John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to start by paying tribute to my colleague Senator Seery Kearney. The work she has done in committee, the House, the Fine Gael Party and with other political parties has been outstanding. Today is a very proud day not just for Mary, her husband Dave and their daughter Scarlett, but for all of the families whose lives have been demonstrably improved because of Mary and her actions in the Oireachtas

Moving on to perhaps less glamorous issues, Hackballscross is an area in north Louth. That is the name of it. Senator Gavan's party gets a lot of votes in that particular area, but I not so much. To be brief, Hackballscross is a townland in north Louth. It borders south Armagh. My colleague in Dundalk-Carlingford is Councillor John Reilly. I accept this issue is more appropriate for a Commencement debate but given the time constraints this week, I would like to raise it now. Councillor Reilly has done a huge amount of work in north Louth and the Cooley Peninsula to make sure that mobile blackspots have been improved. He has done that by ensuring mobile phone companies are able to upgrade their masts throughout the north Louth area. The one area he is having a problem in is in Hackballscross. As is the case with some Garda stations around the country, there are legacy issues about who owns the land beside the Garda station. We do not know whether it is owned by the OPW or the Department of Justice. We do not know whether the phone company has the right to upgrade the mast. As a result of the triangulation of no one taking responsibility, people in that part of County Louth have a terrible mobile phone signal, and will continue to have it because no one has the ability to upgrade the phone mast. I accept this would be more beneficial for a Commencement debate, but I ask that we have clarification from the OPW and Department of Justice about where mobile phone masts can be upgraded to get people up to the proper level of service. I am aware that this issue affects at least four or five other Garda stations on the island of Ireland. I would appreciate if we could take a look at providing this clarification in the new year.