Tomorrow.

The Minister is welcome to the Chamber. I commend him on bringing forward this comprehensive Bill on affordable housing. I support all types of housing. I have not tried to stop any type of housing and have never objected to any planning application of any type and I do not intend objecting in the future. It is important that we have a mixed housing model in respect of supporting private, social and affordable housing and AHBs. I believe every community should have that mix of housing. I have supported the developm…

The Minister can do the research. It caused certain ructions in the community. It was on the basis that there were no private houses coming forward. A number of private applications that have been granted in my community have not progressed. Planning permission has been granted, but for whatever reason, they have not progressed. There are developers running back to the local authority to see whether they can get turnkey development, which in my mind means that there is an issue with equity. There is an issue with d…

I join Senators Chambers and Black in raising the situation in Palestine and look forward to hearing the comments of the Minister, Deputy Coveney, this evening. I have always believed that as long as there are five permanent members of the UN Security Council, issues such as this can never be truly resolved. I ask the Leader to accommodate a debate on the issue of rural transport. As we know, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 is currently before the Dáil and will soon come before t…

Results were mixed but the hurlers did well in any event. We will not say anything else. I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber to debate this important Bill. Like other Senators, I wish all businesses that are reopening a permanent reopening, which is very important. As I said in the Chamber last week when the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, was here, many businesses have had a hellish 14 months with regard to Covid. They have been through the mill. Some businesses may have opened afresh in early 202…

We are back in the convention centre, which might not be the best place for Parliament to sit, but is a wonderful setting and vista. It is great to see the rejuvenation of this area of Dublin, which has taken place over a large number of years. Last week in Galway, representatives attended a virtual presentation from Galway Harbour Company regarding its vision for the inner docklands of Galway city. Some 17 acres of land has the potential to transform Galway city and reshape it towards the sea and the beautiful Gal…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing this Commencement matter and I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Feighan. Once again, I wish to discuss healthcare provision in Galway, this time in respect of overcrowding in the emergency department in University Hospital Galway, UHG. We have had a strange year in healthcare provision. Obviously, there have been cancellations, Covid-19 and an array of issues. However, this is the month of May, not a month that is traditionally associated with …

I thank the Minister of State for his reply, but it is depressing to see written down that, "The main emergency department and women's and children's block development at UHG is a complex project and is in the early stages of design progression." When the former Minister, Deputy Harris, was in Galway in September 2018, we saw design plans for the emergency department. Yes, the situation may have changed. It was a shell and core fitting-out for the top two storeys of paediatrics and maternity services that then went…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and wish all businesses across the country that are re-opening today the very best of luck and profitability. I hope it is a permanent re-opening. We all hope that. Many businesses across our country have had a horrid 14 months because of the pandemic. I acknowledge the range of supports put in place by the Minister and the Department of Finance. We know that SMEs are highly important to the banking sector and vice versa . There is interdependency between the two. Regarding the…

I will share three minutes of my time with Senator Joe O'Reilly. I thank Senator Seery Kearney for doing the majority of the work on this motion, which is in the name of the Fine Gael group. I also welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, to the House. Carers are mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, siblings, family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. They can be stressed, tired and frustrated with what is a job on the one hand and a devotion on the other. It is their life. It is all-consuming in many w…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan. I am delighted to see somebody from the west here as this topic relates to hospital services in the west, in particular the Galway region. The Minister of State will be aware that Galway University Hospitals comprises University Hospital Galway, UHG, and Merlin Park Hospital, which provide a range of emergency elective services for the people of Galway and the western region. UHG is a model 4 hospital. I am sure the Minister of State was invited to participate in the…

That would be a first if we were kept informed as we are not being kept informed. In fact, the information that we got came through a colleague in Cork. There seems to be some surprise that I was given access to this information and that I am now raising these concerns, which I have raised locally as well. The Minister of State referred to a draft preliminary business case, site specificity and choosing the site. That is going backwards because it seemed to have been acknowledged that the site would be at Merlin Pa…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for introducing Senators Maria Byrne and Horkan, the new old Members, shall we say. I congratulate them on their election and I congratulate all those who participated in the recent Seanad by-elections. I will not try to tell the Senators anything about this place because they are more experienced than I and many other Members are. I wish them well in their terms. The Order of Business is No. 1, the ninth report of the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight, to be taken on con…

I thank all Senators for their contributions. Senators O'Loughlin and Flynn raised issues with regard to maternity services. That is very important. It is a stressful time for expectant mothers, their partners and, indeed, their parents and anyone else who loves them and worries about them. It is not only a matter of the pregnancy. There are also scans. Expectant mothers may face a range of concerns. While there has been some relaxation in some hospitals and while individual hospitals have taken different approache…

I move: "That the report be adopted, laid before the House and printed."

There is absolute confusion in Galway at the moment regarding healthcare plans by the Saolta University Health Care Group and the Department of Health. We know capital projects take some years to develop and bring to fruition, but for some years we have been led to believe that a full elective hospital and 200 badly needed inpatient beds are to be delivered in Merlin Park. Now we see that plans by the Department of Health, particularly the Sláintecare team, have cast doubt on that. They have recommended a selective…

I move: That Seanad Éireann, pursuant to section 4(2)(f)(v) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts 2003 to 2018, hereby authorises the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to conduct the defence of proceedings initiated in the Workplace Relations Commission against members of the Joint Committee on Health in the matter of Francis Kearney v Deputy Colm Burke and others (Ref: CA—00042558-001), as regards matters arising solely out of the performance by the members concerned of their parliamentary functions as…

I welcome the Minister of State. I live approximately 7 miles from Eyre Square. At 45 years of age, I can remember heading over to the neighbour's as a young lad to get buckets of water from the well and turn on pumps to pump water from the river. Fortunately, group water schemes were put in place throughout rural Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s. There was very much a hands-on approach by rural residents to improve their lot, with support from local authorities and the State. It was not much appreciated during the d…

I, too, would like to acknowledge the launch this afternoon of the Our Rural Future plan by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, together with the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. Work hubs are proposed in 400 locations across Ireland. We have had debates regarding the recent closures of Bank of Ireland and the exiting plan by Ulster Bank, and we have seen certain areas where post offices have closed. There are key landmark buildings in many communities tha…

I did not hear the earlier comments as I was, and still am, on a Zoom call. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister on the progress made on vaccinations thus far. As of yesterday evening, 548,948 individuals have received their first dose and 211,223 have received their second dose. There are very important projections on the number of vaccines that will be available for distribution in the month of April, which are up to 250,000 a week. It is very important that we meet those targets and continue to d…