Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank colleagues for raising a variety of topics today. Senator Carrigy made a request for the continuation of funding for the N4 project until the review is complete. I will drop an email to the Minister but I suggest he also writes to him on behalf of his constituents.

Regarding the issue of disability team staffing within the HSE, I suggest the Senator asks the Minister for Health for the workforce planning report, which might give him a better insight into the reality of the issue we face, not just in Longford but across the entire country. When we look at the statistics, we can then start to look for solutions. One of things of which I am always mindful is that the HSE runs a national recruitment campaign for non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs, across Asia and India almost annually and yet we have hundreds of vacancies across the disability and mental health sectors but there is no recruitment. It is as if these people are going to just pop out of the sky and arrive here, looking for work in a sector that is already overworked, underappreciated and criticised considerably by us and by the media. We need a new approach and the workforce planning report might start the ball rolling in that regard.

Senator Cassells spoke very passionately as he represented his county, the accident and emergency department at Navan and the entire hospital service that is being delivered to the people of Meath and beyond by the staff in Navan. I am sure he will fight vigorously once the review is issued by the Department of Health. I thank him for raising that issue again today.

Senator Maria Byrne asked me to raise with the relevant Department the fact the Revenue Commissioners service is not open to the public. Thankfully, most of us have put Covid well behind us, particularly with regard to the delivery of services and the resumption of life as we knew it. It is not acceptable that any public service is still unavailable to the public and I will write to the Minister for Finance on her behalf today.

Senator Byrne also welcomed the announcement of €4.9 million in funding for Limerick College of Further Education. In the context of the huge new film studio development just announced for Mullingar, it is very welcome to see €4.9 million being invested in Limerick, which has done so well in this area, especially with Troy Studios. I thank her for raising that.

Senator Currie raised the €1,000 pandemic payment that has been the subject of news reporting since it was first announced, to great fanfare. Nearly one year later, there are still people within the health service who have not got it.We cannot explain why they have not got it. There are people in the health service who have got it twice and we are asking them to give it back. I have never seen a good news story of rewarding people for their commitment during a time when everybody had to step up being screwed up so royally by the HSE. That body needs to get its act together and sort the matter out because the people who will be admonished for it are politicians and Ministers, none of whom have any truck here. They gave the money to the HSE many moons ago and it is not good enough that, as we face into what might be a very hard winter, we have not even rewarded people for their efforts during the last two years.

Senator Boylan spoke about another issue regarding money from the State that was not necessarily managed properly. While I appreciate there is only one MPRN and therefore only one bill goes into Traveller halting sites, it is not rocket science to find a way around it and it is not acceptable that the €20 million that should have gone to householders has been diverted and spent somewhere else. I will raise that with the Minister and come back to the Senator with the response.

Senator Malcolm Byrne asked for a debate on clean air strategy. I will arrange that as quickly as I can in the first couple of weeks after the budget.

Various colleagues, including Senators Buttimer, Dolan, Hoey, Ó Donnghaile, Casey, Craughwell, Kyne and Chambers, raised the cost of living and next week's budget. I will send out the schedule tomorrow as soon as it is confirmed, but I hope to have two full days of statements from ourselves in the presence of our two Ministers so they can hear our responses to what is announced next week and, in many cases, our praise for the response from the State. Any of us with concerns about things not in it or not up to standard can raise them at that stage.

Senator Seery Kearney raised an issue that is probably not just relevant to the videos that went viral on social media last night and are reported in every news outlet today. This issue is not new to Cherry Orchard. The glee and entertainment value seen by all of our eyes last night shows this is a far greater problem than has been acknowledged and respected by the management of An Garda Síochána. It is a shame the Senator was not listened to in February because maybe last night the two guards in the car would not have been subjected to the treatment they were subjected by completely lawless individuals. The people up and down that street who were videoing events, cheering and jeering had no fear, concerning their foul behaviour, of any actions in response from the State. There was no rule of law in evidence in any of the videos I saw last night. The Senator suggested that there was only one car available from what she described as a subdivision of Clondalkin, which explains the delay in the car getting there.

To put it alongside another community, I live in a relatively quiet little town. Very little happens most of the time, with the exception of one or two odd break-ins, which we have all accepted to be normal. Three machete-yielding young fellas broke into our Tesco Express last night and within ten minutes two cars and an armed response unit arrived and the three lads were captured. Compare that response to the response given in Cherry Orchard yesterday. It is far more than an apology that Drew Harris needs to give. He needs to provide an action plan to show a proper detailed response in respect of the people who live in Cherry Orchard and Ballyfermot, a community that is as hard-working as any other and deserves respect from the policing force and to date has not got it. I support the Senator in her call for a task force to be established. I will contact the Minister for Justice this afternoon.

Senator Hoey spoke about Mental Health Reform and the money it seeks, which is small in comparison with the amount we spend on the overall mental health budget.

Senator Ó Donnghaile welcomed the tender for the Narrow Water bridge project, which will hopefully be among the more successful projects in the Taoiseach's shared island initiative.

Senator Casey asked me to contact the Minister for Finance on retaining the help-to-buy scheme. I will do that.

Senator Craughwell referred to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth. He also mentioned the AILG members who have just graduated from University College Cork, which is a welcome development.

Senator Kyne asked me to raise the lack of neurological nurses in the system. I will write to the Ministers, Deputies Stephen Donnelly and Michael McGrath.

Senator Chambers spoke about help needed not only for households but also for all the businesses that support the incomes of the people we in these Houses serve.