We need to know, because the Business Committee cannot even function and set up what is meant to be happening here in two weeks' time without that decision.

You also said in your letter you got two sets of advice. Which advice takes precedence? Was it the advice you got from the Clerk or the advice from the parliamentary legal adviser? When it comes to the functioning of this Dáil, this is a huge decision. We were looking at other parliaments across the Irish Sea two years ago and laughing at the way in which they conducted their business. Let us make sure that this solemn Parliament in Ireland is not made a show of around the world, where we set a precedent where peop…

I jest and I joke that the Taoiseach's choice of tie today was unfortunate, given the events that have transpired in the United States. I am sure it is not an act of solidarity with the result there. I am sure it is an act of solidarity with the Labour Party as we head into the election.

I want to ask the Taoiseach on his last Leaders' Questions about an issue I have raised here previously, which is the issue of the Dean Maxwell nursing home in Roscrea. I got a very good letter from the newly appointed regional executive officer, REO, saying that they are willing to build a new 50-bed unit, something I fought for for a decade in Roscrea, on a new site or on a HSE site. This is something the people of the area will support 100% because Dean Maxwell is so important. Does the Taoiseach feel that the H…

I thank the Taoiseach.

There was a recent meeting of councillors from the Nenagh municipal district with the new Garda superintendent. The cross-party group of councillors came out of the meeting pretty shocked because he more or less admitted that he did not have the resources in the Tipperary-Clare division to meet the requirements of the area. He was pretty matter-of-fact about it. He has to be admired for how blunt he was with the councillors. A member of the Labour Party, councillor Fiona Bonfield, was completely shocked. We have kn…

I thank the Minister of State for reading the script. It does not really address my concerns. I appreciate he is not the direct Minister but 15,000 gardaí - when are we going to get realistic? There was a report on Dublin city centre recently where they want 1,000 more gardaí. It is laughable. There are gardaí looking to retire all the time. I know of gardaí who are now looking at having a cost-neutral retirement and will sacrifice a certain percentage of their gratuity and pension to get the hell out of their job …

I appreciate that.

I had to grin earlier because, whenever the Minister is in the Chamber, I seem to have to go out to take a phone call about my father's healthcare. The work of the staff in both Limerick and Nenagh, whom I have been dealing with in the past few months again, has been exceptional. I acknowledge Dr. Scott, Dr. Sohail, Dr. Vijay, healthcare assistant Ray, nurse manager Louise, healthcare attendants Patrick and Tom, nurse Ionela, nurse Ji Ji and nurse Johncy. It is important to acknowledge that, despite all the issues …

The Minister has misspoken a couple of times because he referenced it a couple of times. I have researched it. What date will it open? The second thing is that the community nursing home in Nenagh will be handed back to what it should be used for on the same day. The second thing is that medical assessment units, MAUs, are committed to going to 24 hours. When will that happen? The MAU in Nenagh is going up to midnight. There are very few referrals after 6 o'clock and at weekends. It is sitting there. Whatever proce…

As the election is approaching us, the perennial and biggest issue in the mid-west will be the health services, as the Taoiseach can appreciate. The issues in UHL cross over into counties Tipperary, Limerick and Clare and further afield. I have direct experience of these. I have spoken on no other issue more than this. My direct experience currently is that my dad has been in the UHL suite of hospitals for the past four weeks. I had to convince a crying 85-year-old man, my own father, to actually go in because of a…

When will that open? It depends on the first date. Finally, the Minister and the Government committed to opening the medical assessment units, MAUs, for 24 hours. That is not happening.

On the 96-bed unit, the community nursing unit, CNU, and the MAUs, we need those dates confirmed by this Government before the election.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: - while it is acknowledged that the horse and greyhound racing sectors do not qualify for sports capital funding, they are unique in Irish sport in that they are supported by the State through their own ring-fenced statutory fund; - that payments into the Fund have increased from €68 million in 2015, up to the €99.1 million proposed for 2025, a 46 per cent increase over the decade, with the proposed payment f…

Update it.

I did not say that.

There has been a lot of talk and concern about the waste of taxpayers' money in recent weeks. All those issues are well-known. A number of months ago, Racket Hall Country House Hotel in Roscrea was taken over. It was the last social venue in Roscrea and there were many issues in respect of why it was taken over. It was accepted that it was a mistake. To make a bad situation worse, the Government decided to put €150,000 towards taking Grant's Hotel in the town to see if it could be used for something in the communit…

Hear, hear - 100%.

I return to this strange letter from the Minister for Health to the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, the Taoiseach and many others regarding the children's hospital. Why has the Government not asked the board why the independent adjudicator keeps awarding large sums in favour of the contractor? It is a pretty obvious question. Sums of €17 million and €108 million have been awarded. Last May, the CEO of the board told me at the Committee of Public Accounts after a lot of questioning that he …

Why is the Minister not asking the board about those sums and why the board keeps losing to BAM?