Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I had not been aware of the Leader's engagement and I am delighted for him. It could not happen to a nicer man. I wish the Leader and his partner all the best and I really look forward to the wedding. I will start saving from today.

At the request of the Ceann Comhairle I led a delegation last week to Berlin. I was joined by my colleague, Senator Butler, who will I am sure have something to say about this later. It was fantastic to see the work being done by our foreign affairs staff, in particular His Excellency, Ambassador Michael Collins. He has done tremendous work, as indeed had the former Minister of State, Deputy Dara Murphy, and the former Taoiseach. Everywhere I have been to speak on Brexit in Europe, these names keep coming to the fore. I do not think that we can say this often enough in this country. People are not aware of the amount of work being done by the Government. I will leave it to my colleague, Senator Butler, to fill the House in about that trip.

I thank the Leader and the Minister of State with special responsibility for defence, Deputy Kehoe, for bringing forward the outstanding payments for members of the Defence Forces. It is extremely important. There is, however, one very worrying aspect to the publicity around the Defence Forces at the moment. I am being contacted by people asking where they can donate food parcels. This is not something that we want for our Defence Forces. I know that neither the Minister of State nor the Taoiseach want that either. Together we have to find a solution to this, though possibly not on the floor of the House. I ask for the Leader's support on this matter.

We were talking about air ambulances. I live where I do in Dublin because I am within ten minutes of St. Vincent's Hospital.I have a tricky ticker. There are many people around the country who also have tricky tickers but who are not as fortunate as me. Why can we not use the helicopters of the Defence Forces? The problem is that we do not have enough pilots. We must step up to the plate and get the Air Corps back in the business of bringing people who are in need of urgent medical attention to hospital as quickly as possible. I appreciate the Cathaoirleach allowing me to speak on two matters.