-----and have the mine reopened as quickly as possible. It is a private enterprise though. The Deputy will be aware of zinc prices as well but the Government is doing everything it can to assist.

Deputy O'Connor raised this matter last week and he has been very consistent on it. I have raised that matter with the Minister for Education. I will follow it up and I know the Deputy will do so too. There were some discussions about that at a meeting we had last night also. I will get directly back to the Deputy on that matter and I will keep him informed. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, will take the other questions.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "recognises that: — Retained Firefighters are highly committed frontline responders providing an exceptional service within their communities; — Retained Firefighters live and work within close proximity of their fire station, which provides operational cover and availability of fire appliances, and this model requires a firefighter to have a high level of availability to attend emergencies and can impact on work/life bal…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue on healthcare in Ireland. On behalf of the Government, and I am sure all Deputies in the House would share this, we commend all the staff within the HSE and the health service who work so diligently 365 days of the year, are totally committed to our people and are providing as best a service as they can. The Government is committed to supporting that. I will turn to some facts. There is no question about it that there are cases. The Deputy has highlighted a couple…

I have outlined what the facts are with regard to investment and what this Government is doing. I remind the Deputy and his Sinn Féin colleagues they have opposed every budget we have brought forward and every measure with regard to help. In relation to 2023, funding of €443 million is being allocated to tackle waiting lists-----

-----and 2022 was the first year the numbers on waiting lists fell since 2015. Our job is to support our hospital network and care in the community by providing additional resources. As I said, there are more now more people working in the HSE, including more doctors, more nurses-----

There are more doctors, nurses and healthcare staff than ever before. Record numbers are there. Is the situation perfect? Of course, it is not. All of us have cases raised with us where incidents have happened that are intolerable; there is no question about that. We could also talk about the health outcomes in Ireland. Look at the outcomes over the past 20 to 25 years-----

-----in cardiac care and oncology and survival rates as well. Ireland compares very well.

It compares very well.

The investment this Government is making is clear for people to see. What is also clear to see is the lack of an alternative-----

-----plan from Sinn Féin.

I thank the Deputy for raising these two important issues. I will comment on the water service workers first. I have been actively engaged in this not just over the past few weeks but over the past number of months and the past two years, in particular under the water transformation programme, which aims to create a publicly-owned single water utility. We have had lots of engagement with union representatives right the way through that process and that process has worked very well. I gave a firm commitment that was…

On the last question , the Government has committed in the programme for Government to a referendum on water and one on housing, and I expect them to happen.

Specifically in relation to the retained firefighters-----

I have only a minute to answer and I want to answer on the retained fire service, because I commissioned the report on the retained fire service in Ireland back in May 2021. We had 1,000 submissions to it, many from retained firefighters. I regularly meet retained firefighters from across the country, including in our constituency. Proposals have gone forward through the Local Government Management Agency directly to the unions on terms and conditions, especially the work-life balance. Rostering is a big issue for …

I thank the Deputy for his question and his continuing engagement with regard to the development of Waterford and the south-east region. As he rightly said, the Government has invested very significantly in the region. I have been there many times myself. Indeed I met the Deputy there on a number of occasions. The urban regeneration and development Fund, URDF, funding for the North Quays, Waterford city, the surrounding county and indeed the region will be transformational. It is great to see contractors and work h…

I thank the Deputy for his recognition that there is more cohesive and strategic planning between the two local authorities and indeed in the region. It is important that can continue and that it improves into the future. The issue with the metropolitan boundary is something we can certainly have a look at. The Deputy has made that point to me before. It is within Waterford and within the city metropolitan boundary itself with no further expansion of the county or reallocation of county boundaries. I want to be cle…

Why would that be anathema to me?

Just to bring the Deputy back, it is important to state that I have great respect for the men and women in the retained fire services. I met many of them throughout the country. That is why I commissioned the report into the retained fire services in Ireland with an emphasis on issues the Deputy mentioned, namely, recruitment and retention. As I said to Deputy Duncan Smith earlier, we had more than 1,000 submissions to that, many of them from firefighters themselves. In December I accepted the recommendation of the…

No party has a veto. I am not going to negotiate here in the Dáil. I have outlined very significant progress that we have made. There is a desire among all parties to get this resolved. It has been a difficult process right the way through. The first thing I did when appointed Minister was to remove any reference to the fact that there would be any compulsory transfer. There will be no compulsory transfers. Anyone who wants to stay in local government will stay in local government and his or her pay and conditions …