The Deputy can come back in. I call the Minister.

I thank the Minister. I apologise to Deputy Roche but our time for this session is up. As agreed on the Order of Business earlier, we must move on to Topical Issue Matters.

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Erin McGreehan - To discuss the opening of an additional train station in County Louth. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil - To discuss lack of critical infrastructure and investment in Kildare north. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss the post for radiographer clinical specialist ultrasound at Louth County Hospital. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the progressio…

Deputy, move along with the debate. You have one minute left.

For as long as I can remember, I have believed deeply and instinctively in the reunification of Ireland. It is not a passing campaign. Rather, it is a core value that has guided me from my earliest of memories. Growing up in north Louth, you lived the failure of partition. You saw how communities were split and people divided. Still today the Border holds us all back. Irish unity is not about erasing the difference or rewriting identity; it is about respect, reconciliation and building what we share to make this is…

My question concerns the importance of strengthening Ireland’s bilateral relations with Canada, a country with which we share deep historical and cultural roots.

It is very positive to hear that all that work is ongoing. County Louth has a unique connection. Carlingford is the birthplace of Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the founding fathers of the Canadian Confederation, which leaves a legacy of democracy in the shaping of modern Canada. In more recent times, the library in DKIT was named after General John de Chastelain in honour of his vital role in the peace process and the leadership of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. I ask the Department to e…

Absolutely.

It is great to hear that Prime Minister Carney is coming to Ireland. We will absolutely open the céad mile fáilte to him. A predecessor of his, Brian Mulroney, was in Carlingford to open the Thomas D’Arcy McGee memorial. We are always welcoming our Canadian and American friends in County Louth. As the Tánaiste knows, investment would honour that shared past and create new opportunities in education, research and innovation, which are areas where Ireland and Canada share real common strengths and values. I look forw…

The Deputy is scaremongering.

Areas with population growth and housing demand must be prioritised under the new national development plan and budget 2026. Dundalk and Blackrock are ready to grow but are being held back by the outdated wastewater infrastructure. Uisce Éireann has plans to expand the Dundalk treatment plant and transfer load from Blackrock. The groundwork has been done and what is missing is delivery. Every delay risks stalling houses, jobs and investments in north Louth. It also puts the environment at risk as overloaded systems…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the future of the tillage sector. Recently I met representatives of Louth IFA and they made their concerns crystal clear. Tillage farmers are very proud of what they produce but they are under real pressure. Rising input costs, unpredictable weather, global market volatility and competition for land have all combined to squeeze margins, often to breaking point. Louth may be Ireland’s smallest county, but its contribution to agriculture is in no way small. The grain grown in the…

I have a very clear ask of the Taoiseach. I want further investment in our two hospitals in County Louth, namely, Louth County Hospital in Dundalk and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. As the Taoiseach knows, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda is completely overwhelmed. It was never designed to cope with the massive population growth that has been seen across County Louth, County Meath and the north-east region. Sadly, elective surgeries are sometimes delayed. Waiting lists are growing. Patients are l…

My ask is that the north east region be looked at in terms of the population growth. Thanks to this and the previous Governments, thousands of homes are being built, particularly in south Louth and north Drogheda. Those houses will be filled by people who will need healthcare. There will be the older demographic along with young families who are moving into the area. Forward planning is critically important. Surgical hubs are in an early phase around the country. This could be an answer to a lot of problems in the …

To be very straight up, Gaza is not enduring any conflict; it is enduring a genocide. More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed or murdered, with one in three being children. Families are being wiped out. I find it hard to reconcile the number of mothers who have watched their babies die and the number of babies and children who have sat with their parents who have been murdered alongside them. It is irreconcilable in my mind to think of all that horror and what the children of Gaza are bringing into their fut…

It is always great to have an opportunity to discuss the positive impact of Government investment in sport, particularly in Louth. Nobody can dispute the value of sports capital programmes, the large-scale sports infrastructure fund and the major events programme. They have transformed opportunities and outlooks across the country. In 2024, nearly €7 million was awarded to clubs and organisations across Louth, improving facilities and opportunities but most of all creating an ambition in our sportspeople right arou…

It is good to have the Minister of State here. We pride ourselves on having a health service based on need and not on the ability to pay. Unfortunately, a two-tier system is growing around us, and growing faster than ever before. From lifesaving treatments to basic prevention and, devastatingly, in cancer care, the divide is becoming ever greater. If people can pay privately or if their insurance covers it, people may be able to get access to innovative oncology medicines months or even years before public patients…

The Minister of State got an answer that was about access to consultants and doctors; it was not about treatments and therapies, which was the question I asked. The Minister of State got an answer to a different question of inequity in healthcare. I reiterate we cannot continue to allow to have two-tier access to oncology drugs and vaccines based on whether people have the ability to pay. I will keep repeating this. The area access pilot programme to oncology drugs has to come in. We have to, basically, cop-on in t…

I thank the Minister of State. It is great to have this debate in this House. I look forward to supporting the Minister of State as she brings forward the urgent legislation that has to come next. The "Vaping Nation" programme on Virgin Media One shone a stark light on what parents, teachers and health professionals have been warning us all about for some time, which is that vaping has become normalised among our children and adults. People believe vapes are harmless, but they are incredibly harmful. What was once …

I thank the Minister of State for being here. School transport problems, unfortunately, are an annual event and we can rely on them happening every year. I meet frustrated parents. We all get emails and phone calls about stranded children, no certainty and a remarkably unfair lottery system. The majority of children still do not get access to any bus route. The children of Louth and every county deserve a school transport system that works and is reliable, fair and safe. We have heard many reports this evening, as …