During the Covid-19 lockdowns and since there was an increase in violence and in antisocial behaviour on the streets of both the north inner city and the south inner city. That was ignored and we saw where that leads to. I want to bring to the attention of the Minister the increase in anti-social behaviour on the streets of Ennis, which as Deputy Lowry said is now part of this new Clare-Tipperary division. There has been a marked increase in antisocial behaviour, perhaps linked to people being moved out of other ar…

One leads to the other.

You have abandoned the streets.

My thoughts in the first instance are with those who are still in hospital, as are most people's thoughts, and with those who tackled the assailant. That vicious attack was taken advantage of by those on the far right and it needs to be condemned. However, that was, in turn, taken advantage of by a group intent on lawlessness, and that has been pervasive on the streets of inner-city Dublin for the length of time this Dáil has been sitting. I have listened to Deputy Gannon talk about it. When I was Chair of the Covi…

I want to revert to an issue I have raised with the Tánaiste on a number of occasions, namely overcrowding in the accident and emergency department of University Hospital Limerick, UHL. This morning, there are 90 people on trolleys in UHL. That is a good day now. It would have been unthinkable a number of years ago but there are 90 people on trolleys this morning. Almost one quarter of all those on trolleys in the country are in UHL. The Tánaiste is or claims to be a republican. Almost everybody in this House claim…

I thank the Tánaiste for his engagement, which is greatly appreciated. He is right that there are many projects under way in Limerick. There are also other projects under way across the State. In St. Vincent's University Hospital, for example, instead of having elderly people coming into the hospital, the hospital is sending out teams. I wonder whether something like that could be considered for UHL given the age cohort of the population of the mid-west. It certainly seems to be a success in St. Vincent's Universit…

It does not work.

It is a long way from Kilmeedy to Gurranabraher.

This morning, Deputy Marian Harkin and I organised a meeting for representatives of the nursing home sector. They are under pressure. They are small family-run, community-owned and not-for-profit nursing homes. While the Government provided some additional supports, they were nothing like the increase in the cost of living and energy costs they have to meet or the additional labour costs they have to meet. On the other hand, there is a huge gulf between what HSE-run nursing homes and private nursing homes, respecti…

The Minister of State is not answering the question I asked.

Where is the proof that we are talking about patients with a greater complexity? That is my question to the Minister of State.

In April of last year the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, announced a €50 million pilot scheme to put in wastewater schemes in towns and villages where there was not one. That was to be just a first round; there was to be another round. Since then, there have been considerable delays such that there might not be a second round. Most importantly there has been enormous competition between Broadford and Cooraclare, which were put forward, and competition with Carrigaholt which was not put forward. There is competit…

There will be a continuity Fianna Fáil party in Clare by then.

I thank Deputy Kelly and the Labour Party for this very timely motion which I have no hesitation whatsoever in supporting. There has been a lot of focus of late on the necessity of moving elderly people out of acute hospitals, it is a pity there is not the same focus on keeping elderly people out of acute hospitals. The last tie we had such a focus on moving elderly people out of acute hospitals was when we were trying to push them out, notwithstanding the fact they were bringing Covid-19 into nursing homes with th…

It is entirely understandable that the parliamentary draftsman might want some time to recover from the previous Attorney General but all good things must come to an end.

What is the delay and when will we see this legislation?

I was struck by the comments of the new CEO of Tourism Ireland reported in this morning's edition of The Irish Times . "We have a calculation around revenue per carbon footprint," she said. She continued: "If we're going to bring someone from the other side of the world, we're going to make sure we target [those who are] valued-added, and [not those] coming in and out, leaving a carbon footprint, but without bringing value." She also discussed capacity constraints at Dublin Airport and in the accommodation sector, …

I find the Taoiseach's answer somewhat surprising. On the one hand, he says we need to curb international travel and take account of sustainability while, on the other, he wants to lift capacity limits at Dublin Airport. Nowhere has he discussed exploiting capacity at other airports so that people are flown directly into a region that they might stay in, when, one hopes, there is a greater balance in how people are accommodated. These people need accommodation but the State has to match that with what it provides. …

Earlier we discussed the climate emergency and the need to improve biodiversity, the environment etc. Forestry has been posited by the Taoiseach’s Department as a major plank of Government policy, yet up to two weeks ago, only 27 afforestation licences have been granted for the year to date. That is a historic low for the State. Ash dieback is a huge problem. Many owners of plantations which suffer from ash dieback say that people should not believe what the Government says and people should not plant their land be…

I thought an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach said five minutes each.