I did.

I am glad to be able to speak on this motion. We see the waiting lists across every walk of society but people are waiting 12 months for gynaecological services. Waiting lists have increase by 67% since March 2015. We see the furore over this site and the way it has exploded and mushroomed and there is not a mention of the children's hospital. Tá sé caillte. It is in a major hole somewhere not even being talked about; it is off the radar and on the Richter scale. It is three times the price and on the wrong site fr…

Tá an t-am caite. The Deputy will get another chance.

Go raibh maith agat, a Aire.

A Theachta, an bhfuil tú sásta?

An chéad ceist eile is in the name of Deputy Barry, who is not here. The question is grouped with Questions Nos. 11 and 32. I call Deputy Connolly to pose her question.

I support Deputy Shanahan. It is a scandal that people have to wait that length of time. It is a two-tiered system for the people of the south east, Tipperary included. There is a further problem, apart from the cath lab not being open. There is a huge problem with the National Ambulance Service and waiting times. People are dying on the roadside and in their homes while waiting for three, four, five and six hours. Ambulances are flying all over the country because boxes are being ticked regarding the time a 999 ca…

I, too, wish to contribute this evening. This is one of the most phony, disrespectful and dishonest debates we have ever had in this House. For ten weeks, and with the support of Sinn Féin and others, whose support I acknowledge, I have been looking for this debate. The issue of the national maternity hospital arose two weeks ago and a debate was scheduled earlier today. Debates on anything at all have been scheduled before the debate I requested. Has the Government completely lost interest in Irish agriculture? Th…

It was a phoney debate.

It is a phoney war.

The Minister is certainly not doing that anyway.

I add my voice to this debate today. The Bill is well meaning and it is lovely when they are in opposition, but when Labour Party Members had a chance in government, what did they do? They attacked the very weakest with what they did with the women's pension and the death grant. They were supposed to be representing the working people but they did nothing. That being said, we have a new poor, the working poor, and it is very difficult for them. None of the legislation we are passing here is poverty proofed. It is i…

At present, there are huge waiting lists for basic but essential services, including occupational therapy, speech and language supports and psychology, in County Tipperary. In addition, there is no full-time family resource service for families in the county. This was highlighted recently by 11-year-old Cara Darmody of Ardfinnan National School, to whom I want to give special mention today. Cara, a fifth class student, has decided to do her junior certificate maths examination this year in an effort to raise funds.…

I salute 11-year-old Cara, who is a brave girl, for taking this initiative to raise funds. I hope the Taoiseach will listen.

I too thank the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and compliment her on proceeding with this legislation because we badly needed a review. Defamation is such a difficult area and it is a very expensive area, if a citizen is defamed. It happened me, actually, and I took a case. We got it corrected but it was frightfully expensive. When blatant untruths were published on a Sunday edition I did not want anything only the truth to be rectified and a donation for a local hospital by way of, when they accepted they were wrong, r…

I, too, am delighted to be able to comment on this legislation tonight. I thank the Minister of State. Indeed, while I am on my feet, we had Mr. Edmund Honohan, former Master of the High Court, in recently and he was fulsome in his praise of the Minister of State. I cannot think of the name of the relevant Bill, it had an unusual acronym, but he praised the efforts in that legislation which the Minister of State had brought in to try to bring some clarity to situations regarding families and, indeed, farms and plac…

Yes, it is SCARP. We were calling it "SCAMP" for a while. The Minister of State is right. In fairness, he should take the credit when he is getting it. We are well able to criticise so it is nice to pass on those congratulations. This Bill is very important because consumers are being ripped off, left, right and centre, especially online. Then there are massive reviews on different media online and they are all one-sided. There is no control or basis. They might be wildly inaccurate. Big companies are powerful. Lik…

Live, horse, and get grass.

What about Seán Lemass?

In view of what the Taoiseach said in regard to transport, and the fact that not all the private transport companies can avail of the lovely, sweet 20% reduction - now 50% reduction in some cases - for transport services in cities and between cities, what about the people of rural Ireland? Are they going to have to walk? The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is failing to come to talk to us. He is not turning up tonight up for a Topical Issue debate on it. We need a debate in the House about the discrimina…