Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I rise today to raise a number of issues. First, I congratulate the artist Mr. Roger McCarthy, a Limerick-born Cappamore artist, on his contribution to the Limerick Art Society on its 80th anniversary. He was awarded a silver medal recently at the society's 80th birthday celebrations for his contribution not only to life in Limerick but also to the greater mid-west and to Ireland. He had a number of students. I myself was honoured to be one of his students over many years. He has given his love for arts and culture to many of them. I congratulate him on the receipt of his medal last week.

The second matter I wish to raise is the good news Ryanair announced at Shannon Airport today. It is good news for the mid-west region. The airline announced two direct routes from March 2023, one to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and one to Béziers, France. I compliment all at Shannon Airport on the Trojan work they are doing in developing flights from Shannon. I remind people that Shannon is a fantastic experience and that passengers can go through security and come out the other side in less than 20 minutes. There are great facilities between parking and everything else on site.

Lastly, I know that Senator Kyne is representing the Leader today. Something I had asked the Leader to follow up on related to the Revenue Commissioners. Only today I again received an email from a fellow constituent in his 70s who cannot get through to the Revenue Commissioners. It is a disgrace that a public organisation or a public service is not open to the public. The Revenue Commissioners have opened up for appointments in both Dublin and Cork. That should be spread out to the rest of Revenue offices. It is not good enough that people who want an appointment have to travel to Dublin or Cork.