I welcome the opportunity to examine the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2023. Fianna Fáil supports this Bill, which is required in order to transpose Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2020 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers. The latter is part of the European Commission's proposals for a new deal for consumers to ensure that all European consumers fully bene…

I welcome the publication of the report of the independent review group into the Defence Forces. I am grateful for the opportunity to examine its findings. This watershed report makes for stark reading and raises the most profound issues in our Defence Forces. While the report correctly acknowledges the high regard in which the Defence Forces are held, as has been acknowledged throughout this afternoon, it nonetheless signals the critical need for fundamental and immediate cultural change, which goes to the very he…

I ask the Taoiseach to be very brief.

It will come out of the final slot.

Could we please keep to the responses to the questions asked?

Could we just go back to the topic please?

I am sure there is another forum in which the issue can be teased out. Let us move back to Taoiseach's Questions.

We are running out of time.

Just so Members are aware, we have 24 minutes left overall for Taoiseach's Questions. We have already eaten into the time-----

Just so Members are aware, it will come out of time at the end. Does the Taoiseach want to conclude and to respond to the other questions?

We are going to move to Questions Nos. 17 to 22, inclusive.

He has.

The Taoiseach has already answered those questions.

The Taoiseach has answered the questions.

The Taoiseach has answered and might revert to the Deputy, as he has indicated.

He is going to revert to the Deputy on that.

I welcome the opportunity to examine the issue of safe staffing levels in Irish hospitals, which are fundamental to delivering safe health services to the highest standards. It is important to acknowledge the programme for Government, which commits to the large-scale expansion of the health and social care workforce. This expansion has been significantly accelerated since the beginning of Covid-19. Record levels of capacity have been added to our public health service. Increased funding is supporting community inte…

There are two other Deputies but we have only six minutes left. I ask them to please be brief so the Taoiseach can respond.

We have two minutes left. If the Taoiseach strays over that, it will take time from the next slot.

I remind the Deputy that we have two more questioners.