I have seen a copy of a generic letter, which does not mention the word "recall".
Sentiment score: 0.00
CHI has commissioned the audit. I will say it one more time. I am not endeavouring in any way to cast aspersions on anyone raising questions here. However, aspersions are being laid at the door of the Government.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Attempts have been made and the words "ducking", "dodging" and "diving" were used yesterday by the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.00
That is a false assertion by the Deputy. The Government wants the facts and I want the facts. Deputy McDonald has no-----
Sentiment score: 0.03
When the audit is complete. I know what Deputy McDonald is at. Unfortunately, it is quite-----
Sentiment score: -0.11
He is shouting again. Mr. Angry is at it again. I am simply saying-----
Sentiment score: -0.13
Stop the theatrics; it is too serious.
Sentiment score: -0.36
Angry theatrics are par for the course from you and it is wrong to do it.
Sentiment score: -0.75
It is not an omnishambles. Yesterday, the Minister spoke in the Dáil. She is working very hard on this issue. We must always remember the Government is contracting this service, in this case from pharmacies, as we do from general practitioners also. It should be possible to do this fairly and in the best interests of the women of the country. The Minister is working very proactively on this. The agenda, and the objective, is to get this brought to a conclusion by the deadline that has been set.
Sentiment score: 0.08
The general assessment of remote working in Ireland has been positive. Over time we need to evaluate it, through a whole-of-society approach to the evaluation of remote working. It certainly is good for climate. It certainly is good for congestion within cities and towns. It is good for individuals. It has helped increase participation in the workforce and it creates a flexibility that is also beneficial. There are also arguments for the need for people to be in workplaces for a sufficiency of time, particularly younger people in terms of mentoring, socialisation and all of that. Rather than-----
Sentiment score: 0.34
-----the comments of that particular individual the Deputy has referenced, I think-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----that is not the core of this. The important part here is that we continue to evaluate-----
Sentiment score: 0.10
-----and productivity seems to have increased.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I heard the Deputy. The Deputy may be aware that the Minister has brought the heads of the Bill in respect of the issue of counselling notes.
Sentiment score: 0.24
The Deputy has raised the issue. The Minister has brought legislation. It will go to pre-legislative scrutiny and people will have an opportunity to input into the Bill. The Minister is acting on it, and has acted on it, and no person in this country is above the law.
Sentiment score: 0.03
I have experience. I know what is going on here. The Deputy calls for clarity but what he wants is confusion. What the Deputy wants is to be able to say that it is incoherent, it is drip-drip, it is bit by bit whereas I am asking if we cannot wait for the audit to be completed and given to the Minister, with the Minister to share it with the Oireachtas, the public and, above all, the families that may be affected by this and the general population of those who had the operation. That is simply all I am saying but I am not so sure-----
Sentiment score: -0.02
I would accept that. Obviously, there is some degree of uncertainty. Most artists on that scheme, by the way, were very positive about the impact of the scheme on artists, and particularly those on the lower income spectrum of earning artists. I will talk to the Minister for arts and culture to get more information in terms of the reviews but also future plans.
Sentiment score: 0.11
My understanding is, while the Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme, it is TII that is responsible for the delivery of the national roads programme. It has informed the Department that Wicklow County Council has just completed the option selection phase for the N11-M11 bus priority scheme. The project team made presentations to elected members of Bray municipal district, Wicklow County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The options selection report details the proposed extensive enhancement at junction 7, which will make the operation of the junction more efficient and resolve much of the delay apparently currently being experienced as well as handling the revised traffic pattern after implementation of the scheme. It seems there needs to be further engagement with TII. In terms of BusConnects, that would be an NTA responsibility. I can alert the Minister for Transport that the Deputy has raised the specifics of that but engagement with TII and the responsible authorities is key.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I will do everything I can. I will raise the issue with the Minister.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The Deputy can send me the detail. I will forward this to the Minister concerned and we will come back to the Deputy with a reply.
Sentiment score: 0.00
My understanding is - I will check it - that it may have gone out to tender as part of a bundle that could involve Lismore primary care centre as well. There has been a lot of progress made on primary care centres over the last four to five years. Gorey is a huge and growing town and area.
Sentiment score: 0.61
I hear what the Deputy is saying. I will talk to the Minister and get her to respond to the Deputy in respect of the issue.
Sentiment score: 0.24
It is a beautiful part of the country.
Sentiment score: 0.60
Again, our bathing water continues to improve because of the provision of additional wastewater capacity. I note that the Minister is also from the sunny south east. I will certainly talk to him about the wastewater requirements there. We are looking at capital for Irish Water. Additional capital will be provided. We will endeavour to progress that.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I absolutely agree. Reflecting on the last number of years, there is a perception that urban environments are not as safe as they once were. I refer to the centres of different cities. That is the perception in Cork, although it is a beautiful city with a beautiful city centre and there are continuous improvements to the public realm. I believe people are specifically talking about the city centre at particular parts of the night and different times of the day. I have spoken to traders who have witnessed an improvement of late. There has been an additional Garda presence. We need more gardaí deployed across the country, including in the south and Cork, as they leave Templemore. Additional resources for the improvement of the public realm are also needed. These have been provided. Substantial investment has been allocated to Cork City Council in respect of the public realm in the city. We also need to reimagine city centres. We need more residential accommodation in city centres. That will inherently improve security. That is part of this agenda.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I thank the Deputy for the interesting point he has raised. I was the one to introduce the threshold of six for a special class with two SNAs and a teacher back in 1998 when we took a very significant decision in a Government memorandum. It is fair to make that point about a model for rural schools and schools whose numbers are quite low. I will talk to the Minister for Education, Deputy Helen McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, who has responsibility for special education, to see if a model can be designed for smaller rural schools. This might be based on a cluster. Perhaps a support base could be organised. I will certainly look at that. There has been exponential growth in the number of SNAs since that time. There are now 23,000 special needs assistants in our schools. The point is well made. I understand that this issue forms part of ongoing discussions on forward planning with officials in the Department of Education and the National Council for Special Education.
Sentiment score: 0.35
Would that report come from the HSE?
Sentiment score: 0.00
We will let the HSE know that the Deputy has raised the issue and ask that a serious incident report be completed. I do not know the background of the case. I extend my sympathies to the family of Jimmy Loughlin on what transpired here. I do not know if it was referred to the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, which could be one way of-----
Sentiment score: 0.04
Well, it depends. It may be for the Mental Health Commission in respect of mental health issues but there may be broader issues. That should be the direction of travel rather than a full public inquiry, which could take a very long period of time. It is a serious issue the Deputy has raised and I will follow up on it.
Sentiment score: 0.11
Over the last number of years, the Government has allocated significant investment to pubs. The investment during the Covid-19 pandemic was unprecedented and enabled many rural pubs to develop good outdoor facilities and so on. That is a good thing and very positive. I do take the Deputy's point about socialisation being good for you. Professor Luke O'Neill has written in his Sunday Independent articles about socialisation being a very important metric or factor in mental and physical well-being. There is a multifactorial reason for closures of rural pubs. It is not all just about the excise duty. There are other factors. Society is changing. For example, when a person retires from a family-owned pub, very often the younger generation does not necessarily want to take over the pub because of the way the economy is, with full employment and so on.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I am just saying what the reality is.
Sentiment score: 0.00
We are all familiar with it. We have all enjoyed a pint in a pub.
Sentiment score: 0.26
Will I engage in having a pint?
Sentiment score: 0.34
We always engage with the VFI.
Sentiment score: 0.34
Part of the reason could be the expansion of medical card eligibility. More than 1.5 million people now have a medical card. There has been exponential growth in that number. The previous Minister took significant steps in successive budgets to expand coverage. I am surmising but I will ask the HSE and the Minister to get some background information or statistics for the Deputy. I presume and surmise that quite a lot of people who had discretionary cards and who may not have been entitled-----
Sentiment score: 0.18
Just hear me out. Some people who might not have been entitled because of income ineligibility are now entitled-----
Sentiment score: -0.10
-----so they move from discretionary to automatic entitlement.
Sentiment score: 0.00
It is difficult to believe that ten years have passed since that momentous referendum and the huge endorsement of marriage equality by the Irish people. We have come a long way in respect of LGBTQ rights. We still have some distance to go. It is extremely important in public discourse, particularly in relation to trans rights as I said here yesterday, that we acknowledge every person's journey through life, that we have full respect for that and that we conduct any debate in a respectful, sensitive and intelligent way. That is important for the country in terms of our values, which were really the reason that referendum was passed so emphatically. I will work towards the agenda the Deputy has set and I know the various Ministers, particularly in justice and in other areas such as equality, will also.
Sentiment score: 0.46
On Deputy Conway-Walsh's question, I too welcome the students from Coláiste Pobail Acla. Cuirim fáilte faoi leith rompu chuig Teach Laighean. On the facilities for young people, working with the LEADER programme, county councils and the State, we can provide good quality youth centres. I have been in different parts of the country where some have done it better than others. I was recently in Tulla and there is a fine centre there. The Government is very committed and interested in doing that and getting partnerships together to provide good quality facilities. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, will meet Foróige next week, I believe. On Deputy Ó Muirí's question, I will talk to the Minister for Justice. The Deputy is absolutely correct; there are issues with dangers and vulnerabilities. If An Garda Síochána could have additional powers, they may act as a deterrent and it may never have to use them, even if the powers are there.
Sentiment score: 0.23