Before I make my comments, I would like to extend my sympathies to the D'Arcy family, in particular former Senator Michael D'Arcy whom we all served with here for a number of years. Tomorrow is Europe Day, as the Cathaoirleach knows. We are having a debate in the House on the importance of Europe. It is a time to reflect on all of the benefits that this country has derived from its membership of the European Union. As a country, we have been totally transformed in terms of education, IT, technology, infrastructure,…

I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary is taking this on behalf of the Minister for Health but I also know he will be well aware of the ongoing challenges and issues with healthcare in the mid-west. I have not tabled this Commencement Matter to look for a 24-hour consultant-led emergency department at Ennis Hospital. In the engagement the health committee had recently with all the stakeholders, including unions and medical professionals, none of them were looking for that, and neither, obviously, was th…

I thank the Minister of State for his fairly detailed reply. The small hospitals framework is something that I very much support and welcome. I would like to see services scaled up much quicker than is currently the case. In the of previous Commencement matters I tabled, I was told that the dialysis unit would be operational by the end of 2023, and certainly by quarter 1 or 2 of 2024. I welcome the confirmation that it will be operational by the end of 2024. If we meet that timeframe, it would be a reasonable outco…

It is great to see the Acting Leader, Senator Currie, in the hot seat. I say, "Well done" to her. I listened carefully to Senator Keogan's contribution. I would argue that our international and national obligations are not mutually exclusive. We have obligations in both contexts. What I would like to see happen is a resolution of the issues that affect us nationally because that will, by extension, resolve the issues arising from our international obligations. I had occasion to be in a hospital recently and almost …

I think of a number of areas that we really need to be looking at right now. Senator Gavan and I would agree that we need to start looking at the US military's use of Shannon Airport. As a country, we are better than that. We do not need to be facilitating the refuelling of American army jets and planes in Shannon Airport. I know I am an outlier in Clare in expressing that view. It would not be a popular view in County Clare but we need to start looking at this situation, especially when we see what is happening in…

I do not agree with Senator Mullen's amendment, but as I have said before, we need to be respectful in the language we use here. I consider Senator Mullen as somebody with the height of integrity, as I do the Minister, and surely to God we can have a debate here that is respectful and careful in language. That is all I have to say.

The Minister of State is very welcome to Seanad Éireann. He served two terms here with me and we had the same assistant, Marian, working for both of us for a long time. I am delighted for the Minister of State personally and I have no doubt he will bring a wealth of experience to the role, having been an MEP, Senator and TD. It is fitting he is in the House to address this very important issue. I will pick up on something Senator Byrne referred to, which was the pandemic. The narrative in the discussion on loneline…

Our second Commencement matter is in the name of Senator Lynn Boylan.

Yes.

Before I call on the Minister of State, I welcome the visitors to the Gallery. They are a group of school principals who are visiting us from Hong Kong. I welcome them to Seanad Éireann. I hope their visit to the Houses of the Oireachtas, which is our Parliament, is informative and enjoyable and that they have a good and enjoyable visit to Ireland.

Before the Minister of State responds, I welcome Sergeant Paul Clarke to the Public Gallery. I hope he will get the desired result following Senator Clonan's Commencement matter.

I thank the Minister of State, and the Senator for raising that important issue.

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this very important issue, which is a blight on many communities. The Minister of State took all four Commencement matters this morning. We appreciate his time. We know he is in a busy Department and that time is precious so his time here in the Seanad is very much appreciated.

Following on from Senator Kyne's request for a debate on public transport, I noted in our emails this morning an update from Irish Rail. The details in the update are very welcome. It is great that in the first couple of months of the year, 10.8 million people travelled by train in this country, up 13% on the same period last year. It is great news in terms of the Foynes to Limerick city line, which has not been open in 25 years. The developments there are very welcome. What is most concerning is the piece in the u…

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I understand he is taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health. As the Minister of State well knows, Ireland has nine of the ten leading pharmaceutical production companies in Europe. It is a leading exporter of new medicines and medicines in general, not only throughout Europe but also the rest of the world. During the Covid pandemic, we played a leading role in exporting medicines. Sadly, however, when it comes to Irish patients accessing new medicin…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply, most of which I already put on the public record in my opening contribution. While I acknowledge that €1 in every €8 is spent on medicines, medicines are what cure people. Therefore, that is not necessarily a huge spend. What was disappointing in budget 2024 in the area of health - and there was a lot that was disappointing - was the fact that no provision was made for orphan and new medicines. It was only when there was an outcry that the Minister suddenly found €20 mil…

I apologise to Senator Byrne. I prematurely hit the bell during his contribution.

I thank Senator Byrne very much. As somebody who uses the trains on a regular basis, including this morning, the train from Limerick to Dublin was absolutely overflowing by the time it got to Heuston station. Investment in railways is, therefore, extremely important. The Senator is right; it is one of the most beautiful railways in the worlds. A very beautiful television programme was made on that particular line. Well done to the Senator for raising the issue. I am sure the people of Gorey will be delighted with t…

I thank Senator Sherlock for raising this very important issue. We thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take all the Commencement matters. We are appreciate the demands on his time and the House acknowledges that.

I find myself echoing what our colleague, Senator Boyhan, said. I was six years of age when the Stardust fire happened and I remember it well. I remember its aftermath and the front pages of the newspapers. It is an indictment that it has taken over 40 years to get to this day but it took our generation to right the wrong of previous generations. I salute the Taoiseach as well because he acted quickly, decisively and with empathy. He did what was most important by giving a State apology to the families who lost the…