Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As has been said, we all understand this is a housekeeping Bill and it is required for Exchequer funds to be spent by Departments on various capital projects. I, in common with most Deputies, am concerned about capital funding across our constituencies and particularly Sligo, Leitrim, north Roscommon and south Donegal. We have issues with various capital projects we hoped to see progressed but very little has been happening.

One that immediately comes to mind is the Garda station in Sligo town. The Minister knows it is a headquarters for the area and yet it is a building that has been expanded or added to. One might go up a stairs to go across the building before going down and up some other stairs. It is like something from a Lego set. However, we were told by the Minister, as recently as last July, that there is no plan to build a new Garda station in Sligo. That is not just regrettable but simply unacceptable for the gardaí who have to work in that very dilapidated and poorly laid out building. It is also unacceptable for the people in the region. I hope this matter will be revisited because we can see the current state of the Garda station in Sligo in which people are expected to work. It should be acknowledged and the building should be replaced by a proper building accessible to everybody, especially people with disabilities. Currently, they have no access to the building.

There are projects throughout the country that we need to see put in place. They would create the opportunity for the Government to put money back into communities. It is not just about the possibilities from the work but about building confidence in particular in the regions if people see the Government is prepared to spend money to provide for them.

That is greatly lacking in many areas. One of the big issues in my region relates to Sligo University Hospital and the issues there. It has been almost 25 years since we were promised a full-time cath lab would be established at Sligo hospital and still it is not in place. The cardiologist at the hospital is about to retire and he is telling everybody there will be nobody to replace him as a senior cardiologist at the hospital if it does not have a proper cath lab. It is a matter of joining the dots. If the facilities are not in place, hospitals will not get the staff in place. There needs to be an acknowledgement of that within the Government and we need to ensure we put the facilities in place for people, particularly facilities relating to health, housing and education, which are key capital projects we need to deliver for people throughout the country.

Yesterday, 46 people were on trolleys in Sligo hospital because there were no beds for them on the wards. That is the case not just in Sligo hospital but throughout the Saolta University Healthcare Group in the west and the midlands, where there are significant problems. People end up on trolleys in hospital and cannot go anywhere else because the capacity simply is not there in our hospital system. That is not Covid related; this was an issue long before Covid. It is because of underinvestment in the past, which needs to change.

They are just two examples I wanted to raise in regard to capital funding having failed to deliver for people throughout my region, but there are many others. The main one that springs to mind for most people relates to housing and how, particularly in the case of social and affordable housing, in every constituency not enough houses are being built or delivered, despite continuous promises from the Government. While we understand the Bill is a housekeeping Bill and so on, the debate is an opportunity for us to raise this issue with the Government. It needs to put the money in place to ensure we deliver for people throughout the country.

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