Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Gavan in his call. I also attended that meeting the other day and it is very important that we ask the Minister to clarify the position because so many people are dependent, as we were dependent on them, during the darkest hours.

I welcome some good news from my own home town of Athy. Since I first put on some motions many years ago to Kildare County Council following the damage to the former model school, the refurbishment of that particular school in our town into a training and innovation hub has been a priority for me and indeed for my colleagues, councillors Breslin and Leigh. The departure of Coca-Cola in 2018 was a blow to us all in the town of Athy but the company’s gesture of a legacy fund of €500,000 gave the project much impetus with Kildare County Council. It is very important to acknowledge today the work of Jacqui McNabb, head of the Kildare local enterprise office and her entire team.

I have worked closely with Ms McNabb on this project over many years and there were some great highs, including, obviously, the announcement this morning, but there were some lows as well and she has been steadfast in her determination to ensure that this project got off the ground and came to fruition. I am told and it is estimated that the project will create 75 jobs over three years, but, most importantly, it will train over 150 young people and will give them an accredited qualification and assistance in finding jobs. It is estimated the project will assist up to 60 new and emerging food businesses over its initial three-year period. The food and drinks hubs and skills innovation hub will complement the tradition of the town of Athy, with its links already to the production of malt, mainly for Guinness, over many years. This will not just support innovation in my home town but throughout the entire county of Kildare, as has already been said. I welcome the announcement this morning of almost €4.3 million for the town of Athy.

The other issue I wish to raise with the Leader this morning is the lack of GP places in south Kildare. It is something on which I am sure my colleagues from Kildare are contacted on a regular basis. I have been contacted by a number of people over the past number of weeks and over the past week I have been contacted by a couple who have recently moved to the town of Monasterevin and whose former doctor in Lucan had recently retired. Consequently, they are now without a doctor.

I have been given permission to read these couple of lines in to the record of the House today:

I am only recently out of hospital in Naas following cellulitis in my right leg. I ended up having to contact K-Doc and pay €100 for a consultation and then referral to Naas Hospital and had to be admitted for a number of days. My consultant stressed to me had I not gone to K-Doc and tried to wait for any local doctor to ring me back I would have been in a more dangerous situation with the cellulitis.

I am fearful that if anything further were to happen to either myself or my wife we would be unable to get seen by a Doctor. [I have tried every town in south Kildare but nobody is available.]

Now that [I am without a] Doctor I will be unable to get a prescription renewed once my current one runs out next month .

This particular letter is representative of letters, emails and phone calls I have been receiving over the past number of weeks and months, particularly with the newest population coming to south Kildare. I seek a debate with the Minister on this issue as it is a serious problem in that entire area.