Faint praise.

The number of people on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick is still very high but has decreased to 27. It is not the top Trolley Watch figure today, which is welcome news. There are 40 confirmed Covid cases in the hospital. They are putting pressure on isolation beds. Nine of these patients are in ICU. It is said that almost six in ten people ending up in hospital are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. It is said that 52% are fully unvaccinated, 5% are partially vaccinated and 2% of cases are unknowns. We …

Can I have one second?

There is an average of about 48 Covid-19 patients in University Hospital Limerick at the moment. That is contributing to the number of people on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick, with more than 70 on average. Money has been put aside to reduce waiting lists in the budget, with more than €50 million available. Will the Minister look at expediting the waiting time at University Hospital Limerick?

I thank the Minister of State with responsibility for insurance, Deputy Fleming, for taking the debate. An ice rink operator in Limerick city, Fran O'Donnell, has gone public. He was on Newstalk earlier today. He has run an ice rink in Limerick for the past 15 years, claim-free, yet he cannot get insurance cover. That is the case with all ice rinks, which are a traditional feature of Christmastime up and down the country. Equally, other areas of the leisure sector cannot get cover. This situation arose for a number…

I thank the Minister of State. I note he indicated he will be meeting with the major insurance companies in the coming weeks, and I ask that this would take place with immediate effect. I also ask that he would communicate to the Central Bank that, if there are insurers from the UK, other EU jurisdictions or other European jurisdictions outside the EU, they would be fast-tracked in particular with regard to this area of cover. I want to also make a further request. It is generally felt in the insurance market that …

What about meeting the main insurers?

In the context of the full reopening on 22 October, the 43% increase in Covid cases over the past week and the fact that two thirds of new cases involve under-44s, and with less than 10% of the population driving 50% of hospital admissions and the majority of people who are admitted being unvaccinated, I will ask three questions. First, with regard to the toolkit, Professor Mary Horgan is heading up an expert advisory group on rapid testing. Where is its report? We need to get rapid testing rolling. The Oireachtas …

Third, will the Covid certificate be extended beyond 22 October?

I am delighted to contribute on this debate. In the limited time I have, I will concentrate on a few matters. It did not receive much highlighting in the budget, but I sought it a number of months ago and the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, has included it, namely, an increase in the hourly rate of the disability wage subsidy scheme from €5.30 to €6.30. It is for people who are working and have disabilities. The amount now comes to 60% of the minimum wage. I feel strongly about this and campaigned…

I wish to raise an issue with the Tánaiste on foot of the pending announcement that President Biden will allow transatlantic flights to resume from November. The Tánaiste will be aware that Shannon Airport has key transatlantic destinations to the likes of Boston and New York. The Heathrow Airport route is now back up and running, which is positive. We want to see that continue. The Tánaiste mentioned earlier about looking at funding for strategic routes. Shannon Airport has three current strategic routes, namely, …

What supports are to be provided to airlines and to the likes of Shannon Airport for those three strategic routes?

It is good to be back in the Dáil Chamber. I wish to raise the issue of mica and pyrite. At the moment, there are people coming to us in Limerick complaining of defective blocks. A working group has been established that is currently doing work with residents in County Donegal. I have requested that Limerick City and County Council make a submission to include Limerick under the defective block scheme, which covers both mica and pyrite. When will that working group conclude its deliberations? When will agreement be…

I raise the question of the implementation of the plan, A Policing Service for the Future, in Limerick city and county. It is a matter I have raised in the past with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris before the justice committee and at joint policing committees as well. My concern is about the redeployment of gardaí from non-front-line duties like court or patrol duties to front-line community policing. It is where gardaí would be better deployed and they do a fantastic job on the ground. Will the Minister give an upd…

I thank the Minister for that update. I am aware of the operating model and the other crisis intervention measures. This is a specific issue. We need as many gardaí, and very much community gardaí, on the ground as possible. Under the future of policing strategy, the redeployment of gardaí from tasks such as courthouse duties in Mulgrave Street and at other courthouses in Limerick city to front-line duties is a priority. I ask the Minister to take it up with the Garda Commissioner, within her overall review brief, …

I very much welcome that. I ask that the Minister would follow up on the specific issue of court duties. The in-house security duties at the courts in Dublin are carried out by private security firms. That is not the case in places like Limerick. While the gardaí carry out a phenomenal role in the courts, for me and for many people the gardaí provide an exponentially better function to the public by community policing in Limerick. While I welcome the other measures, which are very important, I am referring to one s…

I am sharing time with Deputies Flaherty and McGuinness. I expect the Acting Chairman will allow us the same additional minute and a half he allowed the previous speaker.

I am delighted to speak in this debate in the time allowed to me. I welcome the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, yesterday regarding the appointment of Professor Mary Horgan to lead an antigen testing working group. As Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications, I wrote to the Minister yesterday afternoon requesting that the aviation sector form part of the terms of reference of the working group. It is hugely important that it does. The committee has held extensive p…

This is a most important debate. As a newly elected Deputy, I was in the House on the night the bank guarantee was put in place. I recall the alarm it raised and the shock it caused among all of us. That night, no one actually knew what the real implications were. We were looking at the balance sheets of the banks. There were loans, but we had no idea of the underlying value of the loans. I sat on the banking inquiry. Ultimately, we found that the banks at the time had lent in a reckless fashion. We can never go ba…

Today at noon the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, announced the preliminary review of the steering group on the Department's review of the school transport scheme. It is hugely significant in the context of John the Baptist Community School in Hospital, County Limerick. For the forthcoming year, it will facilitate students who are attending their second nearest school to be able to avail of school transport as a concessionary. That is to be very much welcomed. It is going into the rural areas of Ballyneety, K…