The Taoiseach and I feel strongly about this, not least, because we are former health Ministers and understand the problems facing health administration. We are both keen to use a decent chunk of the European recovery fund - we have approximately €800 million to €900 million coming to us - on e-health, to do some of what Deputy Shanahan suggested. However, much has happened in our health service in terms of e-health that has worked well. Our patient record in maternity care is good. Something is starting in pediatr…

I thank the Deputy for raising a question I have been asking in recent weeks because Government made the commitment many years ago to build a new emergency department in University Hospital Galway, on the existing site. It is in the Project Ireland 2040 plan and has been in all our capital plans for quite some time. My understanding - I may not be fully up to date on this - is the plan is to build a new emergency department and a new maternity and pediatric department in the same building, on the University Hospita…

I think we agree on one point, that we need a clear plan for hospital services in Galway and that we need to get on with it. I am frustrated and embarrassed too that this has taken so long. This is a project that was live when I was Minister for Health, which was five or six years ago. I will take this up with the CEO of the HSE. I appreciate that the HSE has much on its plate, especially with the pandemic, but that should not be a reason for this project not to progress to design and planning permission. I thank t…

I am afraid I may have to come back to the Deputy with a further reply on this but my understanding is that if a planning application is lodged, it is lodged under the existing law, not under a proposed law or a future law. I do not know much about proposals to revise this development. I received a presentation some years ago about what was planned for the area. I know we purchased four buildings on Moore Street which constitute a national monument. They are in Government ownership, so it is for the Government to d…

That is a good idea so I will certainly speak to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, about it to see if we can do something or examine that. I would point out that part-time working is not new. We have had people who work for two or three days a week in the city centre for as long as I can remember and probably since the beginning of time. Part-time working is not something new so perhaps there is a good reason this was not done before, but I agree that in the post-pandemic world of work, it will be much more common for peo…

I do not believe there are any plans for legislation in that regard but I will check with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We need to take a more rounded approach to housing in general. Rather than banning different types of housing or housing investment, we need all sorts of housing and lots more of it, whether it is social housing for people on the housing list, cost rental or private homes for people to buy. We need more housing of all types in Ireland. The solution is not to try to ban t…

I appreciate these are important issues and the Deputy is entitled to raise them, but where they refer to specific developments and specific individuals, it is difficult for me to reply without knowing any or much of the information. If the Deputy wants to correspond with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, that would be the best way to bring the matter forward.

I am a friend of Wexford General Hospital. My first job as a surgical intern was in the hospital back in 2003. I have fond memories of working there. I got a great education there but I also met some really great people. Increasingly, MR is becoming a standard investigation method and it would make sense to have that facility available in every acute general hospital. I do not know what specific commitments were made by this Government and the previous one regarding Wexford General Hospital, so I will have to check…

I will inform the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, that the Deputy has raised this matter again and I will ask him to furnish the Deputy with a detailed reply.

I am afraid I am not familiar with the survey, so I probably should not comment on it. I will, however, take a look at it. The Government is investing more in homeless services than has ever been the case previously. While there are still far too many people homeless in our country, it is down considerably on where we were a year or two ago. We must ensure we keep that trajectory going in the right direction. That involves, in particular, investment in the Housing First programme, of which I am a big fan and which …

I concur with the Deputy's remarks. It is very much my view that if we are going to solve the housing crisis, make homes more available to more people and reduce the cost of housing, well then a big part of doing that, which is probably the main part, has to be more supply. We need to be building about 35,000 homes a year in Ireland. We are not doing that and the pandemic has not helped. However, we need to do that and we are only going to do it if we build housing of all sorts, including social, cost rental, publi…

As the Deputy knows, all the evidence suggests that outdoor dining is much safer than indoor. The same applies to drinking outdoors being safer than drinking indoors. That is why the Government established a scheme to help restaurants and gastro pubs make better use of their outdoor areas. I understand that so-called "wet pubs", and I hope we abolish that term soon, cannot avail of this scheme. Deputy Michael Moynihan has raised this today and Deputy Phelan also raised it earlier this week. I will endeavour to see …

There is no official Fine Gael policy regarding the Clonburris SDZ. I am sure, however, that Deputies and councillors act in the best interests of their constituents in any observations they may make to An Bord Pleanála.

I appreciate how difficult the past year has been for people working in the aviation sector. I represent Dublin West, a constituency where many people work in Dublin Airport and for airlines. While they were able to get by for a few weeks or months, it has become much more difficult because their income has been hit so hard for more than a year. A lot of financial support is being given to the airlines. They are major beneficiaries of the wage subsidy scheme. Grants are also being awarded to the airports.

To which scheme is the Deputy referring?

We can. It does not fall under my remit. I am not sure under which Department's remit it falls. I will certainly find out and ask the line Minister to reply to the Deputy.

I will have to check with the HSE about the situation in respect of SouthDoc in Blackpool. I do not want to give the Deputy an answer now, off the cuff, without knowing the facts. I will check with the HSE and revert to the Deputy.

The NTPF has had a considerable increase in its budget. I believe its budget is now well over €100 million a year. It is tasked with buying healthcare and health services for patients, from both private and public hospitals, using additional capacity where it is available. I strongly encourage any public hospital and also consultants to make use of this budget and service. If a person is waiting for a scan, scope or investigation, the NTPF should be used because it means that he or she will get the test, appointmen…

I thank the Deputy and appreciate that she has raised this issue previously. I know that it is a priority for her. I am glad to hear that a site has now been identified in Tullow for the new primary care centre. When such centres are built around the country, and there are two or three in my constituency, they really do enhance primary care services, so the more we have, the better. As the Deputy will be aware, many construction projects are delayed as a consequence of the pandemic and, therefore, I cannot say that…

This issue has come up a lot in the past week. Indeed, it was discussed at my party's parliamentary party meeting last night. The latest update I received is that approximately 1,000 housebound people are still waiting to receive their vaccine. Generally, older people will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine in most cases because it is the easiest one to transport. That work is being done by the NAS. It is taking a bit of time. I understand how frustrated people must be, not even knowing the date of their vaccination. …