Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I emphasise that these are questions on policy or legislation. Members have up to one minute to ask their questions. If they feel generous enough not to use the one minute, that would be great.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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This year, An Bord Pleanála has shelled out more than €1 million of taxpayers' money to developers because of the delayed decisions on controversial strategic housing developments, SHDs. This information emerged in the aftermath of revelations that the legal bills of An Bord Pleanála have more than doubled to €8 million a year arising from a litany of legally questionable planning decisions. Millions of euro are being wasted because of the bad and late decisions being made by the board. Why is this allowed to happen? How long will it be tolerated by the Government? Will anyone in An Bord Pleanála by held accountable for this appalling waste of taxpayers' money? Will the Government include this financial mismanagement in its ongoing review and reform of An Bord Pleanála?

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In the first instance, we have reinstated the two-stage process that replaces the SHD process. Decisions are now being made by local authorities and are then going on to An Bord Pleanála. A comprehensive review of An Bord Pleanála is under way. A draft report has been issued. The Office of the Planning Regulator, with access to external expertise, is looking into the operational duties of the board. There has also been a strong increase of 25% in the capital funding going into An Bord Pleanála to ensure that it can deliver the €165 billion worth of public infrastructure needed to transform communities throughout the country.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Two weeks ago I asked the Taoiseach to examine taking the Corrib gas field into State ownership. He indicated that it was not the Government's intention to do so. I again emphasise that the Government has powers to do so, powers which have already been used previously by Fianna Fáil, under the Fuels (Control of Supplies) Acts of 1971 and 1982. As we see a growing energy security and energy cost crisis this winter and in view of the fact that revenues from Corrib increased almost fourfold last year, why will the Government not consider, even on a short-term basis, taking Corrib into public ownership?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The reason we do not want to do that is because, as Deputy Bacik knows, any time you nationalise something you have to compensate the owners. Even is we were to nationalise Corrib for two, three, four or ten years, we would have to compensate the owners at a cost of many billions of euro. I would rather spend those many billions of euro helping people to reduce their bills than compensating a private company. That is the reason. What we propose to do, which makes more sense to me, is impose a windfall profit tax on fossil fuel producers. There are not many of them in Ireland. In that way, instead of spending billions of euro buying the company and compensating it and its shareholders, we can raise billions of euro that we can then use to reduce people's bills.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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When will we see it?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Soon.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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The student accommodation crisis is making equal access to third level an impossibility for many students throughout the country. Access to third level should not depend on where one’s home place is or how wealthy one’s parents are. Anything less than full access for all students is discriminatory, bad for society and bad for our economy. I express solidarity with all those students who were out protesting today. I hope the Tánaiste listen to their voices. What actions will Government take to make sure that they have somewhere they can live while they are accessing third level colleges?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As I mentioned earlier, we hear the voice of the students who have been protesting today. Students are being affected by the cost-of-living crisis just like almost everyone else in our society. We are helping by increasing the student grant and making more people eligible for it, reducing the cost of student fees, reducing the cost of public transport and, crucially, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, is intervening to unlock some of the purpose-built student accommodation projects that have been delayed. There are 600 or 700 under way already - there is one in Galway, for example - but there are many in the pipeline that need be unlocked. The Minister is acting to do exactly that.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I have just come from Trinity College where there were thousands of students, postgraduates and staff members in one of the biggest protests I have seen there for many years. The protest is part of the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, national walkout. There are similar turnouts across the country. To be honest, students do not accept that the Government did anything significant for them in the budget. They are absolutely furious at the extent of fees, student poverty and the student accommodation crisis. They are insulted by the €500 given to some PhD students when researchers are working for less than a minimum wage and paying enormous fees. The list goes on. Something needs to be done in addition to what was done in the budget. The Government needs to get rid of the student contribution fee, address the student accommodation crisis and help PhD and postgraduate students.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I hear the voice of students today. I understand that they are being affected by the cost-of-living crisis, as are most people in our society. What was done in the budget was significant and should not be dismissed in the way the Deputy has dismissed it. What was done will be worth hundreds of euro to some students and thousands to others. There is a €1,000 reduction in the student fee and €500 next year. We intend to build on that in the years ahead. More students will qualify for the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant. There will be a 10% increase - 14% in some cases - in the new year. Some 15,000 more students will qualify for the grant. There will be a 50% reduction in public transport fares. Major efforts are under way by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to get more purpose-built student accommodation on the campuses of our third level institutions. That is significant, but it is not the end of it. It is not our only response – there will be more. To dismiss it as nothing is not fair.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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Some weeks ago, I bought to the Tánaiste’s attention a National Office of Clinical Audit report into heart attack and ambulance transfer times, which showed that patients in the south east are being delayed by up to 11 hours in the context of having cardiac interventions done. Last Wednesday, another patient, a 48-year-old mother of two, was rushed at midnight down to Cork hospital. She was chased by her husband in the car behind, who was wondering if she was going to survive. Her stenting operating took five and a half hours to complete, which is three and a half hours outside the clinical timeframe. How much longer will Government stand over this ludicrous transfer policy within the south-east region? How much longer are we going to stand over endangering hospital and ambulance personnel and patients in this race down to Cork? Beyond that, I ask the Tánaiste, as a doctor and as our future Taoiseach, how much longer is he going to continue to defend the policy to deny the south-east region a 24-7 cardiac care service? It is the only region in the country to be denied such a service.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The second cath lab in Waterford is nearing completion. We expect-----

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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There are no beds for it. After two years of engagement with the State, there are no beds to service that unit.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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We expect the handover to be completed as early as this month. In addition, the modular emergency department and outpatient facility are scheduled to be equipped and commissioned in the first quarter of next year. That will facilitate the expansion of the hours of the permanent pacemaker implantation, PPI, service and the cardiology service in Waterford. There will be a challenge around recruitment. Recruiting people to work 24-7, nights and weekends, not just for a few years but for their entire careers, is a real challenge. However, it is something we will try to do. We will try to extend the hours of operation of those services. The Deputy can rest assured that we will do all that we can to achieve that.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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With respect, there are no beds to support the new cath lab.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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There are 451 beds in the hospital.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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There are no day beds to support the second cath lab coming operational in December. There have been two years of engagement with HSE states but there are no beds.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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It is important that all of the Deputies’ colleagues to get to their one minute.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I want to praise the students. My motto is mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad. In that vein, I would like to welcome students from Skibbereen Community School who are in the Gallery with Deputy Michael Collins and other colleagues. Students, especially those from rural areas, are suffering greatly. Very little happened in the budget for them. We accept the payments announced. However, the travel and accommodation costs and tuition fees are having an impact on families. Those who are lucky to get SUSI grants have some help. However, there are those without help. Those in the squeezed middle are again being caught. They do not get allowances because their income is over the limit of the SUSI grant. Students need our support. They are the future of this country, and they have had to come out today and protest. The Tánaiste has been in government for 11 years. He is going to leave some legacy behind him. As I said, mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad. The Government should support students and not just say that it hears the. The Government should do something positive for them because they are our future.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I join the Deputy in welcoming the students from Skibbereen. It is a very fine town. I had a chance to visit it a couple months ago. They are most welcome on their visit to Dublin.

What are we doing to help students? There is a €1,000 reduction in the student fee, and a permanent reduction of €500 will kick in from next year. Bear in mind that student fees in Northern Ireland are €5,000 a year. Just contrast that, for example, with what we are doing here. This is the first reduction in 27 years. The student grant is being increased by 10%, and there will be a one-off payment before Christmas. We are making the SUSI grant available to more people. As a result, 15,000 more students will qualify for it next year. We made a change in the adjacency rates. The Deputy, who represents a rural constituency, will understand how important that is in the context of giving people bigger grants if they have to travel longer distances. There is a 50% reduction in public transport fees, as well as more investment in purpose-built student accommodation. There are not small interventions; they are significant. They will make a difference in people’s lives. However, this is not the end of our response. There will be more, provided the country can afford to pay for it.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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GPs criticised the budgetary announcements around an increase in the number of GP visit cards, saying that this will result in more visits from the members of a certain cohort. I am not a doctor, but the Tánaiste is. There is a large cohort of people who never visit GPs during the year. By contrast, there is the treatment benefit scheme whereby people have annual access to dental, optical, aural and, I am told, non-surgical hair replacement treatment. Would there be a medical benefit to everybody seeing a doctor at least once a year? Would there be a medical benefit to primary students being able to see a dentist, if not once a year then every second year, because the waiting list is huge for the HSE screening service? It is the idea of early intervention, where we could detect what is wrong with people from a dental point of view or medically, through a GP visit, and treat them before it costs a lot more to do so, both in terms of money and human suffering.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am not a dentist, so I cannot comment on the dental question. As a doctor, the jury is out on the idea of an annual checkup, quite frankly. Sometimes annual checkups pick up illnesses and abnormalities that would not be picked up until later. Sometimes early intervention can result in better outcomes, but it can also result in a large number of unnecessary investigations. The Deputy will know of people who have been for a health check and were sent off for any number of tests, all of which came back normal. Not only does that increase anxiety, it sometimes results in the waste or misuse of resources. That always has to be borne in mind. What we have agreed in the budget in an expansion of GP care without fees to more people. Government will be keen to engage with the Irish Medical Organisation on how we can realise that over the next couple of years.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Additional money has been made available in the budget to give further support to private nursing homes.

However, there is concern that the Department has not engaged regarding when this money will be made available. As the Tánaiste is aware, 16 nursing homes have closed since January. We need to get people out of hospital and into step-down facilities and there is an urgent need for that additional support to be given. There has been a significant increase in costs in the past two years, along with the current increases in energy costs, salaries and wages. There is a need for engagement to occur. Could a timeline be put on that?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. I am afraid that I do not have a timeline on it. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, or the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to revert to the Deputy in that regard. The Government acknowledges, however, that the cost of running a nursing home has increased, whether that is staff costs, energy costs or regulatory costs, and that needs be reflected in the payments they receive from the Government. That is what we intend to do. It is true that about a dozen nursing homes have closed recently, but a similar number have opened and it is important to bear that in mind as well.

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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Prior to and since the programme for Government, much discourse and dialogue has taken place in respect of securing a referendum on the right to housing. Based on a meeting of the housing committee last week, I believe wording is in progress within the Department. I note the contribution of Home for Good to the debate and its provision of legal clarity at a session of the housing committee last year. I understand the Department is also working on wording for a referendum on the public ownership of water. Both referendums are Green Party policy and I am sure other parties hold those policy positions. With these in mind, I would be grateful if the Tánaiste could provide an update on the status of these referendums and, if they have been considered, that both referendums would take place at the same time, and when that might be.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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We have not set a date for those referendums at this stage. As the Deputy is aware, keeping Irish Water in public ownership is very much there in the law. I am not sure who is proposing to privatise it. I have not heard anyone suggest that. As regards housing, the Housing Commission is doing very good work on the wording of that amendment and has just completed a public consultation. Approximately 2,000 people participated in that, which is quite a lot. We will have to see what the wording is before we can proceed with the referendum. One thing I will always say about the Constitution is that we need to bear in mind that any time we write something into the Constitution, power leaves this place and goes to the Supreme Court. It is all down to the wording and how it might be interpreted. Ultimately, any time you put anything into the Constitution, elected representatives - the people here in this Chamber - who can be removed cede power to the Supreme Court, to judges who are not elected and cannot be removed. I am not saying we should not do it - I campaigned for many a constitutional amendment - but we should always bear that in mind.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Tá foláireamh ná hól i bhfeidhm ar Inis Bó Finne agus an Spidéal. Tá fadhbanna leis an uisce ar Inis Bó Finne ó mhí Lúnasa agus sa Spidéal ón mhí seo caite. Caithfear a theacht ar réiteach fadtéarmach ach chomh maith leis sin, teastaíonn tuilleadh eolais. Teastaíonn ar a laghad cruinniú leis na hionadaithe tofa ach, i ndáiríre, teastaíonn ceann leis an bpobal. I have raised previously in the Chamber the issue of "do not consume" notices on Inishbofin and in Spiddal. Of course, a longer-term solution is needed but there is also the issue of a lack of information and clarity for people living on the island or in Spiddal. I have raised this with the Minster previously. There needs to be a public meeting on Inishbofin and, at least, a meeting with elected representatives. I ask the Tánaiste and the Government to put pressure on Irish Water to give more information to those who are affected.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a ceist faoi fhógraí uisce ar na hoileáin. I can certainly raise the matter with Irish Water and ask it to provide níos mó eolais, more information on those services.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Staying with the topic of Irish Water, is the Tánaiste aware of the earthy-smelling and poor-tasting water that is being supplied to homes and business in the south Dublin-north Wicklow area? I understand that complaints relate to supplies from the Vartry water supply plant, which serves customers in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Dublin city and north Wicklow. Irish Water has assured the public that the water supply is safe and properly treated. It says the smell is harmless, however, and it is investigating the issue. I ask the Tánaiste - I am not assuming he has a note on this matter today - to furnish the results of that investigation and discuss it with the Minister concerned.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the issue and I understand, and we all accept, that the water supply is safe in south Dublin and north Wicklow. Safe is not the same as high quality, however, and people have a right to expect water that is of high quality and does not taste bad or smell offensive. I do not know the story behind that or why it has happened but I will certainly get my office to make inquiries and see if we can provide a report to Deputy Devlin on it.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I raise with the Tánaiste the unreliability of Go-Ahead bus services. Since BusConnects in Lucan, we have new local routes, but they are not reliable. In Lucan, we have the L51 and L52 routes, as well as the 175 route from Citywest to UCD. These are Go-Ahead routes, and all problem routes. When these buses do not arrive, that has consequences. People are left stranded and stuck. I have been told by older people in Lucan that they are not going out at night any more because they have been left standing at a bus stop, alone in the darkness, waiting for a bus that does not come. I have been told by students that they have to rely on public transport to get to college and they are missing lectures because the 175 bus does not show up. This is making us wonder whether the Go-Ahead service is named wrong, because it certainly does not go and it is certainly not ahead. These experiences are backed up by NTA fines. It is the experience of my constituents that Go-Ahead does not have the capacity or resources to fulfil its contractual obligations. What can be done?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is very important that public transport services, such as buses, trains or Luas services, are reliable. That is one of the reasons people take public transport - they can avoid the traffic and have some reliability in terms of when they leave and when they arrive. We have a lot of real-time passenger information to help passengers in that regard. I hear what the Deputy says, however, about the particular Go-Ahead services in her constituency. I do not have any information on that to hand but I will inform the Minister, Deputy Ryan, this afternoon that it was raised here and perhaps he or the NTA can get back to Deputy Higgins directly.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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Seán is a 13-year-old from Ringsend who has additional needs. As he has additional needs, he cannot get a place in his local school in his community. That means he cannot access the Irishtown and Ringsend Primary Care Centre and needs to get taxis. Seán needs two extractions and two fillings and, for sensory reasons, he needs to be put asleep while that is being done. The HSE treatment will cover his two extractions while he is asleep but it will not do the two fillings at the same time. That means Seán has to be woken up after the extractions and then put asleep again to do the two fillings. This will cost his family €2,000 because the HSE will not cover both procedures being done at the same time. How does that make sense? Will it be allowed to continue within the HSE? Can the Tánaiste comment on that? Can he ensure this sort of bonkers behaviour is not allowed to continue?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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From what the Deputy has told me, it does not make sense, quite frankly, but it is very difficult for me to comment on an individual case. If the Deputy passes the details on to my office, we will look into it and see if something can be done.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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There is a very real threat to the health system in the coming months. The possibility of twindemic between Covid and flu has the potential to overwhelm emergency departments and hospitals. At the moment, there are 500 people on trolleys in emergency departments, including a number of family members of mine whose experience was criminal - criminal that people who have worked all their lives are treated that way. People in the HSE should be in prison for the treatment of some of the people who are seen in emergency departments. It is not the staff who are at fault but the HSE and the Government in terms of how people are treated in emergency departments. The Government announced the winter plan this week. I think it is a by-word for crisis management. Does the Tánaiste have confidence in that plan and the health system to treat people decently?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As a person who has worked in and used the health system, I do have confidence in it. One only has to look at the outcomes. Whether it is life expectancy, cancer survival, stroke, heart disease, maternal mortality or neonatal mortality, we have much better patient outcomes compared with the National Health Service of our nearest neighbour.

That does not mean that I am for one second blind to the problems that many patients face. When asked if that they are happy with our health service, the vast majority of patients give it very high ratings in the patient experience survey. However, there are patients who face real issues of access-----

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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These are people who were waiting three days for a bed.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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-----whether it is as a result of overcrowding in emergency departments or being on waiting lists. I do not discount what the Deputy says for a second.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It is absolutely laughable.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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I raise the issue of two sets of workers. I refer to civilian Garda staff, of whom there are 4,500, and those county council workers who work in water services. It is proposed that county council workers are to be switched over under the control of Irish Water and that civilian Garda staff be switched from the Civil Service into the public sector. Both groups of workers are greatly concerned about their terms and conditions and promotional prospects. Civilian Garda staff took jobs in the Civil Service, which allows them to switch between different Departments and offices, be it Revenue, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine or whatever. This movement will be completely restricted now and their terms and conditions will be changed. The same applies to workers in water services. These workers have contacted me. They are concerned that there is not nearly enough consultation taking place. They want their union to be fully involved in negotiations if these proposed changes are to go ahead. I urge the Tánaiste to ensure that proper negotiations take place with both sets of these workers.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I appreciate that it is one that is causing some concern for local authority and Garda staff. We are trying to make reforms in these areas by making Irish Water a stand-alone utility and semi-State company and by bringing civilian Garda staff and gardaí together into a single service. That makes sense from a public interest point of view. The workers in question are very well represented by their unions. I am sure that proper negotiations and engagement will take place before any changes are made.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I am just back from a wonderful briefing relating to the High Five Boxing Academy for children with additional needs. The briefing was hosted by Deputy Ó Snodaigh and me in the audiovisual room. I ask the Tánaiste to join me in welcoming the children, the parents, and the coaching staff of the High Five Boxing Academy for children with additional needs to the Gallery. This initiative is supported by the Irish Athletic Boxing Association and includes all children, regardless of their abilities. It was started by Pat Dingle of Drimnagh Boxing Club and has been continued on by Paddy Jennings, from Palmerstown in my area, and is in boxing clubs right across Ireland now. The initiative ensures that children of all abilities are part of boxing, not apart from boxing. The academy only has a couple of asks of the Tánaiste. These are to raise awareness for the club where we would like to see the initiative spread right across the country. The Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Chambers, joined us at the briefing and mentioned that consideration could be given to providing funding through the dormant accounts fund. If the Tánaiste to lend his support in that regard, it would be really welcome.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ward. I join him in welcoming everyone from the High Five Boxing Academy. As both the Deputy and I know, boxing is a very inclusive sport. It has always been good at including people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, but also people who may be disadvantaged in other ways. I am a strong supporter of the sport. We have a great club in Mulhuddart in my constituency. I would certainly be happy to lend my support to the call for moneys to be provided from the dormant accounts fund, subject, of course, to the approval of the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I raise the issue of Garda resources in County Meath. We have the lowest number of gardaí per head of population, at one per 668 people. We have a joint policing committee meeting tonight in Ratoath, which is the largest town in Ireland without a Garda station. This is testament to a lack of investment. There has been an increase in crime and in the number of unsolved crimes. There was a target to recruit 800 gardaí this year, but only 24 have been recruited. Since 2016, there has been an increase of just two gardaí per every 100,000 people. There is a chronic shortage of resources in the county. What is the Government going to do to address that?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, in the budget, the Minister for Justice secured funding to recruit 1,000 new gardaí next year. Those gardaí will obviously be distributed across the country in accordance with what the Garda Commissioner considers right. We have never had more gardaí or a better-funded Garda Síochána service. I appreciate that this is also against the backdrop of an increasing population, which we have to take into account. I do not have the information in front of me on the exact resources for Meath but I will ask the Minister for Justice to provide it to the Deputy’s office.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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A report today indicates that new construction in Ireland is extremely carbon intensive. This is a reminder, as we grapple with the housing crisis, that we also have very poor occupancy rates. It is not just high vacancy; it is also that 92% of people in my age bracket are in accommodation that is substantially in excess of their needs. We have not made right-sizing a serious policy issue in order to help people make the necessary changes. It creates accommodation with no carbon impact. Refurbishment, which is the other option, has 25% of the carbon impact. As we tackle the housing crisis, we need to take right-sizing and vacancy much more seriously and ensure that authorities drive forward the relevant policies. We must also make changes in our tax system, means tests and the planning system to facilitate this.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for making a very valid and prescient point. We need to build a great deal more homes. We will probably build approximately 25,000 to 28,000 houses this year. That is nowhere near enough when we think about what we need. However, by building homes, we increase emissions. We cannot build homes without using concrete, timber and steel or without roads and emissions. It is one of the trade-offs we have to accept that in order to solve the housing crisis, we will see an increase in emissions from at least the residential part of construction. There are sustainable ways we can mitigate against that, however. We can do so by bringing vacant homes back into use, which does increase emissions but not by as much, as the Deputy has pointed out. There is also the better use of our existing housing stock. That means right-sizing. We need to encourage people to right-size. In many cases, this will involve downsizing, but they will need places into which they can downsize. There are just not enough of those, particularly in our cities.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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A 96-year-old lady my constituency was admitted to Bantry General Hospital on 9 September after a fall. Prior to going to hospital, this lady was receiving 8.5 hours home help a week with no cover at weekends. She was ready to be discharged two and a half weeks later. It was recommended by the hospital that she would require additional home support from the HSE. The family was told that this support was not available due to a shortage of home support. I am now advised by the HSE that the additional home support was not available. More worrying than that, I was told that two home support workers who had been looking after her prior to her admission to hospital had been redeployed to work with other patients. This 96-year-old lady is still in Bantry hospital but she is going to be sent home with only two and a half hours of home support per week. It defies belief that a 96-year-old lady would have her home help removed at the point of being discharged from hospital. Is it a new HSE policy whereby if an elderly person is admitted to hospital, his or her home help will be removed and, as a result, he or she will not be able to go home? This is scandalous treatment of a 96-year-old woman and I sincerely ask the Tánaiste to investigate this matter because something stinks to high heaven here. This 96-year-old woman deserves the respect of the State, and it is being refused to her.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. I can certainly confirm that that is not HSE or Government policy. I am very sorry to hear of the experience that lady has had. Again, it is very difficult for me to comment on individual cases in the absence of details. If the Deputy would like to pass on more information, either to my office or to that of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, we will certainly look into the matter.