They are entitled to appeal.

All of this is very technical. We understand and appreciate that. I am seeking clarity, however, on an aspect relating particularly to persons who may be sentenced here and serving the sentence in another jurisdiction. What consultation will take place with the victims of the crime in such circumstances? It is an issue that is often raised and I am seeking clarity on it. Perhaps the matter is addressed somewhere in the bowels of the Bill that we have not yet reached. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State w…

I am satisfied once it is being addressed in the amendments. It is very clear the victims of crime have a role and will at least be consulted and made aware of what is happening. Very often in the past, we have come across situations where the victim of a crime has discovered something by hearing it on the grapevine or when meeting somebody on the street. That is not appropriate and we need to ensure that will not happen in the future.

I compliment Deputy Doherty on tabling this motion on a mortgage interest relief scheme for homeowners who are under significant pressure. I meet them in my constituency. Indeed, we all meet them regularly. Only last week, I spoke to a woman who told me that, in the past two and a half years, her mortgage had increased by almost €180 per month, causing her difficulties. She was also dealing with increased childcare and other costs. The cost-of-living crisis we all talk about is the reality for many people. In this …

We welcome much of what is in the Bill and the advance that it represents. I understand there is a necessity to use modern technology in every way possible to advance the work of An Garda Síochána and to keep communities and people safe across all aspects of our society, and that includes everyone who is involved in public service. I want to echo the Minister's comments in regard to the recent attacks against members of An Garda Síochána and, indeed, attacks against other people in the public service - I think of b…

I commend Deputy Ward on the motion. What we are dealing with this evening is years of underinvestment. This is the reality. We can see it across the entire State. CHO 1 in my area has not yet received a look back into all these issues but I am quite confident that it will be the same as everywhere else because the experience of young people and their families has been the same. They have been let down, there are long waiting lists and those who are in the service find it to be ad hoc . They meet a clinical psychol…

On Tuesday, Christine Kenny, who is the aunt of Amy Fitzpatrick, who disappeared on New Year's Day 2008, was at the gates of Leinster House and handed in letters to both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, and many other Deputies met her that morning. She is campaigning for the Government to intervene in this case. It is now 15 years since this young girl disappeared in Spain. She left the house of a friend to go to her own home and it is said that she never arrived there. It was six months previously that the famous c…

This issue is very serious for a lot of people in many parts of the country. Where I live in County Leitrim has one of the highest rates of afforestation in the country. Sitka spruce trees are everywhere. When I look outside, where the sky meets the land, it is Sitka spruce forestry on all sides. Forestry is painted as this great thing that will do an awful lot of good for people, but for the communities I live in and represent, it has been a very negative thing because it has starved those communities of people. I…

The proposal to allow Coillte to use an investment company to buy up land and plant vast quantities of farmland across the country is another surge to the right, which is where this Government is going. We have a whole lot of issues in farming across the country. We have serious problems in our sheep and suckler cow sectors. I do not see any investment funds coming in to save them. Yet, one of the only parts of agriculture where we have investment funds is the part that is tax free and highly subsidised by the Stat…

It is quite a number of years since the Minister and I were on the agriculture committee together. This was an issue then and we once made a visit to north county Dublin with the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, in regard to it. One of the primary demands made was for a food regulator. We all recognise the production of food in this and many countries is a highly profitable enterprise, but the market model does not work for the primary producer. The primary producer is always squeezed, and, having made the greatest …

I thought the Minister was in the Opposition for a few minutes because he outlined all the things that need to be done. However, the fact of the matter is a large portion of his Government has been in power since 2011 and all the current failings have been there since then. I received an email recently from a constituent, Elaine, regarding her six-year-old son who fell ill and had to go to Caredoc in Sligo. Caredoc has its own problems. She waited several hours before her son was seen there. Finally, it was recogni…

That was Sligo University Hospital. It is the same in any hospital throughout the country. The situation is dire in so many of our hospitals around the country. I accept that the Minister can come to the Chamber and tell us about all the great work that is happening. He is in the middle of everything but nothing seems to be concluded. Certainly, in the experience of the people dealing with the health service, they do not see the results. That is the problem we have got. We really need to sort this situation out. I …

I am glad to have this opportunity to speak to the Minister of State. I engaged with her probably a year and a half ago, or more, on this particular issue. As she is aware, there are a number of families, mainly in south Leitrim, who have children with severe disabilities. Most of them are young adults at this stage and their parents are becoming quite elderly and are getting on. One of them, a neighbour of mine, in fact, passed away recently. This is really becoming a crisis for these families as they look to the …

Okay.

I acknowledge the Minister of State's work in respect of this. My frustration is that on the day - the Minister of State is right to say we had a very good meeting, there was energy in the room and we felt that everybody was on the same page - I detected a little hesitancy on the part of some of the HSE officials to use Cloonamahon. I did not know or understand why. I still do not understand why. The prospect that there may be difficulty with some oversized wheelchairs needs to be examined. Maybe that is the case. …

Excuses, excuses.

It is not suitable. It is too far away.

The house they were using at Carrick-on-Shannon up to now was a tiny house. It was a standard, ordinary bungalow but it has been used for respite services-----

-----for all those families.

I extend my condolence to the loved ones of Private Seán Rooney, who tragically lost his life in the Lebanon. Ireland woke up this morning to hear this sad news. I think also of his colleague, Trooper Shane Kearney. We wish him a speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with their families and their colleagues in the Defence Forces. It reminds us all of the dangers that are out there on peacekeeping missions around the world. Ireland has a great and wonderful tradition of keeping peace and being out there to work on behal…