can do that through the reintroduction of the temporary ban on evictions for people who have done nothing wrong.

An Ceann Comhairle

Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

I am asking the Government to act compassionately in this regard.

The Taoiseach

I do not dispute for a second that it is a sad reality that over 13,000 people will spend Christmas in emergency accommodation; in fact, I said so in my opening remarks. I cannot understand why the Deputy would try to claim I was saying otherwise because I did not. I also said what I thought was the solution, which is ramping up social housing, ramping up cost-rental housing and standing up to those who in their constituencies oppose things, particularly those such as Deputy McDonald who oppose one-bed apartments in their constituencies, because that is actually the area where the greatest shortages are when it comes to housing in this city. I appreciate the stories that she mentioned are real. They reflect people's lived experience. However, the survey I mentioned, which the Deputy mentioned earlier, reflects real stories - over 2,000 real stories.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Yes, but they are not being evicted.

The Taoiseach

They are real stories that are representative of what is happening. I find more and more that when Sinn Féin spokespeople are on the radio and the TV and are talking about housing, they are not challenged at all when it comes to facts such as this. I hope that will change in 2024, namely, that when people go on radio and TV-----

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Did you hear the stories I shared with you?

The Taoiseach

-----they are properly challenged.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Jesus. Happy Christmas, Taoiseach.

The Taoiseach

I will read it out again. Some 80% of tenants surveyed said they were positive or very positive about renting. For 70% their rent had either gone down or stayed the same.

An Ceann Comhairle

The time is up.

The Taoiseach

On affordability, 30% was the median amount of their monthly income people paid on rents. These are not just individual stories; these are 2,000 representative stories. I do not understand why Sinn Féin representatives when appearing on the media are never challenged with these things.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

If the Minister could come out and debate, it would solve that for you.

Deputy Holly Cairns

I have run out of words to describe the horror being inflicted in Gaza by Israel. I have run out of words to describe how cruel it is. Israel's stated aim is the elimination of Hamas, but its relentless and indiscriminate attacks do not discern between innocent people and Hamas fighters. More than 18,000 people have now been slaughtered, 75% of them women and children. I want to read into the record a recent report from journalist Bel Trew on the scenes inside the European hospital in Khan Younis:

A badly burned toddler screaming for the mother he doesn’t know is dead – and screaming because doctors do not have enough painkillers to relieve his suffering. An eight-year-old boy whose brain is exposed as bombing damaged parts of his skull. A teenage girl, her eye surgically removed, because every bone in her face is smashed. A three-year-old double amputee, whose severed limbs are laid out in a pink box beside him.

None of us can say we did not know what was happening. I do not know how the leaders of self-professed civilised countries who have abstained or voted against a ceasefire in the UN can live with their decisions. They have the blood of thousands of innocent people on their hands. Four weeks ago, when I asked the Taoiseach to push for trade sanctions against Israel at EU level, he told me then that he would seek legal advice. Every week since then he has said he did not have that advice yet. This is despite the fact that most people would not think he needs a legal expert to tell him what is very obvious to everyone, namely, that Israel is in breach of the human rights clause. I was interested to hear that on Monday at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the Tánaiste asked the EU Commission to examine if Israel was in breach of the human rights clause of the EU-Israel trade agreement. Am I to assume that the lawyers have at last provided the Taoiseach with the advice?

The letter to the EU Council President, co-signed by the prime ministers of Belgium, Malta and Spain calls for the EU to act and states that its credibility is now at stake. I am genuinely glad to see the Government take that stance. However, I regret to say that the credibility of the EU on this is long gone, as is its moral authority. Will the Taoiseach clarify if he has received the legal advice he promised to get four weeks ago? Is it now the position of the Irish Government that multilateral trade sanctions at EU level should be imposed on Israel?

The Taoiseach

The current situation in Gaza is intolerable. It is unacceptable that over 18,000 people have been killed so far, many of them children, and that the majority of the population of Gaza, about 2 million people, have been displaced. The death toll is shocking, and the relentless bombings and killing of innocent civilians must end. That is why I will continue to make the case in Brussels and elsewhere for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in order that humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, hostages can be released and citizens of third countries who want to leave are able to do so. I will continue to make the case that Europe needs to change its position on Israel and Palestine, to be less passive and to push for and demand a two-state solution in a way that we have not done in the past. I will be making that case strongly with colleagues on Thursday and Friday.

The political and legal advice is clear that trade is an exclusive competence of the European Union and that decisions made on trade and sanctions can only be made on the basis of consensus or unanimity. As long as even one or two EU countries do not want to impose trade sanctions, it is not open to us to do so. That is the clear political fact for anyone who reads the treaties but also the legal advice for anyone who wishes to interrogate the matter.

The UN vote yesterday is significant. We welcome it. Of nearly 200 countries in the world, over 150 voted for a ceasefire yesterday in New York. Only ten countries are now siding with Israel.

What we are seeing unfolding in Gaza is an absolute disaster for the Palestinian people and they are experiencing terrible suffering. I do not mean the Hamas terrorists, I mean the civilians. The majority of people being killed are civilians and the majority of them are women and children.

I also think it is a disaster for Israel because this will not bring them security and it will not bring them peace. It is very quickly losing support and sympathy all around the world. Even its closest ally, the United States, is, I believe, beginning to have second thoughts about what is unfolding in Gaza.

That is a strategic disaster for Israel. The Israelis are making a huge mistake. It is not just about the humanitarian suffering that is being imposed on the people in Palestine; what the Israeli Government is doing is jeopardising the long- and medium-term security of the Israeli people.

Deputy Holly Cairns

Week after week, when I ask the Taoiseach these questions, he explains to me over and over again what multilateral sanctions are and why they are the only effective form of sanction. For a month now, I have been calling for those sanctions. EU sanctions are multilateral. There is no need for the Taoiseach to come in every single week to try to explain to me over and over again what they are. That is what I am calling for. Not only is it somewhat patronising, but it is also a waste of time. Most of all, the Taoiseach then does not answer the question. I will ask it again: did the Taoiseach get the legal advice on the human rights clause in the EU-Israel trade agreement, which he said he would get four weeks ago?

The Taoiseach

The answer is "Yes". The legal advice is that trade is an EU competence. Suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement and imposing any form of trade sanctions can only be done on a Europe-wide basis. That requires a consensus and unanimity among all 27 member states. That is the position. It is a political fact, and it is also the legal advice. I am happy to clarify that again in this Chamber. I am not sure quite how many times I have done so now.

We believe the time has come for sanctions to be taken with regard to activities, particularly in the West Bank. The Tánaiste has been liaising with his counterparts in a number of other member states on this matter. One thing we want to - and work is being done on this - is impose restrictions and travel bans, particularly on Israeli settlers. I refer to those who are-----

Deputy Holly Cairns

What about the Israeli Government?

The Taoiseach

-----causing huge difficulty for the Palestinian population in the West Bank.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

It is a joke. An absolute joke.

The Taoiseach

I refer again to trade sanctions. The only way it can be done is by means of EU competences, EU treaties, the law and unanimity.

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan

Are you calling for it?

Deputy Bríd Smith

It sounds like you are afraid of the Israeli Government and afraid to deal with them-----

An Ceann Comhairle

We do not need commentary.

Deputy Bríd Smith

You go after their citizens but not their State.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Smith, you are out of order. I call Deputy Tóibín.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

More than 700 people were murdered by the British Army and their loyalist death squads in Ireland during the Troubles. I am thinking about people such as Denise Mullen, a former Aontú councillor in east Tyrone. At four years of age, she witnessed the murder of her father Denis by the Glenanne gang. The killer was a member of the British territorial army. He pumped 17 bullets into her father at their family home. He then sent a burst of machine gun fire in the direction of her mother Olive, narrowly missing her. All this was witnessed by a four-year-old child. When murders of this nature were carried out by the British state, or in collusion with it, they were normally swiftly covered up by the authorities in Britain. It is an incredible that such cover-ups heaps massive misery on the families and survivors of those horrific killings. Indeed, the British often cast smears on the victims themselves to claim they were responsible for their own deaths.

This year, the Tory Government have passed the legacy Act through the British Houses of Parliament. That Act is the son and heir of many years of British cover-up in the North of Ireland. The legacy Act is designed to allow the British military to get away with murder. It slams the door on the tortuous campaigns for truth and justice engaged in by many families. The legacy Act is a unilateral action on the part of the British Government. It gives the two fingers to the Government here. It gives the two fingers to the rule of law, to every single victim of the British Government and to every political party on the island of Ireland. It drives a coach and four through the Good Friday Agreement.

Society in the North is in free fall. The democratic institutions have been gutted by the undemocratic boycott on the part of the Democratic Unionist Party. Democratic institutions are not just ornaments. They are not ornaments at all. They are a human right and they have been denied to Irish people in the North of Ireland by a disinterested Tory Government and a disinterested Southern Administration. All this has led to a significant corrosion of public services in the North as budgets for health, education, housing and transport have been frozen.

The Government is a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, but the Government is not co-guaranteeing anything at the moment. The Tories have reduced this Government to being a bystander on key aspects of the Good Friday Agreement. I am not sure if the Government even has the self-awareness to recognise that.

The only way we can put a stop to the legacy Act is for the Government to bring the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights. This case will have to be taken before January 18. There are 36 days for the Government to take the case. For the past number of weeks and months, the Government has been making excuses in relation to this matter. The Christmas holidays will take at least 14 days out of the 36 to which I refer. The Government has literally three weeks to make a decision on this. Will the Government stand by the rule of law? Will it stand by those victims? Will the Taoiseach declare today that the Irish Government will take the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights?

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. He is right to remember and recall the 700 people who were killed by the British Army in Northern Ireland and, indeed, those who were killed by loyalist terrorists. However, I want to be very clear; legacy should not be seen as a sectarian issue, because it is not one. It should not be couched in the terms of orange and green, or unionist versus nationalist. Let us not forget that nearly 3,000 people were killed by republican terrorists in Northern Ireland. I refer to the actions of the IRA and the INLA. I include in that the last Member of the Oireachtas to be killed, the late Senator Billy Fox, who was a member of my party. That is why unionists and unionist parties are also against the legacy Act. They do not believe these people should be allowed off the hook. They believe that if war crimes were committed in Northern Ireland or in this State, they should be prosecuted and those criminals should be punished, not honoured.

In relation to the legacy Act, we will make a decision on this before the deadline in mid-January. The Government and all the main parties in Northern Ireland, victims and their representatives, church leaders and civic society have been consistently opposed to the legislation since it was first introduced. We are aware that many have called on us to initiate an inter-state case before the European Court of Human Rights in relation to the Northern Ireland legacy Act. The Government has received detailed and comprehensive legal advice from the Attorney General. This is an essential contribution to our consideration of the next steps. We are fully aware that the initiation of an interstate case would be a significant step that would have to be done on solid grounds. The Government is fully aware of the relevant timelines the Deputy has mentioned and of the fact that we need to take a timely decision on this matter before this House resumes sitting in the new year. We will continue to be guided by the best interests of victims and their families.

It has been suggested that there is no alternative to the legacy Act. However, this ignores the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, which would have established a legacy framework that was supported by the Irish and British Governments, the main parties in Northern Ireland - with the exception of one - and civil society. In contrast, the legacy Act was introduced without meaningful consultation with those most affected, namely, the victims, civil society and the Northern Ireland parties. In addition, there was no genuine engagement with the Irish Government. This is very much out of keeping with the spirit of partnership that we believe underpins the Good Friday Agreement.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Every victim in the North of Ireland is absolutely entitled to justice. Let us not forget the purpose of the Act in question. The Tories have admitted in Westminster that the purpose of the Act is to stop cases being taken against the British military. That is the objective behind the Act. It is important that we understand that context.

The Taoiseach referred to timelines. Before the Act was passed, the Taoiseach said he would use diplomacy to try to stop the British on their course. Three months have passed since the Act passed into law. It seems that for three months we have been speaking to the Attorney General looking for advice on what we should do. That is an incredibly long time. My worry is that years the Government's strategy with the British Government has been to adopt a softly-softly approach and use diplomatic tones. The Tory Government does not understand that language. That is the truth of it. When the European Union wanted to change the direction of travel of the Tory Government in terms of Brexit, it threatened a legal court case in international law. That changed the Tory Government's actions. My worry is that we are heading into a Christmas period when hundreds of families across the North of Ireland and in the South will be worried and stressed that their opportunity for truth and justice will evaporate. The Dáil will not sit before the January deadline passes. Will the Taoiseach make the declaration to which I refer today?

The Taoiseach

We did try the diplomatic approach of persuasion and dissuasion-----

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

It did not work.

The Taoiseach

-----as well as trying to encourage, cajole and convince the UK Government not to proceed with that legislation. I stand over that approach because if we have to take a harder line, we can at least demonstrate that we exhausted all other options before taking that line. That was the right approach for lots of different reasons. We will have to make a decision on whether or not we will take an interstate case before 15 January. The Attorney General's advice was clear on that. We will make that decision before 15 January.

The Tánaiste and I have had some meetings with the Attorney General and others to work out the next steps but, obviously, any decision has to go to Cabinet before it can be announced in the House.

One thing I would say to the Deputy, which is a sad truth, is that he may believe that by taking an interstate case the UK Government will back down. I am not sure if that is the case and it might in fact play into the hands of people in British politics who would see this as another reason for them to withdraw entirely from the European Convention on Human Rights and we have to bear that in mind too.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

A few weeks ago the Tánaiste was taking Leaders' Questions and I brought up a difficult case in County Roscommon of a youngster who has autism. He basically rips 20 T-shirts a week, takes out everything from the fridge at night, and can go out and damage the car. His father was at his wit's end and actually lost his job over it. His father was looking for residential care for his child but, unfortunately, nothing has been provided yet. The Tánaiste said he would look into it and he has all of the documentation. I hope that he will.

To make matters worse, it has come to my attention from people in the Tuam and Dunmore areas that children who have different disabilities within the children's disability network team 7 are waiting five years for assessments, and one child is waiting 13 years. A HSE report from 2023 to 2026 said on the service improvement plan that there are 16,500 children waiting, with 19,000 waiting for an assessment of need. We are seeing this constantly. I do not know if it is the west of Ireland or if this is all over the country where children with different disabilities need assessments and care plans; the resources do not seem to be put in place, regardless of whether it is speech and language or other services one wants. There is a major problem because, as the Taoiseach may know, with autism if a child does not receive the help between the ages of two and eight, things become more difficult and we need to be clear about that. I am asking the Taoiseach and his Government what they intend to do to ensure the situation is addressed.

Our Constitution states that we cherish all of our children equally. These children have got a bad deal from this State at the moment with the resources that have been given to them. With a little help, many of those youngsters would be able to go on to fulfil a very normal life but if we deprive them of the requirements they need at the moment, it will not do justice to those children down the road. Tomorrow, the parents in Tuam will be forced at 12 noon to go out to protest about the situation and the way they are being treated. I am asking the Taoiseach what this Government will do to help those children and those families, these mothers and fathers who work every day with their children and want to do the best for them. I am asking what will the State do to help those mothers and fathers and, especially, those children.

The Taoiseach

I thank the the Deputy very much for that question. I am afraid to say that this is a problem all over the country and all of us have had this experience in representing our constituents, in meeting parents whose children are waiting far too long for the assessments they need and then, after that, the therapies they need. It might vary from area to area, or one community healthcare organisation, CHO, to another but it is a problem across the country and has been for quite some time now.

There are a number of aspects to it. Part of it is the difficulty in recruiting sufficient skilled staff to meet the enormous need which exists. In response to that we have dramatically increased the number of training places so that more people are trained to take up positions, particularly as therapists and psychologists. It may take a little time for that to come on stream but it will happen.

We have also introduced new assistant grades and have changed work profiles, for example, to bring more people into the service. There is a real difficulty with the assessment of need because there is a legal right not to therapies but to an assessment of need. While that was well-intentioned, it has had some unintended consequences. The courts have determined that an assessment of need is a very long process taking over 30 hours per child. That means resources that would otherwise be used to provide therapies to children is used in carrying out very long assessments of need that may not actually be necessary. That is a real problem which we have to try to work out in some way in consultation with the different NGOs and representative groups because if a child needs a particular therapy or treatment, it is often very obvious and it would be much better if they could get that right away rather than having to wait for an assessment of need which takes two or three days' work for an individual therapist.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

What the Taoiseach has said does not give great hope for those parents who are waiting at the moment. In fact, I know of a parent today who had to go to the other end of the country to pay for a consultation and a diagnosis. It is not acceptable to have to travel 120 or 130 miles to try to get a diagnosis and to pay for it themselves rather than the State helping them out.

While it might be a problem right across the country, there is also a problem with many speech and language therapists being unable to get a full-time contract. They will receive so many hours and that is it.

There is also a piece of legislation, namely the Optional Protocol on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Why has the Government not brought that in to law here because if it is put into law it puts a liability and legal onus on the State to ensure that the Government gives help to those people with those disabilities? Will the Government be bringing that in?

The Taoiseach

I do not think that parents having to pay for therapies or assessments is the solution but I understand why many parents have to do that because they are waiting so long. There is a mechanism now by which the HSE can refund part of the cost of doing that and we want to expand that during the year but I do not think that is the solution on its own. It might help in some cases but it is something we are willing to do, which is to refund some or all of the costs where parents are effectively forced to go privately because they cannot get the assessment or therapy they need.

On the UN convention, the last Government which I had the honour to lead, ratified the UN United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is the intention of this Government to ratify the optional protocol and we will do that.

Getting back to what I said earlier, it is a mistake to think that the legal rights or UN conventions build houses or provide therapies. They do not. They become another basis for litigation and very often that ties up the staff resources and budget of the State in defending litigation and paying damages. We need to be frank with each other and with people about that. Creating legal and constitutional rights does not train nurses or build houses. It does not mean that there are ten therapists there where there used to be five and, in fact, it can actually backfire sometimes. That is because time and resources then get diverted into managing litigation, in paying lawyers and damages, rather than being spent on services.

An Ceann Comhairle

Before moving to Questions on Promised Legislation, for the information of the House I want to remind it that on 29 December, somebody very well-known to us who is highly respected by all of us will leave the service of the House to retire and to spend more time with his wife, Lorraine. I am speaking about our deputy head usher and head of events, Tom Hickey. Tom has been with us since 2001. He worked initially in the inquiries office before becoming a team leader and he became events manager in 2011. He has been involved in a multiplicity of work and actions here including the State commemorations, most notably the 1916 commemoration, culture night events and open house events.

He is an avid rugby fan with Leinster Rugby as his team of choice. He is on the Oireachtas rugby committee, used to be on the team, and helped to organise the trip to Japan in 2019 - I would say that it was a lot cheaper than the RTÉ one - and to France in 2023. He also helped to organise trips to Scotland and England and to play against Westminster.

I think we have all found him unfailingly helpful and courteous, primus inter pares I would say, and he has been a wonderful tour organiser. We wish him all the very best in the many healthy and happy years ahead. Tom, thank you.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

So say all of us.