I will also support the amendment. The State incurs legal expenses while trying to fight cases in the HSE system and Government due to incidents which could have instead been dealt with so that people could learn from, admit to and work on them for the future and use them as a learning curve. People could admit they got things wrong and have to fix them, learn from what happened and move on. The legal fees incurred by fighting and holding things in the courts for years are more than what it would cost if people cam…

This Bill has been passed by the EU. I have many concerns about this Bill. If one looks at the cost it will impose on farmers, we have always seen here from the medical side of things the way different measures have gone. What the Minister has done will mean that if the farmer wants a medicine, he will have got to go to the vet and the paper trail that will follow this has a cost. The farmer will pay the cost because of the paper trail. The Minister then came along and said that one must register, and register onli…

The Government is taxing the people on its failure to provide alternatives, and the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, is part of that, as are the lot of other people around here, including some of the Independents, who back the Government's policies when it comes time for a vote to put more taxes on the people. Fuel - tax at 50 cent in every euro. The clothes on their backs - tax. The food in their children's lunchboxes - tax. Now the Government is going back to the hospitality industry, an industry that provi…

Housing for All is non-existent in County Limerick. I put the question now to the Minister as to why that is. Am I correct in saying that Uisce Éireann, formerly Irish Water, was commissioned as a provider of safe, clean and affordable water and wastewater services for all water users? Water and wastewater services were previously provided by the local authorities. It was designed as a stand-alone national authority for water services. Why is this not happening? We are now ready to start building in our towns and v…

I thank the Minister for that response. I am glad the Minister brought up Limerick Twenty Thirty as I am a former member of that board. I understand the investments being made but all the investments the Minister named out today are actually in Limerick city. I want Limerick city to thrive. The Patrickswell development is actually run by the local authority under the city councillors. I am talking about the county. This is where I want to go with this discussion. It is Limerick City and County Council, so the fundi…

It is the city.

I will hold the Minister to that.

I welcome this motion brought by the Independent Group as it is asking for funding to be delivered to the county councils. How can we provide information for renewals and town plans if we are unsure of the basic infrastructure that is available in our areas? Under section 48 of the Planning and Development Act, there is a statutory mechanism in place for councils to use financial contributions. This covers roads, car parks and parking spaces. It used to cover sewerage, treatment plants and flood relief but I believ…

The initial report on CAMHS in the mid-west looks damning, with an emphasis on the 140 children that were lost in the system. However, on further investigation, it seems that CAMHS brought this to the attention of the Mental Health Commission. A senior clinician had left the service, leaving a caseload behind him. One person leaving could result in 140 vulnerable children being left behind. That was brought to the attention of the commission in advance of the investigation. I have questions in that regard. Why did …

A significant amount of time was spent in all our offices to get passports through on time in 2022. Difficulties include the Passport Office timeline differing from what is available online. I am calling for additional resources to be provided to address the backlog in processing passports. Will the Tánaiste confirm whether postal applications from 2022 are still on the system from 2022? I believe that is the case. If there are, how long will it take to clear the backlog given the number of people who are there at …

I am very concerned about how many of our nurses, doctors, pharmacists and other healthcare workers are going abroad to work. It is the hopelessness I can see in them when I meet them that is the biggest issue. When is the Government going to tackle the issue of our healthcare workers leaving this country? The reason I know this is the case is because they are coming to us for help with their passport applications so they can leave this country when our health system needs them so badly. When is the Government goin…

And they turned around and went back home again.

After coming home.

They came home for the call and now they are going back.

The ash dieback.

Ask the farmers about ash dieback.

The Government taxes the working class and the squeezed middle.

Today I again raise the issue of University Hospital Limerick, UHL, and ask for the resignation of all the management there. We always say to trust our health professionals. I hold a letter from our health professionals - 87 of them, doctors and professors - about the overcrowding in UHL. The letter states there has been extreme crowding and relentless demand on services for the past ten years, especially in UHL. We have to get an investigation into the management. We now have 87 doctors and professors - our health…

They said ten years.

Will the Government reopen Nenagh?