I thank the Tánaiste once again for his support, along with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in respect of significant investment in St. Joseph's Care Centre. I would welcome a meeting with the HSE capital team to speed up this service needs assessment, which has been dragging on over the last 12 months. The people of Longford need first-class facilities, the same as every community in our country. My priority is to make sure we get those facilities in the towns of Ballymahon, Granard and Edgeworthstown. As t…

I thank the Minister of State for taking the debate. I will start by saying I am a postmaster. It has been in our family for generations. My late mother took it over in 1972 and I have been running it for the past 20 years. I still cover the office on certain days or half-days during the week because ultimately, the local post office is the heart of the community. It is heartening to hear those comments from many Members. It is the heart of the community where I live. I was offered a redundancy package a number of …

Amendment No. 18 is ruled out of order.

It is a potential charge on revenue.

I raise the issue of Garda numbers in Longford. Of the past three attestations coming out of Templemore, we have been lucky to receive one probationary Garda in our county. Over the past number of months, we have actually lost nine members between retirement, resignation and those transferring to other units. While a number have transferred in, we are still down numbers. We are looking to make sure we are brought up to the same cohort and the same level of service and support as in any other part of the country. Co…

Amendment No. 14 has been ruled out of order due to a potential charge on revenue.

Stick to the amendment, please, Deputy.

Deputy, please stick to the amendment.

Stick to the amendment, please, or I will move on to the next speaker.

Quiet, please.

I wish to raise ophthalmology services in Longford-Westmeath or the lack thereof. In 2024 we lost our service in Longford and since then we have had periods of no service with people having to travel to Dublin or Athlone or a temporary service back in Longford. The most recent correspondence I got from the HSE stated that for patients in Longford-Westmeath requiring a consultant ophthalmologist the pathway for access to the service is currently the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin as there is no consul…

On behalf of the members of the all-party committee on autism, I sincerely thank Mick for all his work over the last number of years in making Leinster House an autism-friendly Parliament and a Parliament that welcomes people of all disabilities and none. He did a huge amount of work with Roisin Deery over the years to make this Parliament what it is, a Parliament with the highest standards in the world. The person always came first in anything Mick did. It is a pleasure to have got to know you over the last number…

I speak as a member of the all-party Joint Committee on Autism. At a meeting yesterday, the autism innovation strategy, launched by the Government in August 2024, came up. As part of that strategy, in one of the points related to advocacy, understanding and acceptance, we stated we would establish an autism innovation fund. The fund is to be twofold, to provide for funding for innovative projects, initiatives and activities designed to support and empower autistic people around Ireland and, second, to support resea…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Tom Brabazon - To discuss section 39 arrangements for healthcare assistants. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss waiting times for children awaiting speech and language therapy assessments in community healthcare organisation, CHO, 9. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh - To discuss funding for a nurture room at St. Brendan's College, Belmullet. Deputy Jen Cumm…

That is fine. I did not want to cut in because you were making a very important point. I wish to pass on the condolences of the Ceann Comhairle's office to both of the families mentioned. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, which is quite personal.

A significant number of children in Longford are on the waiting list in primary care for occupational therapy, OT. The senior OT post has been vacant since January 2025. Despite all the necessary paperwork having been submitted to the integrated healthcare area, IHA, manager who is responsible for approvals, a recent staff grade position has been approved. The complexity of needs of children on the primary care list requires experienced clinicians to support staff grades. When will we be in a position to fill this …

The vacant properties refurbishment grant has been extremely successful since it was implemented by the Government, with nearly 15,000 applications up to the end of September. There were 200 in Longford and 300 in Westmeath, and over €200 million has been paid out under the scheme. However, I find that a significant number of individuals and couples are coming to my office who are struggling to secure finance to complete the works in order to create the drawdown. Could we consider stage payments within the grant sc…

I suggested stage payments.

Well done to Ciaran Mullooly MEP for organising the demonstration in Athlone, which I attended as a member of the Fine Gael Party and as a TD for Longford-Westmeath and to support the local Longford and Westmeath IFA organisations that I have worked with for a long time. I wish to highlight a couple of things. There was an Oireachtas committee meeting held with the IFA and the Irish Farmers Journal around mid-December to discuss the issue with the beef coming in from Brazil. There were very few Opposition Members a…

All the large building companies and AHBs appeared before the housing committee. They all welcomed the changes and improvements made on the viability of apartment building. Is there any timeline on the legal challenge being brought on the changes to apartment sizes which will affect the delivery of tens of thousands of apartments?