I think that is an opinion from the Minister of State.

I thank the Minister of State. I think we will to have to agree to disagree on the Debenhams issue. When the Minister of State addressed questions on this issue in June of last year he said that on the Tánaiste’s direction, a review was to be undertaken into the matter, including legislation in this space to determine if they could do anything to strengthen the position. Part of the Government’s stated plan was to involve some of the recommendations of the Duffy Cahill report but not all six of them. Can the Minist…

I did not realise the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, worked for the Department of Justice. I welcome the pilot 24-7 multi-agency mental health de-escalation team, which I understand has been set up in my own city of Limerick. It is something I welcome and support. Unfortunately, like most of the country, in Limerick issues regarding mental health have increased over the course of the pandemic. One of the things that the pandemic has cruelly demonstrated is how woefully under-resourced our mental health services…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I really appreciate it. The only concern I have is with regard to the third and fourth quarter of 2022 and I hope it will be done sooner than this. People in Limerick, the Garda Síochána and people who will be involved in this will not be found wanting in delivering the service, which I genuinely believe will be a game changer for many people who find themselves vulnerable. As I mentioned earlier, the community responders include Limerick Suicide Watch, Limerick Treat…

Page 45 of the programme for Government commits to ensuring capacity, particularly bed and critical care capacity. In the context of the major hospital in my constituency of Limerick, namely, University Hospital Limerick, UHL, this commitment seems not to have been implemented. We always have the highest number of people on trolleys. Some 82 people were on trolleys in the hospital yesterday and, unfortunately, 83 people are on trolleys this morning. This is scandalous. People are not statistics. They need to be tre…

They have not even gotten a commitment.

On page 50 of the programme for Government the national drugs strategy is mentioned and it is stated that community involvement in the strategy is supported and should be enhanced. The drugs task forces from across the city that I have spoken to in the past while have cautioned that the community-led approach is being undermined. The community representatives have been removed from the decision-making process. The drugs task force networks did not even get a response to their invite to the Minister of State to atte…

He did not respond.

Will the Taoiseach ask him to respond to the task forces then?

I represent the constituency that has the highest number of unemployment black spots in the State. Eight of the top ten unemployment black spots are in Limerick city. I recently commissioned a report on unemployment black spots across the State and it makes for stark reading. Many people rely on the local employment services in Limerick. They have done a great job and would have done a much better job with even a portion of the funding given annually to JobPath in its different incarnations. These services are vita…

Page 45 of the programme for Government states the Government will "Ensure capacity for a COVID-19 rapid response, including bed and ICU capacity and for non-COVID emergencies into the longer term, by utilising some private hospital capacity, if necessary." The people have been wonderful during this pandemic, as have the front-line staff. However, in a recent radio interview, the chief executive of University Hospital Limerick stated the hospital had 12 ICU beds, 16 high-dependency beds and 13 people in the ICU. Sh…

The State's response to the suffering of its citizens in these institutions is best described as too little and too late. We were far too late in stopping these practices in these mother and baby homes and we were far too late in setting up the commission of investigation, the final report of which was best described by my party colleague as a miscarriage of truth. It has been too little in terms of the amount of redress and the number of people it is proposed to include in the scheme. This Government has failed at…

On page 47 of the programme for Government, it acknowledges that even before the impact of Covid-19 on our health service, significant additional capacity was required across all aspects of care. It detailed the Government’s plans to address these capacity issues. Yesterday in my local hospital, University Hospital Limerick, UHL, 95 people were on trolleys, which is an absolute scandal. This is the highest number ever in any hospital since these figures were collated. Some 70 people are on trolleys today. This is a…

The hospital is awaiting approval for extra money.

What about the money? There have never been 95 people on trolleys-----

The Taoiseach will have seen the recent report from the Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force demonstrating the work that it has been done with community groups and it is calling for additional funding. I am a member of a similar task force in Limerick and the concerns of this group are similar, namely it does not have the funding to carry out its important work. The programme for Government commits to reviewing these task forces. I appeal to the Taoiseach to carry out that review and to make sure the task forces go…

During the local and European elections in 2019, the people of Cork, Waterford and Limerick voted in plebiscites for directly-elected mayors. The people of Limerick accepted the proposal. Unfortunately, people in Cork and Waterford did not. It is over two years since that happened. We expected direct elections for the mayor of Limerick to take place in 2021. Obviously the pandemic interfered in that and delayed it. When will the legislation be ready? When will direct elections for mayor of Limerick take place? Is t…

Throughout the worst period of the pandemic, when uncertainty reigned and before so many of us got the vaccine, our hospitals were the front line in the battle against the virus. Healthcare workers, nurses and midwives came in to work day after day, shift after shift, putting themselves at real risk of contracting the virus. They were very tough times for our healthcare workers and their families. Since the widespread uptake of the vaccine, we have seen immense overcrowding return to our hospitals. The pandemic rem…

I ask this question on the back of an article written by John Mulligan, a journalist with the Irish Independent , in July. The article suggested that several bogus companies have been created across the State. The CRO advised that it had no role to play in verifying the details of these new companies. In my capacity as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I wrote to the Minister's Department regarding the CRO and seeking clarification on this issue. I was not happy with the response …

I thank the Minister for his response but I am unclear as to the precise action he will take on the issue. I am sure he will agree that the establishment of fake firms in the State is not only a risk to consumers who could be defrauded by these companies, but is also a stain on our reputation internationally. Furthermore, I am sure he will agree that the maintenance of a good faith register of companies without due diligence in respect of important details such as who the directors are and whether the registered ad…