Michael Fitzmaurice
Roscommon-Galway · Independent Ireland · Ireland
“Basically, there was no Exchequer money at that time but we were still able to keep the bus service going. Unfortunately, there have been reviews, public consultations and various documents since then.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for that. The number was 120,000 in 2018. Think back, however, and you will see that it was 135,000 or 140,000 in the eighties. That was the base figure at a time when Ireland was awash with money.”
“A few weeks ago, I brought to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, a problem regarding apprenticeships. In fairness, she rang me last Sunday evening. Over the past few weeks, she has resolved this issue, which had given rise to problems for many apprentices. I thank her for resolving it.”
“I handed that list to the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and he sent it on to the relevant Department. You can go from Boyle to Taghmaconnell in Roscommon, right through Fuerty, Athleague and other areas all the way into Galway and you will encounter the same problem. We can give out about what is happening, but we need to solve it.”
“They picked up students and brought them to national schools and secondary schools. Those buses were owned by the State. Ireland had, on average, a population of 3.5 million during the eighties. At that time, we were transporting between 135,000 and 140,000 children to school.”
“An awful lot of the children I am talking about have had concessionary tickets for the past two years. When the contracts are being drawn up, I just do not know why they to not reference 23- , 33- or 50-seaters. If this is done and if the population increases, all involved would under the procurement rules, be able to adapt.”
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“An awful lot of the children I am talking about have had concessionary tickets for the past two years. When the contracts are being drawn up, I just do not know why they to not reference 23- , 33- or 50-seaters. If this is done and if the population increases, all involved would under the procurement rules, be able to adapt.”
“If you can supply public transport, people will get used to it and will tend to use it. In the coming weeks, will the Government try to resolve these issues in order to alleviate parents' nightmares and uncertainty? One thing should be borne in mind.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for that. The number was 120,000 in 2018. Think back, however, and you will see that it was 135,000 or 140,000 in the eighties. That was the base figure at a time when Ireland was awash with money. To be blunt, parents who are engaging on this matter would say that they would be as well trying to talk to someone in the White House as they would be trying to talk to someone in Bus Éireann or in the depots. There is a problem. Today, the Dáil will rise. Children will be returning to school on 26, 27 or 28 August. As the Tánaiste knows, many parents are working. We keep talking about public transport. As I always say, if you are involved in hurling or football and you get children in when they are young, they should become pretty good at it. The position is the same when it comes to public transport.”
“The population in the eighties was 3.5 million; it has increased by two thirds to 5.5 million. However, the number of children who need to access school transport has only increased by 30,000. The end of August is not that far away. Parents have to keep working. Their kids will not have bus tickets.”
“I handed that list to the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and he sent it on to the relevant Department. You can go from Boyle to Taghmaconnell in Roscommon, right through Fuerty, Athleague and other areas all the way into Galway and you will encounter the same problem. We can give out about what is happening, but we need to solve it. Will somebody please contact the civil servants in the section of the Department of education that deals with Bus Éireann about this matter? The same thing happens every year. We have gone from a stage where we had State-owned buses to one where there are a lot of public buses now. I accept that there are more children involved, namely 175,000 or 180,000, but the Tánaiste should look at the figures I have provided.”
“Basically, there was no Exchequer money at that time but we were still able to keep the bus service going. Unfortunately, there have been reviews, public consultations and various documents since then. I have spoken to Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, about this matter - I want to make it very clear that I am not directing any blame at him - but, despite everything, it is the same old story every year. People apply in February for bus tickets for kids who might have been attending a school for two years already - and this is on a discretionary basis - and are informed that will be no tickets for them for their third year in that school. There are 15 or 16 schools in my area. In January or February, parents in Williamstown, County Galway, compiled a list of all the children in the area who need access to a school bus.”
“They picked up students and brought them to national schools and secondary schools. Those buses were owned by the State. Ireland had, on average, a population of 3.5 million during the eighties. At that time, we were transporting between 135,000 and 140,000 children to school. There is a saying down the country about a pot that is used to describe situations where people do not have a lot of money.”
“A few weeks ago, I brought to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, a problem regarding apprenticeships. In fairness, she rang me last Sunday evening. Over the past few weeks, she has resolved this issue, which had given rise to problems for many apprentices. I thank her for resolving it. It is good that mother who never previously engaged with politicians was able to ring me and say that she was grateful that someone had picked up the phone, talked to her and resolved the matter. I hope the Tánaiste will listen to what I have to say about another issue. In the eighties, when many people had to leave Ireland because there was no work for them as a result of the recession, old yellow school buses used to go around the country picking up people.”
“I thank the Minister. However, there is one thing we need to know. It is important the Department of Health and indeed the Department of public expenditure engage with the people involved in the National Rehabilitation Hospital. We frequently hear about assessments. As the Minister is aware, the reality that it takes six months for some people to get in the door to get on the road to recovery. While initially they may be in step-down services trying to help them as best they can, they need the expertise of the National Rehabilitation Hospital. When will phase 2 be funded and started? I think all the parts of it are done, bar funding. When will the specialised unit be put in place in Roscommon to serve the people in the west and the north west?”
“For the specialised unit to cover the west and the north west, which was announced eight years ago, where are we at in making sure that it will complement the National Rehabilitation Hospital here in Dublin and take pressure off it? When will the beds be supplied in phase 3 here in Dublin?”
“Phase 2 is to bring add-on parts of it all together in a new build. Phase 3 will increase the number of beds from something like 125 to 220 or 230. One of the Minister's party colleagues announced in 2018 that Roscommon would get a specialised 20-bed unit to cover the west and north west. There are satellite units in Mayo, Galway and other counties throughout the country. While the huge work being done there is acknowledged, it is widely known that there is basically a waiting list of a minimum of six months, which, for people who need the help and the expertise the National Rehabilitation Hospital gives, can be a long time waiting. In some cases if people do not get in in time, it may have an adverse effect. When will the Government put the capital into phase 2 and phase 3?”
“Reference was made earlier to Independent Ireland and a vote in the European Parliament. I want to put on the record that Independent Ireland issued a statement to make it very clear that we stand with the people in Limerick and surrounding areas who have large mortgages and young families. The facts are not out yet on the percentages one way or the other. I want that on the record rather than innuendo being spread. Every one of us here has probably had contact with the National Rehabilitation Hospital. It does great work to bring people, who were involved in accidents, suffer strokes or have different illnesses, back to full health. It is to be commended on what it has done down through the years for many families. Phase 1 of its project was finished in 2020. It was actually brought in on budget and has been a huge success.”
“I am fearful for road projects and other types of projects with some of the definitions I see coming out of the courts on the climate Bill. If they go down that road, legislation will have to be brought in to try to resolve that so that we will be compatible with the courts. I am not criticising the courts but we must be compatible with them so that this works. Those are the two issues I address to the Government. We support the Bill but unless those two issues are addressed, we are in trouble.”
“First, the habitats directive is blocking progress on any building job around the country, whether it is a road, sewerage or water project or works at an airport, port or wherever. We must do something with that when Ireland holds the Presidency. There are a lot of sceptics who will go against the Government if it opens its mouth about this, but let us call a spade a spade and call out the rigmarole one has to go through. A snail that did not exist in Sligo held up a water project for ten years. Let us think about that. The lunatics are running the asylum to be quite frank about it. That is what is happening. We must address that. Second, sooner or later, politicians will have to face back to the climate Bill. I am watching what the courts have decided on and some of what they have said.”
“In the context of this amendment, some accountability has to be brought to the Dáil. I support the Bill because it is needed. It is basically putting critical infrastructure projects to the top of the pile, to put it in simple terms. I note that the Minister said earlier, which he said previously, that private infrastructure projects are not part of this. The one thing I will say is that there are projects waiting for years. Galway hospital is one such example. It is critical infrastructure that is needed because it covers the west, north west and all that area. We all know about the Galway outer ring road that has been on the go for 30 years. As I said to the Minister earlier, there are two issues we have to address as public representatives. If they are not addressed, we can put the Bill to the ceiling of the Dáil Chamber.”
“One time ago, we did not have the money, but we would have been able to build it. Now, we have gone vice versa . I ask the Minister if he could do that. I thank him very much.”
“A government has to adhere to whatever legislation is in front of it, rightly or wrongly. In my opinion, unless it does that, it is pointless. We can put something to the top of the heap, but to get to the top of the heap, in the midst of EIAs, screenings out, appropriate assessments and all of that, is where I fear there is a major problem. As I said, on principle, I would like clarification on that aspect for private operators. That is the one part I would like the Minister to clarify, if his officials get the chance. I am not putting him on the spot tonight. I would like to know that. For the likes of Irish Water, the ESB and all the semi-States and Government bodies, I think we need to be able to deliver stuff faster. In a lot of cases, the money is there, but we cannot build it. That is sickening altogether.”
“I saw a place in Clonberne where there was a young couple building a house. There was no designation near them. It was sent out that they needed an EIA, a screening out and all this. We were asking why. The drain near the back of that house was going into the Sinking river, up through Sliabh and heading to Dunmore to another river. It was going up to the River Clare and into the River Corrib, some 40 miles away. That is what frustrates me. I get so frustrated over watching things like that. It cost that young couple a couple of grand more to do all that, at least. That was at the time, but it would be way more now. I will explain the problem. When we were in the bogs, we were on our ground. We were able to stand our battle. Even though people accused us of all types of things, we were able to say that was our ground.”
“Irish Water was turning that pipe not near the lake, but 800 m away. It was going using the water, but it had to get an extraction licence. It was being blocked from getting that extraction licence. I spoke to Jerry Grant one evening across the road in Buswells. We went through it. That type of situation is costing money and slowing jobs by three and four years. It is ferocious. It is one thing I would ask all the Ministers to do something about. It is the bane of our lives now. It impacts when we try to extend an airport or a port. Galway Port was impacted. It impacts when there is an attempt to do a road. No matter what infrastructure is being done, it impacts, even in the case of youngsters. The designated area within 15 km of a place is now basically being called a screening-out area.”
“The legislation was put through here one night. For a Government seeking to build housing projects, and for the likes of Irish Water if it needs sewers and water, if we do not have sewers, water and roads, we are not going to build anything. That is what will happen if we do not go down that road. It will probably mean a clash with Europe, because even in Germany a snail was holding up things. I remember what happened at Lough Talt that time. There is the madness that is going on in some of this. A certain type of snail was supposed to have been in Lough Talt. I do not know how many years it had been gone for, but it was still necessary to do all the rigmarole. The project was being blocked. This was even though the pipe was coming out and Sligo County Council at the time was putting out the water daily.”
“No matter how you go about it, it is going to take three or four years, and it will continue unless we get some legislation put in place. I have mentioned this before to Ministers. I remember when Eamon Ryan was here, at the time we needed the jet engines to basically keep the power on or to have backup. I remember it was the Bord na Móna Bill, I think, that came in here one night. It was a Bill that basically went over all the habitats directive, and you could drive on. I think it was for three years and it could be renewed again, or whatever. Environmental impact assessments, EIAs, appropriate assessments, AAs, and all this craic we have to go on with would not have had to be done. He was able to get that legislation through because, obviously, there was an amber light on our electricity situation at the time.”
“If we continue with the habitats directive in its present form, God help any Minister because there is a rigmarole they will have to go through. I have been dealing with the habitats directive for the last 20 years or more. What has happened with the habitats directive is that it started off as a directive. It then started going into the European Court of Justice, ECJ, and it started to put us in straitjacket after straitjacket. With the best will in the world to any Department, we get frustrated when things are not delivered. If we go back a few years ago and down to Lough Talt, when Jerry Grant was in Irish Water at the time, we had to go to Europe for an Article 6(3) or Article 6(4) imperative reasons of overriding public interest, IROPI, exception.”
“However, there is one part I worry about that has been mentioned, and which I have spoken to the Minister before about, and that is the Bill seems to push the critical infrastructure up to the top of the pile to get looked at. That is my understanding of it and that is fine, but I see ordinary people out there. We need quarries, whether people like it or not, to be able to build infrastructure. Let nobody cod themselves about that. There are people waiting who have applications in with An Bord Pleanála and all they get is a letter saying it is another few months gone, and another few months. The way they treat ordinary, private persons that way is disgraceful. With the best will in the world, we get that when an application for planning is put in, it is good to get it to the top of the pile.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. I want to be very clear that I am all for speeding up any infrastructure in the line of what Government needs to do, be that roads, rail or housing. There are a few issues. I am trying to get my head around parts of this Bill. Is this Bill solely for Government and semi-State bodies? I am asking whether some wind developer somewhere that is tormenting some community will be able to avail of that in some part of the country or is it just for Government projects, be they roads or hospitals? It would be great to get clarification on that from the Minister and his officials if that could be explained. I just cannot get my head around that. I have no problem if, in a Bill, the State needs to be able to build hospitals or build roads or whatever it needs to build quicker.”
“There is a problem with the price of diesel for all those jobs and what they are priced at. Maybe there are clauses in some of those contracts with the councils or roads authorities but there are ordinary contractors who build houses and they are left out of this loop altogether. The second part, and I have talked about it a number of times, is that we still have lorry drivers who have, say, a quarry and who do not need the haulage licence. There was a fund brought in over €1.57 plus VAT in relation to a war emergency fund, but there is nothing in the rebate for them. They are as important as people bringing meal from a mill who have their own lorries. People do not need a haulage license to carry their own product. That sector seems to still be forgotten about. I ask the Minister of State to re-examine that.”
“I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. We need to look at sectors that have been left behind. On home heating oil, I know there were a good few proposals in relation to hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO. The statistics I am hearing are that HVO would cut emissions by 90%, but there is still a lot of taxes on it. That needs to be looked at. There is nothing there for people right around the country who are using home heating oil. The other side, which was brought up earlier, relates to plant hire. The first thing that goes into every house is a digger and either a dump truck or a dump trailer. It relates to every part of that including all the ground works, the water, the sewers and the roads. The Minister of State knows it from his county. The big contractors are down there.”
“The dog on the street knew there was discontent. What was the difference in bringing the measures in the Sunday before to try to solve this? But no, the Government TDs will not listen to the people who elected them. I have been here for a lot of debates and never in my life have I got more emails off people who were disgusted. Do you know what? I went up to the people in Galway, people who had voted for the Government parties - for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil - every time. They are decent people, and let no one say that they are far right either.”
“The night the first measures were announced here, a blind man would have known that when you could buy white diesel at a price within 3 cent of green diesel, the writing was on the wall. I gave a speech in here but no one would listen. It was the usual stuff. The Government TDs are on their phones, not listening to someone who comes from the sector. I have those black hands all my life with grease and oil. I know what it is to be an agricultural contractor and the Government, its civil servants and the people in here turned around and thought they knew more. People are paying €1.70 for green diesel when your machine to cut a meadow costs the price of a house in Dublin. There are financial pressures on those contractors. But no, they will not listen. The IFA warned the Government a week beforehand.”
“I got the prices earlier. Kerosene is up there as well. That was being bought at 96 cent or 98 cent, including VAT. Those are the facts. The Government needs to have a real look at this.”
“Those who talk about environmental schemes say that the money is going to AEOS and REPS, but the fact is that as much money, or more, was going to environmental schemes when there was no carbon tax as there is now. Those are the facts on that. We heard about insulating houses and doing all of that. Everyone agrees with that but if we look at the figure to see what was spent, we will see that it was €450 million to €500 million. We are taking in €1.1 billion or €1.2 billion. We paid for everything else all down through the years before there was any carbon tax. What has been brought in is another tax like the USC. I am not saying that the Government should scrap it for good but I am asking that at least while people are under pressure, it should be dropped for a few months to try to give people breathing space. Green diesel is €1.61 today.”
“If you go to a site, you will learn that it is €120 a day extra for the digger now in green diesel. You can multiply that by the number of plants that are on the site. Even a generator on a site is on green diesel. When you are finished on the site, you have to go to the quarry to bring stones. The crusher, the loading shovel and every part of the quarry bar the lorry on the road will be on green diesel. These are the facts. We cannot see we are driving up the price of houses because we are leaving the price of green diesel at its current level. The excuse that was used about carbon tax was that we cannot stir it. I have looked for the full breakdown of the carbon tax receipts. It needs to be put on the record. Yes, agriculture gets some of this money.”
“I ask if anyone can give me information contrary to that. We were led to believe that this was all a requirement of the EU. If we can bring in legislation today to basically get rid of the NORA levy, there is no reason we cannot do the same for the home heating sector and the agricultural and building sectors. I spoke to a groundworks contractor in Dublin this morning who is working at houses. Every month, it is costing them €240,000 more now in diesel than a month ago. Is that sustainable? What is that going to do? It will put up the price of a house. Every one of the main suppliers has sent out messages saying that tar, concrete and all the materials are going up. House builders are deciding whether they need to pull back. Those are the facts of what is going on. If the Minister of State wants me to verify that, I will do so.”
“They must participate in the EU emissions trading system, ETS, which is an EU-wide system that puts a price on carbon for power plants, heavy industry and aviation. The Government decided not to go near aviation but instead to tax the person driving up and down the country. The ETS market works on a "cap and trade" basis. It is not a fixed tax. Every EU country must price carbon in these sectors. This is the only compulsory carbon-pricing mechanism in the EU. What is not mandatory is a national carbon tax. It is actually optional. If you can look at some of the different countries in Europe, you will see that in Sweden it is very high, whereas Germany basically has nothing. The Government has constantly said we have to do this because it is EU law, but there is no law to state that you cannot reduce the carbon tax.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. First, any reduction is welcome. I was looking for figures with regard to NORA. Between €2 billion and €3 billion was supposed to be paid into it since 2007 or 2008. My understanding is that the oil reserves are not just in Ireland, but we have a deal with someone else. The way NORA is set up needs more explanation, to be quite frank about it. The levy going is a good thing. We welcome the reduction in the price of fuel for white diesel and petrol, but green diesel has totally been left behind. I remember the day myself, Deputy Collins and a few others went into government talks. When we brought up the carbon tax, we were told "No, it can’t be touched; that’s from Europe and that’s it". I have got information from Europe on what is mandatory on all EU states.”
“Are we going to build houses without quarries? What about them? The crusher and the loading shovel use green diesel. I do not know what world the economists in the Department of Finance are in but this will cripple the housing industry alone and it will put damnable pressure on the whole agricultural sector. The Minister and the Minister of State know that because they are from rural Ireland.”
“I welcome the bits that are good, but my God, on the green diesel, does the Minister and the Minister of State realise that the price of white diesel went up by about 50 cent? It has gone from about €1.75 to €2.20 or €2.25. Does the Government realise that the Friday before that guy decided to go bombing Iran that the green diesel cost 98 cent, including VAT. It costs €1.61 this minute, plus VAT. When I went to school that was about 70 cent more at least. Even if the VAT is drawn back, it is 70 cent more per litre. It is actually 20 cent more than the white diesel has gone up by. The VAT on white diesel is at 23%, while the VAT on this is at 13.5% and the Government thinks it is great for what it has done today. It is a help for the haulage industry and I appreciate that. What about the guy in the quarry?”
“The Government talks about doing sewerage projects and water projects. Every single machine working on those sites is costing €120 more because green diesel has gone up by 70 cent and the Government is giving a measly 5 cent back to them. Do not go telling me that the Government is interested in solving a housing crisis when we see the likes of that. The Minister and the Minister of State are from rural Ireland. The Big Ms will be soon out in about four or five weeks' time. A silage harvester takes 1,000 litres of fuel. It costs between €600 and €700 or more to fill that. A Big M will need to be filled again at 3.30 p.m. How can anyone stick that? Is there a rebate for them? No. Where is the farmer going to get more money out of? Where are they going to get all this money to pay this contractor? What has been done is ill-thought out.”
“I welcome the rebate for the haulage industry. The only thing about it is that is probably for licensed hauliers. What about the person who is a haulier of cattle? A haulage licence is not needed for that. What about people who own hardware and have to bring their own gear somewhere? They do not need a haulage licence. Do they get the rebate? If it is like the things before then they do not. What about the guy bringing straw from up the country? The Government is well aware that they will not get it either. These are the things that need to be looked at. In looking at today's measures, while I welcome some things on the white diesel, I stated today that this Government has no interest in bringing the price of housing down because every digger working on a housing site today is costing €120 more per day in green diesel.”
“It is a damnable thing to say that Galway hospital does not have a PET scanner. Imagine that. A private hospital up the road has one, but the main hospital, the centre of excellence, does not. It is time that money was invested.”
“Thankfully, many people recover from cancer. That needs to be said. However, while they are going through treatment, be it radiotherapy or chemotherapy, they may have to have operations. It is a minimum of 12 months, and at times longer, where they are out of work, where an income is not coming in and where they have to attend hospital appointments. Even after therapy, they still have to attend hospital appointments. As for funds, they struggle to keep going. We have got to be mindful of that. I ask that the relevant Ministers look at the state of cancer services and hospital infrastructure in general. The hospital infrastructure in Galway is abysmal. We deserve better. It is not just Galway; it is the entire west and north west.”
“We listen to people, day in, day out, telling us about treatment being delayed. That is not good enough. Even in Galway, they have to send some of their patients to Dublin for more expert treatment. Centres of excellence should be in all parts of the country. A centre of excellence should not at my backdoor, no more than at anyone else's. These centres should be located in all parts of the country in order to help people. We also need to be mindful of people. As Deputy Collins and others stated, it is a stressful time when a person is told that they have cancer. Medical cards should automatically be given to people instead of them having to fight for them. The only way you will get a card urgently at present is if you have a terminal illness. We need to look at that. There is another part to this. People with cancer cannot work.”
“A person in the north west or the west should not be left behind. People are being left behind. It is not the fault of consultants or nurses. They are doing the best they can. However, people are not able to get chemotherapy. The statistics and the facts show that they are not getting chemotherapy at the times they are supposed to be getting it. Have a look at the capital plan. What funding under the capital plan was put into the west of Ireland in the past ten years in comparison with other areas? Anyone can look at it. It is a disgrace what has happened. I was at a meeting in Galway. We, as politicians, went to hear Professor Kerin, an expert, speak. He stated that if you are in the west of Ireland, you have a lesser chance of survival than in any other part of the country. That was a damning statement.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. There is not a family in Ireland that has not been affected by someone belonging to them having cancer, people recovering from it or, sadly, some of their loved ones passing away. When the strategy was done, we were going to have centres of excellence. A centre of excellence in Galway should be the same as one in Dublin, Cork or anywhere else in the country. We have failed abysmally. Go to Galway and look at the lab that people have to work in and then go to some of the places here in Dublin. Go to the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach's local hospital in Limerick and see what happens. It is disgraceful that parts of the country are being left behind. Think of a person in Donegal who has to go to Galway for treatment by bus and then travel home again. In this day and age, that is not on.”
“Does the Government not realise that it gets more than the driver of a tractor agitating or ploughing or whatever it is at?”
“Does the Government realise most people in rural Ireland, if they do not have a turf fire, use kerosene? Kerosene has never been as dear. What has been done for them? A measly 5 cent is going to be taken off between tomorrow and today. It is absolutely disgusting to see the way the agriculture sector has been treated. Then we hear rural TDs talking about how the Government could not do anything about carbon tax. How is it that we can bring in legislation tomorrow for NORA? I have looked around Europe tonight, and there are different carbon taxes in every bit of it. The EU has told governments to ease the energy cost for everyone and gave that clear mandate last week to all leaders, but no, we will not touch the carbon tax and on 1 May, we will look at it again and add 2 cent more.”
“I welcome some of the measures that have come, but there is a reality here. The Tánaiste spoke about Northern Ireland earlier. Those people are not bleeding as hard as the people here. The facts are that tonight, a litre of white diesel in the North costs the equivalent of €1.85, which is 40 cent less than here. There is a difference of €200 in the price of 500 litres of kerosene, while green diesel - it is red in the North - is €200 cheaper in the North. Let us concentrate on our own game. I welcome what has been done for hauliers and the excise duty reduction, but what has Government done for agriculture? Does it not realise food is produced with tractors right around this country? For the agri-contractor sector and for farmers, what farmers have to pay is an absolute insult.”
“I seek clarification. I see the Minister of State with responsibility for housing is here. A month ago I asked a question about the exemption for modular houses at the back of properties. I note that in the media in the last week they are saying that the regulations could be done within the next week or two. Are they coming forward? Could the Minister of State inform me about that?”
“The Tánaiste might bring this to the Minister's attention. The systems here mean that you have to go to one place in the CHO 2 area before you can jump into another place there. That is the problem. Neither Deputy Daly nor I might have a lot of hair left, but we are pulling our hair out trying to get around this to help this family. I thank the Tánaiste for his comments and I ask him to get the Minister to please engage with us, because we want to get this person back to full health, which I believe will happen.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for his response. The one thing I will say is, in the overall context, for people who go through a traumatic injury like that, it is about the facility. It is not about that one person alone; it is about people right around the country. If you leave a person in a hospital that does not cater for something, then you are holding a bed that may be able to help someone else. It is a question of putting in resources around the country. I am appreciative of what Beaumont and all of the paramedics have done, but when the family looked at Peamount, whatever system that is in place in the HSE said it was outside the area. Ironically, if a person came from Roscommon or elsewhere in the west, you would imagine that the likes of Beaumont could ring Merlin Park and ask it to facilitate this, but no.”
“Once again, I compliment my constituency colleague for the work he has done because I might know a lot about agriculture, but I have to hand it to him on health in the way he would guide you. This is not about me, him or anybody else. This is about a person - a human being - with young kids of seven- and eight-years-old whom we want to see has a future that makes them better and gets them what they need. I ask the Tánaiste to help us in this situation.”