Is there anything the Minister of State can do in the short term to support this valuable asset we have in the Mulranny area? As I outlined, it is there not to make a profit but to serve the community. Dr. Cowley has a tremendous team of staff. Perhaps the Minister of State could take a trip some time to see the way the service operates. It provides meals on wheels and housing. It is under extreme pressure. HIQA has to come in and the home has to obey the same rules. Whenever HIQA visits it costs the nursing home. …

I thank the Deputy.

We are debating amendments from the Seanad.

I ask the Minister to keep to the time, please, because other people must have their questions answered also.

I ask the Members to be fair to other Members. It happened at the previous Question Time. There are Members who have questions down. They come in and they want them to be heard. I am asking the Members to keep to the time. From here on in, I will cut the Ministers to the time.

Deputy Gannon has apologised. He will not be here for Question No. 90.

The vote is deferred until the voting block later.

It is understood that the Government Chief Whip, the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, will make a personal explanation to the House relating to her concluding remarks on the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2023 on 15 June. I call on the Minister of State, who has informed me that she wishes to make a personal explanation to the House pursuant to Standing Order 56.

Seanad Éireann has passed the Civil Defence Bill 2023 without amendment.

The Tánaiste gave the list. He is only obliged to answer the question listed on the Order Paper.

I had the honour of being Minister in the Department of Rural and Community Development. I acknowledge the tremendous work done by the current Minister. She has travelled the country and done a fantastic job. Despite what we sometimes hear from Opposition Members, people in rural Ireland appreciate everything that is being done by her Department. It has provided funding for many groups. Just today, there was good news for Ballinrobe, a town that needs any kind of development it can get. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle kn…

Let us give the Minister credit where it is due.

It is not all negativity, Deputy McGrath. Be in Fethard in Tipperary on Sunday to see the development being opened.

This was a scheme that everybody was looking for for many years. It really has been a lifesaver for many rural communities. In the early years, community centres were where everybody was going and they were being used by the community. I compliment the Minister for the funding she has secured. In particular, I thought it was a fantastic idea to have the bigger projects and the smaller projects. It has been a lifesaver. When does the Minister expect to be making the announcements again on the community centres?

I will not delay the Minister. That scheme was really successful. A lot of groups did not get funding and are waiting to see when they can apply again. Maybe if there was any extra funding or funding that was not spent between now and the end of the year, the Minister might look at the ones that made applications for this year. The Minister and her Department were on the ball. A lot of new people were forced on communities and the communities responded very well. However, some of the State agencies did not come in …

I agree with my colleague. In particular, under the derelict sites initiative for towns and the Tidy Towns committees for which she has responsibility, funding has been very well spent by the committees. They are frustrated by derelict buildings. Even though I say this against my own local authority, it had an opportunity to buy houses recently from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, but did not deliver. It is probably one of the worst counties in the country. We have to judge the local autho…

Balla Secondary School has made an application under the grant aid for major capital works. There has been substantial growth in student numbers from 222 six years ago to the current enrolment of 421, with more than 40 staff. Enrolment is expected to increase to more than 500 students. Balla is located eight miles from Castlebar. It is a commuter town from Castlebar, Ballinrobe and Claremorris. The current school building consists of a number of blocks. There is an estate block that was built in the 1800s and is no…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I ask the Minister of State to talk with the Minister for Education, and I will talk with her myself at the vote tomorrow night. Once again, I just want to emphasise that these boys and girls are at their best stages of life. To have to work at a facility like this is not fair to the teachers, it is not fair to the staff and it is not fair to the board of management. Even now, there are roof sections that are leaking, there are no proper changing rooms and there are n…

I would like to be associated with the Deputy's remarks on Michael Viney, who lived in Mayo at Thallabawn, a most beautiful part of the world. I offer my sympathy to his family. He certainly was somebody who made an impression and was well thought of in the community.

I thank the Deputy. The next grouping is the Independent Group. I call Deputy Connolly.