There are two issues, the first of which is that when the rostering was changed, there were talks between the HSE and the staff. The clients were not involved. That was a failure. The clients should have been involved regarding this issue. The timing of when the calls are made is becoming a major issue. People were traditionally getting a call in either the morning or evening and they knew the time. Now, it could be any time in the day. It is not suiting the clients themselves. The clients or patients, these wonder…

Next Wednesday, 5 June, is the start of the leaving certificate examinations. It is important that this House at some stage has a debate about how we actually deal with the 13,000 or 14,000 kids who are sitting their leaving certificate and junior certificate exams who have dyslexia. A significant campaign has gone on in recent years to try to make sure this cohort of children gets extra time in exams. Extra time in exams happens across the entire European profile of schools. Places like Germany, France and the UK …

I raise the wonderful news that SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh has been given the go-ahead to hold a very important ladies' international football match. Ireland will play France on 16 July. It is a wonderful opportunity for Cork to show off its wonderful stadium. It is great for women's sport in particular that we have such an international fixture coming to Cork. It needs to be acknowledged. Tallaght has traditionally been the home of ladies' football and now it is coming to Cork and we are looking forward to hosting…

Well said, Senator.

This is important legislation and progressing it through the House has to be a priority. Slightly off the topic, I want to ask the Minister of State's view of the process of how applications are made. People pay an application fee but if the country the applicant is coming from is ruled out, the ability of the applicant to get a refund on the application becomes a problem. I know of a situation where an entity in my part of the world made an application for 20 work permits. The country the people were coming from w…

It is wonderful to have a Minister of State from Limerick in front of me after the weekend we had. It is great to have this opportunity to discuss a very important issue with our Minister of State from Limerick. On a more serious note, I have a Commencement matter put down today on the need for the Minister for Health to provide an update on a new endoscopy unit based in Bantry General Hospital, including timelines for the unit being operational. This is a very important debate to get clarification on the good work…

I thank the Minister of State for his update regarding the great work that is happening in Bantry General Hospital. I want to acknowledge that we will have this unit up and running by the fourth quarter of 2024, which dispels the myth that it will not be delivered. It will be a really important development not alone for west Cork but also for south Kerry and mid-Cork. It is a really significant development and another plank in making sure Bantry General Hospital is going to become the best regional hospital in the …

Following on from an issue I raised last Thursday, namely, GAAGO and the controversy regarding how games are being aired on this platform, we had a unique spectacle of hurling in Cork last Saturday night at which the Cathaoirleach, too, was in attendance. We saw Cork win on the last puck of a ball. Unfortunately, however, the majority of people did not have the opportunity to see it. Some 42,000 people were there, and in a few years’ time probably 100,000 people will claim they were there because it was such a uniq…

Indeed. However, it is important that we have a debate about what will happen in respect of our national game and national sports and how we can progress it. The issue here is about trying to get this game accessible to as many people as we possibly can. I am talking about school kids. I heard a story today where only five of 29 kids in a school class saw the game, but the majority play it. The problem is that a paywall has been put in place. This is a serious issue for many of us. It is important we have a debate …

It is great to have the Minister of State in the Chamber and I compliment him for bringing forward this legislation and staying with it. It is significant. Will the Minister of State give me his view on the timeline for enacting this legislation? We have a political timebomb in many ways and there will be a change at some stage. The Minister of State might give us an indication as to when he thinks the Bill will be passed. Will it be before or after the summer? What amendments does he think he will make? It is very…

The Minister of State is more than welcome and I thank him for coming to the House. This matter is on the need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make a statement regarding the application for an exemption from commercial rates for community swimming pool projects. He knows where I am from. Cork South-West has a beautiful coastline. The need for our people to learn to swim is significant. We need to make sure we have all the tools that are available, including making all our swimming poo…

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response regarding the process we must go through to try to ensure common sense prevails when it comes to this issue. That is what we are trying to do here. Common sense must prevail when we are looking at a community-run project of this nature that has such a benefit to the entire community. The way swimming pools are rated is an issue we probably need to start looking at on a national policy level. We need to have more swimming pools and more swimming lessons. I…

I thought the Cathaoirleach had forgotten me. I would like to raise an issue that he is very much aware of and I am sure the Acting Leader is very much aware of, which is the unbelievable scenario we have with GAAGO, which is having a huge impact on how GAA games can be watched throughout the entire country. We have a bizarre scenario whereby, of the four Cork hurling matches in this year's Munster championship, three of them are on this platform which is basically a paywall. People are required to pay to see the n…

I think that would be appropriate in light of where we are with this paywall.

I call on the Acting Leader to arrange a debate on oral health and dental services. This is a very significant issue. I read some figures recently indicating that there are 23% fewer dentists working in the HSE now than there were in 2006. The school dental programme, in particular, is of concern. It is actually falling apart at the moment. We put a strategy in place five years ago to deal with oral health issues which contained a list of 41 actions but I do not think any of those actions have been progressed furth…

It is great to have the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, here to discuss the issue of the flooding in Ring. Last Friday evening, we had the wonderful opportunity to welcome him to Ring, which really was a great honour for me. He met up with local councillor, John O'Sullivan, and members of the tidy towns committee in the area, particularly Frances Coakley. He also met local election candidate, John Michael Foley, and other members of the community to discuss this matter. Ring is a beautiful part of the world. I…

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response regarding this real, significant work scheme. The 38 projects in County Cork are significant ones. The 39th project will be the most significant one when we get the go-ahead in the next few weeks for this project. I will liaise directly with Cork County Council to make sure it has received this further information from the Minister of State and to put a timeline on when we can actually get the information back to him. I will correspond directly with the M…

The Minister is more than welcome to the House. It is great to have the opportunity to discuss this issue with him in the Chamber. I ask that he ensures necessary funding is put in place for Cork County Council under the national regional road improvement scheme. I am very much aware that a delegation from Cork County Council, including Councillors Michael Hegarty and John Paul O'Shea, is meeting officials from the Minister's Department and the Minister of State at 2 p.m. today. As the Minister will be aware, Cork …

I thank the Minister. Cork has one eighth of the roads in Ireland, so one would expect it to get one eighth of the funding. This would be the normal breakdown of funding required. The scale of the county is an issue in that it is massive. Its roads need to be repaired, as the Minister knows, and very many minor roads need funding. Consequently, we need a special funding block put in place for Cork county. Let me refer to the infrastructure problems, such as the one related to the Bandon relief road. Towns like Band…

I commend the motion to the House. It is very important. I am a parent of four children. My twins are seven and the other children are 13 and 14. This is the biggest issue in our household by a country mile. How do we police this space? How do we involve everyone in it? How can we have an appropriate environment so people have an active lifestyle and engage with digital technology if they need to do so? There is good and bad in the issue itself. In my household, one of our children is dyslexic and the benefits of t…