Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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We just have a small issue. There is no problem, Emer, and we are sorry. This is difficult for you, which we appreciate, but we have to have the opening statement ahead of time. What you are presenting to us is not actually in the opening statements. We appreciate the sentiment of what you are saying, but I had to interject because of that. There are very strict rules about what someone can say in an opening statement. If you are going off the script, we cannot have that at this time. It can be raised during the questions afterwards. If it is of assistance and if there are issues that you need to get out there, you can raise them during the questions and answers session, if that is okay.

I invite Ms O’Reilly of the Irish Hospice Foundation to make her opening statement.