Time is up. We are going over to the-----

Unfortunately, Deputy Collins, the time is up.

Deputy Collins, please.

Deputy Collins, please.

Resume your seat, please.

Sorry, Minister of State. We will not have a conversation across the Chamber, please. There are other people waiting.

There are other people coming in. The Deputy is a minute over time.

We are moving to the Independent Group. Deputies McNamara, Harkin and Connolly are sharing.

The division is deferred until the weekly division time tomorrow evening.

I will not waste my time in describing what happened last week. Images and videos shared across social media depicted exactly what happened. I will highlight the difficulties around Glashaboy in particular, where a flood relief scheme has just commenced in my home town of Glanmire, as well as in Blackpool, where there has been a persistent hold-up in relation to the flood relief scheme. The Glashaboy scheme in Glanmire is a 32-month contract and we are only four months into it. Many of the areas flooded along the G…

I raise once again the issue of rare diseases. I am fully aware of the budgetary pressures involving the Department of Health in recent weeks. However, I feel this is an issue that warrants raising again. I raised with the Taoiseach earlier this year that there was an underspend for 2022, particularly in the area of new drugs. I received a response to a parliamentary question to the effect that approximately €10 million was drawn down of the €30 million allocated for 2022. I am concerned that with this budget, we a…

I note the Minister for Health is also present. I raise with him an article published in The Irish Times this morning about the possible cutting of funding for new drugs in the budget. I do not expect the Minister to reveal the budget here and I know negotiations are still ongoing. However, a number of us have been contacted by stakeholders and patients' groups about their concerns leading up to the budget. It is right that we highlight this here today in advance of the budget next week. We are a hub for biopharma …

I commend the Minister and her officials on the work they have done over the past few months. It is a busy time of year for them every time this issue arises but I genuinely commend them on their work. Deputy Sherlock is exiting the Chamber. He mentioned that a lot of good work has been done in a lot of villages across Cork North-Central and Cork East on trying to supply additional buses. Once again, I commend the Minister on the fact that over 150,000 tickets, I think, have been issued at this stage. That is lost …

I will be brief. I wish to bring to the Tánaiste's attention an issue with the eligibility criteria used by Bus Éireann. I am dealing with a child who is attending her third-nearest school, or so Bus Éireann deems it. When I analysed how Bus Éireann calculated the route, I saw that it was strictly enforcing the term “the shortest traversable route”. To achieve that shortest traversable route and disqualify the child, Bus Éireann brought out a measuring wheel before I met it one week and walked 300 m through a housi…

I ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if Cork County Council and Cork City Council have provided for the full expenditure of the full €2,755,923 local improvement scheme, LIS; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

I thank the Minister for the response. The Minister does not need to be told she is from a fairly rural constituency. Even in the part of the world I am from - although I cover the northern part of Cork city - there is a large rural hinterland. We had a tough enough couple of months during the summer. It was very wet. Many roads are in a state of disrepair. It is great to see that Cork County Council is on track to draw down that full allocation, as the Minister has assured me in her response. I look forward to tha…

I want to finish by thanking the Minister again for her response. Some local authorities are better at drawing down the money than others, and that is evidenced in much of the reading I was doing before I came in this evening. If I could touch on something else, the Minister spoke about working with the Department of Transport, and possibly with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. A bugbear of mine is when roads are upgraded, they are an asset to everybody who has chipped in. The State has chi…

Further to Question No. 268 of 1 June, will consideration be given to allocating additional moneys to animal rescue charities in budget 2024, give the unprecedented amount of surrenders with which they are dealing at present?

I acknowledge that record funding was provided last year, as the Minister said in his reply. It was much appreciated by the groups he mentioned. As the Minister acknowledged in his response, an unprecedented number of animals are being returned to charities and shelters to deal with the issue. We are actually now exporting animals abroad, such is the extent of the surrenders. The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals alone has approximately 850 animals at this stage. Across the country, in the med…

To conclude, I also want to stress the issues with horses particularly, not just in Cork city but in many cities across the country. I want to alert the Minister that myself and Senator McGreehan are intent on drafting a Bill to deal with some of the matters that are arising. I would be grateful if we could meet the Minister at some stage to discuss that Bill going forward and any improvements that can be made to existing legislation.