John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ask a few questions. Maybe the Taoiseach will answer them along with Deputy Durkan's. I will not delay the Taoiseach.

I agree with Covid evaluation. That is necessary. However, we need to take the fear people have about vaccines and deal with that, and the issue of the numbers who died and how they died. It should form the basis of a discussion at an Oireachtas committee. Whoever looks at the issue and provides a report, we should debate it in the House or at an Oireachtas committee.

The committee is dealing with the Estimates, yet the issue of migration has formed the centre of the debate at this meeting. I will give the example of a site in County Kilkenny, Wallslough, where there are Ukrainian families. The community has responded very positively, but now there will be a further 200 or 300 people. It is a very rural location. There has been no communication whatsoever from the Department with the local community. I respect community. The Taoiseach stated that he respected community. The greatest failure in all of what the Government is doing in respect of people coming to the country is the failure to engage with local communities to get their support. The Government might not get support all the time, but we are dividing Irish society in the manner in which we are conducting our business. I find that very sad because, in the area I spoke about, including Wallslough and any other areas I know of in Kilkenny city, the community has engaged with, supported, given time to, and assisted families. Now, without any notice, the rumour is there will be more people. I can point to other locations, but that is the example we need to look at. There are other examples throughout the country. We are not doing the business correctly here. The rights of those who live in Ireland need to be equal to the rights of those who arrive here. There should be no discrepancy between the rights of individuals, regardless of who they are, who live on this island to the services we offer and everything else that goes with them. That is a simple rule of thumb that we fail to implement.

The migration pact we are to discuss needs to be explained too, not just to people in the House but to the public. It is a complicated document, when you download and attempt to read it. To rush it through the House would be the wrong thing to do. It will add further complications to the attitude of Irish society and will further move people away from politics. It is something that has to done. I would favour a referendum rather than a vote in the Dáil but, in the absence of one or the other, the Irish people have a right to know. They have a right to know. That should come from the Government and not from TikTok, with respect to the Taoiseach, Facebook or Twitter. I am not saying the Taoiseach is doing that. I am talking about the negativity that comes across on those platforms that people tend to pick up. That is a challenge for the Government.

I agree with Deputy Conway-Walsh on the thalidomide issue. The people affected were promised by another senior politician that the issue would be dealt with. It still has not been dealt with. There is great sadness in that. Thalidomide survivors lost one of their friends recently. Again, it is something the State can deal with better.

On tribunals, the Charleton tribunal is one I am interested in. It may not come under the Taoiseach's remit. I have the same question in respect of the rest of the tribunals, but it applies to the Charleton tribunal in particular because of what happened during it. Will the papers for all those tribunals be stored? Will they be kept for reference? Are they destroyed or what happens to them? There are particular examples within the Charleton tribunal that point to back channels into and out of Government and so on, which I would love to see examined. I am talking about the most senior level in the Government and the Opposition. Those back channels need to be looked at. If the papers are destroyed, it may be difficult for any future court or future engagement on that tribunal to examine what the truth was and what happened at the time.

It is a question for all tribunals. Are the papers protected and can they be examined by people in the future? Are the papers held digitally?

SMEs and farming are absolutely critical. Businesses are closing left, right and centre. The Taoiseach was in Kilkenny last Friday and he will have seen that the city is busy and there are tourists there but the main street, High Street, is affected. It is true of most towns and villages now, that shops are closing. We have to invest more in SMEs.

On the issue of autism, access to child and adolescent psychiatrists in the south east is a serious problem. Parents are seeking appointments to have their children assessed in the context of autism but there are no services there for them. I will leave it at that. I ask the Taoiseach to take note of what has been said and to provide answers in written format. I suggest that he can answer Deputy Durkan's questions tonight at the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party meeting.