Covid has shown us that mental health issues can arise as a result of people being lonely. Deputies Michael Collins and Mattie McGrath referred to this. Mental health issues in rural settings are on the increase because everything is closed. In the context of children and families, as Christmas approaches, drive-through Santa's grottoes are either being closed or cannot go ahead. What is the Government doing? People need to meet. In that context, they can take personal responsibility and safeguard themselves and th…

When will the Taoiseach bring in an auditing service in respect of the management of hospitals? University Hospital Limerick has had the longest waiting list for beds for a long time. The latter was not caused by the staff at the hospital, this comes down to a management problem. I said on the first day I came to the Dáil that there is an issue with the management of and the structure in place at University Hospital Limerick. I want a full audit carried out on management and on the progress of their work. This does…

I understand from the motion that exceptional circumstances exist and that a payment of €500 million this year would place an undue burden on the public finances. Some €9 billion is being made available from the European Central Bank, ECB, through the pillar banks as a stimulus to businesses in the economy. Where is the money going? The ECB has given this to the Irish banks. Let us look at the Irish Government loan guarantee scheme launched in September 2020. Some €2 billion of this was administered by the pillar b…

I welcome this Private Members' Bill brought forward by Sinn Féin. It is hard to believe one in three women in Ireland is affected by domestic violence. It is not confined to class, age, race, sexuality, religion or disability. Reading again through speeches given by Deputies O'Reilly and McDonald in debates in November, I have learned the legislation brought forward by Sinn Féin is for ten days of domestic violence paid leave. This enables the victims to take the time they need to seek support, find accommodation …

On my first day in the Dáil, I spoke about hospitals. I have said that every person training in this country, whether they are an apprentice blocklayer or an intern, should get paid. I ask the Minister to ensure the male and female student nurses on whom we depend are paid properly. They are the people on whom we have depended all our lives, and never more than during Covid-19. I now turn to the €100 that the Government is seeking from the nurses. I would like to read a small extract from a letter I have received f…

Where I am living in Granagh, there is no pub open now within a 15-mile radius. The pubs in Granagh, Ballingarry, Croom, Feenagh, Ballyagran and Croagh are all closed. What the Taoiseach is doing to all the people in my area, in a 15-mile radius, is shoving them into towns and cities if they wish to meet someone. We have small communities. We have small rural pubs where our people go to have a sociable drink. They are small monitored crowds. What the Taoiseach does not have in his statistics is how he is going to p…

This is only one example of an oversight. I was horrified but not surprised to see that on 24 November 2020 we had discovered, by chance, it seems, that there was a major export food problem with sausages and mince going to the UK. The current health certificate was only for frozen produce and had to be amended for fresh produce. I wish to remind the Minister of State that the UK is leaving on 1 January. Bord Bia dismissed this by saying the body had a plan. Have we got a plan? Last week I spoke to the hauliers abo…

I would like to dispel some of the fiction that has been bandied about regarding greyhound racing. The Greyhound Racing Act 2019 is the first major upgrade since 1958, and it is welcomed. The general public who own greyhounds mind their dogs like children and would not tolerate any abuse of their dogs' welfare. A minority of people in all societies and sports abuse the system. The Act will bring about traceability backed up by enforcement. The Irish Greyhound Board has an excellent relationship with the ISPCA and w…

According to Government guidelines, students must not present themselves at schools if they have travelled internationally. Several reports have indicated that a small minority of parents are disregarding these guidelines. What measures has the Department of Education taken to counter these occurrences? Can students be refused entry to schools? Can An Garda be contacted to verify whether students have been overseas and can gardaí take action against parents?

Can the Minister tell me who is responsible? Is it the principal, the teacher, the board of management or the chairperson? Does a teacher have to make these decisions? Ideally these children should be at school, but they are allowed to roam the streets without supervision during the day. Nobody wants that. I understand that a person must fill out a Covid-19 passenger locator form before entering the country. I am aware of a case where more than 50 passengers returned to the country from a wedding in Spain, taking a…

I acknowledge that we are talking about a minority, but this minority is holding communities and their businesses to ransom. The resilience shown by communities and businesses must be commended. I encourage the residents of towns and the surrounding areas to support the businesses which have shown courage and strength in keeping their doors open while making a loss. An Garda Síochána continues to work against this minority in our communities. A special mention goes to newly appointed Superintendent Aileen Magner an…

Not everyone went to college. The people who left school at 18, or even earlier, like myself, would have to work for 50 years to get a pension, yet I am here today speaking for the self-employed. I am self-employed. There are people who, under the guidance of the Government, will have to work for 50 years to get a pension. These are people who will build houses, people in all types of trades, whether it be hauliers or whatever, who would have to work for 50 years under the Government's regime to get a pension. The …

Greyhound racing is at the heart of rural Ireland. I know many ordinary people who have greyhound racing dogs and they are very good people. Limerick is lucky to have a state-of-the-art stadium for greyhound racing. I want to get rid of the myth that a night out at the dogs means the death of a dog or a hare. That is not factual. A mechanical hare is used. People in this country are entitled to their traditions. We must consider the 12,500 people who are employed directly or indirectly. We have a minority of people…

I spoke to the Taoiseach yesterday about the hospitality sector. One fact for the Taoiseach is that from March until today, 0.002% has been the outbreak rate in the hospitality sector. The Irish Hotels Federation statistics are available. Every minute and every second that the Taoiseach takes before he tells them will count. The Taoiseach should give the statistics on the level that people can start ordering food. It will be at a certain level if we sustain this level. Those in the sector want the Government to add…

I am talking about Irish statistics.

The Government is destroying lives.

Why the delay on details regarding the opening of hotels, public houses, restaurants and other businesses? If the intention is to open businesses for Christmas, why all the secrecy? If people are having a turkey for Christmas dinner, they will already be making plans for this. People make plans one month or five weeks in advance because they have to order the turkey or whatever food they will have for Christmas. Why? It is because of supply and demand. Are there any considerations for the looming issue regarding th…

I have talked to several hotels in County Limerick, from three star to five star: Deebert House Hotel, Kilmallock, Woodland House Hotel, Adare, The Mustard Seed, Ballingarry, Rathkeale House Hotel, Longcourt House Hotel, Newcastle West, and the Devon Inn Hotel, Templeglantine. All these hotels are waiting for the lockdown to lift, in the hope of salvaging Christmas. I spoke at length to the manager of Adare Manor, where 600 people are employed, who told me what the Taoiseach talked about earlier on, if he mentioned…

By the end of January 98 beds will be ready for opening in University Hospital Limerick, 20 of which will be open this week. The emergency department had 52 patients on trolleys yesterday, with an additional ten trolleys in wards. The overcrowding in the accident and emergency department has been an issue for years and the department has been the worst in the country. It is currently finding it impossible to operate social distancing. The HIQA regulator has stated he will be unable to comply with restrictions due t…

In County Limerick, a person can look at the map and see the orange areas and all the different areas they say we have broadband. Nineteen houses built by the local authority in Patrickswell, which is within walking distance of Limerick, had no broadband. A company called Imagine offered to give them broadband because Eir could not give them a connection and claimed it could take two or three years. My office is inundated with calls from people saying they cannot get connections. My office has an Eir connection and…