Sinn Féin commends the tireless work of the front-line paramedics and operational staff who keep the ambulance service running without proper support from the Government. In a National Ambulance Service plan presentation, the service stated it has an urgent need to recruit additional staff as recruitment efforts are being surpassed by service demand. Dublin Fire Brigade has said that demand for ambulances is continually identified as being far in excess of capacity. The National Ambulance Service currently has 2,00…

I have raised the issue of the new Enfield Community College in the House on many occasions. Parents have been in touch with me who want to know when the school will start construction. Has the project gone through all stages of the architectural planning process? Has the new build gone out to tender? Has a contractor been successful as regards this tender? When will the project start and when will it be completed? The Department of Education gave an undertaking that temporary capacity would be constructed on a new…

I was very proud to be part of a cross-party group that supported the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2022 to legislate for the right to be forgotten. It was supported by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour, the Social Democrats and all parties within the House. The Bill, which will seek to revive current legislation, outlines that a person seeking access to financial services will no longer have to declare a cancer diagnosis five years after finishing active treatment. Ms Rachel Morrogh from the Irish Cancer Society said…

We all know the health service faces many issues from young healthcare graduates emigrating with very many not intending to come home, and more leaving Ireland because of the costs of housing and rent and the cost of living. As the Minister knows, the biggest issue in my county is the downgrading of the emergency department and ICU in Navan. Last Saturday week, there were 11 ambulances parked outside Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, because there were no beds or trolleys for people inside. I know that 17 con…

What is happening in Navan?

Last Saturday there were chaotic scenes at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, which is one of Ireland's busiest hospitals. A total of 11 ambulances were parked outside the emergency department and could not leave because there were no beds or trolleys for the patients inside. At the same time the HSE wants to divert more ambulances from Navan to Drogheda. Some paramedics were left waiting for five hours before their patients had a place at the hospital. It is understood there was extreme overcrowding and eve…

Why are we not looking at the option of investing in Our Lady's Hospital, Navan? There is a review that has been completed, but we have not yet received the results of it. That review never even looked into the option of investing in, protecting and enhancing services that are already in place at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan. Why are we not doing that?

I refer to the savage attack on two gardaí in Ballyfermot the other night. Over recent years, more than 400 gardaí, between trainee and qualified, have quit the force. Why is this? Why are there 300 fewer gardaí in the force now compared to two years ago? The Garda Representative Association president, Brendan O'Connor, was on LMFM yesterday. He spoke about a lack of resources, support from his peers, and a lack of support from the Minister for Justice. Why is this the case? In my county of Meath, we have one garda…

These figures are from the end of September.

I spent the last few weeks going around my constituency of Meath West talking to small businesses in towns and villages. The issue that kept coming up was energy costs. I was talking to butcher shops and convenience stores. These were essential workers during the pandemic. They have mostly between five and seven employees and their energy costs have gone up three to four times. The supports in place are not enough for these businesses and many will go under this winter if they do not get additional funding from Gov…

I want to raise a few issues related to my constituency of Meath West. Thousands of residents in Trim and Rathmolyon have had their water restricted for the past 11 days and this looks set to continue throughout this week. This has caused huge distress to the people and businesses affected as they are left without running water for long periods. Irish Water communication seems to entail posts on social media platforms. The only way many older people and others who do not use social media find out is when they turn …

The review of the accident and emergency unit and acute care in Our Lady's Hospital, Navan is complete. The people in Meath are very concerned about a review that does not include protecting and enhancing existing services or looking at what it would cost to make Navan a fully functional model 3 hospital. We keep talking about patient safety but if we invested in Navan hospital, we would not have to worry about patient safety. When will this review be released to Oireachtas Members and the people of County Meath?

I thank my colleague Deputy O'Rourke for bringing this very important motion to the Dáil floor. Our island's public transport system is staffed by tens of thousands of hard-working men and women and I acknowledge that. The 2016 census recorded 13.5% of the population as having a disability. People with a disability or those with mobility challenges all too often face barriers using public transport such as broken lifts in train stations, limited wheelchair spaces or having to give 24 hours' notice to have a ramp in…

I thank my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, for bringing this motion before the House. We have known for a long time of the struggles that some households are facing when it comes to energy costs. That situation is now worse than ever given the cost-of-living crisis and the particular crisis that families and households face as electricity and gas prices continue to rise. Since the pandemic, families have had to worry about illness, temporary loss of jobs, financial worries and putting food on the table. They now face a…

Centralising community welfare officers across the country and in my own county, Meath, starting on 10 October is a shocking decision, as the community welfare officer is an emergency financial lifeline for many people awaiting other social welfare payments to be approved or having to cope with sudden urgent unexpected payments not covered by available income. This will represent a significant delay for them. Services in my constituency, namely, Meath West, will be taken out of towns such as Oldcastle, Athboy, Trim…

There is serious concern over this concrete block levy, with genuine fears of serious increases in house prices. Those building a home will be faced with increased costs. What the Government is doing is placing the cost of defective materials on the shoulders of people who are struggling to buy a home or who had no hand, act or part in this scandal. It was under the Government’s own watch that there was light-touch or no regulation. The scheme is badly designed and will mean first-time buyers see their house prices…

In early January, the Government announced plans for a special tax-free €1,000 pandemic bonus payment for front-line workers who worked in Covid-19 environments, risking their lives and those of their families to keep the rest of us safe. Nearly nine months later, thousands of workers who are not paid directly by the HSE, such as those working in the private sector, in nursing homes, agency staff, people working in long-term residential care, people working in home help, carers and others, have not received this pa…

I seek an update on Enfield Community College. We have been told that the school project will go to tender later this year. Will the Tánaiste confirm that is the case? Has a framework of project management design team consultants been appointed yet? This framework would comprise architects and civil, structural, mechanical and electrical engineers. Has a contract notice to establish a design and build contractor framework been done? Online searches do not show Enfield Community College listed on the National Develo…

I want to raise the issue of Our Lady's Hospital, Navan. Following recent developments, 17 consultants wrote to the Minister for Health to voice their concerns about the potential closure of the emergency department in Navan. They stated that they would not be able to cope. They said the hospital will not be able to provide the right care for patients at the right time or in the right place. They proceeded to say that the transfer of risk from the emergency department in Navan to an under-resourced hospital in Drog…

The hardship, anxiety and desperation being felt by households across the country need to be addressed today. The cost-of-living crisis is hitting people's pockets hard and families are struggling with rising costs. The prices of rent, childcare, groceries, petrol, diesel and heating oil, as well as back-to-school costs, are all shooting up, while people's wages stay the same. People are under real pressure to cover the price of the basic essentials they cannot do without. Listening to the Taoiseach this morning, w…