Did the Minister ask about, or did any of his officials discuss, any previous advices from Attorneys General and how they may have been similar or different?

I understand that the Minister did but I would be interested to see if previous Ministers did and if the advice that those Ministers received differed in any way from the advice he received, which is an important point. In his response to Deputy Bacik today, the Tánaiste said very plainly, very clearly and in a determined manner that he expects this decision to go through Cabinet next week. He just plainly set it out straight. Our sense that anything is going to change, be subject to change or have the scope for ch…

That the two sites are already so interlinked clinically is not a great starting point to have an independent assessment of what may be the best site for various different reasons. It is not perhaps the best starting point and this was more a fait accompli in terms of it going to St. Vincent's rather than an objective study of what may be the best site.

In terms of this being put forward to the public as the Government having looked for the best site and that it was St. Vincent's, it was always going to be St. Vincent's. There was no way it would be anything but St. Vincent's. Does the Minister accept that this was always going to be case?

The Minister mentioned that if we were to pursue a CPO the partnership and all the goodwill with St. Vincent's Hospital would collapse. Does the Minister think that he and the State have used their leverage enough with St. Vincent's Hospital? At the end of the day, the taxpayer pays the wages of all the senior staff in St. Vincent's Hospital. St. Vincent's Hospital seems to have dictated almost everything in this regard. My time is running out. The Minister has acknowledged there is very understandable concern abou…

There is no need for him to repeat his answers on that as we have heard them very clearly. I have doubts that this golden share model is an example of a model we will ever see used again. The Minister said it is a model he would not mind seeing used. Would he acknowledge that the golden share model, by definition, enshrines that concern forever? The women of Ireland will always have that concern because the Minister had to put in this golden share model just in case these services were not delivered. That is part o…

It would be if it is a pro-life Minister.

Why-----

As my colleague Deputy Bacik said, we certainly understand the scale of this or at least we all try to understand just how big this issue is. It is demanding an unprecedented response from the Government. Housing is the greatest challenge but, below housing, there are many important and pressing immediate challenges. I was in St. Finian's Community College yesterday meeting the fifth and sixth year politics and society students and they were asking questions. A girl named Ciara Brady asked me if I knew the Ukrainia…

I acknowledge the content of this motion and Deputy Fitzmaurice's work on it. Sometimes it is a shame that the schedule of the Dáil is so rigid in respect of when parties or groupings have business in Private Members' time. This motion would have been better discussed last week. That is the case no matter what side one is on in this debate. Anyone who listened to Deputy Fitzmaurice debate this issue on "Morning Ireland" a few days ago from the perspective of his experience of being a man of the bog, as he said on t…

I would like the Minister to comment on his plans in regard to Ukrainian refugees; their access to free transport and public transport in general; how his Department is operating on the ground with Ukrainians where they are, particularly those in reception centres, and where they are going to be for the short, medium or long-term; and what his plans are to ensure their time there is not as challenging as the first few weeks have been so far.

I need to outline to the Minister, as one of the three most senior people in government, the experience I am having on the ground in respect of transport and other areas as well. We have children who cannot get to school places. If they get a school place, they are not able to get to the schools. We do not have a co-ordinated response on that which is a problem today. The remedies the Minister has outlined will take a few weeks to roll out or be delivered and that is being optimistic. However, we have problems toda…

This is a monumental challenge. I have not even mentioned accommodation because that is the greatest challenge of all. However, in terms of managing what is happening on the ground now, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has been very receptive to my representations and I commend him on that but we need experienced State officials. I am thinking of community welfare officers and people who work in Citizens Information offices who could be a regular presence in the reception centres, be they hotels, decommissioned relig…

I would like to ask the Minister what plans he has to improve the treatment and resources for sickle cell and thalassaemia in Ireland.

I thank the Minister. I am very encouraged by the final part of his response. I met with Ms Lora Ruth Wogu, the CEO of Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Ireland, and Ms Ijeoma Nwabuezi, who is on its board. One of their key concerns is how under pressure the St. James's service is. The service at St. James's Hospital, and the clinicians, are fantastic but they are under pressure. The Minister has acknowledged that. We need to improve resources there. One of the things I have learned about sickle cell disease is that we …

This condition is incredibly painful. When it flares up and is in crisis, the pain throughout the body is indescribable. It is a serious, painful and debilitating condition. We need to consider an improved blood donation campaign. I know that is true across the entire county for a range of conditions, but there are a number of rare subtypes of blood that we need greater supplies of. We need specific campaigns to try to get members of the African community to donate blood, particularly rare subtypes such as Ro, to h…

I acknowledge and welcome this plan and the work that has gone into it. The three guiding words as set out in this plan are "listen", "invest" and "deliver". To listen is vitally important. A great shame of this country in its 100 years has been the fact it did not listen to women on many issues, not least on health. We do not need to go back over the whole list now. There has never really been an issue with the amount of money invested in health but with where it has actually been directed. A definite decision has…

In the past year, we have had three Private Members' motions on this matter, and now this evening's debate, and nothing seems to have moved forward. We are waiting on a legal framework when, fundamentally, the decision not to build and invest what may ultimately be close to €1 billion on a much-needed national maternity hospital on public land has led to where we are now. I agree with Deputy Cullinane that we need to see this legal framework. I would like to know what the timeline of that legal framework will be. I…

I will raise with the Taoiseach the impact the current energy crisis is having on our protected crop growers, particularly in north County Dublin. Last week, I met with Councillor Robert O'Donoghue and representatives of Welgro Produce, a young company of growers which is at the cutting edge of this industry and which has won awards for its sustainable practices. They are the kind of people who are going to bring our growing sector into the 21st century. The company is being crippled by energy costs which may see i…

I want to raise the ongoing issues people are having trying to book an appointment with the National Car Testing Service, NCTS, and engaging with the National Driver Licence Service. In many aspects these things have become intertwined. In many cases it is essential for people to pass their test to take up employment. The crisis has become compounded. We have moved beyond Covid restrictions and we need to get these services back to where they should be. Constituents of ours have contacted me outlining various scena…