Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)

What cost would the Minister of State put on life? That is the question. If it was in different circumstances and the Minister of State needed something, what cost would he put on his own life?

When it comes to our search and rescue personnel, all I can say is "Thank you." They are absolutely unbelievable in what they do. If they work for 24 hours, that must be recognised. The Government is brilliant at putting in place regulations for different people. If people are driving trucks, the Government will tell them how many hours and minutes they can work, and that is regulated. For a service as important as search and rescue, what does the Government put in? It is okay for one group but not the other. The Minister of State could ask those working in his Department. If they were to work for 24 hours, would they recognise every hour then? These people are the same. There is blood running through their veins. I ask the Minister of State to ask those in his Department if they would recognise the 24 hours then.

As I have the floor and we are coming up to Christmas, I will mention the Irish Red Cross. Anyone in Limerick is welcome to the Northern Trust on 14 December for Light Up Limerick. The latter is a fundraising event for the Irish Red Cross to allow it to provide a service. It is fundraising that relies on the goodwill of people so the organisation can help others through search and rescue services, including Abbeyfeale search and rescue, through the Red Cross in Doon and Kilmallock and in all the other areas where people come out to help others. Those organisations have to go out and fundraise to ensure they can provide a quality service to protect and help people.

We are considering our search and rescue services at a time when people in the fishing industry or others might be stranded somewhere and when there is flooding and there may be snow. We see what those search and rescue personnel do at a time of need. Every minute counts.

People often say that different lives matter. The lives of Red Cross members matter too. They must have lives themselves. There must be a balance. Every life matters. Every life we can help to fund to ensure we can protect more people matters.

When the Minister of State is looking in his ball and trying to see everything, I ask him to look from the other side of it. If he was in that position, would he like it if he were treated in that way? I ask him to look in the mirror and ask if that were him, and he was out doing search and rescue, would he like to be treated that way. That is what it is about. We can take this around the houses again in different ways. I thank every organisation for what they do in going out to fundraise to help people. I thank them for every bit of service they have delivered. Will the Government make sure that the Red Cross and the search and rescue services are protected?

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