Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The case of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt exposes profound and systemic failures. This child was left waiting years for essential spinal surgery, then removed from a waiting list without his parents' knowledge or consent.

His experience was by no means unique. The Taoiseach has now committed to a statutory public inquiry into scoliosis and spina bifida services. When will the legislation to establish this inquiry be brought before the Dáil? Can the Taoiseach also confirm that it is parents, families and advocacy groups that will shape the terms of reference for this inquiry? Can I also ask the Taoiseach to confirm that the whistleblower evidence that has come forward, which goes to the very heart of what happened in this service, will form a core part of the inquiry’s work? In the meantime, as this inquiry is being established, what immediate action is the Government taking to ensure that no other child is abandoned in the way that Harvey was?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First, I offer our deepest condolences to Harvey Morrison Sherratt's family. It is a very serious case. A memo to the Government recommending a statutory public model of inquiry into spina bifida and complex scoliosis services at CHI was approved by the Government, but considerable work will be required. There is a time-bound scoping exercise to happen first. A facilitator will be appointed to scope potential terms of reference in collaboration with all involved, including advocates, parents and others. It is proposed to appoint an independent person, a senior counsel, following that consultation, and it will also involve the Office of the Attorney General. Concluding terms of reference, the modality of an inquiry and the costs associated takes time, but we want it time-bound so it will be as efficient as it can be.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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The Labour Party certainly welcomes the fact that the Minister for Health has brought a memo to the Cabinet to establish a statutory inquiry into care for children with scoliosis and spina bifida. Again, I express my deepest sympathies to Gillian and Stephen and the family of Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who so tragically died. All of us are concerned to ensure that the newly announced inquiry will be comprehensive and effective in getting to the root of the issues here. As my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, has said, a twin-track approach is needed, first to address the disgraceful failures in respect of children like Harvey, and, second to get a handle on what is continuing to happen for children in the system today. I know all of us hear from families who have been told their child requires surgery, yet are given no date, no confirmation of treatment and no offer of treatment abroad. We also need to hear whether further protected disclosures are being made and what is to happen to children on waiting lists now.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I think I have answered the issue in terms of the inquiry. With inquiries, the terms of reference are very important because there needs to be some timeline to it, for the sake of all concerned. That is an issue to be worked out. About 446 spinal procedures were completed so far this year to the end of October. That is up on last year, but there is rising demand and, over the same timeframe, a total of 462 procedures were added to the waiting list. At the end of October 2025, about 68% of patients on the active list were waiting less than six months, an improvement from this time last year, when about 56% of patients were waiting less than six months. There are improvements happening, notwithstanding the very serious issues that we have to deal with. Some 6% were waiting over 12 months, which is a significant improvement against this time last year, but, of course, that is too high.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you. I call Deputy Jen Cummins.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I could go on, but I do not have the time as I have only one minute to respond.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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The St. Vincent de Paul is expecting 250,000 calls in advance of Christmas this year. It outlines that one-parent families and low-income workers, as well as people with disabilities and carers, are those who are most likely not to be able to afford the basics. St. Vincent de Paul has said that it is ready and that it will spend tens of millions of euros supporting people with food, vouchers, groceries, electricity and fuel. As the Taoiseach is aware, I worked in the school completion programme and in youth work for decades. In the communities where I worked, workers will go out to support families coming up to Christmas. I want to know what the Government is doing to make sure that no family has to rely on charity or loans to support their family coming up to Christmas, and also throughout the winter.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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In the budget, we took significant measures to particularly target resources at low-income families, such as those on the working family payment, for example, in terms of their inclusion in the free fuel allowance. There is also the children's support payment for those over 12, which is up to €16, the highest ever, and for those under 12, it is €8. This is the point. We have been targeting our resources at the lowest income groups. That is why we took the decisions that we did in the budget. We did not go for universal payments, which some Deputies wanted us to do. We targeted resources at those most in need, and likewise in terms of free schoolbooks and hot school meals. That is all to reduce costs for families, and it particularly helps families on low incomes. There are other measures that we have taken, such as extending the VAT reduction on fuel costs, which will go out to 2030, and many others.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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At the weekend, the towns of Portarlington and Mountmellick were flooded again for the umpteenth time. There are flood relief schemes planned in both towns. These were decided on after the serious flooding in both towns in 2017, which was eight years ago. Work is ongoing, and Laois County Council is playing its part in trying to advance those schemes as quickly as possible. However, because of all the different hoops that these schemes have to go through, schemes are taking between 15 and 17 years. I think we can all agree that is too long. It is a ridiculous length of time. The Mountmellick scheme has gone to An Coimisiún Pleanála, which is welcome. Hopefully, it can make a decision soon. However, as things stand, the Mountmellick scheme will not be done until 2031 at the earliest. For the Portarlington scheme, we are looking at 2033.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy should conclude. The time is up.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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That is a crazy situation. A huge amount of study needs to be done.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I call the Taoiseach to respond.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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The studies need to be done in parallel. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to move on these schemes.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I call the Taoiseach to respond. Your time is up.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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I am asking the Taoiseach to take this up with the Department of public expenditure and the OPW to try to get these schemes under way. I was with two pensioners last night.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, your time is up.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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Their house was flooded again at the weekend-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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If you cannot make your point in the time allotted, do not apply for QPL.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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-----and again last Friday.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I empathise with the Deputy. I fully agree that flooding schemes take an inordinate length of time. We have improved. We have resourced An Coimisiún Pleanála and it is now statutorily bound to give timelines for the issuing of decisions. The Minister for public expenditure is coming to the Government in the next number of weeks in respect of measures that will accelerate the infrastructure development in the country. To me, flood protection is a key infrastructure that is required. Where we have implemented flood relief schemes, they have been very effective. In fact, the report on Storm Amy was that the flood relief schemes, where they have been constructed and built, worked, by and large. There is an urgency, but everybody wants to have their say, as the Deputy knows, and we end up in An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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The people of Mayo, represented so courageously by the Mayo Pyrite Action Group, are living in homes that crumble around them. Their walls weep damp, their children breathe mould and their lives are suspended in uncertainty, yet the Government offers schemes that are actually defective in themselves. They exclude, they delay and they diminish. The families are not looking for charity. They are looking for justice, they are looking for 100% redress, they are looking for retrospective payments and they are looking for fair timelines. IS 465:2018 is unjust and, indeed, has become a barrier to so many families. Recently, a family in Mayo bought a house in good faith and got an engineer’s report. However, they bought after the cut-off date that the Government introduced in its scheme and, as a result of this cut-off, cannot avail of the defective concrete scheme.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The time is up, Deputy.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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This is a family that has children with disabilities. They are in immense difficulty, with rodents in the house.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy Lawless, your time is up.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I am asking the Taoiseach what he can do for this family.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I call the Taoiseach to respond.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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Is he going to develop a new scheme to actually include these families that are so excluded by the scheme?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, your time is up. Do not apply for QPL if you cannot make your point in 60 seconds.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has responded in an unprecedented way to the pyrite issue and to defective concrete blocks more generally. The State is taking up the issue where, originally, insurance companies or bonds should have. The State has intervened in an unprecedented way in terms of the amount of funding that has been allocated, and we are doing that to help the homeowners involved. I cannot speak on individual, specific cases. We have extended the scheme beyond Donegal in terms of the defective blocks.

The pyrite scheme has been ongoing for a decade or more. The schemes are not never-ending. There have to be clear protections. I do not know the engineering-----

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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But the cut-off-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Please, Deputy.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not know the engineers' reports and cannot comment on individual cases.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I seek the support of the Minister in the Department of housing and local government to increase the number of personnel and improve efficiency in Tailte Éireann, formerly the Land Registry. There is total frustration as to how it is currently handling dealings. I have received numerous complaints from constituents and those in the legal profession regarding significant delays, some exceeding three years, in the registration of properties. Previously, once a dealing was lodged, it went through all departments, and any errors or omissions were highlighted and returned in one correspondence to the lodging party to be amended before being resubmitted. Tailte Éireann’s current practice appears to be to send dealings to the first department, and if an error is identified, the dealings are immediately returned for amendment before forwarding them to the next department. As a result, a dealing can be returned several times without explanation, leading to huge delays. Tailte Éireann can take an untold amount of time to deal with applications, and if a lodging solicitor has only 28 days to respond, a lot could be done to improve the system and provide a lot more information-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Taoiseach to respond.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. I know he has raised this issue consistently. I have spoken to the Minister for housing about it and will do so again. The Deputy has summed up exactly what needs to change within the delivery of public services. He stated that Tailte Éireann’s process could be faster and more efficient. I will engage with the Minister on the nature of the issues and whether more resources are required, and also consider the possibility of different models of delivery and efficiency.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Officials from Tusla and the Department of justice were before the public accounts committee in recent weeks. Tusla alerted us to concerns it has in respect of its capacity to carry out age verifications for unaccompanied minors in the international protection application system. It seems, at a policy level, that it is being left to Tusla to carry out these age verifications, whereas as a matter of law, there is at least some doubt as to what body is actually legally responsible for doing so. None of the officials from the Department of Justice, when they were before us, was able to tell us who was legally responsible, and although they indicated they would come back to us immediately, that has not happened.

There is to be change under new laws but there is an ongoing concern that adults may be mingling with children in an unaccompanied-minor setting. I say this without prejudice to live issues before the courts. There is an issue that needs to be clarified and dealt with swiftly.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Certainly, there is an issue with age verification for those who present as minors when they come into the country unaccompanied. Tusla has articulated that concern. It is not a simple issue to resolve because the initial response has been a humanitarian response. If someone presents as an unaccompanied minor, the obligation on Tusla is to make sure that they at least receive accommodation and some shelter. Tusla is criticised if something untoward happens and so on. It is a very serious issue. I will talk to the Minister for justice in respect of it. Again, it is in the context of migration and possibly trafficking. We do not always know what is occurring, but there is certainly an issue regarding the potential mixing of adults with young minors. That is a problem. Other issues can also arise.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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Ba mhaith liom ceist maidir le stáisiún dóiteáin i Mainistir Eimhín i gCill Dara Theas a chur ar an Taoiseach inniu. I want to raise the urgent need for a modern, fit-for-purpose fire station in Monasterevin. The current building is outdated and inadequate, and it no longer meets the needs of a growing town. The previously proposed site on the Dublin road has fallen through again, leaving the project stalled while the community waits. Other viable sites have been identified in the area, so this project is possible if we have the political will to back it up. It is not only a planning issue but a matter of public safety. The latest report by the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, shows that Kildare’s retained brigade takes an average of seven minutes and five seconds to mobilise after being notified of an emergency. This is significantly higher than the national average, which is five minutes and 31 seconds. When Monasterevin does not even have a fit-for-purpose station, those delays become even more dangerous. Will the Taoiseach ensure that the purchase of a newly identified site is fast-tracked, that funding is released immediately and that a new station is delivered within this term?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist a ardú. Gan amhras, ó thaobh an rud atá á rá aici – go bhfuil stáisiún dóiteáin á lorg ag muintir Monasterevin – níl aon easpa tola polaitiúil ann. Ní fheadar cad a tharla leis an suíomh. Níl a fhios agam ó thaobh an suímh de ach tá mé sásta labhairt leis an Aire agus déileáil leis an mbardas nó an gcomhairle áitiúil chun an fhadhb a réiteach maidir leis seo. I do not know whether a site has been identified.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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A couple of sites have been identified.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is very hard for the Government to act until a proposal comes from the local authority.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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Tá liosta agam. Tiocfaidh mé ar ais chuig an Taoiseach.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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There has been much commentary about Government plans being stymied by bureaucratic inertia and delay. I will give a textbook example. After years of effort, we finally persuaded An Garda Síochána of the necessity for a new Garda station to serve the Castletroy–Monaleen–Annacotty area, a rapidly growing suburb of Limerick city. The Government accepted this, and I have been informed that capital funding has been provided. For a period going on two years, we have been consistently informed that the OPW and Garda are liaising on the matter. This liaison is threatening to go on longer than many marriages I have come across. I ask the Taoiseach to use his good offices to bring this liaison to an end and move the project forward. Over 20,000 people live in the area and there is a tsunami of antisocial behaviour because the area is not being properly policed.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. In many ways, the growth of Castletroy owes a lot to Deputy O’Dea as he was the first to approach me, when I was Minister for Education, to get Castletroy College built. At the time, he helpfully pointed out that the civil servants were working off the wrong census in identifying the demographic requirements for a new school in Castletroy. Anyway, we went ahead and built the new school but the population has grown exponentially. I will endeavour to turn the liaison between the OPW and An Garda Síochána into a more mature contract but I take the Deputy’s point that the station is required. I will talk to the Minister for justice to determine whether he can move this on and I will also talk to the Minister of State responsible for the OPW, Deputy Moran. He tends to get things done.

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Following the recent withdrawal of strike action by school secretaries and caretakers represented by Fórsa, can the Taoiseach provide an update on the current status of the negotiations regarding pension parity, pay frameworks and other employment conditions? Will he outline the timeline for implementing the commitments agreed through the Workplace Relations Commission? Will he list measures the Government is taking to ensure the negotiations are concluded promptly?

I thank the Taoiseach for his work in convincing the industrial school survivors to come off the hunger strike. I spoke to them daily because my family had a home in Roscrea. My grandmother, when she was a public representative in the fifties, did a lot of work with those concerned. I thank the Taoiseach for his work. It is great to see the issue resolved and that the survivors do not have to be outside the gates anymore.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks. I will talk to the Minister for education about an update in respect of a resolution for school secretaries and caretakers. I will also speak to the Minister for public expenditure to see where we are in bringing the process to completion. It is a significant issue and a lot of people are awaiting the outcome. I will come back to the Deputy on that. I thank him for his remarks.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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Nine weeks ago, on the return of the Dáil, I wrote to the Minister for Health in relation to a decision made to remove hundreds of births from the maternity service in Portiuncula in Ballinasloe. I looked for a meeting for all Oireachtas Members and all parties, not just myself, with the Minister for Health. We have had mixed messages. We have had the 2018 Walker report on maternity services in Portiuncula. HSE management and the hospital manager told us the report's recommendations were implemented in full.

The chief executive of the HSE, however, has said that in no way, shape or form could it be suggested that they were implemented. We need answers. To me, this issue is way above politics. I want us to have an opportunity to sit down with the Minister. She needs to be able to stand over the decision that has been made. This affects women giving birth to their babies, who will have to travel farther. They are worried sick at what should be the happiest time of their lives. I am simply asking for the Minister for Health to sit down with Oireachtas Members from the area so that we, as their elected representatives, can answer, engage and tell the truth to these pregnant women.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am sure the Deputy will accept that the Minister will work with absolute bona fides in this regard. Any decision the Minister makes, on foot of advice, will be in the best interests of the safety of women and also for the best outcomes in terms of the delivery of their babies and children. I will ask the Minister to engage with the Deputy. The Minister has a lot of issues on the table at the moment. This is an issue the Minister has discussed with us, but I will ask her to engage with the Deputies locally. I understand the issues of concern, but please accept that everything is motivated by safety and best outcomes.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The children's disability network team in Clonmel is in crisis. Over 60% of posts are vacant and by year end, that will rise to 72%. Eleven positions have been unfilled for years. Two therapists are going on maternity leave, whom I wish well, which will leave only three administrative staff, one social worker and one disability nurse. There will be no occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychologist or speech and language therapist. This is a service meant to support hundreds of children with complex needs. Right now, 114 children are waiting for assessment, 59 of them for more than 12 months, breaching legal limits, as Cara Darmody pointed out to the Taoiseach. A total of 475 children are on the case load, facing huge delays. Families are desperate and children are regressing. Parents fight daily for basic rights. This is just not acceptable. Funding is not a problem. Does the Taoiseach accept that this is a crisis? What emergency measures will he take to fill these vacancies? Will he acknowledge that this is a national scandal because people have contacted me from all over the country? It is the same in Kildare and all over. Cashel is the same way, with only 35% occupancy. This is not acceptable for young people. Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí. I know the Taoiseach wants to do that but this is just unacceptable. Some intervention has to be made to rectify this.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Nationally, CDNT waiting lists have fallen by 18%. More importantly, workforce growth is a priority. Despite recruitment challenges, staffing across the 93 CDNTs grew by 26%. That is an extra 415 people between October 2023 and 2025.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I am talking about Tipperary.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The vacancy rate has come down. It now stands at 18%, down from 29%. What the Deputy has outlined in Tipperary is a very serious issue. I think the Deputy said the vacancy rate will be 72% by the end of the year. Something is wrong there. I do not know what-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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It is serious.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We will engage with the HSE to try to get to the bottom of that.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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The Taoiseach's office oversees the north inner-city task force in Dublin. I imagine this week he was as proud as anyone else in the country when a young man from the north inner city captured the nation's heart by scoring two goals against Portugal and three against Hungary, namely, Troy Parrott. Whenever we have these heroes from the north inner city – I assure the Taoiseach we have many of them - inevitably, the conversation turns to the lack of facilities. Once again, when we talk about soccer, there are no football or AstroTurf pitches in the north inner city. When it was Kellie Harrington, there were no boxing facilities that were well funded by the State. The north inner-city task force has been well funded - I admit that - but we still have the same lack of facilities, meaning these sporting heroes have to travel outside of their own communities. There are very few places in the country where people have to travel outside of their own communities when they are starting off in the sport for which they will reach such acclaim. The Taoiseach should address that from his office.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First, the north-east inner-city task force has been very effective and impactful. We salute the extraordinary performances of Troy Parrott, Kellie Harrington and many others. A person on the radio the other day listed all the internationals in one street alone, as well as the local football clubs and so forth. In fairness to the sports capital grant, it has funded a lot of facilities. When I was Minister for education, we built Larkin Community College, which has been an impactful resource to the locality and so forth.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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That is what you are supposed to do.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have asked successive Ministers for sport about this. Some issues in the boxing area relate to the administrative capacity to get the applications in and get them done. There is no want of political will to support boxing and boxing clubs. There is a bit of work in that regard. I just spoke to the Minister for sport last evening about the next capital grant. For those people who get to the Irish team or whatever, we have a high level of elite sporting supports and grants. We are trying to improve them for those who graduate and are in development squads or development teams. We are developing the league academy in the League of Ireland. A total of €3 million was provided to try to home-grow a competitive League of Ireland and have a pipeline of young talent who can develop in Ireland. All of that is going to be built on and will grow.

There is an issue in Dublin. The local authorities need to be engaged with when it comes to the provision of sporting facilities. Other local authorities around the country do it far better.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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The Taoiseach oversees the task force.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I want to raise the issue of prison overcrowding, particularly in relation to Limerick Prison. The Office of the Inspector of Prisons’ report is damning. Limerick Prison and its women's wing have one of the worst levels of overcrowding in the prison estate. The official bed capacity was at 155% last year. Overcrowding is impacting on the physical, psychological and emotional safety of women who are living in rooms originally intended as single accommodation. Overcrowding is a result of the failure of criminal justice policy. It compromises the provision and effectiveness of rehabilitation. Deaths in prison are up by 50% in the last year. What action will the Government take to reduce the number of women in prison? What credible alternatives to custody will the Government bring forward for women to address this? We have had so many reports but little action.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have had a lot of action, actually. I would question some of the premises on which we base all of this talk. First, I accept that there is a big overcrowding issue.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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It is a huge issue.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that fully, Deputy. I take that on board, but we have a lot of youth diversion and school completion programmes. We have the highest school completion rate in Europe, so we need to do a bit more analysis-----

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I am asking about women in particular.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am just talking about society in general. The Deputy spoke generally about overcrowding and how it is a failure of the criminal justice system, but I am not sure it is. We need a broader analysis of the forces that are giving rise to some people ending up in prison who, perhaps, should not have ended up in prison. I refer to the whole addiction issue, the issue around drugs, drug trafficking and all of that. It is a bit more complex than just blaming the system. A societal response is required. The Minister has come up with short-to-medium-term measures to try to deal with overcrowding and get buildings built. Youth diversion programmes, alternative rehabilitative pathways and alternatives to custodial sentences are also being perused.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Yesterday, families from Rathmolyon, County Meath, gathered in a Dublin hotel to attend a liquidation meeting. These families spent tens of thousands of euros on deposits for homes five years ago. In the intervening period, many have put off having a family while they were waiting, some were forced to move back into their parents' houses and others have spent €50,000 on rent. Two companies with the same owners and directors have used company law to allow the developer to become a secured creditor, putting himself at the top of a hierarchy of people to be paid in his own liquidation. He has also been put in charge of the liquidation process. His actions will lead to other creditors, families and Revenue getting burned for what is owed to them.

The meeting I attended was chaotic. Everything was disputed. It exposed great wrongs in the system. The key issue for the Government is that Revenue is likely to get burned for €700,000. Will the Taoiseach raise with Revenue the need for it to appeal to the High Court to overturn the current liquidator and seek an independent third-party liquidator?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I fully accept the appalling situation in Rathmolyon, County Meath. It is a very distressing situation facing a number of individuals and families who entered into contracts in good faith for the purchase of their houses and homes in the Ringfort development. I understand the frustration and the anger. I will talk to a number of Ministers. Again, this is the behaviour of companies and individuals. There are legal frameworks governing all of this. I do not want to comment in terms of where this might go but my ultimate priority is to try to see how we can help the families concerned. Again, the State is not responsible for what has transpired here.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is unacceptable and a terrible imposition on the families concerned.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Can the Taoiseach talk to Revenue as well? It has a role here.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy. That concludes Questions on Policy or Legislation.