Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe that Deputy Gino Kenny was trying to promote any false position. He simply asked about medicinal cannabis and the medical access programme. I thought it was very clear. The Taoiseach is being utterly disingenuous on that.

The anxiety endured by the women caught up in the CervicalCheck scandal was generated by people not connected at all with me but connected with the systems of the State. The Taoiseach knows this.

I note that in his reply the Taoiseach did not answer my question on the photograph I referred to, a copy of which I have here. The caption tells us that the "Taoiseach and the Minister Eoghan Murphy" - which is okay - are joined by "Minister Josepha Madigan" - which is grand - and the Ministers of State John Halligan and Kevin Boxer Moran - which is fair enough. They were announcing the fund for urban regeneration and development, but why on earth does the Taoiseach have a party colleague alongside all of his Government colleagues? What is that all about? I do not dispute the necessity to make such an announcement or to publicise it, but I ask the Taoiseach to explain to me why his candidate for Mayo is alongside him in that photo opportunity. This is taxpayers' money. As the Head of the Government, he makes the announcements and he has Government colleagues with him. Why, however, is there a general election candidate? That is what got the Taoiseach into bother the last time around when it was regarded that State money was being used to make announcements on projects on the taxpayers' dollar, and that it was being used, misused and abused to promote not only a party political agenda but also an agenda very much connected with the electoral prospects of his party colleagues.

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