Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand where Deputy Deering is coming from. It is unacceptable that the staff of a service that helps people have to work in conditions in which they cannot do normal things like wash their hands and use the bathroom. All I can give the Deputy is the answer I have in front of me. I cannot specifically say to him where the base will end up. I will raise the matter with the Minister, Deputy Harris. Having spoken to the Minister, I can assure Deputy Deering that the HSE will be prioritising the facility for the people who are part of the emergency service in Carlow. I will continue to pursue this matter with the Minister on behalf of the Deputy over the next day or two.

It is not acceptable that the Deputy has had to raise this matter again after 12 months of promises that something will happen. I will make it my personal business to go back to the Minister and speak to him at length, just as I have done every time I have responded to Topical Issues raised by Government and Opposition Deputies. I will come back to Deputy Deering with some kind of a formulated answer if that is acceptable.

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