Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The people of Cork have been waiting over a decade for their new hospital. Site selection for the hospital was four years late. The Government had said the hospital would be open this year but now says it will not be fully operational until 2028. It has taken over a year to appoint a design team, so we have had missed target after missed target while people in Cork and the Munster region desperately need healthcare. Hospitals in Cork and across the region, as the Minister knows, are under massive pressure. Tens of thousands of people are on waiting lists. Elective surgeries at University Hospital Kerry, for example, were cancelled for three whole months. Can the Minister explain all of this delay, and why it is that now we learn construction will not commence until 2026 for this much-needed hospital for Cork and Munster?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am familiar with this project. It has taken a long time to get to this stage with regard to site selection. This is an elective-only hospital, which is relatively new in Ireland in terms of structure. We are pushing as hard as we can to get it built as soon as we can. In the meantime, it is important to say that there are multiple projects at big hospital campuses like CUH, for example, that are also progressing at the same time, increasing capacity. We are seeing the kind of increases in staff numbers and bed capacity that we are seeing in other parts of the country in Cork and Kerry as well. That does not mean that we are not going to see pressure points at different times; of course we are. However, ultimately the capacity gap that is there and needs Government resources is getting a response from Government. As populations grow and as the age profile gets older, we will continue to invest heavily in Cork and other parts of the country.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Reports from Gaza this week reflect the utterly horrific and worsening suffering of people there. It is not only the 30,000 dead under the brutal Israeli bombardment but now we are seeing children in Gaza dying of starvation. It is appalling, a man-made famine unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, with despairing families and aid workers, and stalling on peace talks. We still see this relentless, ongoing, genocidal bombardment by Israel. We clearly must renew our efforts, on a cross-party basis here at home, in calling for peace and being a voice for peace. Can the Minister update this House on what his Government is doing at EU level to ensure there is a voice for peace coming from Europe? Can he say if his party is going to back Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as President of the European Commission, given that she has clearly been more pro-Israel than the people of Ireland would wish, particularly given what we have seen in Gaza?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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On the issue of President von der Leyen, I think the Taoiseach has outlined a very different perspective from Ireland than, perhaps, the perspective that she has outlined at different times. However, I think President von der Leyen has done an extraordinary job if you look at the role she has played in the round over the last number of years. She has, I think, given extraordinary leadership in the Commission. I think we make a different argument in terms of emphasis than she has perhaps done with regard to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is one way to put it.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland continues to be the most vocal country in the European Union regarding the humanitarian disaster that has unfolded in Gaza, and we will continue to be that vocal voice. Calling for a ceasefire, as we have done for months, is now the mainstream position, and we are calling for the release of hostages and a massive humanitarian aid effort to be facilitated into Gaza as soon as possible.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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In January, an investment fund bought up 85% of the homes in a Dublin housing estate. Back then, the Minister for housing said-----

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry, I could not hear the Deputy.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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In January, an investment fund bought up 85% of the homes in a housing estate in Dublin. Back then, the housing Minister said that he would review the useless 10% stamp duty on the bulk purchasing of homes. Two months on, nothing has happened. The Government has not acted, and this week we have yet another report on the disastrous impact of vulture funds snapping up homes. According to the Central Bank, in 2021 alone vulture funds spent more than €1 billion buying up secondhand homes, which they then put up for rent at much higher rates than average. Investment funds should not be able to buy existing homes or apartments. Not only are they driving up house prices and rents but they are locking out first-time buyers. The Government recognised that the stamp duty needs to change. It has not yet. What was the result of the review and why is it taking so long?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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This is a matter for the Minister for housing. I think he acknowledged in a debate in the last number of weeks that he needs to review this number to make sure there is an appropriate disincentive for bulk purchasing of homes. It is important to say that, I think, the figure is about 2% of homes that are being purchased by large investment funds as bulk purchases. It is important that we do not overstate the impact on the supply of homes. Having said that, the Minister has said that he is going to look at this issue and I will ask him to come back to the Deputy with a timeline on when he can make a decision on it.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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Last week during Leaders' Questions, Deputy Micheál Martin was outraged when I suggested that is a policy choice by the Government to put more than 1,000 people seeking asylum onto the streets. Over the weekend, we got definitive proof that it is a very cruel policy choice. On Friday, when the snow came down and the tents collapsed, the Government came under pressure and beds were found for people. They were told that they would have beds for two nights but they did not get that. The very next morning, they were kicked out of empty facilities where there are thousands of beds. Children were kicked out onto the streets and not given any transport back into town despite a promise, and forced to walk into town where they found that many of their tents and sleeping bags were gone in some cases, or in other cases were absolutely soaking. It is ordinary Irish people who are out there helping them at the moment in a desperate situation on our streets, while the State has abandoned them. Will the Government abandon this cruel policy? Nobody - no Irish, Ukrainian or Afghan person or people from anywhere else - should be on the streets.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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There are not thousands of beds available. I wish there were because if there were, we would not be in a position where people are being left unaccommodated. It is an extremely serious situation right now where there are 1,100 people unaccommodated. Over the weekend, we were able to provide a very basic, emergency and short-term response to about 150 individuals over the course of the two days. That was not a sustainable housing solution, and I think everyone recognises that. My Department continues to work to try to secure additional accommodation for families and also for male applicants but there are not spare beds available. If there were, people would not be left unaccommodated.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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There were plenty of beds in the facilities. There are pictures.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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Garda vetting of volunteers is something that every sporting club in the country and every charitable organisation has to undertake. Currently, a person coaching a local children's GAA team who also helps out with the local soccer club and maybe volunteers with the local Meals on Wheels and other charities has to go through the whole process for each one separately. Last year, the Garda National Vetting Bureau handled more than 585,000 vetting applications. That is equivalent to more than 11,000 a week, a considerable drain on the Garda force. A very large number of these are what you might call unnecessary duplicate applications. We have been told time after time by the Government that the Garda vetting review group, which was established in April 2021, is close to reporting on ways to reduce the need for the same person to get multiple clearances but we are still waiting. When will this report be finally published?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The issue the Deputy raised is a very valid one. That is why we set up a Garda vetting review group to focus on how we can make changes and introduce more efficiencies into this system, avoiding duplication and unnecessary effort. Those issues are still being considered by that group. I am told it is due to report relatively soon but I will get the Minister to come back to the Deputy with an actual date as to when she expects the report from that review group to come back so we can act as a Government.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Agricultural contractors are very concerned this week about changes to the category W driving licence that have been published on the NDLS website, which will have a significant impact on many agricultural contractors who do some non-agricultural works as part of their services, for instance, construction.

The National Driver Licence Service, NDLS, website states that a category W licence should only be used for agricultural and forestry work. Anyone driving commercially, carrying stones, blocks, sand or timber for construction work must have a category CE or a category C1E licence and undertake a certificate of professional competency, CPC, training course to drive professionally. Farm Contractors Ireland has contacted me. I have written to the RSA requesting urgent clarification on this issue, as I understand contractors were put off a site last week. We are trying to build houses and have construction but one arm of the State is bringing in more regulations. The NDLS and the RSA should make sure we get through driving test applications more quickly. There is no tester for driving tests in Clonmel this week. It is a shambles.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I hear what the Deputy is saying, but I will have to ask the line Minister to come back to him with a more detailed answer. I presume it is a combination of safety and appropriate regulation of driver licences.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Some Deputies in the House seem to portray our need to move to a sustainable path to net zero as some sort of a mean-minded conspiracy by the Green Party. The reality is that we need sustainability in every sector. I put it to the Minister that we are falling behind in our enterprise sector in energy efficiency, waste elimination, reuse of materials, material use levels and so on. I acknowledge that we have launched some good individual initiatives. However, like St. Brendan's pioneering voyage on the Atlantic, they are not an admiralty driving our enterprise sectors to high levels of sustainability. I ask the Minister to undertake a drive to have a much higher take-up of audits and energy initiatives. Around 4% of enterprises are now taking up those. There also needs to be a cross-government strategy to adopt, in key sectors, a circular approach to the entire supply chain.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. He is a constant advocate, both in committee and in this House, for the circular economy. We are acting on this issue. In particular, this year we are targeting the biggest emitters in our economy. The IDA group of companies comprises more than 1,800 companies of which around ten of them represent the vast majority of emissions. Likewise, in Enterprise Ireland-supported companies, about 20 of their clients represent the vast majority of emissions. We are working directly with these companies. We will spend tens of millions of euro partnering with companies to help decarbonise their production systems. We are also looking at, as the Deputy said, increasing significantly the 4% or 5% we currently see adopting State-supported schemes. We want to make it much more widespread. I look forward to teasing through the issues in committee with the Deputy.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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For public health service employees, the special scheme of paid leave for employees unfit for work post-Covid 19 infection is due to end on 31 March, as has been outlined earlier. Healthcare workers suffering with long Covid are devastated by this news, as many rely on this support while recovering from an illness they say destroyed their lives. If the normal HSE sick leave scheme was adequate, this decision would not be so devastating. However, many of these long Covid sufferers would not qualify for critical illness provisions and the temporary rehabilitation remuneration is only 37% of their current pay, without any pension benefits. Many of these healthcare workers helped us in our time of need, when everybody else was forced to stay at home. It is now time we return that favour. Will the Government extend the scheme for healthcare workers beyond the end of this month?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I will give the Deputy the same answer I gave Deputy Naughten earlier. I am aware the scheme is due to end at the end of the month. It is a matter for the consideration of the Department of Health and the Minister. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly. We have not had any recommendation to Government in relation to this issue, at least not yet.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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I would like to raise the deep concern I and many others have on the success of the vaping ban in relation to children. I see evidence every single day of children in school uniforms vaping. We are not seeing any sanctions on those clearly breaking the law. The environmental health service stated that there has been one prosecution to date.

The issue of the abuse of fast gas is a huge problem. Just today it was mentioned on the news that Crumlin children's hospital is seeing children with severe burns and lifelong scarring. I received an email from a constituent this morning which mentioned this product fast gas which is being sold and being abused by children and young people. This is not a product for the catering industry. It looks like it is being marketed to children in exactly the same way vapes are. The vapes have different flavours, different tastes and different packaging. While I welcome the new legislation, it is just ink on paper unless it is properly resourced. How does the Minister plan to take this far more seriously than it has been to date?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his important question. As he knows, the ban on the sale of vapes to under-18s has just come into force. We are working on new legislation on packaging which has gone out to public consultation. We are all very aware of how young people are being targeted. Regarding the enforcement question which the Deputy asked, it has been implemented and enforcement is happening and we will be keeping it monitored.

Regarding nitrous oxide, for the first time I have allocated €1.5 million for education and evidence-based prevention measures. They will raise awareness around drugs and alcohol addiction. This part of the response in relation to nitrous oxide. I completely support An Garda Síochána in relation to this. This is about education and prevention as well. Parents, youth workers, communities and schools all have a part to play in the programmes I am funding as Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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On Friday people around the country will go to the polls. I encourage everyone to exercise their franchise on Friday. From 2 p.m. tomorrow, a moratorium will kick in for radio and television broadcasts but social media will continue right up to the close of polls. This is a period of 32 hours when our reliable news sources are effectively gagged, but the wild west - that is, social media - can continue to put out any sort of information without anyone having the opportunity to use our established radio and television channels to rebut any false information that may be there. I recognise the moratorium was brought in at one time for all the right reasons, but perhaps it now needs to be reviewed. Perhaps it is outdated and of its time, a time before social media. We need to have a look at this. On social media, a minute is a long time but 32 hours is an eternity.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There is very real concern on this issue. I want to say to people listening to vote at the end of this week. Changing a country's constitution is a big deal. No one should allow other people to make decisions for them. I encourage everybody to vote. This is an opportunity to modernise and improve our Constitution in relation to both questions. I hope people take the opportunity to do so. Of course there are dangers towards the end of a referendum campaign that there will be attempts to try to scare and mislead people. I strongly encourage people to get their information from reliable sources, in particular from the Electoral Commission and from other broadcasting outlets that need to be transparent and truthful with the information they give out. Social media can be a very misleading place at times, but I think most people are aware of this.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Tá cathaoirleach nua ar bhord RTÉ á cheapadh anois. Beidh sé gnóthach. Guímid gach rath air. Tá go leor le déanamh. Beidh an-chuid béime ar riachtanais RTÉ féin ach tá riachtanais ag TG4 agus ag Raidió na Gaeltachta chomh maith. Tá an-chuid á déanamh acu le sciar beag airgid. Tá sé an-tábhachtach go mbeadh a riachtanais agus riachtanais phobal na Gaelainne i lár aigne an chathaoirligh nua. An bhfuil aird an chathaoirligh nua á díriú ar riachtanais phobal na Gaelainne, TG4 agus Raidió na Gaeltachta?

Are the requirements of TG4, Raidio na Gaeltachta and the Irish language community being brought to the attention of the new chair of the board?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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1 o’clock

I thank the Deputy for that question. I know the incoming chair of RTÉ well. He is a very smart and capable person. He will be more than aware of the importance of TG4 and Irish-language media more generally. I am confident he will ensure the concerns the Deputy has addressed regarding the Irish-language speaking community and the importance of TG4 and Raidió na Gaeltachta to culture and language promotion are very much part of RTÉ's thinking. I am confident he will ensure that is part of his thinking.

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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As was alluded to, most of us in politics have spent the last few weeks discussing care, people's right to care, how we care for our families and how we care in the home. Can we get an update in that regard, in light of the fact that a very large portion and majority of older people would like to stay in their homes for as long as possible? The programme for Government made a commitment to a statutory right to home care.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy very much for her question. We have been speaking about care all this week. I was only saying to the Tánaiste last night that of my budget for older people and mental health, which is €3.9 billion, every single cent of it is spent on care. There is home care, day care, meals on wheels and supporting people to age in place and in nursing homes and there are those with enduring mental health conditions and those with challenges in relation to their mental health.

In relation to the Deputy’s specific question on a statutory home care scheme, there are a couple of elements we need to do. Funding has been provided to hire 126 interRAI advisers but, unfortunately, there is an unintended consequence, because many public health nurses are applying for those posts, so we are seeing gaps there. The other piece is the legislative one, which I am delighted to say we are moving on at the moment. I hope to bring in the legislative piece in the next session, because it is important that we have standards for home care. I have had a word with the Chief Whip in relation to that and it will be in the next session.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I have raised this issue in the Dáil before. Five weeks ago, I raised a Topical Issue matter regarding a young lady who was 17 years old. Her name is Katie Byrne, and she has been waiting for a hip operation for 14 years. That is absolutely bonkers. In that Topical Issue debate, I said to the Minister who was substituting at the time that I had approached the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, on 24 January this year with that full case file. As of today, I have not gotten as much as a response. It undermines me in my job and it undermines my credibility in my constituency. That is why I am raising this issue here today. It is not good enough that we are treated like this. Certainly, when dealing with a young lady who has been waiting for an operation for 14 years, it is simply not good enough. I want to put it on the record that responses from Ministers' Departments should be more forthcoming, so we can do our job.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. I will follow up on this today. The Deputy is aware that we had a situation over the last six months where the Fórsa union was not co-operating in relation to giving us responses. Some 54% of all parliamentary questions asked in the Oireachtas are for the Department of Health. I cannot tell the Deputy the volume that comes through this Department-----

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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It was sent directly to the Minister's mailbox.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to that specific case, which the Deputy raised directly, I will give the Deputy a commitment that I will follow up on that today and try to get a response for him.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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As I am sure the Minister is aware, there is chaos in many schools because of the proposed changes to the SET teacher allocations. A school principal in my constituency wrote to me about what he described as the fiasco of the new SET teacher allocations and the removal of the complex needs criteria. The school was confident it would see its hours being increased. However, because of the removal of the complex needs criteria and because the criteria for a new model was introduced, their hours were actually cut significantly, by five hours. This equates to a 20% cut for pupils with very complex needs. This is causing huge issues and uncertainty in many schools and, as we can understand, it is causing frustration, because schools want to meet the needs of all of their pupils, particularly those with special needs.

There are also issues around local arrangements for clusters where hours have to be arranged by the principal. The principal has to do that, but cannot give certainty to SET teachers unless they have the hours arranged and in place. I am asking for the new SET teacher allocation model to be suspended until all issues are addressed.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Whenever any changes are made to how resources are allocated in schools it can cause a lot of worry for students and parents, as Deputy Nolan has just outlined. We want to ensure that every child with special educational needs has access to the most appropriate school place. Schools were notified of their special educational teacher allocation for 2024-2025 on 6 February. Special education teachers provide valuable additional teaching assistance for students with special educational needs in mainstream classes. There were 14,600 SETS in the 2024-2025 school year, which is an increase of 1,000 on the 2021 school year. There are more resources and supports going in, but we clearly need to communicate with principals and parents in a way that reassures them.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I think the terms of reference of that report were only agreed. I will have to check the timeline for the Deputy. Obviously, Frank Clarke is an extremely competent individual. I will get the Deputy a timeline for the publication of the report from the Minister. It was my understanding that the terms of reference were only created in the last few weeks.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Union of Students in Ireland, USI, just held a briefing on the student accommodation crisis, with a particular emphasis on digs accommodation. I encourage the Government to read its survey. It pointed out that purpose-built student accommodation is needed, the Government has not delivered it in sufficient quantities, and many students are being forced into digs accommodation, which is not regulated. While some of it is good, much of it is very problematic in terms of rents, people being pushed out at the weekend, people being made to feel uncomfortable by homeowners, homeowners coming into their rooms, the misadvertising of digs accommodation, etc.

The USI pointed out that the Government promised to publish the national student accommodation strategy three years ago but has still has not done so. It wants the extension of the RTB’s remit to include digs accommodation, so it can regulate the very serious problem students are facing in digs accommodation.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy, for a change, on this issue. We need to move away from the extent to which we rely on digs accommodation at the moment, to more appropriate student accommodation, which should be on-campus or close to campus where possible. The Minister, Deputy Harris, has done an extraordinary amount of work in this area. Now more than ever before, we are seeing student accommodation being delivered right across the university campuses, both in Dublin and outside of it. There is much more in the pipeline. We will see the benefit of that so students can move into more appropriate, tailor-made student accommodation. This will free up digs accommodation for other types of residential accommodation, which is badly needed.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to raise with the Minister the issue of St. Killian's Special School and Carrigaline Community Special School in Cork. I have no doubt that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is familiar with the situation in Carrigaline Community Special School in particular. To be fair, the Minister and other senior Ministers in the constituency have made numerous representations on behalf of the student population there. Two years after the opening of that school, I am flabbergasted that there is still no CDNT team in place there. There is not one in St. Killian’s Special School either, and the school was significantly extended. How do we arrive at a point where neither of those schools has access to CDNT teams? Two years on, why do we continue to accept it?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am very familiar with the issues with Carrigaline Community Special School. We have spoken to the Minister of State about that, and she has been hugely helpful in trying to get solutions to effectively involve new structures. We recognise the frustrations, as well as the inability to get appropriate special staffing levels for certain necessary therapies and interventions.

We will continue to work with the Minister to try to get an outcome as soon as we can. I meet parents who are very frustrated by the pace at which this is being delivered but I think the Minister of State is doing everything she possibly can to move it forward in a difficult situation.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are out of time so I am going to take the last two speakers one after the other.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I want to highlight a pressing issue impacting numerous students and parents in the Castlebar area who are in pursuit of secondary education. Currently both Davitt College and St. Gerald's College are grappling with the challenges of accommodating increasing demand for student places for the second consecutive year. St. Gerald's has raised its enrolment limit under the condition that it will be provided with additional accommodation by the 2024-2025 academic year. Similarly, Davitt College has also expanded its enrolment limit but is encountering considerable difficulty this year in admitting students on the campus. Regrettably, the Department of Education is not adequately addressing the issue. We cannot have a scenario where children are unable to secure secondary school places in their nearest town, which will force them to commute to other towns such as Westport, Balla or Tourmakeady. I ask the Minister to engage with the Department of Education and the Minister, Deputy Foley, on this issue.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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"We as a family are going through hell. We have no life anymore because of what GSOC are doing to our family over nothing. We cannot have a smile, a decent conversation, nothing. I cannot take it anymore. I see no option but to take my own life as the head of the family. I am mentally murdered by it all." This is a letter that I and Paul Williams the crime journalist have been given by one of the 108 members of An Garda Síochána currently suspended. There is a culture of mistrust, unreasonable discipline and disrespect for the rank and file members that is permeating from the top down. It is underpinned and proven by yesterday's vindication of a garda who was suspended for three years for giving an unused bike at the back of a station in the midlands to an elderly gentleman in the community. This culture is there. The rank and file gardaí are telling us in our constituency offices. This letter bears it out. This is a garda considering taking his own life. Someone has to intervene. I know you will say Ministers cannot intervene in the day-to-day operations of An Garda Síochána but a culture has gotten hold of that organisation that needs ministerial involvement. It needs to be dismantled to ensure we have a good Garda force and for the well-being of gardaí throughout the country. I ask that the Minister and the Government would intervene. This man and so many others have to be treated better by the organisation.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Deputy, I gave you flexibility but we are way over time. I know the sensitivity of this. I am not sure it is appropriate to read out that email but you have done it now.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I was asked to read it out.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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To Deputy Dillon, I will make sure the Minister for Education comes back to you on those two issues. Every child should be able to get a place in a school at a reasonable distance from their home, whether in Mayo or anywhere else. I know there are pressures in some parts of the country given population growth pressures and so on. We are putting a huge budget into education in terms of capital investment, scaling up school places and so on. I will get an answer on the two specific issues you have raised.

Deputy Crowe, I am slow to comment on an individual that I do not know anything about or the background to it. What I would say is that within Government, we have enormous respect for An Garda Síochána and the work they do, often in very challenging circumstances. The issue you raise is primarily the responsibility of GSOC and the Garda Commissioner. It is difficult for me to give a comprehensive answer on something that I have just heard on the floor and I do not really know the background to it. If you want to send it to me, I will potentially follow it up with the Minister.