The HSE has put a team into UHL to assist with the management of patient flow within the hospital over the past two months. It has had some beneficial impacts in increasing patient flow and the management of patients within certain wards and so forth. Additional staff have also been recruited. We are very conscious of the pressures that are on emergency departments at the moment. The winter initiative, which the Minister for Health will launch in the next ten days, will contain measures to deal with the situation i…

I was in Shannon. I had a fantastic-----

Yes. If the Deputy recalls Deputy Cathal Crowe and Senator Dooley asked me to meet the manager-----

They asked me to meet the manager on-site on the very same issue and the manager basically identified that there was a funding gap from his perspective. I have spoken to the Minister about it and the Minister is working on this with all the stakeholders to try to get this resolved.

I agree with what the Deputy said. An expert team is searching for the disappeared victims of the Troubles. The team has begun a sixth dig for the remains of a teenager, Columba McVeigh, who was murdered by the Provisional IRA in November 1975. He was from Donaghmore, Country Tyrone and was aged 19 when he was abducted, shot and secretly buried. The investigators from the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains have returned to Bragan Bog near Emyvale, County Monaghan and will search there. They…

The Minister brought forward proposals to Cabinet this morning in the broader area of the energy credit and is looking at certain categories that fall outside the framework that can facilitate the easy mechanisms to disburse the money. I would like to talk to the Minister about that and maybe the Deputy could engage with him again. I will talk to him and highlight that the Deputy has raised this issue.

These are issues that need to be resolved within the existing industrial relations mechanisms, and local authorities are tried and trusted now in dealing with these issues. Again, I will talk-----

I take the Deputy's point.

I agree with the Deputy that this is a matter of hospital administration and management; let us be honest about it. It should never be raised on the floor of Dáil Éireann. It should not have to be raised on the floor of Dáil Éireann.

I have been presented with a note that suggests a locum medical secretary has been assigned to dermatology starting today, 4 October 2022, until a permanent grade 4 has been appointed from a recently formed panel of applicants. The clinical administrative management met with the consultant yesterday to update him on the staff member being assigned to dermatology. A follow-up meeting has to take place with the consultant, new staff member and clinical administrative management supervisor tomorrow to agree what suppo…

When we are down to that level of operational detail in how a hospital is being run, there is an issue.

I certainly do know what is going on on the ground. Most Deputies do; that is why they are here. They meet and engage with people on an ongoing basis. However, we do not get involved in the day-to-day operation of services either. There has to be some delegation of authority and responsibility in relation to the management of various services. It is important that people get a timely response to any applications to a community welfare officer. I will talk to the Minister for Social Protection about the points the D…

Rossmore is a cultural hotspot with one of the best amateur drama groups in the country. It won many national titles and they are very creative people. The lobbying of the Deputy’s good self and others resulted in additional funding in the budget to deal with, particularly, the concessionary students who did not get places. Basically, the idea of the funding is to increase capacity now so we can get everybody covered for this school year. I will talk to the Minister in respect of how this is playing out in west Cor…

In the budget, the Minister has allocated further moneys for dental access, particularly for younger people. The Deputy mentioned cancer, for example, in the middle of that. Any person who requires dental work in relation to cancer of the mouth or whatever would not be waiting that length of time at all, nor should they be. If the Deputy has cases, she could bring them-----

The Minister has allocated funding.

You know there is an issue-----

-----between the organisation representing them-----

I am sorry.

That should be withdrawn.

The Minister for Finance is working out the details on how that scheme will be rolled out and administered. There could be further details in the Finance Bill also. The EU continually reviews its temporary crisis aid framework, which places restrictions on us regarding how we administer a business support scheme. In other words, we have to be close to the EU temporary crisis aid framework in terms of how much we can aid businesses and companies in difficulty as a result of the energy price increases. That work is c…