I too want to join in recognising the legend that was Charlie Bird. For four decades, his voice was to be heard across the most important news stories of our times. His incredible, heartbreaking work on the Stardust tragedy is a stand-out from that very long career. He will always be remembered for his role, of course, in covering the emerging Irish peace process, including as the RTÉ contact person for the IRA in those years. I pay particular tribute to Charlie for the courage and humanity he demonstrated when dia…

I will return to the redress scheme that opened today for those who experienced trauma in mother and baby homes and county homes. I acknowledge that redress comes in many forms and it is not all about financial recognition. However, trauma also comes in many forms and the largest design flaw in this scheme is the 180-day rule. It has been correctly described as a real insult to many victims. Some 24,000 people are excluded for one reason or another from this redress scheme. I have been informed that this is perhaps…

I did not realise that this was the case so I, therefore, wish the Taoiseach well. I wish above all else that on this issue, the Government might reconsider and put those flaws to right.

I raised the issue of the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick with the Taoiseach yesterday. He sought to downplay the severity of the situation. Indeed, listening to Leo Varadkar, you would be forgiven for thinking that the dire problems at the hospital were a figment of people's imaginations. This morning, however, we wake up to the news that the crisis continues. Nearly 100 patients are on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick. The hospital remains in its highest state of escalation. All beds a…

I asked the Minister to share whether he accepts that there is an emergency at University Hospital Limerick. I can only judge by his response that he shares the Taoiseach's view that, in fact, the Government has done enough. I want to reiterate again today that this is not the case. The Minister is frankly delusional on this matter. I described to him, and he echoed, the facts on the ground about overcrowding and cancellation of surgery. I should also recall that the pressures associated with the lack of resources …

Bed capacity is insufficient.

When will Government address that fact?

The people of Cork have been waiting over a decade for their new hospital. Site selection for the hospital was four years late. The Government had said the hospital would be open this year but now says it will not be fully operational until 2028. It has taken over a year to appoint a design team, so we have had missed target after missed target while people in Cork and the Munster region desperately need healthcare. Hospitals in Cork and across the region, as the Minister knows, are under massive pressure. Tens of …

That is one way to put it.

Our hospitals are under massive pressure. Record waiting lists, a year-round trolley crisis and embedded problems in recruitment and retention mean the health service is creaking at the seams. Nowhere is this pressure more acutely felt than at University Hospital Limerick. Yesterday, there were 143 patients on trolleys at the hospital. Today, people are being urged to avoid the emergency department. Scheduled surgeries at the hospital have been deferred while staff struggle to deal with the high levels of overcrowd…

The Taoiseach's position seems to be that there is actually no problem at University Hospital Limerick. He has just recounted for me, in his view, a huge record of success and adequate investment. That seems to be his position. The reality on the ground, of course, is very different. I recounted for him the story of 71-year-old stroke patient who was on a trolley for eight days. The Taoiseach has heard before in the Chamber other stories of people left in the most atrocious and distressing of circumstances. The pro…

Do something about it then.

It is very much the business of the State to support those who need care and those who provide care. The Taoiseach's recent comments in the media stating his position that the provision of care for vulnerable citizens is not the responsibility of the State are entirely wrong. They are, of course, very informative because they go some way towards explaining why carers have been so badly treated, why they have been left behind time and again and why so many find themselves burnt out and in a desperate lifelong battle…

That is not what you said.

It is fitting that International Women's Day takes place in springtime, which is the season that represents the spirit of renewal, hope and change, a time when darkness gives way to light and we can all see that bit better how far women have come and how far we have yet to travel. Generations of Irish women - courageous changemakers - struggled to transform the future for all of us to ensure their daughters are uplifted and have the opportunities denied to them. Much progress has been made but we still have a road …

The crisis in child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, has escalated to a full-blown emergency. On the watch of this Government, waiting lists for first-time appointments have increased dramatically, while the number of young people waiting more than one year has nearly trebled. It is virtually impossible to access services. The reviews into CAMHS by the Mental Health Commission and the Maskey report were damning. The system is plagued not only by dangerous waiting times but also by alarming issues with …

With respect, that is all just rhetoric. The problem is the Government is not responding to Maggie. She is ten years old. She is receiving no services. She is in a full-blown crisis and her mother is desperate. That is Maggie's story. The Minister's assertions do not change that fact at all. What is the response for Maggie? Is it a Minister taking to his feet and rattling off figures and budgetary arithmetic? That is all well and good, but the problem is it is not responding to Maggie. It is not answering the needs…

And thousands of other Maggies.

The Government is just not prepared to do it. Okay. Thanks for that.

It is not agreed. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, is refusing to answer questions when she comes before the Dáil tomorrow. The same Minister was quite prepared to go on live television and, without prior notice, sack Ms Siún Ní Raghallaigh but is not prepared to come before the Chamber and answer questions. The Minister has badly mishandled the RTÉ debacle and has now added to the chaos. A lack of transparency and accountability has broken public trust in RTÉ and it now seems the Minister is not prepared to …