Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Given the day that it is, I place on the record my sincerest sympathies at the passing of Ms Emma Mhic Mhathúna in her adopted home in west Kerry. It is a sad day for her family, relatives and friends, and it is only right and proper that it be acknowledged here this evening before I make a contribution. I regularly hold clinics where she lived, and she will be a big loss not only to her family but also to the community, which liked and admired her as an advocate against injustices that were done to people who were let down. She has sadly lost her life in a way that should not have happened. It is terribly sad and it is right and fitting to pay tribute to her, her bravery and how she gave up her own time, when it was so precious to her, to highlight the injustice that was done. She was an advocate not just for herself but also for other people who were misdiagnosed and who are sadly living with a death sentence following the misdiagnoses. It is a sad day for her family and I acknowledge that.

On the budget, it is only proper to acknowledge, since the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, is the man in the hot seat at present, that the day before he was made a Minister of State, I invited him to come to Kerry because there were serious problems there. Not only did he take up the invite as soon as he became a Minister of State, he looked first hand at the problems there and put his money where his mouth was. People can be critical of Governments, Ministers and so on, but I treat everyone as I meet them, and he has been nothing but straight and honest.

If he could deliver money, he did. If he could not, he said he could not. To be honest, when a person is dealing with the Minister of State, a person sees what he or she is dealing with. I acknowledge that. I thank him in advance for the rest of the money he is going to give to us in Kerry.

See this speech in context