Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador and the rest of the team accompanied by Deputy Devlin. They are all very welcome on their day of celebration. I look forward to seeing them later this evening. I thank them for the role they play, the engagement they have with all of us, and the different visits they make to our constituencies, where they have met educational institutions and businesses. Long may that continue. I congratulate the Leader and welcome her back after her wedding. It is good to have her back.

It would be remiss of me not to raise the issue of University Hospital Limerick, where the numbers are two people short of April 2022. There are an extra 98 beds in the hospital and another 60 beds and still the numbers are rising. I am going to start speaking about it again. We need a debate on safe healthcare for patients but also for staff in the hospital. I know the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, is out today speaking about it and is referring to the fact it is not safe for the people working in the hospital or for the patients. It is quite worrying. It needs to happen. Numbers were coming down but unfortunately they are going back up again.

Many people in the Chamber have interest in sport. The International Rugby Experience opened in the main street of Limerick yesterday. I pay tribute to everybody involved in it. It is named the International Rugby Experience and has attracted interest not only locally and nationally but internationally. It has some of the big names. Yesterday, we had some very influential people from all across the rugby world, from New Zealand to Australia, present because they all support the ethos of what this museum is doing. I wish the McManus family and Barry Hannon, the manager, all the best with this museum. It will attract an awful lot of tourists to Limerick and the mid-west region. I wish it the best.