I thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating me in raising this issue. Midleton was described as a disaster zone or a swamp on media this morning, but it is not alone when it comes to this disaster. Killeagh, Whitegate, Lady's Bridge, Mogeely, Youghal, Inch and many other single dwellings dotted around east Cork have been affected by this flooding. Roads have been ripped up. In addition, more than 9,000 people in the same area are now on boil water notices. When shops in the hardest-hit areas are struggling to open…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. As I said, it is not a competition and I do not expect all questions to be answered. I acknowledge that the flood defence mechanisms that were put in place, such as in Mallow and Fermoy, actually worked. There should be an emphasis on that. Nobody could have predicted it affecting such a large area. In Midleton where the two rivers meet at the estuary with a high tide, one could say there was a problem there. However, given what happened in Killeagh, Youghal and Glanm…

Yes. That was a massive gesture.

If I can find the community welfare officers. The local one is retired.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill, but it is back to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. The Bill is a bit late. Given the effect of energy poverty we in Sinn Féin have called for this windfall tax for a long time. I will give the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, the story of a gentleman I know personally who went on radio and had no problem saying it. He works in pharma, has a semi-detached house, has a family and he has a car that he needs to get to work. He is struggling with energy …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, for taking the time to be here. This is an ongoing issue. There is a greenway from Midleton to Youghal which is nearly finished. The railway used to go down there. This is about connectivity. I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister for Transport asking if the National Transport Authority, NTA, or Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, would consider a park-and-ride model of transport to run from Youghal to the train station in Midleton, along the N25, for …

I thank the Minister of State for the response. I had a feeling that was what would come back but I wanted to raise this matter for the following reason. People are going on about the carbon footprint. For one thing, there is a carbon footprint in running 13 daily services from Youghal all the way to Cork city and all the way back. I understand many of these services do not run at peak time but the peak services are probably the most important for connectivity. The express route is definitely a problem because that…

I thank the Labour Party for tabling the motion. Ireland is a sport-mad country. We are absolutely bonkers when it comes to sport. With regard to the FAI report, it is nice it has acknowledged that we need a bottom-up approach. Many people have mentioned women's sports in particular It is right that it is about proper facilities. It is also about being part of a community and strengthening communities. I welcome all those in the Gallery. I congratulate Mallow United. Deputy Sherlock listed everything out and saved …

In February 2021, I raised the issue of an upgrade for the R624 from the N25 to Cobh. As I tabled a number of parliamentary questions but did not get the response I was looking for, I contacted Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. It came back with information on what would classify the road for an upgrade. It stated the function of the road must include access to towns and cities, major ports and airports and population and tourist regions. The R624 ticks all those boxes. As the Tánaiste is aware, the problem is…

A ministerial order can be made under section 10.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. The Ceann Comhairle introduced it well. Indiana Jones, I would say, has not been around as long as this issue. This has been going on for approximately seven years. This boil water notice in the Whitegate area affects more than 10,000 people in Midleton, Ballinacurra, Cloyne, Ballintotis, Rathcoursey, Saleen, Upper Aghada, Whitegate, Ballycotton, Churchtown, Trabolgan and all the surrounding areas. The most recent occasion on which I raised this matter was 31 Ja…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. Her statement is pretty similar to that in Cork Beo of 23 January; it just included fancy new words such as "coagulation, flocculation ... clarification [and] filtration system". When I previously had a response on this the filtration system and UV system were referenced. The previous excuse was that Irish Water was ordering a part. I remember saying that Irish Water, six years down the road, was ordering a part and if it went to wish.com or Early Express it would pro…

I welcome the visitors who are in the Public Gallery. I, too, want to read from correspondence I received recently from the son of Patrick Murphy, who is in his 99th year. Patrick worked for CIÉ for 40 years from 1949 to 1989. His job was as a ganger on the permanent railway between Cobh and Cork. He walked the line in both directions every two weeks with a heavy hammer and a large spanner to ensure that all the keys were in place and to tighten the bolts. His wife Mary died suddenly in 1979 but Patrick continued l…

I thank the Minister of State for her appearance tonight at this ungodly hour. We are back again talking about the Owenacurra centre. I am delighted this Topical Issue was selected. I have been driven to frustration over the past two years between parliamentary questions and committee meetings. I wrote to the European Ombudsman in October 2022. I wrote that I was contacting her office because I had tried as many avenues as possible, without success, to receive answers about the care of the elderly in our communitie…

I appreciate the response. I am well aware of the three beds and the possible ten beds but we had 22 beds there so we are basically halving the service. It is not what was there before but that is for another day. I was raising the concerns of residents and families. I got information from the residents that people were coerced. The Minister said people were relocated. According to minutes of a special meeting of the HSE safety and quality committee on 8 February 2023, "some members of the Committee expressed dissa…

The Mental Health Commission never mentioned the closure of the facility.

I understand that.

Absolutely.

I thank the Minister of State for her time.

I will give the Minister and the Minister of State the live messages that are coming in. One message states, "The crews are more angry now after listening to this crap." Another states, "This Government has just given the middle finger to all firefighters and their families tonight." Another states, "I am now four years living in a van because I cannot get a mortgage or even find a place to rent." These are all live messages I am getting. Retained firefighters are first responders. They do one of the most mentally …