The Minister is welcome. I thank him for his time in the Chamber to discuss this critical issue. I also thank him for the time he gave last week in Limerick during his visit with the Taoiseach. The extensive, in-depth and candid interview he gave to our local radio station, Live 95 FM, was excellent and is available as a podcast. I also thank him for the time he spent with local councillors to discuss specific issues they raised and for the more than two hours he and the Taoiseach gave to focusing on all matters in…

I raise the issue of the recent disruption at Heathrow Airport and the impact it had on air travel in the UK and right across Europe. The prospect of similar disruption at Dublin Airport, and the oversized disruption that would, God forbid, cause in Ireland, should set alarm bells ringing for the Irish aviation authorities. While Heathrow is the busiest airport in the UK, with 79.2 million passengers in 2024, it is still handling only 34% of all air traffic in the UK, whereas Dublin Airport, with more than 34 milli…

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for taking the time to discuss road safety in the House. I wish him and his Department officials well in the important work ahead of them in delivering on the ambitious goals in the programme for Government. It was an issue of concern at virtually every door I knocked on during the general election campaign. The condition of local roads, the desire and appetite for more speed ramps and the concerns and real fears around speed on our roads were issues that came up time a…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. It is great to have him in the Chamber and I thank him for coming to discuss the matter I have raised, which is the chronic shortage of accident and emergency capacity in the mid-west. The situation at University Hospital Limerick is simply unacceptable. The 420,000 people in Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary must rely on one overcrowded and under-resourced emergency department. This morning once again, UHL has the highest number in the country of people sitting on trolleys awai…

I thank the Minister of State for the update. I acknowledge the extensive investment the mid-west received in the course of the previous Government. When I heard the Minister of State call it all out for us, it sounded very impressive, but the mid-west was already at a significant disadvantage in terms of hospital care and the efforts made thus far have not yet brought it to a par with the rest of the country. Without a second emergency department in the region, I fear UHL will remain overwhelmed and the situation …

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for joining us today for this important discussion. I appreciate his time. I want to highlight a number of matters critical for us in Limerick. It was music to my ears earlier to hear the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, commit to the next five years being dedicated to delivery. As a Limerick woman, I am pleased to tell Senators we have ambitious and worthy plans to improve our public transport and connectivity across Limerick and the mid-west. We have worked on these in a con…

The Minister of State is welcome. I thank him for facilitating this important debate on community safety. Throughout the recent general, local and mayoral elections I canvassed in, people voiced their deep concerns about Garda visibility. Whether I was speaking to young families, elderly residents living alone or business owners in city centres, the message was clear: people want more visible policing in order to feel safe and supported in their communities. I will take this opportunity to highlight to the Minister…

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.