You will not answer the question.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment. It is good to have someone from the west in this role. I know he has always had a strong commitment to the development of the western rail corridor. It always strikes me that the western rail corridor only extends halfway up the west. We need to bring it the rest of the way. It is clear from the map produced with the proposals in the rail review that there is a massive gap. From north Mayo upwards, there is nothing. We need to ensure that changes. A fundament…

Is there an increase or not?

I raise the dermatology service in Sligo University Hospital. I was written to by Dr. Dermot McKenna, a consultant dermatologist. He informed us he was taking leave until the middle of July and no locum had been put in place to replace him during the period. It is a service that is under extreme stress. There are over 3,000 patients in the Sligo area waiting for new dermatological appointments. The service in Letterkenny has been closed down and 1,100 from there are being directed to Sligo. The GPs' society in the …

It is under serious pressure and we need action-----

-----to ensure services are put in place.

It is an example of-----

-----the north west being left behind again.

My constituency runs along the border of Sligo-Leitrim into south Donegal. The people in Kiltyclogher and Cashel are the same people. People in some parts of Ireland do not understand that. They are related to each other. They are the same people in every way. Their farms straddle the Border. We all understand that, yet this artificial division made on the island of Ireland almost 100 years ago now means people cannot vote for the Head of State in their own country. It is ridiculous. I recall that after I was first…

I listened intensely to the Minister's speech and one of the things that always strikes me is the Government seems to believe what it is doing is working. Do those in government not talk to their constituents and meet people, including the families who have elderly people living in their accommodation with them because they were put out of the places they were renting? Have they not spoken to people with youngsters who have come back to live with them who, having lived abroad for years, have come back here to try t…

I congratulate the Minister of his State on his new role. He held it before in the Government before last and I worked well with him in the past. Sometimes, an old fiddle can play a very good tune and I hope he will be able to do that in this case. We look forward to more investment. My constituency of Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal, like many parts of the country, has suffered grievously from changes in weather patterns and, in particular, flooding. It is a major issue for many farmers and communities in areas s…

I listened intently to the Minister's speech. One of the things that struck me about it was that he mentioned many of the things that the Irish Government has done, recognising Palestine and all of the various actions that were taken, many of which we commend the Government for, and there is no issue with that. The problem is that when it comes to things that will actually give us real teeth, set us apart and give us a leadership role in the world, Ireland again steps back and holds back. That is the difficulty wit…

What we are saying is they are facilitated by the approval of the Irish Central Bank-----

-----and that is what needs to stop. It is clear that the Irish Government has an opportunity to play a leadership role. Thankfully, many more states in Europe are beginning to shift their attitude towards the genocidal state that Israel has become. The reality is that this conflict did not start 18 months ago. It started in 1947 and has gone on since. The people of Palestine have been under the cosh of an imperial power since then, continually taking their territory and continually destroying their lives. What we …

It is a different contract.

You are very lucky you are not out of a job.

Biodiversity affects everyone in every part of the country. Biodiversity week offers an important opportunity to examine this critical part of life on our planet. It is not just nature for the planet; it is for human beings too. It is for everybody and we are all a part of that. It is crucial we take a serious approach to tackling the biodiversity crisis in Ireland. Farmers manage and own the vast majority of land on the island. While there are other agencies which are part of that and play a vital role, farming is…

I raise with the Taoiseach the issue of Grange Post-Primary School in north Sligo. I visited the school last September I think - certainly it was before the general election - with other public representatives and we were given a tour of the school and the very cramped situation they are in. There are overcrowded classrooms and toilet facilities are a particular problem. Children are queuing up during lunch break to go to the toilet and sometimes fail to do so. The principal and the chair of the parents' associatio…

It can be.

I pay tribute to Cara, her family and the thousands of families throughout the country who are in the same position. We all meet them in our constituencies. There are 15,296 people waiting for assessments of need. This wait-time can vary depending on their location and creates inequity across the system. Some children are better served than others based purely on geography. We saw this recently in Sligo-Leitrim where there is very high staff turnover, no clinical lead and waiting lists are rising daily. Many parent…