I was just excited because I thought the Minister was going to give us clarity.

No, we did not.

That is because two thirds of the year were gone.

The Government promised this during the election and in the programme for Government. What is the Minister talking about? It is written in his own programme for Government.

Now it is "We will do our best."

By household.

There are only two of us raising this matter. Deputy Gallagher sends his apologies. He got called away yesterday. As the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, knows, the surgical hub is a key issue in Donegal. The hub has to be delivered in Letterkenny. It is not just a case of trying to ensure we have the resources in the county. We have heard from an unprecedented number of doctors, surgeons and consultants in Letterkenny hospital and they have told us that without the surgical hub there, they are at serious risk o…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He says no decision has been made yet. Will he give clarity in his response? It is not just Deputy Harkin who has gone on local radio to say this; the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae has also gone on and said she has secured this. We now have two Ministers of State who make up the formation of the Government saying it. Does one hand know what the other is doing? Has the Minister for Health or the Department clarified with Deputy Harkin whether a deal exist…

Investment in rail infrastructure in the north west is crucial if we are in any way serious about balanced regional development. Donegal is one of the few counties on the island of Ireland that does not have a rail network. That is simply unacceptable. The rail review has proposed linking Derry and Letterkenny, which is crucial for the north-west city region, as well as connectivity with Belfast and a spur to Dublin. I would love to see a direct line from the capital city, Dublin, to the fourth largest city on the …

Tá cinneadh an Rialtais chun táillí coláiste a ardú €1,000 craiceáilte. Is feall scannalach é ar mhic léinn agus ar a muintir. Cuirfidh sé brú sa bhreis orthu fad agus atá siad ag streachailt leis an ghéarchéim chostas maireachtála. For months we have listened to the Government telling us how it has students' backs. It has a very funny way of showing it. First the Government decided to hit students and their families with big rent increases and now Fianna Fáil's Minister for higher education, Deputy Lawless, has an…

I asked the Minister for clarity. Does anybody have clarity in respect of the question I asked?

Families are asking if the fees are going to cost €2,000 or €3,000 come September. The Minister went on to say that this was the way things were done but the Minister, Deputy Lawless, has made it very clear that fees will go up by €1,000. He said that if he did not have a cost-of-living package, he could not take the kinds of measure that were taken last year. There is no point blaming Donald Trump's tariffs for what the Government is doing to students. Why are students being attacked? This has been done already wi…

The reason this is happening is because the Government has turned its face against a cost-of-living package-----

-----because it thinks the cost-of-living crisis is over. We need a cost-of-living package and fees need to be reduced, not increased.

I just asked about fees.

I want to raise the issue of the criteria that were used for the grassroots music venue support scheme. I commend the Department on introducing this scheme. As a festival director, I am acutely aware of the challenges for major festivals, like our own, but also the grassroots music venue supports. The scheme was very welcome, but it is devastating to learn how the Department divvied out this money on a first-come first-served basis. Not one venue north of Galway or west of Louth got money, despite the fact that the…

I welcome the scheme and that money was provided. It was announced that the scheme was open and there was a closing date for it. The only venue in County Donegal that is eligible for the scheme is The Social in Gaoth Dobhair. I will give an example and the Minister will be aware of it because all the details were provided. The Social operated 84 eligible grassroots events during the two years that the scheme was available. This means that the venue was, on average, operating one of these events every week. This is …

I am a Donegal TD. I will not stand here and say that the Department did a great job when it excluded the entire north west from this support scheme. The venue that I am talking about provides more grassroots events than many of the others that were eligible. I am sure that the Minister will be delighted when he goes back to Limerick. How many got the grant in his own county? Was it four or five? That is good for them. I support every single grassroots venue and every single festival. That is really important. Howe…

A bit of regional balance and stop screwing the north west-----

I did not run them down.