Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I also welcome the Greybridge Classic Club. I would only love to be part of its Christmas lights run. It sounds amazing.

Property tax is going up for people and every household will be hit with a higher bill. Over the course of the weekend, I held a number of clinics - in the city, Clifden and other places in Connemara. At every single clinic, a pensioner came to say they were extremely worried about the cost going up because they could not make ends meet as it was and this would put further pressure on them. Many had not even heard this was happening and got a huge fright when they got the letter through the door asking them to fill out a form and they saw that their property tax was going to go up. They cannot believe this is going to happen. The Taoiseach must be aware of this. We are talking about pensioners who are extremely worried about paying this local property tax, LPT. They know it will go up and are asking if it can be changed or stopped. It is coming directly from the Government. House prices are out of control and it is only going to continue.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I think the Minister for Finance announced this quite some time back. It is part of a regular review of the LPT. The Minister has worked extremely hard to make sure that any increases will be modest, particularly in terms of the valuations and so on.

He did that a number of years ago and effectively managed it. Remember that the revenue goes to improving and enhancing services that people in this House come in looking for every single day. It is a balance. We have been warned, the Government has been warned, that it is spending too much. The Opposition does not think we are spending enough. Some in opposition think we are being reckless with the economy but then they want us to spend more. There are challenges and difficulties here. We are very conscious of the impact of this on people, and that was why we increased the old-age pension by €10.

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I want to raise the publication of the national framework for the management of endometriosis in Ireland. This was an eagerly awaited report, with a huge weight of expectation, given the enormous failing of thousands of women with this desperately debilitating condition. There are welcome aspects to the report in terms of the greater commitment to investment and training, but endometriosis sufferers reading this report have huge concerns. They are deeply hurt by the references to paracetamol. If paracetamol was sufficient to deal with this condition, we would not be talking about it here. They are outraged at the replacement of the endometriosis surgery abroad scheme. It does not look like progress when we look at the details. It looks like a monumental backwards step. There are no references to the hospitals in Romania and Greece to which Irish women are currently travelling, and there are new conditions. What assurances can the Taoiseach give that women will still be able to travel abroad to the expert clinics they need?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, women will be able to travel abroad.

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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They will not.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, this is not a back-and-forth. You can email the Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The report is broadly welcome in terms of the progress that is being made and has been made in the past two to three years in particular, when compared to where we were. We will continue to work to enhance and improve services, particularly the specialist services required abroad. Women will be facilitated to avail of such services, and the HSE is clear on that. We can revert to the Deputy with the details.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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Uisce Éireann has recently been fined €3,500 for a pollution event that occurred in Cavan. This pollution event resulted in a 2 km stretch of riverbed being covered with sewage fungus and hundreds of brown trout dying. Unfortunately, this is not a one-off incident. If we look, Uisce Éireann is repeatedly fined for breaches of its licence and for causing pollution events. Unfortunately, the paltry €3,500 fine is laughable, considering the damage that is being done. This follows hot on the heels of a major and catastrophic fish kill in the Blackwater, County Cork. We need a complete overhaul of how the State deals with a pollution event. What we see is State agencies essentially treating our rivers like drains and not protecting valuable river systems. We need a rapid response team, a cross-agency team, to be set up immediately to quickly respond to pollution incidents and with the ability to collect whatever samples are required. When incidents are found, there has to be enforcement and fines commensurate with the damage caused.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is a fair point that she is making. State agencies should not be polluting waterways and our rivers. Certainly, Uisce Éireann should not be. There should be severe penalties. To be fair, on the other hand, Uisce Éireann develops a lot of wastewater treatment plants, which are very beneficial to water quality. It has to put up with a lot of objections and judicial reviews to stop wastewater treatment plants being developed and so on, so the other side of the coin has to be acknowledged. However, it should be very vigilant in terms of not creating situations like the one in Cavan that the Deputy has outlined. I do not have the full details of that. The Blackwater fish kill was appalling. The EPA has not been in a position to identify who was responsible, but it was catastrophic in its impact on water quality, fish life and so forth. It is a matter we will keep under review.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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There has been shockingly little coverage of the scandal of the illegal felling of over 30 acres of native broadleaf trees and mature hedgerows in Cork that date back to at least the 1800s, if not earlier. It was revealed by The Journal after an FOI to the National Parks and Wildlife Service last week discovered that nearly 2 km of ancient, long-established hedgerows with high biodiversity value for local wildlife were removed. Despite being refused permission to access the site via Coillte forestry lands, people continued to move their machinery onto the site for this illegal work through Coillte land. Is it going to be the standard that nature and biodiversity are to be sacrificed for profits in Cork? It is not far away from the Blackwater River, where there was an enormous fish kill, which I raised previously with the Taoiseach. How was this allowed to happen in the first place? How is the Government going to act to ensure it cannot happen again?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First, I have to get a report on that. It is not the standard, and it is unfair to say it is the standard by which we are going to deal with biodiversity and our natural habitats. We have doubled the budget. I was involved in the last five years with the then Minister of State with responsibility for the NPWS, Senator Malcolm Noonan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan. We have doubled the budget for the NPWS and have given it significant momentum. It has a strong organisational structure within the Department of housing and heritage. We are adding to our national parks. What happened here is wrong, fundamentally. I have read about it, but I need to get a comprehensive report on what transpired. It is unacceptable, in my view. We are consistently looking at ways to enhance our biodiversity, create greater opportunities for rewilding and add to our national park network. We did that successfully in the last Government and we want to do more in this Government.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Every day, on my way home from work, I pass by the Four Courts on the south side of the River Liffey. Every day, dozens of people are openly dealing in drugs and taking drugs. People are slumped on the pathway just feet from passing traffic. It is a human disaster. If I see this every day, the gardaí see it every day. Why do they tolerate it? In Meath, I talk to people who are being crucified by crime and antisocial behaviour that is happening every single night. If it is happening every night, the gardaí know about it. Why are they tolerating it? I spoke to a taxi driver recently who told me of a drug dealer where people drive up, get their drugs and go home. It is a drive-through drug location. If he knows about it, the gardaí know about it. Why are the gardaí tolerating this type of crime happening on a regular basis? Is it because of the lack of resources, the lack of morale or poor management?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Gardaí do not tolerate it. I would respectfully say-----

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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They do. They see it every day.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not believe they do at all. The gardaí do very strong work in terms of the whole issue pertaining to drug abuse and the trafficking of drugs.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Drive down to the Four Courts any day.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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In fact, we have increased resources and we will continue to increase resources. There are now record numbers applying for An Garda Síochána. Events like last night take gardaí away from the front-line and where they would ordinarily be. There were so many gardaí there last evening to protect people, and those kinds of events draw from our capacity. In the general, normal work of An Garda Síochána, gardaí are very focused on this issue. Unfortunately, there are too many consumers of drugs in modern society and too many people take it as being habitual. There is severe addiction, which has to be dealt with through a healthcare response, with which I am sure the Deputy would agree. I would not be undermining the Garda response all the time.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Go down to the Four Courts any day, Taoiseach.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I need to raise with the Taoiseach the drug Veoza, which is a non-hormone-based therapy aimed at supporting people with menopause. It is particularly useful to cancer survivors who would have HRT contraindications and who cannot use hormone-based therapies. This drug has been going through the process of qualification for some time. At this stage, the manufacturer has responded, and the ball is very much with the pharmacoeconomic centre to carry out the assessment. I would ask that this be prioritised to get it through the system. It is more than just Veoza, however, because various other drugs may also be useful to people who cannot use hormone-based therapies. There needs to be a review of the free HRT scheme to extend it and ensure everybody is able to access it in one way or another.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising what is a very important issue. I recognise that this medication is particularly important for those with a history of hormone-sensitive cancers, such as breast cancer, who cannot take hormone replacement therapy due to the risk of cancer recurrence.

I understand the real difference that this medication can make to a person's quality of life. In relation to this drug, as the Deputy knows, the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, NCPE, recommended a full health technology assessment, HTA, of Veoza to assess its clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness compared with the current standard of care. Subsequently, the HSE commissioned a full HTA and then a pre-submission consultation. On 20 August 2025, 16 months after it was commissioned by the HSE, a full HTA dossier was received from the company. I am advised that the HSE said that the application remains under consideration. We acknowledge the importance of this. Seventy-four drugs for cancer were reimbursed between 2021 and 2024.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Taoiseach and the Deputy may need to correspond further.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We will come back to the Deputy on this. I take note of his comments on other products and the extension of HRT.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I raise the issue of home help, particularly in County Mayo. There are 265 homes waiting for home help. These are people who are deemed to need home help to be able to stay in their own home, but they do not have it. Home and Community Care Ireland, HCCI, is asking for two things, which I too advocate. It states that waiting lists are too often treated as a HSE operational issue, and not a political issue like children's assessments of need, outpatient appointments or accident and emergency trolleys. That must change in relation to home help. HCCI also wants to see a waiting list task force, targeted funding for the black spot areas and block booking of home care hours. This has to be done, as does retention and recruitment.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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On the two points the Deputy raised in respect of Mayo, I met with the HSE to look at the waiting lists for each area. I want the numbers on those lists brought down. We have given additional funding this year for home care hours. On the waiting lists, it is about engaging directly with the HSE and looking at measures. The main focus of additional funding this year is to deal with the areas where we have waiting lists. I want those numbers brought them down and I am actively working on that with the HSE along with the officials in the Department.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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Roscrea needs more gardaí. Last August, I was delighted to welcome five new gardaí to north Tipperary. They were going to Nenagh and Thurles, which is very positive and welcome. Unfortunately, however, Roscrea was left out. Roscrea Garda station essentially does not open any more, whether it is for policing or for someone to get a form signed for a passport. This is difficult for the town. A number of years ago, Roscrea had three sergeants, 18 to 20 front-line gardaí, two civilian staff and a detective. Today, the town has three sergeants, seven front-line gardaí and one garda on loan from Nenagh to fill basic staffing requirements. I am told that overtime and the loan of a garda from Nenagh are essentially just keeping gardaí out on the streets in cars in Roscrea. I have contacted the Minister and An Garda Síochána about this and Garda numbers in Roscrea. It is a town that desperately needs resources and representation. I ask for the Taoiseach's intervention to get more gardaí for Roscrea.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy has made a cogent and strong case for more gardaí in Roscrea. We are very conscious of this issue. I think about 11,000 applied to the Garda this year. We might have to look at training capacity to get more throughput. I think the Minister is looking at that. The Minister would acknowledge that in the past number of years, there was a concentration on Dublin. This was post-Covid and with the closure of the college during Covid. That has shifted now. Other cities have benefited. There is a stronger focus on the regions. In that context, I would hope that from the next throughput from the college, we could start allocating more gardaí to the regions and towns like Roscrea. I will certainly talk to the Minister. The Deputy has raised the issue and made a legitimate case, given the numbers he quoted. I will revert to him.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Local government budgets will be challenging for many councils across Ireland this autumn. I am particularly concerned that the local authorities in both Sligo and Leitrim are awaiting payment from the Department of housing for the damage caused last January due to Storm Éowyn. I understand the figure is up to €1.5 million. The same local authorities have raised the local property tax, LPT, by 15% over the past six years and members have raised the commercial rates every year, including last year, by 5% to borrow money to meet the core funding obligations under capital plans for expansion. Local authorities in the north west, particularly in the north and western region, should not be left short-changed. I urge the Taoiseach to get what is owed paid and ensure the equalisation fund is not diluted for the smaller local authorities with a small rates and LPT base.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Deputy has raised this issue in terms of broader local authority financing and, specifically, in terms of Storm Éowyn. I will engage with the Minister for housing on this. Overall, in the past five years, significant resources have been allocated to local authorities. That has to be acknowledged. It is quite substantial on many fronts and a lot of work has been enabled because of that. However, demands, services and so on have created additional expenditure obligations. We are working with the Departments of Social Protection and community and rural development in respect of resourcing hubs and networks to deal with future storms. We saw in some areas where such networks were established that they were effective and played a huge role in helping the communities. I will come back to the Deputy on the specifics of reimbursement.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The recently published Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025 outlines new service provisions and funding models for community pharmacies. Two areas of particular concern are the exclusion of blister packs or monitored dosage systems, MDS, from reimbursement under the agreement and restrictive provisions on phased dispensing, limiting its use and removing reimbursement in some cases. These omissions undermine safe medicines management for vulnerable patients and place additional strain on pharmacies, many of which currently provide these supports on a goodwill basis without funding. Blister packs or MDS help patients manage complex medication regimes safely and independently, reducing errors and hospital admissions. The new agreement explicitly excludes reimbursement for blister packs, despite acknowledging the importance of medicine optimisation. Pharmacies currently absorb the costs of preparing these packs, including time, staff and materials. This is not sustainable in the long term. Will the Taoiseach commit to recommendations to reinstate reimbursement for blister packs and amend the community pharmacy agreement to include reimbursement for the supply and preparation of monitored dosage systems for patients on multiple long-term medicines or with cognitive impairments?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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My understanding is that discussions are ongoing between the Department of Health and the Irish Pharmacy Union, IPU, in respect of these and other issues. I checked this with the Minister. I will ask the Minister to revert to the Deputy in relation to this. These agreements are hard negotiated. Huge resources go in now in terms of medical reimbursement and so on.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The Government is hitting the most vulnerable here.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will talk to the Minister in respect of where the negotiations are right now.

Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I raise the issue of Scoil an Chroí Naofa National School in Ballinasloe, which serves one of the most deprived populations in the country. Some 300 children go to the school. The older school is from 1937 and the newer school is from 1973. When I had an occasion to visit in January, it was colder inside the school than it was outside. The difficulty we have now is that the school cannot take in any new students. People with means who can travel to other schools outside of the town are leaving. We are getting a concentration of deprivation in the centre of Ballinasloe. We need to progress the building of this school. It had planning issues for nearly 22 years. They have been resolved. The project is at stage 2b planning in the Department of education. I urge the Government to look at fast-tracking Ballinasloe's Scoil an Chroí Naofa National School given the circumstances it finds itself in.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I know he is focused on increased services and facilities in Ballinasloe more generally. I will talk to the Minister for education in respect of Scoil an Chroí Naofa. Those buildings are clearly old. If the project is at stage 2b, I hope, with the capital allocation that has been given to education this year and through the national development plan, we will be in a position to progress this school on an accelerated basis. I will certainly talk to the Minister on the Deputy's behalf.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Storm Éowyn was the largest storm ever experienced by ESB Networks. It followed less than two months after the previous largest storm, Storm Darragh. A total of 768,000 customers lost power.

One of the biggest gaps revealed by the storm response was the slow speed at which engineers from other countries were drafted in to help the ESB with repairs. Some homes did not see their power back until 18 days after the storm. The Government published the report on Storm Éowyn yesterday. There are plenty of good recommendations in it. However, there is only one line in a 100-page document about development of new mutual aid agreements with other European countries so we can boost the number of engineers we have working to restore power at short notice. A consequence of climate change will be more frequent and more severe weather events like Storm Éowyn. Is the Taoiseach confident that enough is being done to put in place agreements with other countries so we can get extra engineers quickly the next time we have a storm like this?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this. I agree with his points on the severity of the storm. Actually, I would be confident on that one, in terms of mutual aid assistance. I met with the ESB, Irish Water and others in the review and we did not pick up a sense that there was any foot-dragging or difficulty in terms of overseas engineers coming to Ireland from the UK or France, and crews coming to Ireland to help us in our hour of need. The French were particularly responsive. From memory, I think the United Kingdom was particularly responsive, just as we are via these mutual aid agreements when storms occur on the Continent. I will again check with the Minister and with the ESB. I would favour more mutual aid programmes, particularly with Europe, people who are near. That is the key in any major weather catastrophe, event or whatever. The most effective mutual aid programmes are those in close proximity to us.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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We have worrying news from Arklow this morning. The Merck Life Sciences plant, which is located in the town, is scheduled to close in 2028. About 100 employes are impacted. I have been speaking with the company. There will be efforts to redeploy. Until now, Merck has been a very good employer. I know many of the people who are working there. It is critical, and I would like assurances, that every support will be given to those workers. Some will have to redeploy but I refer also to any necessary upskilling and retraining. I also call for us to seek a fresh plant for the site on the Vale Road. Arklow has a long and proud tradition in chemicals and pharmaceuticals. It is a vital sector for Irish society, so it is important that we can find a replacement plant there to provide high-value employment in Arklow as soon as possible.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very sad and challenging situation for Arklow and those working in the Merck Life Sciences plant. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, and ensure the IDA and Enterprise Ireland respond - what normally happens now is that they do respond - and that each employee is engaged with in terms of their own individual choices regarding redeployment or alternative employment. That is important. I have witnessed it before where something can be created out of this, positively, I hope, in terms of future employment or creation of SMEs or smaller companies, but also then a replacement industry. It is an important facility that has potential. If an alternative company can be attracted into that facility, that would be very desirable. We will talk to IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland about that. The Department of Social Protection will also reach out to workers.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Learner drivers never have to sit a driver test to roll over their learner permits. They just have to show they have booked or joined a waiting list for a test. Some have permits for years, contributing to a culture where learner permits are treated like full licences. The Road Safety Authority has had more than a decade to prepare for the closure of this loophole. The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, has made progress, promising learner drivers will have to take a test before getting their third permit, once test waiting times drop to ten weeks by September. That is a target that he achieved. Now we are playing another waiting game. The Department of Transport says regulations are effectively ready. The RSA says it is finalising an implementation plan and it does not have a timeline. I say no more delays. The Minister can and should intervene again to set a date to close this loophole once and for all.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this. It has to be done properly and right. It has to be done on a phased basis. I think the Deputy was saying the regulations are nearly ready.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The RSA is saying they are not.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy was also referring to the Department. I would prefer that they get it right. There will be a lot of people affected by this too, and we have to be conscious of that. The best way to do it is to phase it in in an orderly manner so that people know and there is no cliff edge. Inevitably there will have to be, but it has to be done properly. Also, the capacity must be there to do it. As the Deputy says, we do not want another waiting list developing in respect of that.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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At today's health committee, the Irish Cancer Society said there is a complacent notion that we are doing well in cancer but we are not. The reality is that the State's cancer services are deteriorating. A prime example of this is radiation therapy, which is beset with antiquated machinery and staff shortages. Radiation therapy machines need to be changed every ten years. That is their internationally accepted lifespan. In Ireland, 35% of machines are already 15 years old, while a further 40% will need replacement in five years. There is no national replacement programme in place. Alongside this, there are major staff shortages across radiation therapy services, with machines lying idle in public hospitals. Earlier this month, the Minister for Health told the Dáil that she is taking every step to attract radiation therapists into the public system. This is simply not the case. Radiation therapy graduates are not guaranteed HSE contracts, unlike graduate nurses. How can this be justified when we have vacancy rates of between 15% and 22%? Will the Minister make good on her word and take every step to attract these graduates? A good start would be permanent contracts for all of them.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I have literally just come from Crumlin where I met some of the new consultant radiologists who have come here from other countries in anticipation of the children's hospital. I am meeting the chief people officer after the statements on men's health in respect of some of the vacancies. On our cancer strategy, the Deputy is right to identify regional variance, which is one of the very many reasons we are shifting the funding model this year to a letter of determination to the HSE that focuses both on inputs and outputs, specifically trying to better achieve harmony, equity and regional equity of access around all the different areas, recognising that cancer services in particular are lagging too far behind in some areas while others are performing extremely well. The Deputy is right to identify it. As regards radiation replacement therapy, we have a capital programme more broadly and I will specifically look at radiation within that.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Tá an ghéarchéim daoine gan dídean imithe thar fóir go hiomlán. The Taoiseach might have seen the launch of Cork Simon's annual report. He insists to us that the Government's housing strategy is working, whether it is Homes for All or Rebuilding Ireland, yet everything keeps going up in terms of homelessness. Cork Simon is operating since the early 1970s. In its 55 years, it has never had a higher average of people requiring its supports. There are more people in emergency accommodation than ever, with 679 in Cork. That is probably going to go up next Friday; we could nearly set our clocks by it. It is getting worse by every metric, with an increase in people requiring outreach and in those requiring meals. Does the Taoiseach accept that this is completely unacceptable and that it is a stain on our society that so many people are homeless? Will he reinstate the previous funding position of tenant in situ to stop more people going into homelessness?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Without question, tá fadhb ann ó thaobh daoine gan dídean de. Níl aon dabht faoi sin. It is a much more complex situation than it would have been five or ten years ago. There are far wider pressures on emergency accommodation today than there were. I do not want to go into all of the details but that is clear. It is a factor. We worked with Cork Simon and other homeless agencies in respect of Housing First, which was a very effective response to homelessness, and a better one perhaps than tenant in situ. Tenant in situ works when it is focused on the homeless and people who are just about to be made homeless, to prevent that. It got used more broadly than that, which was problematic, but now it is back on course. We are continuing to resource it.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is not the case at all.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is not what happened.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have spoken to the various homeless agencies and they would acknowledge that the nature and composition of those seeking emergency accommodation is very different now. What the Minister is doing immediately is securing additional resources for families to make sure they are accelerated out of emergency accommodation as quickly as possible.

Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach will be aware the provision of home help services is vital support that allows many older people and those with additional needs to remain living independently in their homes. Recent rankings from Home and Community Care Ireland place County Longford second, with the highest number of people on a waiting list for a service. In my constituency office, I continue to meet families. Some of these have no service and some are grateful for a limited service. There are staff shortages particularly at holiday periods and we are seeing hours reduced or even missed in cases. I fully recognise that efforts have been made in recent times through the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, to expand it. We had a care provider that gave notice to HSE that it was no longer providing care. I know there was a consultation and the provider is back but we still have a major problem, particularly in north Longford. We have elderly people going into nursing homes for respite because the home help is not available in the house. I am looking for a commitment that we will look specifically at this and target this area in north Longford to make sure we have a sufficient service provided to those who are most vulnerable in our society.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Carrigy. I know the particular interest he has in this matter. Specifically, on north Longford, he raised an issue about one provider that has now restored its service. I am working with the Department officials and the HSE to look specifically at north Longford and other areas where there are large waiting lists. Some €82 million additional funding has gone into home support this year. With 1.7 million additional hours, I want to focus on those specific areas. I will continue to work with the Deputy and with my Department and the HSE to look at how we can address those issues in the Deputy's particular case in north Longford and in other areas as well.