Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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16. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department's Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [54593/22]

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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17. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department's Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [57659/22]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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18. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department's Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [57734/22]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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19. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department's Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [57885/22]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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20. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department's Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [57888/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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21. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department's Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [58893/22]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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22. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department’s Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [59006/22]

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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23. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department’s Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [59158/22]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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24. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department’s Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [59159/22]

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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25. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the strategic goals of his Department’s Strategy Statement 2021-2023. [59219/22]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 to 25, inclusive, together. The priorities set out in my Department's Strategy Statement 2021-2023 reflects the role of the Department to support me as Taoiseach and the Government to ensure a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland’s interests abroad, to implement the Government’s programme and to build a better future for Ireland and all her citizens.

My Department continues to work at the centre to ensure that policies developed support the Government's commitment to develop Ireland in a sustainable way, which supports economic development and social progress. It achieves this mainly through the Cabinet committee structure. Through the work of the 11 Cabinet committees, supported by my Department, a range of cross-Government work has been advanced under the direction of this strategy statement, including: delivering a fair and progressive budget providing €11 billion in measures to help families and businesses cope with the impact of rising prices; co-ordinating the work across Government on Ireland’s humanitarian response for over 65,000 people who have arrived from Ukraine and have availed of temporary protection in Ireland; protecting Ireland’s economic recovery through continued job creation and transitioning towards a decarbonised and digital economy; driving delivery of the Government’s Housing for All plan to increase the supply of housing and to provide a sustainable housing system into the future; supporting Ireland's role in Europe and the world, including through my participation in the European Council, Ireland's seat on the UN Security Council and with respect to continuing European Union-United Kingdom discussions on the Northern Ireland protocol; continuing to advance peace, prosperity and reconciliation on the island of Ireland including driving the delivery of our commitments on a shared island on a whole-of-government basis, through the shared island unit in my Department and the shared island fund; supporting the development of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and the Climate Action Plan 2021, which are key elements of a suite of measures introduced to fundamentally alter Ireland's approach to climate change; ongoing work of the citizens' assembly, including the two citizens’ assemblies on biodiversity loss and a directly elected mayor for Dublin, which are nearing completion; continued work across my Department on a range of initiatives such as implementing Harnessing Digital - The Digital Ireland Framework; progressing Ireland’s well-being framework, developing the Government’s approach to social dialogue, implementation of the future of policing plan and work on Civil Service renewal.

My Department will continue to provide progress reports under the six strategic priorities set out in the strategy through the normal annual reporting cycle.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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Last Friday marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the beginning of this year's 16 days of activism. The campaign continues the theme of ending femicide. As the programme for Government acknowledges, there is an epidemic of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. One of the programme's tools to tackle that epidemic is a commitment to legislate for the introduction of domestic homicide reviews. When will that happen? The Taoiseach will understand from his engagements on the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and with family members of victims that reassurance is now needed that the Government will deliver on its commitment to legislate for a system of independent domestic homicide reviews.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Are we any closer to a date for a citizens' assembly on drugs? We know the issue we all have, particularly in deprived communities that are absolutely ravaged by drug gangs and drug debt intimidation. Not only should we have a citizens' assembly; I would like to think that there are also conversations going on at European level about this matter. We all accept that Ireland, whether on a 26-county or 32-county basis, is very small. Some of the solutions we will consider are the Portuguese model and necessary interventions at community and family level. We might need some sort of agreement on doing this at a wider level than just an Irish level.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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The strategy refers to the need for citizen-focused communication. In that context I raise the case of Frank Mulcahy. As the Taoiseach will know, he was the CEO of Irish Small and Medium Employers and a victim of an incredible campaign to blacken his name by people wrongly suggesting that he was involved in fraud. The Taoiseach was the Minister in the relevant Department at the time. He stated in reply to a question from Ciarán Cuffe in November 2004: "I am satisfied that no evidence or documents relevant to the allegations made by the organisation were withheld." The Taoiseach, then Minister, subsequently closed the file. That statement was incorrect. I raise the matter now to give the Taoiseach an opportunity to correct the record. I will list just some of the very many documents which were withheld: the Department's note to file, dated 26 April 1999; the memo to the Minister, dated 5 March 1999; the interdepartmental memo, dated March 2002; the Department's small business operational programme closure report 2002; and the Arthur Anderson report of March 1998. I could go on and on. Multiple documents, evidence, were withheld. I ask the Taoiseach to correct the record.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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One terrible aspect of the absolutely dire housing crisis over which the Government is presiding is that people with very serious medical conditions are looking to gain medical priority but waiting months for their cases to be looked at, even though they are in dire situations, clearly because of lack of resources for medical assessment in local authorities. Something needs to be done about it urgently. I will give the Taoiseach a few examples: a 73-year-old with a very severe spinal condition who is couch-surfing with family members and being asked for more and more reports; a man of 66 receiving cancer treatment who was sleeping in his van, has made several attempts on his life and has still not been properly assessed; a woman who was for nine hours on a dialysis machine and who submitted medical forms in November of last year; and a 68-year-old man who is epileptic and facing the possibility of eviction, having submitted his stuff in September. The list goes on. Something urgently needs to be done about vulnerable, unwell, mostly elderly people not having their housing needs assessed quickly and efficiently.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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There are 17,000 aircraft on order by Irish aircraft leasing companies. We have a position of world dominance in this regard. More than half of all aircraft in the world are Irish-registered, and there are assets of €130 billion or thereabouts registered to Irish-based leasing companies. This is a colossal sector. Bearing in mind that 17,000 planes are on order, and just like Ireland pursued the biopharma, smart tech and social media sectors and there was a strategy to get them to come to headquarter here in Ireland, we should also now, as we look to the new year ahead of us, start looking at strategically trying to entice aircraft manufacturing. There is precedent here. The Turkish Government some time ago had a massive order of Turkish Airlines aircraft coming in. It insisted on Airbus basing some of its manufacturing sites in Turkey based solely on the quantity of orders coming into the country. I would love to see a strategy on not just maintenance and repair of aircraft but also the manufacturing of some components of aircraft.

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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The strategy statement of the Department of the Taoiseach refers to the need to offer objective and evidence-informed advice to the Government. It refers to a deep-rooted public service ethos of independence, integrity and impartiality. In that context I ask the Taoiseach about the Romanes lecture he gave to the University of Oxford earlier this month under the heading The Centre Will Hold: Liberal Democracy and the Populist Threat. It is clear the Taoiseach is concerned about populist offerings and simplistic solutions to complex problems and the portrayal of experts as part of some sort of elite conspiracy. We are all aware of a recent call for the sacking of the chief economist at the Department of Finance. Of course, our Civil Service should be open to reform, but how important is it, does the Taoiseach think, in today's world, with all the threats to democracy, for a democratic system to have an impartial Civil Service giving objective information on the policy issues of the day?

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Parents of babies whose organs were sent abroad for incineration without their knowledge or consent received the long-awaited report into the scandal from Cork University Hospital on Friday. These parents should not have been forced to wait until the report's release to find out that their babies' organs had been incinerated in Denmark and not, as they previously had been told, in Belgium. Does the Taoiseach agree that the holding back of this information was very wrong? It appears that Cork University Maternity Hospital might have been in a position to deal with the organs in a far more sensitive way but that the parents were not asked or contacted. Does the Taoiseach that this was extraordinary and that it raises questions as to whether the left hand knows what the right hand is doing at Cork University Hospital management level? Will the Taoiseach clarify whether the human tissue Bill, which came before the Cabinet earlier, will make disposal of organs and tissues without consent illegal in future? It should do.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy O'Rourke raised the issue of femicide and the broader issue of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. A great deal of progress has been made on that matter under the Cabinet social affairs committee and the work of the Ministers for Justice and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputies McEntee and O'Gorman, respectively. Various reports on this issue are coming, and a broad range of issues are covered under the strategy, including the independent reviews. I will come back to the Deputy with the detail of that.

Deputy Ó Murchú raised the issue of the citizens' assembly on drugs. I hope we will be able to start that early in the new year because I think the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss is coming to the end of its work, although it has asked for a bit more time. I understand that the Dublin Citizens' Assembly has sent in its report. A citizens' assembly on education is next. The Deputy referred to the island of Ireland. The shared island dialogue is the way to go in that regard. We now have 2,500 people involved in the dialogue on a range of different issues. The research we are doing under the shared island unit is the most comprehensive of its kind and the most systematic ever undertaken. It is very valuable research. Productivity is the most recent issue that has emerged through the Economic and Social Research Institute. I refer to the school completion services sector north and south and the healthcare and primary care systems. That is very good research which points to pragmatic issues we have to deal with and in respect of which both our jurisdictions can learn as to where some issues are strong in one jurisdiction as opposed to the other.

There is also general investment on projects such as that relating to the Narrow Water bridge, which I visited with the Deputy. That project is a good example of how the shared island initiative is working. On the Ulster Canal, the Government again approved more funding . That is the way to go in the context of mutual understanding and building reconciliation.

Deputy Paul Murphy referred to Frank Mulcahy and raised certain matters. That is a long-running issue which predated my arrival into the relevant Department. I am not prepared to affirm or confirm what the Deputy said out of the blue. There is a long-running issue in that regard. I have dealt with these matters in the past.

Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to the housing crisis and those with dire medical conditions. Again, there are provisions for local authorities to deal with people with very severe medical conditions in terms of access to housing. People do benefit from allocation of houses in such situations.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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There is a massive backlog.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The key is to get more social houses built. I think we will have a record number of social houses provided this year between build, lease and acquisition.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I am talking about medical assessment.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I know, but we will do whatever we can there.

Deputy Cathal Crowe referred to jobs for Ukrainian refugees earlier. I did not have the chance to respond but I will take the matter up now. I do think we should move faster. In some cases, the qualifications authorities are working to accelerate people being enabled to work in certain professions.

The Deputy also referred to aircraft leasing and aircraft manufacturing. It is a huge endeavour. Airbus was a partnership between the UK, France and Germany. It was a massive project that took over 30 years. We could evolve our maintenance and manufacture component parts of aircraft because we have a lot of skills in that area in Ireland and we should build on that. By the way, most of these companies in the end will become technology companies just as the car industry will shift to a technology industry. We have lots of skill sets in that regard.

I agree 100% with Deputy Haughey on the need for objective advice from the Civil Service. I was concerned by suggestions that civil servants should be sacked because they had points of view on various issues. That suggestion was subsequently retracted and an apology issued, which I welcome. The Deputy's basic point is that democracy requires an impartial public service that gives its view. The view does not always have to be agreed, with but it is important.

To respond to Deputy Barry, the HSE has accepted that what happened was wrong and should not have happened. The maternity hospital should have been consulted on these issues. Great hurt has been done to the parents concerned.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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And the human tissue Bill?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The general scheme of the human tissue Bill has been agreed by the Cabinet.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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And would what I referred to be illegal?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.