Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach is very welcome. I pay tribute to him and the Government for their handling of a very difficult situation over recent months.It is certainly something that has affected people all over the world.

On the Covid vaccine booster roll-out, I welcome the fact that the over-50s group and the most vulnerable in society will receive their boosters soon. I have been thinking about how if one looks at the same advert or message ten times, eventually, it is as though it is not there. We need to find a different way of encouraging people to get vaccinated. Of the people who are not vaccinated, some of them are not listening to us. We need to find a different way of getting the message across. I wish to compliment the Taoiseach and the Government on the way in which they have handled it so far.

Most Senators would be surprised if I did not take the opportunity to be parochial. I would like to raise a number of issues, the first of which is the delivery of the M20. I spoke to somebody recently who had to go by ambulance from Limerick to Cork, and it was not a very pleasant experience. It is a road the Taoiseach has probably travelled many times. There are many twists and turns on it. The M20 needs to be delivered. It was not clear in the national development plan, with the "N/M20" referred to. Will the Taoiseach make a commitment on this today?

I refer to University Hospital Limerick. Other hospitals have been mentioned, but University Hospital Limerick has had the highest number of people on trolleys this week, which is an issue that has been going on for quite a while. It is not due to a lack of investment because 110 beds have been invested in within the past 12 months. There has been a lot of investment in staff and resources. Yesterday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation stated that it is seeking an independent review or a different way of approaching it. Will the Taoiseach take what I have said on board and look at this issue? I refer to staff and patient safety. Somebody needs to go into the hospital to look at how to do things differently. It is overwhelmed with numbers and I note that the region has grown as well. It is the main hospital in the region. This is really important. I would appreciate if the Taoiseach will commit to looking at that in a different way.

A new chair of the board of Shannon Airport was appointed recently. Shannon is important for the mid-west region in terms of economic delivery. Many companies that have relocated to the mid-west recently put it down to two things, namely, connectivity and the standard of education. They are two areas to which an ongoing commitment needs to be made.