Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I wish to raise a number of matters. First, I would like to issue an SOS call. I have asked the Leader on three or four occasions about the long awaited Cork-Swansea ferry service and I am seriously concerned that the route may not materialise this year. We were without a ferry last year and the service is of critical importance to the local economy in Cork and Kerry and the tourism industry, in particular, and to people living in remote parts of west Cork and Kerry. Will the Leader redouble his efforts to make progress on this before we are on the rocks totally?

Second, I refer to the Ó Cuanacháin decision in the High Court. I accept it is an extremely sad, difficult decision and the case ran in the High Court for a long time. However, the court has decided on this delicate issue. Mr. Justice Peart is an excellent judge and having read his obiter dictum, I am under the impression that had a class action been taken on behalf of the approximately 150 children in this autism category, it might have been considered to be have been of sufficient public interest to award costs against the State and the HSE, which would have meant a huge saving for the family.