The issue of trolleys and congestion in hospitals, particularly at weekends, is an absolute priority for me. I will be bringing a series of data points to Cabinet on this next week. There are two issues - I am happy to discuss them with all Deputies - namely those relating to underlying capacity and work practices. Even in the very short period that I have been the Minister for Health, I have seen considerable problems across hospitals on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays. Different hospitals manage matte…

I thank the Deputy for her question. I will be bringing the second iteration of the waiting list action plan to Cabinet this week. The first iteration brought waiting times down from an average of 13 months to seven. We have further to go in order to reach our Sláintecare targets. As I said to Deputy Bacik, there are two issues here. One is about moving people out of the general hospital system to surgical hubs, the first of which will open this week, and dealing with waiting times. The other relates to weekends. I…

I thank Deputies for coming and raising the different issues today. I congratulate Deputy Lawless on his election by the good people of Mayo. I was in Mayo yesterday. I pay particular tribute to Peter Healy, the facilities manager of Mayo University Hospital and Patricia Hough, the on-duty manager, who did extraordinary work along with all the staff at Mayo University Hospital to make sure that the staff were in in advance, in anticipation of the storm, ready for the next shift. They did extraordinary work in terms…

So rude

Calm down, Deputy.

I do not, in fact. Calm down.

That is delusion.

References enabled further access to children.

Those references enabled access for a paedophile to children in sight of Deputy McDonald's leadership.

Do not try to bully us on this.

The past four budgets have successfully balanced the dual challenge of remaining responsive to economic and social developments while ensuring the sustainability of our public finances. Budget 2025 will build on and continue the enhanced investment in recent years in our society. The budget strategy generally has been framed in the context of a growing population and elevated price levels in recent years. As set out in the summer economic statement, the strategy for budget 2025 has a number of aims, primarily to su…

It is time for an election.

It is a most reasonable request and I am sorry the Deputy has to raise it persistently on behalf of his constituents. I note what he has said about communication with Irish Water-Uisce Éireann, whose services continue to improve yet have room for further improvement. As the Deputy is aware, the operation of Macroom public water supply is a matter for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all water services planning, delivery and operation. In turn, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is respon…

I could not agree more. It appears that the issues which give rise to the necessity for boil water notices can be easily understood and communicated. They can sometimes be persistent. I have an issue in my area whereby after very heavy rainfall, people are aware that there will some difficulties for a very particular reason and that there is a longer-term strategy to remedy the problem. While it is inconvenient, that at least provides some understanding as to the background issues. Given the persistence of these is…

This matter is a very important one for the Department of housing and I thank the Deputy for raising it. It is very important that local authority tenants who are occupying social housing properties and paying weekly rents are living in homes that provide good comfort levels for their occupants. The Deputy will be aware that in accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, local authorities are legally responsible for the management and maintenance of their housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vaca…

Yes, I know.

I understand.

The Deputy is correct. I recall a number of examples of complete regeneration projects in Dublin, including right in the heart of the north inner city and in Dolphin's Barn where flats were beyond their lifespan in the way described by the Deputy. A completely different regenerative approach was necessary but it was largely driven by Dublin City Council in the first instance and supported by the Department of housing. I recall that from memory but it seems to be in the space described by the Deputy in terms of what…

I thank the Senator for raising the issue again. It is not by any means the first or second time he has raised it in this House and he is representing his constituents most ably to try to advance this, which is of course entirely what they are entitled to. The Senator is already aware that the Water Services Acts 2007-2020 set out the arrangements in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Uisce Éireann and he is also aware that the Minister does not have function in relation to the operational m…

I could not agree with the Senator more and I am told the Department has secured record overall funding of €1.81 billion for the delivery of water services in 2024. As the Senator said, it has to actually happen, be delivered and done efficiently. I am also told Uisce Éireann has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives, though this note does not state when that was established and I do not recall. The team can be contacted via email or a dedicated number whi…