Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I presume the Minister will be involved in intense negotiations with other Ministers in the next week and a half. He has stated some of them are realistic. Does that mean that some of them are unrealistic? For example, I understand the Minister agreed to a package in the summer for the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, to make available more places for children on the autistic spectrum, but there still are huge deficits within the disability sector. Members have been told that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, is introducing a new child care system, given the massive child care costs in Ireland, the second highest in the OECD. As for the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, members have referred to issues at third level. Moreover, is it not the case that the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, is responsible for more than one third of total expenditure?