This is hugely relevant to people in Cork.

I mentioned the issue. It is a fact of planning. The point I am making and wish to reiterate is that-----

I am entitled to another 15 seconds. You interrupted me. The point I wish to conclude on-----

-----is that there is a need for pre-qualification rules. You cannot have someone on the opposite side of Ireland blocking-----

I have not broken any rules, with the greatest respect.

My question was relevant.

It is entirely relevant.

In 2009, 24-hour accident and emergency departments were closed in Ennis and Nenagh. At the time it was said this would lead to centres of excellence. Fourteen years on, that simply has never been the case, and it is a falsehood for some to say that it led to any centre of excellence. It was quite the opposite. The problem has been funding, with so many people through one 24-hour accident and emergency system. We saw on Monday that the number of patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick, UHL, again reach…

I will offer a short comment on the commentary given over the weekend by Dana Erlich, the Israeli ambassador to Ireland. It was out of order for her to criticise our President while at the same time rejecting outright any criticisms or questioning of how her state has conducted itself over the past fortnight. I am fully in agreement with anyone who has spoken this week and last week to condemn the awful, brutal and barbaric attack by Hamas on 7 October. I also believe the Israeli response was totally out of proport…

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for giving me a few moments to speak. I will speak briefly about those who play our Gaelic games. Yesterday, I hosted a group from the Gaelic Players Association, GPA, here in Leinster House. The money GPA members get trickles down to their pockets. The male players get €1,490, on average, while the female players are getting a take-home grant of €945. They explained that 37% of the money going to female members goes into the organisation to cover all sorts of administration, rig…

I thank the Minister of State.

I wish to ask the Minister about the Ukrainian war. We are quickly approaching its second anniversary. I think it was around 20 March 2022 that it began, so we are coming close to the two-year mark. The response from Ireland has been immense. In the main, we have done a good job as a country but our response has had its struggles. One of the fallouts from our response has been a major withdrawal of accommodation across the country. Our response has been tied into providing accommodation. I would like to know if the…

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply. One third of tourism accommodation is pretty much tied into providing refuge at this time for people who are fleeing the war in Ukraine and other humanitarian crises. It is felt in County Clare more than anywhere. There is a larger cohort of accommodation in Clare committed to these schemes than anywhere else in the country. There are, however, many businesses locked out of this. Businesses such as surf schools, open farms and restaurants or offering pony trekking a…

I thank the Minister. When I submitted this parliamentary question I was thinking of Lisdoonvarna in County Clare, made famous of course by the Christy Moore song. Almost every September, the town hosts an incredible festival to which people from all over Ireland flock, certainly the single people of Ireland. Ordinarily there are 300 or 400 people in the town but that figure has increased fourfold. No other place in Ireland has had a fourfold increase in population. The people of Lisdoonvarna have been incredibly w…

At the outset, I condemn outright the Hamas attack on innocent Israeli civilians on 7 October and extend my sympathies to the Israeli community in Ireland. Israel’s response to these attacks has been totally out of proportion. Yes, it has an undeniable right to protect its civilians but it does not have the right to murder the civilian population of Gaza in retaliation. Hamas is a blight on world peace but right now so too are the Israeli Defense Forces. Mahatma Gandhi once said if you take an eye for an eye, very …

Last week, I took a spin out to Kilmurry McMahon National School in the beautiful west Clare area. I met with the teachers and the pupils. I am very concerned about the state of the building. I ask the Minister if she can offer some hope that it will be extended or improved in the near future.

Kilmurry McMahon National School was built 57 years ago, in 1966. It is one of the last remaining flat-roof schools in Ireland. As for the walls, there are concrete pillars between the classrooms and then PVC wall panels in between that are not insulated. On the day I visited, water was leaking into the room. Classrooms are being continually flooded and children have to reposition bags and wear coats throughout the winter months. This school was created when Drumdigus and Tullycrine national schools amalgamated in …

While the Minister’s reply is positive, I hope her officials will look at the bricks and mortar building. The day I visited, we stood outside the classroom in which fourth, fifth and sixth class pupils are being educated. The whole PVC wall can be rocked over and back. It is not safe or sturdy and needs to be replaced. I am not a builder and have no engineering experience - the Minister and I are both from the teaching profession – but the obvious thing to do is to remove the PVC panels and most of the windows, whi…

The Minister is blazing a trail in the Department but this intervention will go down as the most important of all. We have discussed therapeutic hours many times. I see them as key to unlocking many of the problems that arise in a school day in, day out. They also ensure that the child goes down the corridor to a familiar face and does not go on a child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, NEPS or referral waiting list for six, 12 or 18 months, which is a huge crisis in itself. It makes a lot of sense for …

I join others in commending the Tánaiste on leading reform within the Defence Forces and in restoring the high value our nation has in those who serve. The Tánaiste mentioned the non-financial measures he is looking at in retaining those who serve and housing should come into that mix as well. Around 1982 or 1983 the Department of Defence owned a huge land bank in Knockalisheen, Meelick, County Clare. A lot of the men and women from that locality would be based out of Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick but the Departme…