Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

What is the status of the proposal for interconnection between the Republic and Northern Ireland? I accept that there are difficulties in counties Meath and Monaghan in respect of this matter. Has the Taoiseach discussed the matter with parties in the North in the context of the mutual benefit to be had? As Minister for Tourism and Trade, I remember trying to bring about a concept of an all-island entity in terms of support for tourism which would be non-political and where everybody could see the mutual benefit on the island of Ireland, North and South.

There are serious problems to be confronted in the Twenty-six Counties in the medical area. There is the Government proposal from the HSE for a new regional entity somewhere in the Navan area some time in the future. There are difficulties in Letterkenny, there is the withdrawal of cancer services from Sligo General Hospital and so on. At the time of the Good Friday and St. Andrews Agreements, both Governments had an ideal opportunity to develop co-operative ventures in Altnagelvin in Derry, Letterkenny, Enniskillen, Sligo and across the Border from Drogheda for the mutual benefit of the health of our people, North and South.

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