I add my support to the abolition of hospital charges amounting to €800 in one year. If we were to provide universal health insurance those charges would have no place in the system. I ask the Minister to also look at the charges for hospital parking. Some hospitals do offer discounted assistance for regular visitors but, for example, I know of one family where the family members were coming in four, five and six times a day to hydrate their mother in the hospital and they were all paying for parking every day, and…

We need to get the second catheterisation laboratory up and running but that cannot be done without beds. The Minister and I have spoken about this a number of times and about the fact that there is no capital support available for beds but there is the possibility of bringing in a modular day ward which is being done in other hospitals around the country. That would immediately provide the bed capacity to allow us to activate the second laboratory. What proposals does the Minister have in that regard? Finally, pla…

I remind the Taoiseach of the words he delivered in Waterford in July 2017, when he signalled he was the future. He said, "So long as I am Taoiseach Waterford will not be neglected or forgotten." I remember well the hope his speech inspired as a signal that the vicious perishing unleashed by the Administration of his predecessor, Enda Kenny, was coming to an end. We surveyed the wreckage of the then Government's disastrous hospital groups strategy, which had led to the chaotic asset-stripping of our regional hospit…

I am glad to hear the Taoiseach finally acknowledge there is a roadmap to get to a 24-7 service. It is the first time that has been acknowledged in this House. I invited him to come to Waterford and visit University Hospital Waterford, so I was very glad to see him there. As I pointed out to him in private conversation, there are still exceptional challenges at the hospital, not least the lack of capital expansion. At least four projects there have, in essence, been mothballed for the past year and they are critica…

Yesterday, as the Oireachtas Friends of Science, we had the pleasure of engaging with the winners of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, Shane O'Connor and Liam Carew, on their deep research into the relationship between exercise and student resilience in schools. Essentially, they found that a DEIS school they looked at which implemented half an hour of informal activity three days a week, including basketball, badminton and tag football, was brought from the bottom quadrant to the top quadrant in th…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an ngrúpa the Rural Independents as dul i ngleic leis an ábhar seo. This is an important motion. It speaks to the retention of choice and freedom and the dangers in the removal of choice and freedom in how citizens conduct their daily lives and how they transact in their daily lives. As we know, there is a strong move to digitisation happening globally and the environment is changing to favour digital transactions. However, a significant number of people find themselves less and less in favour…

I had some IT issues so I do not have the comprehensive speech I was going to make. I will address some points relating to what is proposed in the Bill. Essentially, it responds to the need for emergency backup electricity generation, which was introduced in legislation back at the turn of the year. What it fails to do is highlight the very slow rate of progress in terms of trying to deliver renewable energy and also with the warmer homes initiative. Those are two significant deficits we have in the economy. I pay …

My question asks the Minister if his Department is considering any new taxation policies to stem the exodus of private landlords from the private rental sector.

I want to declare an interest in this issue, which is that I own a very modest rental property in Waterford. As the Minister knows, the private rental sector is in a state of chassis. Small private landlords are leaving the sector in droves. The fact is that every investment decision that is made is based on a range of push and pull factors. In the private rental market at present, there are many push factors to encourage people to get out and none to pull people back into the sector. We must compare the treatment …

I thank the Minister. He has signalled the matter will be considered in the budget but he needs to do some kind of novel review of taxation strategies. This is a significant problem. The people getting out of the sector are older and younger people do not have the ability to replace them. They certainly do not have the ability to come in with 30% or 40% of equity to buy a buy-to-let property. Young people do not have the ability to save that type of money. The market is now favouring institutional investors. As I s…

The North Quays project in Waterford is finally happening. It was originally conceived in the 1990s when the then Minister, Martin Cullen, launched a design competition for the north wharf. It is marvellous to see the contractor finally appointed and hard hats and white vans arriving to the site. It took a massive and sustained effort to bring this project to fruition. That effort included predecessors of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, namely, the former Minister, Martin Cullen, and former Minister of State,…

It is great to hear that all these great things are going to be done. I have raised the issue of borrowing and the national student accommodation strategy a number of times, however. Despite WIT and now SETU having a track record as being the only TU in the country delivering student accommodation, it has been roundly hobbled by the Department's national strategy; so much so, in fact, that funders can see that the student accommodation in Waterford has zero Government support at this point. How can we build a funct…

Ar mo shon féin agus mo chairde sa Ghrúpa Réigiúnach, cuirim fáilte roimh an Uachtarán. Tá súil againn go mbeidh an t-am a chaitheann sí anseo ina chabhair agus ina ábhar eolais di. Tá súil againn freisin go mbainfidh sí taitneamh as a cuairt go hÉirinn inniu. It is a remarkable feature of our politics that I have the opportunity to address the President of the EU Parliament on the occasion of Ireland's 50th year at the heart of the European project. Three years ago, I entered politics principally out of frustratio…

Ar mo shon féin agus mo chairde sa Ghrúpa Réigiúnach, cuirim fáilte roimh an Uachtarán. Tá súil againn go mbeidh an t-am a chaitheann sí anseo ina chabhair agus ina ábhar eolais di. Tá súil againn freisin go mbainfidh sí taitneamh as a cuairt go hÉirinn inniu. It is a remarkable feature of our politics that I have the opportunity to address the President of the EU Parliament on the occasion of Ireland's 50th year at the heart of the European project. Three years ago, I entered politics principally out of frustratio…

I was reviewing questions and previous statements in the House regarding the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland's recommendation for the introduction of body-worn cameras. Policing organisations around the world have found such devices can help to improve front-line capability with the accurate recording of incidents, expedite analysis, enhance situation awareness and sometimes protect police from harm. They could probably do a lot more than that. There is overwhelming support within An Garda Síochána …

Will the Tánaiste advise regarding the ongoing new revised negotiations around the Brexit protocol in terms of the movement of goods on and off the island in respect of the preservation of the open Border?

It is fair to say that the Northern Ireland protocol is being used for political leverage, specifically by the northern unionists, to seek concessions. It is also being used to stymie the resumption of the Northern Ireland Executive, which is holding up effective governance in the North of Ireland. This is especially noted with regard to the IMF announcement on the UK economy today. The Minister has answered part of my second question, which is whether the business community is being consulted widely about its idea…

We all agree that the resumption of the Executive is needed to offer hope and better governance and administration of the Northern Ireland budget and economy. What might be on offer in the shared island initiative? When I look at Derry, I see many similarities with my own city of Waterford. That city has suffered from a lack of per capita resourcing for its university and hospital, which is similar to Waterford. It aligns with the experience of Waterford, which has suffered because of political strategies, the inte…

I am happy to take part in this important debate about the future of forestry in Ireland and to examine the rationale of the Government's current policy. Ecology and biology have long been used in the lexicon of forestry language and we can now add a new word, “codology”, because that is the best description of the recent activity announced by Coillte, a State-supported company which, despite its annual profits, could not muster financial expertise other than to go to Bond Street and Threadneedle Street to find UK …

There has been much talk in the House in recent days of the use of State assets, how Irish interests are being protected and such, and the use of financial investment vehicles to create additional resourcing. At present we are embarking on a multi-billion euro strategy to delivery offshore wind energy and again we will have to utilise foreign investment houses. The Taoiseach may not be able to answer my questions now but he might come back to me in writing. I have a couple of questions about State protections. Have…