Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely concur with what Senator Lawless has said. The scurrilous report in The Timesby Sarah Carey over the weekend was absolutely disturbing. I say as much as someone who was part of the Irish diaspora and who lived in London for many years. Do people mean to tell me that because I returned here I can have a vote but that my brothers and sisters who live in Birmingham, London and other parts of the world are not allowed to have a vote? Our Irish diaspora are about more than simply shaking them down whenever we want some help or support.We do not want to hear what they have to say. They are equally valid Irish citizens and on that basis they should certainly have a vote. It is not a gift to them. It is their absolute right to have a vote in presidential and other elections. Let us deal with the presidential elections first. There is nothing whatsoever to fear in hearing from the Irish diaspora.

I also want to talk about the strike and to appeal to the Minister and the Taoiseach. The strikes planned for tomorrow and next week can be averted. The impact they are going to have on the communities I and other Senators serve will be devastating. This is money that is already owed to those workers. It has already been agreed and has already gone through the mechanisms of the State. It has to be honoured. It is absolutely certain that this strike is going to be settled, so why not settle it now? Why not sit down in earnest with the unions and meet them halfway? They are willing to negotiate. I am appealing to the Taoiseach to do that.

I welcome our Private Members' motion in the Dáil this afternoon in respect of home help. It has to be tackled in a proper way. The social and economic impact of not dealing with the home help crisis will be devastating for the very communities that are affected by hospital closures, such as my own in respect of Belmullet hospital. I ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to come to the House and tell us why we are getting mixed messages. We are getting one message from the HSE after a meeting on Friday to say that a quarter of the beds in Belmullet hospital are going to be closed. Meanwhile we have the Minister, Deputy Ring, and the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, saying they are not going to be closed. People need certainty and a bit of truth and honesty around all this so we can have a proper healthcare service that is delivered close to the ground as was outlined in Sláintecare. Otherwise we might as well tear up the cross-party agreement that is Sláintecare.