Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to be associated with the remarks of Senator Ahearn and those of other colleagues yesterday. I knew David and had the pleasure of visiting the Scottish Parliament on the many occasions when our Oireachtas teams had meetings. There is great friendship and camaraderie between us. My sympathies are with his family and colleagues as well as our Irish colleagues for what they went through on Saturday. Nobody envisaged that what started off as a fun day would turn into such a tragedy in which a young man lost his life. He was great fun and great sport and, as Senator Ahearn said, he will not be forgotten.

I join colleagues in calling for a debate on the issues raised by the Irish Grain and Feed Association and for the Minister to come to the House for that discussion. We all are aware that we are facing a number of issues in this whole area and it is really important that the debate be held sooner rather than later. There is no point in having it down the road. It needs to happen now.

More than 1,000 children in the mid-west are waiting to access disability services, of whom 667 are in Limerick alone. A report published during the week showed that some children are on a waiting list and receiving no services. It is not acceptable that more than 1,000 children in the mid-west are in this situation. Will the Deputy Leader bring this issue to the notice of the Minister? It needs to be dealt with straight away.