Frankie Feighan
Sligo-Leitrim · Fine Gael · Ireland
“Among patients reviewed after 12 months of treatment, there was an 88% reduction in episodes of cellulitis, an 80% reduction in hospitalisations associated with cellulitis, significant reductions in GP and public health nurse visits, and reduced demand on both acute and community services.”
“This will deliver an additional 263 positions to the service and will particularly help to support capacity building in our front-line emergency services.”
“I thank the Senator for raising this important matter in the House. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I am aware of the issues raised by the Senator. He will appreciate that neither I nor the HSE can comment on any individual case.”
“I can confirm to the Seanad that we are currently progressing development of a third HEMS to serve the west and north west regions, including the mid-west, and planning for the new HEMS is well advanced.”
“In my opening statement, I focused mainly on aeromedical services in Ireland, particularly the helicopter emergency medical resourcing, HEMS, to provide access to emergency patient care for the people of the mid-west region, including west Clare.”
“On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, I thank Senator Conway for the opportunity to update the House on the delivery of aeromedical services for the people of west Clare and the surrounding area.”
The complete record
Every one of 489 lines we hold for Frankie Feighan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 10.
“In 1949, it was Fine Gael that declared Ireland a Republic, which took us out of the Commonwealth. If we are going to have an agreed Ireland, there has to be a lot more generosity. We are going to have to talk about flags, Ireland, anthems and the Commonwealth, but nobody wants to talk about that. Unity is not a one-way street; it is a two-way street. Until recently, I had never ever blocked anybody on Facebook, but in the last four weeks, I have blocked nearly 300 people because of sectarianism and racism. I will not engage with anybody who has a Tricolour or a Union Jack or "be kind" on their handle. Nobody can lecture me or my party on republicanism, Fenianism or an agreed Ireland. I want to have unity, but we have to ensure it includes the 1 million unionists and loyalists. It is not a one-way street.”
“In 1914, [...] the Irish Volunteers was formed in Boyle and I joined them. At that time, there were 100,000 Ulster Volunteers marching and gearing up, as were the Irish Volunteers. He said that in 1914, 40 out of the 100 men joined the British Army and that when John Redmond came to Boyle, 48 men joined to fight for home rule. Of the 100 men, 88 joined the British Army. Some went for money and some went to fight for home rule, but they were forgotten about. One thing I have done in the last 15 years has been to try to commemorate those great Irishmen, patriots who were airbrushed out of our history. I think we have come an awful long way. To me, the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Downing Street Declaration and the Good Friday Agreement have been game-changers.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this very important motion to the House. I come from the Fine Gael Party, which is known as the united Ireland party. I have my grandfather's witness statement from the Bureau of Military History. He was commander of the IRA in north Roscommon, was released on the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and was a Sinn Féin councillor. He was the first garda in An Garda Síochána. We are very proud of him. My other grandfather was Felix Feighan from Cullyhanna, south Armagh. He could not go back to Northern Ireland because of his involvement in the War of Independence. Nobody should lecture me, or any of us, about our republican and Fenian background. I am going to read from my grandfather James Feely's witness statement from the Bureau of Military History: I was brought up in the Fenian faith with a rebel outlook.”
“The people of south Leitrim want more; they want better access in order to ensure they will not be without power for most of a week again.”
“Last Sunday night, 400 premises in the south Leitrim region were without electricity after Storm Amy. Power was restored more quickly this time but only because other regions were less affected, allowing manpower to be redirected there. People living in the area, with its considerable proliferation of forestry through which electricity lines run, realise this is the reason for the problem. Is there a role for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities in dealing with the ongoing failures affecting electricity and communications infrastructure? In August, I was made aware that after Storm Éowyn ESB Networks had been conducting forestry, timber and vegetation clearance work. I very much welcome this, but last weekend a mid-level orange warning over a few counties threw the whole system into disarray again.”
“The people who contacted me have been very patient. I have been very patient. However, the patients who need this are putting up with a bus that is substandard. I thank the Minister of State for her reply and for coming in here today. If there is not a resolution for this in the next few weeks, we have to have a meeting with all the stakeholders, in Sligo or in Dublin, to get this situation resolved. It is simply not good enough. It is obvious that one Department is passing it on to the other, and the patients who absolutely need this vital service are going without it. I thank the Minister of State for her reply.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I am happy that more than 80% of the funding required for the bus has been secured. I really thank the local charity for raising €50,000 through fundraising efforts. This has gone on far too long. The Department is committing to ongoing engagement with the HSE and partners to find a solution that works for patients. This is going on for at least nine months. What has happened in the previous nine months has been nothing but passing the buck from one Department to the other when there is loads of money in this country. These people - patients - deserve the best possible service in their time of need. I want to the Minister of State to go back to the Department and ensure that whoever is dealing with this bangs heads together and get a resolution as soon as possible.”
“The current bus was secured back in 2011 through fundraising and is still funded by local charities. I thank them for their dedication and hard work on this. However, with the current cost of living many charities are finding it harder and harder to keep raising funds for vital services. Many people believe that if patients in the north west have to travel to Galway for treatment, the HSE should be providing the bus service. That is a simple and clear statement. It is time for the HSE and whoever else is involved to provide 100% funding or matched funding for this vital oncology service. I ask the Minister of State where is the funding for the new Sligo to Galway radiotherapy service and why there is such a delay in providing it.”
“I add that the radiotherapy bus is a fantastic service. I have spoken to many people who have used the bus and they cannot speak highly enough of the service and sense of camaraderie and support provided by their fellow patients while travelling to and back from Galway. However, the need for a new bus was brought up time and time again during last year's general election campaign. I was assured by both the HSE and the Minister that a new bus with wheelchair access and a toilet would be provided this year. A working group was set up locally in March of this year to advance the purchase of a bus. However, we are still no further along. Every time I ring the stakeholders, they say they are working on it. Over the weeks and months, they have said it is imminent but no bus is here now.”
“The radiotherapy bus, known as the "cancer bus", provides a daily service for patients travelling from Sligo to Galway University Hospital for radiotherapy treatment. The current bus is not fit for purpose as there is no wheelchair access and no toilet facility. Wheelchair access goes without saying, really. It is a bus providing a service for people who are ill and should surely have wheelchair access. Many patients require the urgent or frequent use of a toilet because of the nature of their illness. The bus has designated stops at service stations but sometimes a driver has no choice but to pull over on the side of the road. There is clearly a huge lack of dignity for these people who are at their most vulnerable while undergoing cancer treatment. It is an unacceptable way to treat people in this day and age.”
“Last April, the Minister for housing was quoted in the media as saying he would instruct all local authorities to reopen their county development plans and rezone a very significant additional amount of land for residential use so that that land is available for builders to build homes that people need across the country by the end of this year. This is a very welcome initiative. When will the Minister write to the local authorities and spell out what he wants from this process? Will he consider bringing in all the chief executives, directors of service for planning and chief planners along with the OPR’s office to thrash out how this move can result in progressing planning applications for local housing?”
“I want to bring to the attention of the Minister for Health an issue raised by my colleague, Senator P.J. Murphy; namely, the revelation that sick certificates are being provided through some online platforms with no consultation between patients and doctors. From the point of view of medical practitioners, employers and patient safety, there are serious issues and concerns here. When it comes to someone's health, it is vital that a consultation between the doctor and the patient takes place. I understand the Minister for Health was in touch with the Medical Council recently and I welcome this. I hope some action will be taken. There are many waiting lists for GPs and primary care centres. I understand this is not the answer. I do understand there are genuinely people who become ill and are not in a fit position to work.”
“Up to 50,000 Irishmen died in the First World War and the rest who survived were treated with disrespect and airbrushed out of history. They were patriotic to Ireland and many were family, friends and colleagues of those in the GPO and those fighting for freedom. We have a duty to remember that, and like the GPO heritage, it should be respected. Their sacrifices and patriotism to Ireland should not be forgotten.”
“In one aspect of it, it says: In 1914, a company of the Irish Volunteers was formed in Boyle and I joined them. The company was about 100 strong, but about 40 of them went to the British Army when the first Great War started. [...] When Redmond finally split the Volunteers by recommending the Volunteers to take service in the British Army, all but a dozen men went over to the Redmondite side and became members of the new Irish National Volunteers. Of the 100 men who were marching for the Irish Volunteers, 88 went to fight in the First World War and 12 remained. My grandfather was on the pro-Treaty side. Some 200,000 men went to fight, and the reasons for enlisting varied from poverty and a sense of duty to supporting Home Rule, which was postponed due to the First World War.”
“The GPO is the hallowed place where our republic was born. It is our GPO, a witness to our struggle, sacrifice and Rising. However, there are many aspects of our fight for freedom that also need to be recognised. My grandfather was James Feely. He was a member of the Irish Volunteers in Boyle, County Roscommon, and a commander of the IRA in north Roscommon. He was imprisoned during the War of Independence, released after the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and he was one of the first gardaí in our State. Our family is very proud of his role in the War of Independence and his role as a garda, setting up the institutions of the State, defending them and protecting our people, which is continued many years on by the brave men and women of An Garda Síochána. I have his statement from the Bureau of Military History here.”
“This includes projects such as the Carrick-on-Shannon bypass, the Galway ring road, the N17 Knock to Collooney road scheme, the North-South interconnector, the N15, Sligo harbour regeneration and many others. I urge the Minister for public expenditure to embrace this document before work begins on the review of the national development plan.”
“The executive and many members of the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, NWRA, were in Dublin two weeks ago to meet Oireachtas Members and present a briefing note on infrastructure, or the lack thereof, in the northern and western region. With the upcoming review of the national development plan, I take this opportunity to press the Government to address the current imbalance of investment in our region and others. In its submission, the NWRA identified 33 infrastructure projects across the nine local authorities that need to be considered in the review of the national development plan. This is about playing catch-up. The facts are clear to be seen.”
“For traffic coming from Sligo to Dublin or vice versa , we need a plan so that it comes down through Boyle, for example, and hits the N5 around Elphin. That would take a bit of pressure off Carrick-on-Shannon. It needs a bypass to survive, thrive and grow. It is happening but I want to make sure the bypass and N17 get approval. I thank the Minister for listening to his Government TDs and delivering on these projects.”
“I understand the Minister is aware of that. There is also the N16. A lot of good work has been done as far as the Leitrim border but there is an issue regarding the road over to Glencar lake. It needs to be resurfaced. There is no money for that at the moment, so we need to look for funding. Coming across the border from Manorhamilton in Leitrim into Sligo, the road is in a bad state of repair. It needs surface dressing. I also wish to raise the Carrick-on-Shannon bypass. We must ensure it progresses. During the summer or on a Friday or Saturday, one could be waiting up to 40 or 45 minutes. The good news is that the N5 - the Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge road - is progressing. Nearly €400 million has been spent on it. It will be open in the next six months.”
“The Minister is always welcome to the constituency that is Sligo-Leitrim and south Donegal. Indeed, he is always welcome to the west and north west. When he does come, he can come by road, rail, bike or foot. In the Minister's case, I understand he sometimes comes by boat up the Shannon. I wish to raise the N17 Sligo to Galway and Mayo road. It is an issue everyone wants resolved, and I am delighted it now has been. In the previous Government, there was an issue. The former Minister, Eamon Ryan, came to Sligo and said funding for that road would not be continued. Between the three leaders, we came up with a compromise that allowed the road to progress. I am delighted the N17 is in the programme for Government. It is important. There are other road projects. For example, we need progress on the N15 to Sligo and Donegal.”
“This is a very important and sensitive initiative. I thank the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister, Deputy Foley, for listening to parents, teachers, principals and, most importantly, students. It is a pragmatic proposal. It is nice to see that, hopefully, the €9 million will be ring-fenced to tackle this. As parents and, indeed, as politicians, we could take a leaf out of the students' book and put down our phones as well. Sometimes we spend far too much time listening to other people.”
“I hope the €9 million will be used under a dedicated fund to tackle mobile phone use or overuse in our secondary schools. Some schools may still want to purchase phone pouches. They should still be able to access it. However, if other boards of management have other ideas, or a strategy, then it is important that the Government would allow for a degree of discretion and common sense. This is a huge issue. Everyone, the boards of management, parents, teachers, principals and students, will work together to come up with a common-sense plan to address this very difficult issue.”
“At least the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the previous Minister, Deputy Foley, were prepared to tackle this issue and, more importantly, provide resources from the Department's budget to tackle it. Some were very critical of this scheme at the time. However, we discovered that the government in Northern Ireland implemented the phone pouch scheme despite some opposition. It is clear that every school is different and must be enabled financially to implement its particular strategy on the curtailment of the use of smart phones during class time. A survey in 2023 of more than 1,000 school students, conducted by Studyclix, reported that 83% of students were worried that they used their phones too much and 38% reported that they used their smartphone for more than four hours per day, with 60% of these using them for more than six hours.”
“Our sincere condolences are with the families and friends of the victims of the tragic crash of the London-bound plane from western India this morning, with 240 persons on board. I also want to extend my condolences to Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh on the passing of her mother this morning. It is my understanding that the proposal to provide phone pouches to schools across Ireland may not now proceed. Will the Tánaiste confirm if this is the case? If he can, will he clarify the €9 million allocated in the budget in 2025? The issue of the use of phones by students is a topic of wide debate and how young people might be protected from cyberbullying in the classroom setting. I admit it is challenging for school management.”
“Will the Government review this situation and ask Uisce Éireann to step up to the plate and work with local authorities in taking housing estates in charge?”
“I understand that over 100 small and large estates have been taken in charge by Leitrim County Council over the past eight years, some of which were in an unfinished state. I compliment the planning department of the local authority on working with developers in some cases and, in many others, on its own, albeit with the support of the Department of housing. I understand that only five estates have had their water and wastewater infrastructure taken in charge by Uisce Éireann. Despite the best efforts of the council, there seems to be an unwillingness by Uisce Éireann to play its part. Meanwhile, many residents in these housing estates have been left in limbo. Local authorities are becoming more and more frustrated, as they no longer have their own water and wastewater sections.”
“A new Garda divisional headquarters has been agreed for Sligo but the timeframe for the start of the project remains unclear. A site in a very strategic part of Sligo town was purchased some years ago. This could provide an ideal location for other emergency services apart from a central Garda headquarters. Earlier this year, the then Minister for Justice announced a new divisional headquarters for Sligo had been agreed in principle by An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice and that the necessary work to draft the preliminary business case required under infrastructure guidelines from the Department of public expenditure had commenced. Has this business case been completed? If not, when will it be completed?”
“Surgical hubs are being developed in north Dublin, south Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Waterford and Galway. Surgical hubs eliminate day-care waiting lists and take the pressure off various departments in hospitals. I am disappointed that there is no surgical hub for the area north of the Dublin-Galway line. The programme for Government contains a commitment to explore the possibility of providing an additional surgical hub in the north west. I understand there is a site available in Sligo. Will the Minister provide an update on progress so far?”
“Since Storm Éowyn on 24 January last, a huge number of people living in rural parts of my constituency and in the north west have no access to broadband or to landline and mobile phone networks. There seems to be absolutely no urgency on the part of the providers to rectify matters. There are elderly people living on their own who have emergency contact buttons that do not work. They cannot contact friends, neighbours or relations. The Minister for communications needs to intervene with these service providers to get them to fulfil their obligations to people and to restore the services people need in order to call in outside assistance from entities such as ESB Networks. This should be done without delay.”
“Across the country and especially in the north west, we have huge challenges in providing adequate home care for some of our most elderly and infirm citizens. I, like most TDs, receive daily correspondence from families who are allocated home help or care hours only to discover there are no qualified personnel to fulfil these allocated hours. The issue is having an impact on our care homes and mainstream hospitals as doctors are reluctant to discharge patients home when the care hours are not available for patients. Families are distressed and are asking why the HSE and Government will not resource this vital service. I met a lady last weekend who completed her level 5 qualifying course two years ago. She was asked to send her CV to the HSE and to date she has received no correspondence or interview. This is a very important issue.”
“It was a severe storm, but we could have done better. The argument we hear is that if the damage was done nearer Dublin, the full resources of the State would have been set aside. We took our eyes off the ball, perhaps because there is a new Government and the people in the Department did not fully get it. The people of Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon, Donegal, Mayo and Galway are equally important as the people in Dublin. On this occasion, we did not step up to the plate fully enough.”
“She has a history of outages because the trees in the wood are falling down. On 21 January, there was an outage for two hours. On 22 February, there was an outage for 5.5 hours. On 1 March, there was an outage for 12 hours. On 8 April, there was an outage for 2.5 hours. On 15 April, there was an outage for 4.5 hours. On 21 April, there was an outage for two hours. On 19 August, there was an outage for two hours. On 19 September, there was an outage for four hours. She has now been without electricity for two weeks. How can anybody live in rural Ireland if they want to work from home or care for a child with a certain diagnosis? How can people live with these outages? I know the Minister of State will work hard. We need to step up to the plate because by God, we were caught napping on this occasion.”
“I thank the Minister of State and it is plain to see that he has done a lot of work already. There is one thing I have noticed over the years. We have a lot of various Departments, and everyone is busy, but no-one seems to spend time talking to one another. I saw this happening when we had flooding on the Shannon many years ago - about 12 years ago. The local authorities were blaming one another, the ESB was blaming the OPW and the OPW was blaming Waterways Ireland, but we got them all working together. Now, years later, although flooding happens, it is being managed to a certain extent. That is because of co-operation. On this occasion we need co-operation. I have a letter here that was sent to me by a lady who is a single parent with a son for whom she is a carer. She is living in a house beside a wood in rural Leitrim.”
“They should have been there to help. Other people have said they are not skilled but they have great resources and great skills and they should have been there to help. It would have sent out a signal that we were prepared as a Government to help our people in the west and north west, from Dublin. I believe it is an opportunity missed but we need to learn from this and I believe we will.”
“Finally, I ask that the Minister of State would have regular reviews and meetings of the said task force to determine progress and ensure that another storm will not have the impacts of the ones that came before. The last two weeks have been incredibly difficult for the families, the farmers, the people in the west and the north west, as well across the country. I commend the front-line people who have worked so hard, namely, the ESB, the local authorities, Coillte and the many other people working. We need to do better, however. In my 25 years in politics it absolutely has been the hardest time that I have seen people experience on the ground. They have run out of patience. They are angry and have a right to be angry. I believe that as a Government we need to do more. I believe that the Army should have been called in.”
“He has moved to set up a task force to deal with the crisis, which I hope would include the following: that the Department would engage in a mapping exercise in conjunction with ESB Networks to understand and see where electric lines are running through forestation; to determine a proper distance and an agreed setback of power lines from trees; to clarify the legal entitlements of the ESB and its contractors to go on lands to clear trees that are dangerously close to power lines; to clarify the issue around felling licences for such clearances and the need to provide a Department exemption for same for forest owners and managers; and consider the introduction of by-laws to reinforce the responsibility of forest owners.”
“Hundreds of these trees fall on lines in the course of a year and then inevitably the power is out. The access to some of these forests is akin to getting into the deepest jungles anywhere in the world and requires heavy-duty machinery. I understand from personal correspondence to my office that when I sent the Leitrim PPN report from that meeting that the Minister of State has not delayed and has, in fact, proceeded to act.”
“I could talk at length about the impact of this on my constituents who live in rural Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon, Donegal and the west and north west, but my time would diminish. Suffice to say there are still tens of thousands of people in those counties and around the country going into their 13th day without power. Given the turn in the temperature life is very challenging. We must focus on why this is happening and what the Minister of State can do to reduce the impact of multiple power outages in rural parts of the north west. It is estimated that one third of the available land in Leitrim is covered by forestry. I do not intend to go into that debate but will focus on the point that there are multiples of kilometres of lines, both high and low voltage, running through these forests. In many cases they are less than 5 m from a tree.”
“I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, on his recent appointment. I wish him well in his new role. I have no doubt he has hit the ground running. The Minister of State will be aware that a public meeting was hosted by the secretariat of the Leitrim public participation network, PPN, in Ballinamore, County Leitrim, on Thursday last, 23 January. This was a significant date as it was the night before Storm Éowyn hit our island. I commend the Leitrim PPN for organising the meeting. The meeting's main focus was the terrible impact around the constant loss of electric power for long periods following Storm Darragh in December when many households were out of power for over two weeks. Many are experiencing their fifth and six outage over the preceding 12 months. This is, to say the least, unbearable living conditions.”