I thank the Minister of State. Am I correct stating that as many people are waiting now as have been cleared from the waiting list? I appreciate the efforts the Government is making, but it is still worrying. The senior Minister made many pronouncements recently about the necessity for a greater parity of esteem between people going to apprenticeships and those going into the more academic sector, with which I completely agree. If one looks at the emphasis on ensuring that there are not backlogs in the higher educa…

Again, I am slightly concerned because that sounds a bit like the Taoiseach explaining the inadequacies of our health system by saying that we are victims of our own success in that life expectancy has risen. With an increase in life expectancy, of course, there are more people who need hospital care. With the increase in the number of apprentices, there are more people who need to have their apprenticeships provided for by the State. I do not know if that did not occur to the Department. I hope it did. It still co…

The shortage of student accommodation is a widespread issue. Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to UCD specifically. The Minister of State, Deputy Collins, and I both know there is a shortage of student accommodation in Limerick. What are University of Limerick's plans to develop the Clare bank? It already has some accommodation on that, but there is a large land bank. Deputy Conway-Walsh spoke about the need to match third level places with the needs of industry. That is what the university hopes to do, to develop works…

How will students get there if there are no light rail plans and no northern distributor road? Is there scope for a supplementary question?

I appreciate that. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for facilitating it.

It would have to be in Mallow.

Problems with our healthcare system predate this Government. One might expect the Government to be uniquely qualified to deal with it given that it includes three previous Ministers for Health in the Cabinet, along with, of course, the Minister for Health, and yet problems persist and get worse. The people tasked with implementing Sláintecare have resigned. The IMO is balloting for industrial action. Non-consultant hospital doctors and medical scientists are on strike today. Nowhere is the problem more manifest tha…

We need to maintain that position.

When are we getting the reports of the expert group?

In the short time available to me I wish to address a number of issues. First, the Minister is quoted as having announced that there will not be a ban on below-cost selling in the upcoming Bill. That, I have to say, comes as a huge disappointment to me. It is illustrative of the disconnect between what the Department is claiming to want to achieve and what it is actually doing. I do appreciate that there could potentially be competition issues around a ban on below-cost selling but it is not necessarily so. The Spa…

In Clare too.

He is the youngest Deputy in the Dáil.

I return to an issue I previously raised with the Taoiseach, namely, the delays in completing apprenticeships. During the Covid response, the SOLAS block was postponed and delayed, which led to a huge backlog and waiting list for apprentices. The Taoiseach told me last September that there would be considerable Government investment, and I take it that there has been. SOLAS has confirmed to me that it is working at full capacity. The problem is that full capacity is inadequate to clear the backlog. It is like sayin…

I completely agree that we need to ensure the quality remains the same, but we could do it in medicine, which is very important, and so too is building. We know what bad quality building results in. We are living through it now and the Government has to deal with its consequences. We do need people coming through. The Taoiseach cited many figures relating to new apprentices coming in but it is about those who are in the system. I appreciate that measures are in place, but I urge the Taoiseach to try to ramp them up…

It could be six years.

The Government did close universities.

As is the case for medical studies.

The Government did in Ennis, but we might come to that later.

I have raised the issue before of an independent review of University Limerick Hospitals Group, which includes the most consistently overcrowded hospital in the country. The Taoiseach agreed the proposal had some merit and would be considered but I have not heard back about it. Since then, an expert team has been sent in by the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, to ease overcrowding. I assume that expert team is firefighting, just like management there, in terms of the day-to-day issues of trying to treat people…

I am sorry to be making my contribution after the Minister of State's wrap-up speech because there are a couple of points I would have liked him to address. His colleague the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in his introductory comments spoke about poor air quality in Ennis. Of course, I share his concern regarding the very poor air quality there and the fact that it was over the legal limit for a considerable period this winter. However, I invite the Minister of State or the Minister to come to Cloughlea with me next …