Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think Drogheda is a great town. It is a town I have a personal affection for, because when my father came to this country, when he was dragged back to Ireland by his Irish wife, he needed to find a job and found it hard to get one. He found a job in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital working in the paediatric service there. He always speaks fondly of that town and the people who live there. I know it is a welcoming town to migrants. It is a town that has its troubles, but one which we have put a lot of investment into in recent years for new roads, new housing and major improvements at the hospital and IDA lands purchased to drive job creation. Many good things are happening in Drogheda. Certainly, the situation around criminal activity in gangs has improved considerably as well. I thank the gardaí in Drogheda particularly for their work on that. I understand where the people of Drogheda are coming from in their concerns about this. I pay tribute to the three TDs from Drogheda and the councillors in Drogheda borough for the approach they have taken. They are a credit to their town.

The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, is meeting representatives from the chamber of commerce and the BID today. He is going to meet councillors tomorrow. If at all possible, we want to want to use a dual use option for the D Hotel. It has been done in my constituency and in Dundalk. It can be done. We think that is the best solution. We are not sure that the operator will fully co-operate, and there may be issues around child protection and so on. I am sure those things can be sorted out, and we want to do so. That would be the best outcome for Drogheda.

I heard about the protest. I understand that during the protest, which was a far-right protest, people from the town were asked to come up and speak and they could not find very many.

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