Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

St. Michael's House does not need to be patronised by the Taoiseach; it needs €1 million which was cut from its budget recently and it needs a restoration of some of the €12 million which was cut previously, in order to allow it to provide accommodation for the 330 people who are on its urgent priority list.

The Taoiseach absolutely failed to address the question he was asked. This is not surprising because it has been the modus operandi of his Minister for Justice and Equality in this regard and, indeed, the Garda Commissioner. They have sought consistently to adopt a defensive approach and to cover up what has gone on behind the scenes. The Minister has repeatedly sought to rely on new protocols and agreements which have been put in place. Most of these measures are not new at all; they are simply a reiteration of the protocols already in place. The fact it has been necessary to re-issue them is an acknowledgement that they were not being implemented in the first place. In reality, serious abuses have been uncovered but the Taoiseach's Government has failed to acknowledge the severity of it. In fact, I do not think the media has done the issue great service either but maybe that is because Stephen Rae and others in the Sunday Independent get their own penalty points written off and so on.

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