Has the Minister for Health received the interim report from HIQA on accident and emergency facilities in the mid-west? Does the Minister expect the final report to be published next month as promised? Is the Government committed to implementing the recommendations of the final report?

I congratulate the new Minister of State, the Ceann Comhairle and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on their new positions. I wish them well. It is self-evident that with the rapidly increasing population, more gardaí are needed. I am very glad that the Government has taken very positive steps in that regard. Figures from Templemore indicate that it will probably be successful in its attempt to recruit 5,000 extra gardaí in the lifetime of this Government. I hope that it does so. I will make one special plea to the Ministe…

There is no clear commitment in the programme for Government to continue the tenant in situ scheme. This is a very good scheme. It has saved many people from homelessness. Unfortunately, I am personally acquainted with a large number of people who will be homeless unless this scheme is restored immediately. Landlords have agreed to sell their houses to the local authorities but because of the delays with the scheme, local authorities are becoming impatient and are threatening to put houses on the private market. Pe…

It is an open secret that the accident and emergency services provided at University Hospital Limerick are grossly inadequate to meet the needs of the population the hospital is supposed to serve. More than six months has elapsed since HIQA was tasked with finding out if these services were adequate, although we all know they are not, and with making recommendations as to improvements that should be made. It took another three months to give that HIQA group terms of reference and we are now told that the first repo…

The Government is committed to balanced regional development, something we all support. Page 60 of the programme for Government contains a commitment to develop the cities of Limerick, Cork, Waterford and Galway as viable alternatives to Dublin. In the National Development Plan 2021-2030, the indicative capital expenditure on those four cities for the period ending in 2030 is €8.3 billion. The comparable figure for Dublin is €31.3 billion, almost four times as much. I know there is a population difference but even …

There is a very serious staffing crisis in the oncology department of University Hospital Limerick as a result of it having lost 30 nurses, who have not been replaced despite the fact the embargo is not supposed to be operable at UHL anymore. The consequences of this are very serious. It means gravely ill patients have to wait for unconscionable periods of time for essential treatments such as chemotherapy. I have been approached by families of people who have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer who have not managed…

The Taoiseach will be aware of the difficulties families encounter in accessing mental health services, particularly for children and young people. An organisation in Limerick called Dóchas Midwest Autism Support caters for 200 young people and children each week and it has direct access to 300 families. It recently applied for a children's disability services grant and was refused for reasons that were incomprehensible to me. If it had succeeded, it would have doubled its capacity. Services for young people with a…

I wish to return briefly to the situation in Limerick, which has already been adverted to. I know the Taoiseach has already dealt with it but I have three specific questions. Is the Government contemplating any legislative change in light of what happened? When can we expect the updated sentencing guidelines from the Judicial Council? We have been waiting for years. Does the Taoiseach agree that it is utterly inappropriate that a person capable of such actions should continue as a serving member of the Irish Defenc…

I also wish to be associated with the tributes paid to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I am sure the Taoiseach will agree with me that this country derives significant benefit from the work done by carers. Unfortunately not all carers are treated equally. In many cases, the backup or ancillary services for carers depend on where you live. There are some parts of the country where such services are hardly available at all. It is a classic example of the postcode lottery. On page 50 of the programme for Government, …

Last week in Limerick, I attended the sad and tragic funeral of Nicole Morey, one of my constituents, whose family members are very well known to me. She was killed by one of her family dogs on the day after her 23rd birthday. The Taoiseach's colleague, the Tánaiste, is on record as saying that he is in favour of a blanket ban on all 11 types of dogs on the State's restricted list. Does the Taoiseach agree with the Tánaiste? I hope he does because some of these breeds have been banned in most European countries, mo…

The Taoiseach is aware that the Government will be seeking the advice of the Attorney General on whether constitutional referendums will be necessary if Ireland is to sign up to the WHO pandemic treaty and to the EU migration pact. Has the Attorney General offered any views on these matters yet? Second, does the Taoiseach agree that whether or not constitutional referendums are required, these changes are of such fundamental importance that the opinion of the people should nevertheless be canvassed? There is provis…

The Minister for Health recently announced a HIQA inquiry into emergency care capacity in the mid-west but a lack of capacity would be a more accurate description. I ask for an assurance that the review will be time limited. We cannot allow this to drag on interminably. People are suffering. The trolley figures last week were again outrageous. In that regard, a year has elapsed since we got a commitment that the injury clinics in the three satellite hospitals, St. John's, Ennis and Nenagh, would be open on a 24-7 b…

I am sharing with Deputy Crowe.

I am informed that I am sharing with Deputy Cathal Crowe but if he does not appear, I will continue on. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach very much and I am very reluctant to interrupt Deputy Healy-Rae whose speech I was enjoying immensely. I sincerely congratulate the Minister on bringing this legislation forward. It is very timely in view of the fact that it has been approximately 25 years in gestation since the late Séamus Brennan first mentioned it. In the UK, auto-enrolment has been in place for 12 years now…

The question of University Hospital Limerick was raised already this morning. I want to say to the Taoiseach that while I appreciate and accept what the Government has done and is doing, the situation on the ground there is beyond appalling, quite frankly. There was a time when we had three emergency department, ED, backups, which a group of experts within the HSE decided to abolish. They said the best idea was to centralise everything and that it would be a wonderful success. If what is there now is a success, I h…

Last November, I raised with the Taoiseach the disturbing suggestion that community funding for the north side of Limerick city was about to be cut by 59%. At the time he expressed concern and said he would ask the Minister of State to have a word with me. The Taoiseach did that and I thank him for that. However, when I spoke to the Minister of State, he said he could not meet the representatives of the communities affected because the decision had not yet been taken. The decision has now been taken and instead of …

In 2011, 13 years ago, the number of gardaí policing Limerick was 637. It shrank to 612 in 2020. It has now shrunk again to 585. That is against a background of a substantially and rapidly increased population and a tidal wave of antisocial behaviour, which is making miserable the lives of many people in my constituency. I deal with cases of people who are literally under a curfew in their homes, people who are not even safe in their own homes and people whose kids cannot access local playgrounds put there at the e…

One in three patients on hospital trolleys in this country is attending University Hospital Limerick. That means there are more people on trolleys in Limerick than in all of the Dublin hospitals combined. This has given rise to conditions in the hospital that are Dickensian and inhumane from the point of view of patients and staff. There is a block under construction at the hospital. When does the Taoiseach expect it to become operational? How many new beds will be provided in this block? Some of the beds being pro…

What about the surgical hub?

Each year, the social inclusion fund provides moneys to areas of significant urban disadvantage. Several areas in my own city benefit from that funding: St. Mary’s Parish, South Hill, Moyross, Ballinacurra-Weston. They have recently been informed that as a result of a decision by the Department of Social Protection, their funding next year will be cut by 59%. The purpose of the fund is to promote social cohesion and prevent young people from those areas in particular from drifting into a life of crime. Looking at w…