Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is not easy. No-one wants anyone in a tent at all, least of all the Minister and his team, but they have done everything to do this in a compassionate way and we cannot stop. As President von der Leyen said, we need that stubborn optimism where we do take more. We do not know how long this war is going to go on and there is no certainty on this, but closing our door is not an option. I have every confidence in the Minister and his team to deliver on that and to take up what the Taoiseach said earlier about a focus on children in this country. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is changing our childcare system and people will see that next month when the cuts in childcare fees come through, thanks to the work he has done.

We will not stop there. As the Taoiseach said, let us focus on the original promise in our Constitution and get it right in how we help young families raise children.

I mentioned the critical job of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. It is also about bricks and mortar, the National Concert Hall, the Abbey Theatre and getting institutions right all over the country. The institutions also have to include culture online. The cynicism the Taoiseach spoke about is currently fostered because our journalism system is in real crisis due to the fact that everything is online and there is a divisive and hostile form of politics. The work of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, in some of the online and media commissions and work in support of the media industry will be critical.

The Minister of State, Deputy Pippa Hackett, has been a huge support for the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. We have worked well together. It is not easy because things are changing. We have a huge asset in the Minister of State, Deputy Hackett, who has already turned around the forestry licensing system-----

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