The leaders of the three main political parties have come face-to-face in what was the final election television debate ahead of polling day on Friday.
The Prime Time debate on RTÉ One saw Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald make their case to voters in a debate that covered a range of issues that have dominated the election campaign so far.
Addressing the controversy over his interaction with care worker Charlotte Fallon, in Kanturk, Simon Harris said he had "failed to step up to the plate".
He said his party's contact with RTÉ about coverage of the incident was "normal".
Mary Lou McDonald said Micheál Martin and Simon Harris should feel "very ashamed" over the Government's record on carers and disability.
The Sinn Féin leader said the outgoing Government did not seem "capable" of listening to people's experiences.
Asked if he felt ashamed, Mr Martin said he was not happy with the "level of progress" but said there had been advancements in some areas.
Mr Harris said the issue of disability is something he has been passionate about his entire life.
He said there needed to be a radical expansion of training places for occupational therapy and speech and language therapy.
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Watch: 10 key moments from the leaders' debate
Key takeaways from debate that had no clear winner
As it happened: Leaders take part in final TV debate
'Living with the scars' of the financial crash
Sinn Féin's "enormous" tax increases will destroy Ireland's enterprise economy, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said.
Mr Martin said: "Sinn Féin do not get the enterprise economy, they don't get trade."
Meanwhile, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said his party was proposing the least amount of spending in its manifesto, when compared to the other two parties.
Mr Harris said Friday marks election day and the 14th anniversary of the bailout programme following the financial crash. He said: "People sitting at home tonight are still living with the scars of that financial crash, and we have to learn from that as a country."
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the financial crash was instigated and driven by Fianna Fáil, while austerity was brought by Fine Gael.
Ms McDonald said she would agree with Mr Harris and added: "There are people watching this programme who still the bear the scars of your crash and of your austerity."
Ms McDonald said her party was "not going to impose austerity on people".
Taoiseach Simon Harris also warned that "the risk of a trade shock is real" with the next US administration.
Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald said it would not be smart to "paint up a doomsday scenario" around US President-elect Donald Trump's next term.
'Radical action' on housing
Fianna Fáil has taken "radical action" on housing, Micheál Martin has said.
He was responding to a question on the Housing Commission's recommendation for a radical reset in housing policy.
Mr Martin defended actions already taken by Fianna Fáil and added: "It is not about some magical reset right now."
Asked if Fine Gael had failed to make housing a top priority - as contended by former housing minister Eoghan Murphy, party leader Simon Harris said those comments came in the context of Brexit. He added: "Housing is the number one priority."
Pressed on whether Fine Gael had put the party in front of the country on reforming housing policy, Mr Harris said: "My party never put party before country."
He added: "My party's never crashed the economy."
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Government parties "do not recognise the scale of the problem" around housing delivery, as she defended her own party's policies.
Pressed on whether banks would definitely lend to home buyers under a Sinn Féin scheme where people would not own the land under the house, Ms McDonald said: "We've engaged with the banks. The banks have requirements that will have to be met.
"The bottom line is they will want to know that if they invest that they'll get their money back. We're absolutely confident that those requirements can be met."
Ms McDonald said her party had done "due diligence" in relation to the policy.
"At no stage has the banking Federation said that 'we will not lend into a scheme of this nature'."
Mary Lou McDonald was pressed on her pledge to build 93,000 social homes by 2030 in the context of data that indicated Ireland was facing a shortage of 80,000 construction workers.
She was asked where she was going to find the builders to build 93,000 homes.
"When you talk to the sector, when you talk to industry, they tell us where there is a pipeline for building, where there is reliable work, that they will come and that you will find the labour," she said.
"Of course, that's going to be a challenge, but it's a challenge that we have to meet.
'No mention of homelessness'
Micheál Martin was asked why there was no mention of homelessness in the Government's budget statement.
"Homelessness is a key priority of this government," he replied.
"That's why we want to build more houses. And we want to build them faster.
"That's why we are maintaining the schemes, the Help to Buy scheme and so on. And the First Home scheme that Sinn Féin will get rid of, which would crucify first time buyers, by the way."
At that point, Mary Lou McDonald injected: "Says the man who has crucified first time buyers - you actually couldn't make this up."
Simon Harris said his party had a plan to tackle homelessness as he cited the importance of changing how social housing is allocated in Ireland.
"We delivered the highest number of social homes since the 1970s last year, but yet we saw homelessness rising," he said.
"We have to change social housing allocations to prioritise homeless families.
"There are some people most in need."
Mr Harris said his party had shown it could significantly scale-up house building while in office, as he insisted Fine Gael was "putting our money where our mouth is" with a €40 billion plan to tackle housing shortages.
Criminal justice
On law and order, the party leaders were asked about the Dublin riots last November and why it was taking so long to send perpetrators to prison, compared with the speed of the response in Britain to this summer's bouts of disorder.
Simon Harris said his party's drive to increase Garda use of facial recognition technology and body-worn cameras would help expedite investigations.
Micheál Martin said there was a "problem" with Ireland's criminal justice system. "There is a need to change the criminal justice system," he said.
"I think we need to strengthen our bail laws, particularly in terms of rape and sexual assault and other violent offences. I think there is a problem. I mean, objectively looking at it, if you look what happened in the United Kingdom, where, after the rioting there and so on, people were arrested and behind bars within a month or two.
"Our criminal justice system, we've a written constitution and so on, but it's taken 12 months for the first conviction after those Dublin riots, which were very serious riots where the state lost control of the streets of Dublin at a key moment and for a number of hours."
Asked if that was a criticism of Fine Gael, Mr Martin replied: "It's an objective, honest analysis."
Mary Lou McDonald was challenged on her response to the Dublin riots. The Sinn Féin leader declared no confidence in both Justice minister Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris after the disorder.
She defended her response.
"The state lost control of the streets of our capital city on that occasion, that's unacceptable and that, by any measurement, is a measure of failure. I don't know what else it is," she said.
"Well, here's the reality. People who live in the capital, and I'm a Dubliner, I love my city, I'm proud of my city, but as we speak, on the watch of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, people no longer feel safe walking the streets."
Simon Harris responded by saying: "I think there will be many Garda families at home finding it quite sickening that Mary Lou McDonald is now the champion of An Garda Síochána," he said.
"That's the first thing. I'm not ready to take a lecture from you on law and order. My party has never had a TD who has collected a Garda killer from the gates of prison. First point.
"Second point is this - your position was to immediately blame the head of the guards rather than the rioters, and you carried out a press conference at a crime scene. That was your approach. How do I use this to my political advantage? That was your approach. And the public saw right through it."
'A terrible indictment of the hospital'
Emergency departments are safe, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has insisted, as he characterised the death of teenager Aoife Johnston as a "terrible indictment" against University Hospital Limerick (UHL).
Aoife, 16, died at UHL in 2022 after waiting for 12 hours to be assessed for suspected sepsis. The health portfolio is held by Fianna Fáil minister Stephen Donnelly.
Asked if her death was a "terrible indictment of Government", Mr Martin said: "It's a terrible indictment of the hospital and what happened there, and the need for reform, and change in governance in the hospital."
Mr Martin, a former health minister, said there had been "huge investment" in healthcare, but added there was a need for more.
Asked if emergency departments are now safe, he said: "Yes."
Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald said 'a reconfiguration of health services in the Mid-West is needed'.
Waiting lists for child scoliosis
Fine Gael has made a "clear commitment" to fix waiting lists for child scoliosis "once and for all".
As health minister in 2017, Simon Harris made a pledge that waiting lists would be reduced for child scoliosis surgeries to four months.
During the debate, he called for five-year clarity on funding for the health service.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald was asked about long waiting lists for healthcare services in Northern Ireland, where her party is in Government.
Ms McDonald said the "British Treasury is not minded to fund the place correctly", but added that there had been a huge emphasis on the healthcare allocation by the Executive.
Ms McDonald claimed Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had only allocated a "derisory" amount to mental health services in the Budget.
It came after Fine Gael leader Simon Harris accused Ms McDonald of "laughing and sniggering" during the debate on mental health services.
Ms McDonald denied this and said: "I am aghast at the brass iron neck you're demonstrating."
Mr Harris said there need to be a "holistic approach", multi-year funding and reform in mental health services.
Micheál Martin said he does not agree with an "unfair" report from Friends of the Earth which put Fianna Fáil as the third worst party on climate policy.
Fianna Fáil scored 30, Sinn Fein scored 33 and Fine Gael scored 38 in the report, out of a maximum of 100.
Mr Martin said: "I don't accept it and I would robustly defend Fianna Fail's commitment to what is the existential crisis of our time."
Elsewhere, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said his party had scored better than Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.
Meanwhile, Mr Harris defended a meeting between his party colleague Minister Paschal Donohoe and Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary. He said the meeting was "appropriate" and not lobbying.
Asked how much influence Mr O'Leary had on Fine Gael climate policy, Mr Harris said: "None." He added that he had never met Mr O'Leary.
Coalition options
On the question of entering talks to form a coalition government after the election, both Micheál Martin and Simon Harris ruled out negotiations with Sinn Féin.
Both leaders said they could not enter government with Mary Lou McDonald's party based on its policies.
Meanwhile, Ms McDonald said that "after a century of tweedledee and tweedledum", voters could now elect a Government that is not led by Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil.
