I also wish to pay tribute to the late Mary Jackman. When I was a young person-----

When I was a younger person, Mary Jackman was a very influential politician in the mid-west. She was somebody people looked up to, as a woman politician at a time when it was not as popular to be a woman in politics. I got to know her very well more recently because she spent much of her time in Fanore. She chose well where to relax and spend time. I share with others in passing on my sympathies and condolences to her family. Recently, a councillor asked me why we do not have retirement villages zoned within towns.…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I acknowledge the significant challenges he faces and his dedication to the portfolio he holds, which is probably one of the hardiest portfolios in government. We are here today to talk about the new national maternity hospital and women's health in general. I will start by commenting on the national maternity hospital. It is a very good thing and is long overdue. The Government has committed to building the facility and providing the €1 billion or more it will probably co…

The situation at Dublin Airport last Sunday was totally unacceptable. Everyone was shocked and horrified that 1,000 people missed their flights from the airport last Sunday. I echo the calls for an immediate recalibration of flights to have them moved from Dublin Airport to Cork Airport and, in particular, Shannon Airport, which has a state-of-the-art security system far ahead of that in place in Dublin Airport and can cope with volume. They can also be moved to Irish West Airport at Knock, where appropriate. We ne…

I am told it will be the day the leaving certificate starts. It is unfair on the young people, their parents and the third level institutions that are preparing for next year. Let us get the date or at least tell us when we will be told.

A sum of €7.8 billion.

I extend good wishes to former councillor Noel Collins, who stepped down from Cork County Council on Monday after 55 years of service to the community of Midleton and the surrounding areas. Mr. Collins was chairman of Cork County Council and he had a unique style of representation. He had no mobile phone, computer or social media. He held his clinic by sitting on the wall outside the church in Midleton every Saturday yet in the 2019 local elections he topped the poll. Perhaps there is a lesson in that. I wish him w…

Hear, hear.

Last September, I tabled a Commencement matter on the human papillomavirus, HPV, vaccine. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, came in on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and committed to eliminating the charge for the catch-up vaccination. I was quite disappointed when this was then referred to the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, because what this vaccine has achieved speaks for itself. I was even more disappointed when it was not included in the women's health strategy published…

That is good news for a change and it is nice to sometimes have good news. The announcement this morning that Ryanair is taking a lease of a hangar at Shannon for aircraft maintenance, creating between 150 and 200 jobs with an investment of €10 million, is welcome news. We all know how successful Ryanair is and it is a company that is sustainable into the future. It is Irish-based and to have it bringing this business to the west and to Shannon is very good news and very welcome, especially given what we have been …

Speaking of our new Ukrainian friends, the Cabinet subcommittee will be meeting today to review where we are at. We now have 29,000 Ukrainians living in Ireland. Many of these are children who are going to school and who have little English. There is also a quite a number of Ukrainians who were teachers in Ukraine. They have good English and are working in schools doing translation. Yet, it has come to my attention over the past few days that, so far, they have not been paid. The convoluted process to recognise the…

As always, the Minister of State is welcome. This issue has been ongoing since the Shannon Airport Authority decided that it no longer had a strategic interest in Shannon Heritage. The questions then were what would happen to Shannon Heritage's facilities and under whose auspices would they be. King John's Castle has been transferred to Limerick City and County Council, which is a good fit. In Clare, Shannon Heritage essentially comprises the Bunratty, Craggaunowen and Knappogue facilities, which have been visited …

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to take this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I accept people's bona fides in this. I accept the fact that there is an interdepartmental working group, which is absolutely the correct way to go about this, but there is a bottom line, which is that the taking over of the Shannon Heritage sites in County Clare cannot result in a negative financial impact on Clare County Council. The council executive will not tolerate it and, certainly, the members of C…

The schools building programme in this country has been very successful over the past number of years but many more schools are needed. I have a concern that I know is shared with colleagues, which is that come 4 p.m., many of our fantastic school buildings cease being in use. The Department of Education really must formulate a strategy to use these well-funded and beautiful public buildings for social, community, cultural, arts and music events and so on after hours, along with adult education. Some schools do thi…

Over the past couple of weeks, while we were all in recess, the numbers on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick increased to new record levels. I am becoming a broken record at this stage coming into this Chamber to speak on this issue because every month the figures seem to get higher and higher. We have been told by the Minister for Health that HIQA will carry out an investigation and inquiry into this. Yet, HIQA itself believes that it has no further role. I have been calling for an independent inquiry into …

I thank my good friend and colleague, Senator Tim Lombard, for facilitating me going ahead of him. It is much appreciated. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I tabled this Commencement matter for one simple reason, that is, a young chap who is blind and who spoke on the Joe Duffy programme last week. He explained that he had done his Irish oral exam. Obviously, given that he is blind, he does not see pictures. Part of the Irish oral exam is to describe pictures as Gaeilge. For a blind person to be …

I sincerely thank the Minister of State for his observations with regard to my Sunday Independent article at the weekend. I know diversity is an area for which he is responsible as Minister of State with responsibility for local government and I very much welcome his support of the concept of a diversity quota. I thank him for taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan. It is an important issue. I do not believe the content of the reply comes with a solution but I have no dou…

I too extend a céad míle fáilte to the ambassador and wish him well on the Netherlands' national day. Unfortunately, the situation in Ukraine is not improving. Approximately 30,000 Ukrainian refugees live among us now. I salute the community response throughout the country, which has been good at welcoming the Ukrainian people to Ireland. Some local authorities have been better than others. I know it is a work in progress and an evolving situation, but this needs to be a top priority. Some Departments are better th…

The conservative nature of the Department of Education really needs to change. If we want to see an equal society, we have to start with the education system. If young people are not able to achieve their potential through education, they will not be able to achieve their potential in employment and they will not be able to be equal citizens in this country. I want a debate with the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, as early as possible about what is being done to create an accessible, equal leaving certificate…

I welcome the Minister, who is a regular visitor, although probably not as regular as he used to be. The pandemic is now something we are living with as opposed to trying to deal with on an emergency basis. I would like to mention a funny thing that I have noticed from my empirical engagement with people. There is no scientific basis for this. People who are getting Covid-19 now are getting quite sick. I note the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Harris, was quite sick with it. Quite a number of people I have engaged …