I again acknowledge the support and co-operation of the Minister's officials in meeting with Deputy Naughten and me to discuss these issues following the committee meeting. When I mentioned music at the committee, the Minister said I was getting to the soul of the matter. Local radio goes beyond the usual in what it provides, all of which we have become used to having. During the pandemic, as Deputy Cannon mentioned, it was there to broadcast the local mass. It provided a service, especially for people living alone…

I thank the Minister and her officials. We all recognise the problems and the Minister has recognised them in what she has said, which I thank her for. The €2.5 million for the sound and vision scheme is a positive, as is the engagement with BAI. That will ensure we end up in a situation where we get this sorted out permanently so that the likes of Galway Bay FM, Clare FM, Midwest Radio and the other stations that have been mentioned have a solid footing on which to continue to serve the public in the way they have…

I compliment Deputy Connolly and the Independent Group for bringing forward this important motion. Last week we sent a letter about the western rail corridor to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Transport to urge the Government to reactivate the reopening of phases 2 and 3 of the line from Athenry north through Tuam and on to Claremorris. For the Minister of State who is here, that letter was signed by over 110 Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas across all parties. Therefore, there is political …

I raise the issue of the health services in County Galway and the Saolta University Health Care Group, which covers six counties and serves a population of over 800,000 people. We had a meeting in Galway last Thursday night. It was organised by Cancer Care West and supported by the National Breast Cancer Research Institute. It highlighted the issues that are going on. We have four projects to be undertaken in Galway. These are the accident and emergency department, which incorporates the women and children's block;…

Absolutely.

It is the national estates-----

It is a sticking plaster.

I welcome the opportunity to speak. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. Last week, during questions on policy and promised legislation, I raised this issue with the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, responded. I acknowledge that significant investment is being made in the fire service in terms of infrastructure, new fire stations, fire tenders and all goes with that. In my constituency, a new fire station has opened in Tuam and it is a state-of-the-art facility. A contract for the constructi…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that: — the most recent waiting list figures available from the National Treatment Purchase Fund show over 79,000 patients are waiting for an inpatient or day case procedure, and a further 625,000 are awaiting an outpatient appointment; — the Irish College of General Practitioners has indicated that only one-in-five general practitioner (GP) practices can take on new patients from the General Medical Services Scheme as they are at full capacity, and only one-in-four can take …

The national retained firefighters service is suffering severe difficulties in the recruitment and retention of staff. The model on which the current service is operating was developed in the 1950s and is not fit for purpose in a modern working environment. I acknowledge that the Department has undertaken investment in my constituency, with a new fire station in Tuam, a contractor having been appointed for Athenry and the Loughrea fire station going to Part 8 planning. It is great to have the facilities but we also…

It is great to see you back in the Chair, a Cheann Comhairle. I wish you the best of luck. I welcome the opportunity to speak about Irish Water and water policy. At times, I have spoken repeatedly about some of the issues creating problems with regard to the work carried out under Irish Water. Irish Water has two main functions: water and wastewater. I will address wastewater first. Other Deputies have also mentioned that a large number of private housing estates in this country are serviced by private wastewater t…

Funding was announced for the LEADER programme two weeks ago. I welcome that this funding has been put in place. County Galway received an allocation of €9 million for the next five years and this process has shown the funding we are getting per head of population is at the lower end of the scale. We are getting €46.63 per person for the next five years. A comparative analysis with other counties, for example, the other four counties in Connacht and the average funding they are going to get, shows that if County Ga…

I do not disagree regarding all the schemes that are there, but they are available to everybody right across the country. The Minister mentioned rural regeneration and urban regeneration and all these funds. They are welcome and they create better investment for a better environment to work and live in in rural areas. The kernel of my point is not about a reduction; it is about how the funds are being allocated on a county-by-county basis. The Minister has not answered that question. For instance, if you tell peopl…

I am delighted we are debating this subject. In my constituency, as is probably also the case for the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, a lot of people come to me who say they or their parents have been assessed for hours, there is an allocation given but the hours are not provided. Nothing happens. I dealt with a man who needs two people to help him because he has had three strokes. He will not get that help because there is somebody else living in the house with him, namely, his wife, who is 82 years of age. Th…

I am delighted the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is here to listen to us. I am not going to tell him what is wrong, because I think he knows himself what is wrong. There is no point in me repeating what everyone else says. What we must do is look at a few issues and see how we can improve on delivery. The very first issue I will address is the planning system. I give the Minister the example of Galway County Council, which has just completed a county development plan. The regulator put in recommendations that w…

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Bill. I will preface my remarks by declaring my interest in that I am a landlord and I have some properties we have rented. If we keep demonising landlords who are renting out properties in the way we are doing, we will find we will be in bigger trouble than we are right now. I understand there are about 500 properties in Galway that are up for sale where notice has been given and the tenants are local authority tenants. There is something wrong when that is happening, and …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Finance Bill 2022 and to address some of the queries that have been raised since the budget was announced. The energy supports for households are to be welcomed, but the problem is that there are anomalies in the whole process, and pay-as-you-go customers are not sure how they are going to get the credits or how it is going to work. That must be clarified, as a matter of urgency, in order to ensure that it is clear how people who need the support most can get it. I understa…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion. I welcome its introduction. As the Minister knows, public transport is a rare species in the west of Ireland. We know all about it. I listened to some of Deputy Bríd Smith's comments about a 24-hour service and thought how happy people in parts of rural Ireland would be with a five-hour service. There are many things I could say about the rights and wrongs of public transport. In my constituency, many people travel from the east and north of the county to…

Will the Minister outline the process through which the carbon or methane footprint of Irish farms is or will be calculated? Farmers are under severe pressure and are worried about how all these carbon emissions will be charged to their business. It is important that we set out how it is to be done and what baselines we will put in place.

One issue that farmers are concerned about is that they are not getting any credit for the carbon they sequester through pasture, crops and hedgerows. There is also a need to establish a carbon measuring, reporting and verification process which farmers need to work with. It is in place in Northern Ireland. Farmers wonder how the baselines are being set out and how they will be supported in putting in place measures to help reduce the carbon footprint. Things seem vague at present. Farmers are examining the various…