With our continuing welcome efforts to assist the Ukrainian people, some issues have arisen. There is the absence of a centralised, uniform European approach to the provision of financial supports and accommodation for Ukrainians fleeing the war and there is a stark difference in supports offered by the EU 26 and the UK compared with the extensive supports available in this country. There is also a chaotic and reckless approach by Government to procuring accommodation for this purpose; one which is, at times, at th…

I thank the Minister of State for being here. I know he is delivering a response on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, but I lament his absence. I know he cannot be here every day, but I cannot understate the damage he has been doing to infrastructure plans that have already been announced and budgeted for. An example is the upgrade to the N17, which is one of the most dangerous national primary routes in the country. As the Minister of State will know, this scheme has been in the design work stage …

It is still in the NDP. As we know, that means nothing. In the 1940s, the NDP involved draining the Shannon and we still have not done that. A figure of €400,000 is derisory. It would not cut the grass verges on the N17 as it is at the moment. The fact is that I have in writing in front of me one chief executive in Sligo County Council communicating with his counterpart in Mayo and outlining that the Minister said there would be no funding available for the scheme for many years. The people of the western seaboard …

I am delighted to have the opportunity to pay tribute to Noel, a great friend and mentor, and by proxy, to pass on the tributes of his very old friend, Ray MacSharry, who directed that campaign back in 1982. He would want me to say Noel Treacy was the finest politician he ever worked with in his political career. They served during Noel's first post as a Minister of State in 1987, when they were in the same Department. While it is not unique that Ministers of State and Ministers get on well together, it is quite ra…

Taoiseach - sorry, future Taoiseach. Minister, the programme for Government and the national planning framework provide for the vital upgrade of the N17. This project forms part of the TEN-T European network, is a core component of the Atlantic economic corridor, passed the strategic research and analysis division of the Department, progressed through planning and design, and a preferred route emerged. Are Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, in government, aware of the Minister, Deputy Ryan's, and the Green Party's unilater…

Will the Minister, Deputy Harris, revert to me?

There is an unintended consequence of one of the State's welcome actions to accommodate refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine. I refer specifically to the tax-free payment of €800 to landlords. The issue is that houses which ordinarily may come to the open rental market, particularly in parts of the country not like Dublin, where rents are especially high, are exclusively being devoted for rental under the Government's tax-free refugee scheme. Given the extraordinary shortage in rental properties and the exponential in…

I listened earlier to the Taoiseach outline the total superficiality of Private Members' motions, like many of the activities of this House. For the record, therefore, will he confirm for the Irish people - who are increasingly and falsely led to believe by all parties, including the Taoiseach's, and enthusiastically supported by the media that the will of this Chamber on such motions means something - that in reality, as also stated, irrespective of the stated position of the Dáil on the housing eviction motion th…

I pay tribute to the Minister and his efforts in the impossible situation the country has faced. I also wish to criticise every other member of the Government for throwing him under the bus effectively, because he is not getting the support he requires. Deputy Harkin alluded to this. We have all these committees all over the country, Cabinet sub-committees and local response committees, but these are not being followed up with local resources. If we want the extra bus that Deputy Harkin referred for the schoolchild…

We have a very serious problem with the volume of tourism accommodation we have made available as part of our solidarity with the people of Ukraine who are seeking accommodation. Outside Dublin, an average of 30% of tourism accommodation has been provided. In the north west, an area with which the Leas-Cheann Comhairle is familiar, the average is as high as 60%. In places such as Rosses Point, it is 100%. In places such as Bundoran, it is approximately 75%. On average, throughout the north west and along the Wild A…

I thank the Minister of State. I know these answers are prepared in advance and I know much of the content already. We know what is being done at the moment but more needs to be done. A strategic approach must be taken to this. I have given examples from my constituency and I have no doubt that the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Minister of State can give examples from theirs. Indeed, all constituencies are feeling the same proportional impact. The Minister of State said that this is the largest humanitarian effort …

I attended as much of last night's meeting as I could. It was very long and not being a member of the committee, it went on so late I could not wait long enough to contribute. The Minister, Deputy McConologue, said it is not the Government's preferred option. I appreciate that. The Minister also said that "binding, contractual" arrangements have been entered into. The first issue I have with it is the autopilot approach that consecutive Governments and various Ministers take to the semi-State sector. It is a kind o…

Ireland's increased reliance on tourist accommodation to cater for those fleeing war-torn Ukraine and elsewhere has had a disproportionate impact on areas largely dependent on the tourist economy. Bundoran, Strandhill, Rosses Point and Drumshanbo are a few such in my constituency but, obviously, there are locations nationwide. Given the interdependency of other local business and seasonal employment in these areas on the tourist economy, what is the Government prepared to do to compensate and support business in th…

Compensation.

Nothing, so.

Nothing. Thanks; that is clear.

The situation at SUH is at breaking point. We have the highest percentage of over-65s in the country, which means we have the greatest demand. We have a bed occupancy rate of about 110%, which is well over the national average of 90% and very dangerously over the acceptable international level of 85%. In other words, people in Sligo are dying because we cannot live up to rates that can be guaranteed to be below 85%. That is a fact. An unprecedented number of senior consultants serving the catchment area from SUH ha…

We are failing consultants, doctors, nurses and all our medical professionals through not providing the safe environment they require. They are accountable but through our failure, we are leaving them vulnerable in terms of their accountability and endangering patients' lives. That is a statistical fact. The Saolta University Healthcare Group is too Galway-centric. This is a major issue. Take the example of the four ICU beds. The Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, Deputies Harkin and Martin Kenny and …

This question is for the Taoiseach. As part of the nation's welcome efforts to accommodate Ukrainian refugees running for their lives, in an unprecedented development, on Sligo County Council-owned lands, the OPW and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth have invoked emergency planning regulations to erect 24 very fine modular homes exclusively for Ukrainian refugees. Some of the over 1,500 families on the Sligo housing list, 2,400 on the Donegal housing list and 700 on the Leitrim…

What would the Taoiseach like to say to these families?