Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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We had three petitions for consideration today. Petition No. 21 of 2021 is entitled Taking in Charge and was submitted by Mr. Terence Coskeran. This petition relates to a request to the local authority to take in charge a residential development of five houses at Rocksprings, Kilross, County Tipperary. This petition has been before the committee a few times. The petitioner presented to the committee on his petition at our public meeting on 12 October 2022. Tipperary County Council presented on the petition at the committee’s public meeting of 27 October 2022. On request of the committee, the council has since submitted a set of documents relating to the planning and taking-in-charge processes as they relate to this petition. On behalf of the committee, the secretariat wrote and thanked the council for supplying information requested. It was also agreed by the committee at its meeting of 27 October that this petition be considered again during spring 2023. The petitioner submitted further questions that were forwarded to Tipperary County Council by the secretariat on 30 November 2022 on his behalf. Mr. Eamon Lonergan of the council responded with the answers on 2 December 2022. Mr. Joe McGrath, chief executive of the council, provided a further update to the committee on 16 January 2023, as was agreed at the meeting of 27 October 2022. This was sent to the petitioner, who responded on 25 January 2023. The committee recommends that the correspondence received from the petitioner be forwarded to Mr. Joe McGrath, chief executive of Tipperary County Council, to reply within 14 days and an update on the further engagement arranged between Tipperary County Council and the Department’s rural water unit be requested from Mr. Joe McGrath for reply within 14 days. Do members have any views?

Just to let members know, there seems to be movement on that case. However, Irish Water now has seemed to muddy the waters again and put another requirement on the petitioner. We await his response. I think, at this stage-----

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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If it is noted for now-----

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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It is noted for now. If something is not moved, we need to bring officials from Irish Water in to answer why suddenly another problem has come in at this stage.

Petition No. 48 of 2022 is entitled Save St. Brigid’s Hospital and was submitted by Mr. David Dunne. This petition relates to a request to reopen St. Brigid’s Hospital in Carrick-on-Suir. The secretariat wrote to the HSE on behalf of the petitioner on 30 November 2021 and received a response on 14 December 2021. The committee agreed to forward the correspondence to the petitioner for comment and to hold meetings with stakeholders on the petition. Two representatives of the Save St. Brigid’s Action Group spoke on behalf of the petitioner at the committee’s public meeting of 19 January 2023. The committee subsequently agreed to invite both the HSE and HIQA in to present to the committee on the petition. HIQA responded outlining the reasons it would not present to the committee and the HSE has just presented on this petition. The committee recommends that the correspondence from Ms Angela Fitzgerald, chief executive officer, HIQA, be sent to the petitioner for information. To let the public know what has just happened, we had a two and a half hour meeting with HSE officials. We noted and there is other stuff we have asked for clarification-----

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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That they come to back us. Yes.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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Yes. We asked that they come back to us with clarification. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Petition No. 52 of 2022, entitled Lil Red's Legacy Sepsis Awareness Campaign, was submitted by Mr. Joseph Hughes. This petition requests that the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and the HSE’s national sepsis programme develop a sepsis awareness campaign for television and radio explaining to the public how to recognise the signs and symptoms of sepsis. The secretariat corresponded with the Minister for Health and the HSE on behalf of the petitioner. The HSE responded advising that, among other things, the national clinical programme is applying for additional funding to develop a national television campaign to raise awareness about sepsis, which it aims to run in 2023. This was forwarded to the petitioner for comment as agreed at the committee’s public meeting of 27 October 2022. Since then, the national patient safety office in the Department corresponded with the committee, stating that following correspondence they received from our committee, it is reviewing its position and has advised the Minister for Health in that regard. On 25 November, the secretariat received further correspondence from the HSE advising that the national clinical sepsis programme no longer intends to seek funding for a television campaign this year, rather, it will focus on annual awareness campaigns that will take place in September 2023. The committee recommends that the correspondence from the HSE be sent to the petitioner for comment within 14 days and the petitioner be invited to appear before the committee as soon as is practicable. Is that agreed?

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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There will be no annual television campaign but an awareness campaign.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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That is what they said.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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Will that awareness campaign include radio and television?

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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It does not make it clear, as far as I know. The secretariat said that the annual one is every year but not on television. We do not know why they decided not to put it on television where people can see it and identify the symptoms.

That concludes our consideration of public petitions this afternoon. I would like to invite members of the public to submit petitions via our online portal, which is available at petitions.oireachtas.ie. A petition may be addressed to the Houses of the Oireachtas on a matter of general public concern or interest or an issue of public policy.

Next on the agenda is any other business. Would members like to make any final comments?

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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No.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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I wish the secretariat - Ms Semple, Ms Moran, Ms Hughes and everyone - all the best. The amount of work they go through on our behalf every two weeks and on a daily basis is unbelievable.

We spoke to the secretariat to send condolences from the committee to the Turkish Embassy on the tragedy that has happened there.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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I am glad the Chair did because we spent an enjoyable time with the Turkish delegation. I have been in touch with the interpreter. The Chair might know I read into the record of the Seanad yesterday a text she sent me telling me virtually her family are wiped out or missing. It is so sad to read that text. It brings it home to us. Those people who we met last week-----

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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Yes. We met them last week.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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They were very hospitable and nice people.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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A letter drafted on behalf of the committee is going to the Turkish Embassy.