Pádraig O'Sullivan
Cork North-Central · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“Imagine being the father of two boys who have Friedreich's ataxia and one of them passing away. I know the Tánaiste is familiar with the case of Craig Coady. I normally do not personalise stories in here but he spoke about this quite openly on Red FM in Cork on Tuesday.”
“I am not asking anybody to comment on the process itself as I know we have to respect it, but is it possible that the review committee can be brought forward and convened as quickly as possible to see this through one way or another because of the mental trauma, anguish and emotion? Many people travelled up on Tuesday.”
“I do not expect the Minister to intervene or comment on that specific case, and we have to respect the process, but I am sure the Minister will agree that as part of a wider strategy, we need to inculcate that wider ecosystem where patients get access to this care upfront and early access to drugs, where needed.”
“Last week, I was at a conference with the Minister and the EU Commissioner. We discussed various topics, including healthcare and the development of a life science strategy in Ireland. I know it is something that he and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, have worked intensively on.”
“It was remiss of me not to welcome members of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. I am struggling to see through the glare of the glass. I can see a Limerick man, Kevin Quaid, up there. It is not too often that a Cork man would welcome a Limerick man but I welcome Kevin. I can also see Siobhán. I think Andy Heffernan was there as well.”
“I have asked many parliamentary questions on this over the past few years. Very little has changed. The only thing that gives me hope is that the company has since met the CPU and submitted a commercial offer that remains under consideration. I am not asking for special treatment for any drug.”
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“I welcome the pause, but, obviously, a pause is not a permanent solution. It is not a binding decision and everybody in this House is going to be watching with interest what happens over the next few weeks. We in Fianna Fáil have always prided ourselves on being the party of education. The number of SNAs in the country has increased by 45% since I became a TD. That is a good story but in the past week we have somehow upscuttled a lot of that progress and good work. I join Deputy Boyd Barrett in calling for a cessation of any cuts in this academic year. One thing I learned as a teacher was that SENOs always did reviews, and they were always ongoing. They were annual in nature, so nobody faced a cliff edge in terms of cuts to services. We have to go back to a scenario where the reviews are ongoing.”
“We have had incidents on a number of rivers in Cork in the past year where there have been fish kills. People have polluted the rivers, the Blackwater in one case, either knowingly or accidentally. A lot of the time people get away with it and do not face prosecution. If they do get caught, they get a measly fine of a few thousand euro. Our local authorities are afraid to go into the river because they might get reprimanded in some way. Again, there needs to be a common-sense approach whereby we would weigh up the merits and the pros and cons, in this case as to whether to intervene. I do not understand the reluctance of local authorities to get in to clear out debris when appropriate, or to clear drains or whatever the case may be.”
“Other speakers spoke about drainage, clearing drains, getting into rivers and taking debris out. This was probably one of the most frustrating things I saw over the years as a county councillor. You can visibly see fallen limbs, tree trunks and all sorts of vegetation overgrowth in the rivers. We are repeatedly told by the local authority that we cannot go in because of inland fisheries. I am not asking for a massive dredging plan of the Lee or anything. I am asking for simple things to happen to remove debris. This culture has evolved whereby we cannot do it because we are not allowed. The answer seems to be "No", before seeing how we can go about getting into the river to sort out the problem. I made what was an inappropriate reference to somebody earlier.”
“The forward thinking for future incidents, particularly in the area of flood insurance, seems to get put to the end of the queue when we are having these conversations because we jump from crisis to crisis, storm to storm and flood to flood. I would like to see something like a State equalisation scheme like we have in other sectors. It can and should be pursued, and that is only fair and proper. As Deputy Fitzmaurice has said, in the case of Cork city, there are buildings that have been there for hundreds of years in many cases. Our life has evolved. We benefited from the river through trade, culture and commerce over the years. We cannot just get up out of the city, pack our bags and plonk down somewhere else. We need to instigate an insurance scheme that will give people reassurance.”
“We have had successful flood relief schemes. The OPW takes its time doing things but when it implements a scheme, it is reasonably successful. We can point towards Mallow and Fermoy in recent years, where successful flood relief schemes have been implemented and have held up. In those cases, it is difficult when people cannot avail of insurance after the fact. There needs to be some common sense when it comes to areas that have been protected by the interventions of the State and the OPW. They should be entitled to avail of flood insurance where schemes are seen to be viable and are protecting the area. Unfortunately, it is one of those things that get lost between the cracks. We concentrate so much of our time here on an area that has got flooded, the emergency response, getting the Red Cross involved and getting grants out to people.”
“Nine times out of ten, the council does a fantastic job and it is to be lauded. I live in a constituency that straddles Cork City Council and Cork County Council. I learned from a flood in Glanmire a couple of years ago that both have different responses. I would like to see a more co-ordinated national approach. They are simple things. One of the local authorities might fund skips going into estates to take out damaged property like floorboards or whatever the case may be, and the other local authority might not. Simple things like that really need co-ordination. There needs to be joined-up thinking. If national guidance is required for that, it needs to be issued and funded if necessary. A bugbear of mine, which I have spoken about in here about half a dozen times in the last five or six years, is insurance.”
“We do not want to see habitats affected negatively, but when it comes to striking a balance, it needs to tip in favour of protecting property and people's livelihoods. The Blackpool flood relief scheme is on the Minister's table. I hope that in the coming months sense will prevail. The worse that can happen with some of these schemes is that the scheme gets approved and people expect earth to be moved, machinery to arrive and the scheme to start. It is often the case, as I said in reference to the one in Glanmire, that it has taken the best part of three years to deliver the scheme. The worst thing in the case of Blackpool, which is at regular risk of flooding, would be to approve the scheme and in the meantime see it flood again. That would be unconscionable. The next point concerns the council response.”
“The Blackpool flood relief scheme particularly irks me because there is local opposition. In the recent public consultation, 1,000 submissions were received. The vast majority of them, however, over 90%, were submissions in support of the scheme. Many political representatives in the area have used this as a political football, sitting on the fence, backing both horses and talking out of both sides of their mouth, but then you meet the people whose houses are flooded, whose businesses have been lost to this and who cannot get insurance. There is a stage in all of this where we have to prioritise property and people's right to live safely without fear of flooding. We have to prioritise it over environmental considerations in this case. That is a difficult thing to say because we want to preserve the environment.”
“Many people have concerns about the height of the walls and about preserving the historic and cultural aspects of the city centre. Nonetheless, the scheme has been devised over a long period and will protect up to 2,100 properties, of which 1,200 are businesses trading every day in the city centre and 900 are homes. Some €20 million of that budget was allocated specifically to maintaining and preserving the city walls, while the bulk of it, approximately €140 million, is for the actual flood defences. Unfortunately, we are again in this cycle where that scheme was initially mooted in 2009. Since then, I have lost count of how many times the city centre has flooded around the quays. I know that scheme and the Blackpool flood relief scheme are with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, at the moment.”
“Just to give people an idea of the timeline of a successful project, that project started in its planning stage after the floods of 2012, it went out for public consultation in 2016, ministerial confirmation was initially given in 2021 and the contract was awarded in 2023. Even for a scheme that did not have those legal challenges via judicial review, it has still taken the bones of 14 or 15 years to deliver, and that is one that faced relatively little opposition. On the face of it, we need to accept that the system there is unacceptable. There are two other schemes in Cork I would like to mention, the lower Lee and the Blackpool flood relief schemes. The lower Lee flood relief scheme is a massive project. It has faced opposition in the city.”
“I think you can do it once, maybe twice, you can empathise with people truly, advocate on their behalf, lobby the council, lobby the OPW, lobby the Government for interventions, but unfortunately, as a number of speakers have said and reiterated here again tonight, sometimes you attend a person's home for the third or fourth time after it has been flooded and you reach a point where, as regards these inordinate delays in the planning system, we really have to question what the hell we are doing when we allow these schemes to go on for ten, 15 or 20 years. I was very grateful to Michael McGrath, when he was Minister for public expenditure in the last term, for the first scheme he signed off on. It was thankfully the Glashaboy flood relief scheme in Glanmire, which started in the summer of 2023. It is due to be completed later this year.”
“I have been listening to the debate in the Chamber and upstairs for the past 90 minutes or so and can see that a lot of people are speaking from their own personal experience. I live near the River Glashaboy, in Glanmire, and living in the Cork city area with the River Lee, it is inevitable that our day-to-day lives are affected and shaped by the water around us. I have had to go into people's houses and kitchens, like the Minister of State, that have been affected by flooding, and they are some of the toughest days I have ever faced as a public representative.”
“Deputy Thomas Gould - To discuss the downgrading of need in Cork schools and the cuts to SNA provision. Deputy Gary Gannon - To discuss the urgent critical expansion required at the Rotunda hospital. Deputies David Cullinane, Conor D. McGuinness - To discuss the allocation of special needs assistants in County Waterford. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae - To discuss the reduction in SNAs in national schools, in particular in Kerry. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett - To discuss the reduction of SNAs in schools in Dún Laoghaire and nationwide. The matters raised by Deputies Paul Nicholas Gogarty, Gary Gannon, Barry Ward, Tom Brabazon and Maurice Quinlivan have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputy Paula Butterly - To discuss ongoing inequities in pay for principals of special schools. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore - To discuss Go Ahead services in Wicklow. Deputy Alan Kelly - To discuss the need for extra resources for An Garda Síochána in the mid-west. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan - To discuss funding to local councils to repair damage to roads surfaces. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss cuts to special needs assistant positions in schools. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman - To discuss the omission of projects for primary schools in Dublin 7 from the Department of education sectoral plan for 2026 and 2027. Deputy Ruth Coppinger - To discuss the calls on the FAI not to play Israel in upcoming Nations League fixtures. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin - To discuss funding to local councils to repair damage to roads surfaces.”
“Deputy Tom Brabazon - To discuss the principle of pay parity in Irish law. Deputy Barry Heneghan - To discuss the north city arterial water main works due to commence in north Dublin. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss the provision of school accommodation at St. Mochta's National School, Louth village. Deputy Joanna Byrne - To discuss funding for the breakfast club for St. Paul's SNS, Drogheda, County Louth. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan - To discuss the lack of a sexual assault trauma unit in the mid-west region. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the reduction of SNA numbers at various schools in Cork. Deputy Eoghan Kenny - To discuss the SNA review and SNA reallocations. Deputy Paul Murphy - To discuss the upcoming fixture between Ireland and Israel in the Nations League.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty - To discuss preservation of the GAA pitch at St. Mary's Boys' National School, Lucan. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher - To discuss an application for port listing of Killybegs in line with new regulations. Deputy John Paul O'Shea - To discuss delays in waiting times for outpatient appointments with consultant orthopaedic surgeons in Cork. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the use of HVO fuel in private cars. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the review of the Garda vetting process and planned measures for simplification. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss funding for provision of community-based housing for adults with disabilities in Dublin Fingal West.”
“The lights have to be switched off and both staff and students are often working in the dark. I know the nature of the emergency works scheme and how restrictive it can be. It is for emergencies but if this is not warranted or deemed an emergency, then I do not know what is. It is very frustrating and I cannot a straight response. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked a parliamentary question in this regard last year and the reply stated that €77 million had been spent on roofs in the previous four years by the Department of education. I know, therefore, that the Department can fix roofs. In this case, I ask the Tánaiste to please intervene to help get the school roof fixed.”
“I wish to raise the issue of the emergency works grant for Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, Glanmire. It is my former secondary school and I used to teach there many years ago. The reason I am raising this - I typically do not raise individual issues like this on the floor of the Dáil - is out of pure frustration, especially given that this is the week when we are announcing a large capital programme in education, which I welcome. I have been working with this school since November trying to get a roof repaired and we cannot get a positive outcome from the Department. I would like to read an extract from the principal's latest email to me: The condition of these rooms is shocking. Not alone that, water is entering the light sockets and creating a very serious health and safety issue.”
“I ask the Minister of State to consider rolling it out to people in nursing homes who may be vulnerable, to see if that is effective and cost efficient to begin with. Obviously, cost effectiveness is more important that people's health; that is what I keep being in told here when I raise these questions. As regards cost effectiveness, has the Department estimated to the Minister of State, or would she be able to find out in writing afterwards, what the cost of people who present with flu or RSV, for example, is during every winter period? I guarantee it is far less than the €4 million to €19 million range given to us this evening.”
“NIAC has recommended that the RSV vaccine be expanded. However, we have not done that yet. I am not discounting the fact we might do it in the future, and I hope to God we do, because it will prevent some of the chaotic scenes we see in our emergency departments over the winter months in particular. I would lay down the gauntlet to the Department of Health that it is time it got off its chair and made these decisions and big calls. NIAC has recommended that the RSV vaccination be expanded to older people. We already do it for children. It has recommended this. The Minister of State has said that it will cost between €4 million and €19 million for flu. Obviously, there are many caveats in that. I assume it involves many different age cohorts and whatever.”
“I thank the Minister of State, who is here instead of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. She has probably heard me in parliamentary party meetings in recent years talking about access to drugs in general in the round. It does not surprise me that the response from the Department is that we need to do more research because that is generally what it does when it comes to expanding and rolling out drugs right across the board for patients. There is one thing that annoys me. As a Government, we have made a political decision to expand the RSV programme. It is a commitment in the programme for Government. While my question does not directly relate to RSV, it is on the spectrum when it comes to flu vaccinations. RSV vaccination is right in there. We have made a political decision as a Government to expand that.”
“However, another concern I have is for those aged between two and 17. The HSE has a target that 50% of children in that cohort will be vaccinated, but we are way below that, at below 20%. Will the Minister of State give consideration to improving uptake of the flu vaccine among children?”
“Public awareness, confidence and timely access all play critical roles in determining vaccination rates. Clear public messaging, earlier seasonal campaigns and stronger engagement through GPs, pharmacists and community organisations may help to improve uptake, particularly among those at risk of severe outcomes. In light of this year's flu cases and associated hospitalisations, what consideration has been given to funding an enhanced flu vaccination programme for older adults ahead of the next flu season? What measures are being considered to improve public awareness, confidence and uptake of the flu vaccine among older people to maximise the impact of the vaccination programme and reduce preventable illness and hospital pressure? We are not a million miles off the vaccination target for the age cohort of 65 and older.”
“However, the scale and severity of the influenza outbreak in recent weeks, characterised by high levels of community transmission, significant pressure on hospitals and a disproportionate impact on older people, raises questions about whether the current approach adequately reflects the true cost of influenza to the health system. Hospital admissions, bed occupancy and delayed discharges during peak flu periods carry substantial financial and operational consequences. Preventing even a modest proportion of these admissions through improved vaccine effectiveness could offset the higher upfront cost of enhanced vaccines. In addition, vaccine uptake among older adults remains suboptimal in some communities, suggesting that availability alone is not sufficient.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming this evening to take this Topical Issue matter. Over recent months, there has been ongoing debate about the merits of providing enhanced influenza vaccines such as high-dose or adjuvanted formulations for people aged 65 years and older. The Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, conducted a health technology assessment, HTA, which found that enhanced vaccines are likely to provide greater protection than standard influenza vaccines in older adults, with the potential to reduce severe illness, hospitalisation and influenza-related mortality in this high-risk group. Despite these findings, the HSE did not proceed with a tender for enhanced influenza vaccines last year, citing cost-effectiveness concerns.”
“If this was an easy fix, this would have been done a long time ago. If anybody actually talks to Uisce Éireann and is sincere in discussions with it, particularly in the northside of Cork, they will know we are talking about decades of work that need to happen, particularly with the replacement of pipes, including cast iron pipes and lead pipes. For people over there to constantly come in and suggest it is as easy as clicking fingers, writing cheques and doing the whole thing overnight is disingenuous and they need to be called out for it.”
“I have often listened to Senator Pat Casey talk about the Arklow wastewater treatment plant, which was built for €130 million or something like that to build a couple of hundred houses a year, whereas we are looking for a treatment plant in a village that is a seven-minute drive from the city centre and has the potential to deliver hundreds of houses. It is on the new BusConnects route. It has everything going for it but we have been told it is likely to be seven years until we get that wastewater treatment plant, by the time we go through the various permissions and so on. I would also like to make a parting comment, which is about the people who primarily sit over in the corner of the Chamber allocated to Members of the Independent Technical Group. They are gone now so maybe I should not individualise them.”
“I expect to be able to meet an engineer now and again if I request it. That is not being facilitated. It is refusing outright to meet local authorities. Luckily, we meet Uisce Éireann two or three times a year. We talk about wider, broader things. I want to talk about wastewater treatment plants in individual villages. Unfortunately, the current system of communications is not good. I have often received email responses three or four months after the query initially went in to say the ticket had now been closed. I know the ticket has been closed and have known about it for weeks or months in that case. I would like to mention the Carrignavar wastewater treatment plant, because I have mentioned it about ten times since being re-elected. It is a perfect example of the lack of joined-up thinking by Uisce Éireann.”
“The Minister of State may be surprised because I am going to start by saying something positive. I commend the Minister, Deputy Browne, who has listened to people from the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbenches since coming to office, particularly about initiating developer-led infrastructure and facilitating future housing development. It is a no-brainer that many of us have called for for many years. Once in a while, it is good to be listened to, so I hope that listening continues. I think it is the only way to get us out of the malaise we are currently in. I welcome that initiative. That said, I will revert to my typical character. Basic communication between Uisce Éireann and others, whether county councillors or TDs, is an issue. I do not expect any special treatment. I expect that when I put in a query, I get a response.”
“The matters raised by Deputies Keira Keogh, Malcolm Byrne, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Aidan Farrelly and Darren O'Rourke have been selected for discussion”
“Deputy Keira Keogh - To discuss the timeline for changes to the primary medical certificate criteria. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness - To discuss commercial rates bills for Waterford childcare providers participating in the ECCE scheme. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss the shortage of transport services to adult disability day services in County Meath. Deputy Pa Daly - To discuss the north Kerry CAMHS review. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the remaining sections of the Athenry relief road. Deputy Shane Moynihan - To discuss enhancing public transport links between Lucan and Dublin Airport. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire - To discuss an application of Coláiste Daibhéid under the additional school accommodation scheme.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss upgrading of the N70 Ring of Kerry national secondary road and footpath through Cahersiveen town. Deputy Albert Dolan - To discuss the allocation of SET and SNA hours for primary schools. Deputy Aidan Farrelly - To discuss the decision to defer the commencement of the delivery of the Dart+ South West project to 2030. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the planned redevelopment at Bunclody Community College, County Wexford. Deputy Séamus McGrath - To discuss section 254 licence applications in relation to telecommunications infrastructure. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the shortfall of SEN primary school places in Shankill, County Dublin.”
“A lot of this is new to us. This is obviously developing very fast. The very nature of these media platforms and AI tools in particular mean that much of it is new. When questioning the Minister, I am not trying to point the finger at Coimisiún na Meán or anybody else. In retrospect, does the Minister think that we could have acted on this faster, particularly in the context of learning lessons for the future and so on? The Minister said he hopes that a statement will be forthcoming, and the sooner the better. In that context, does he think, in retrospect, that we could have done anything better? The Minister is probably aware that X has refused to send representatives to appear before the media committee of which Deputy Byrne and I are members.”
“Outside of X, does the Minister feel that this kind of mutual co-operation in enforcing legislation is there among all the social media platforms? The representatives from the Garda Síochána indicated that the force was investigating 200 or so images at that point. Does the Minister know if the number of such images has increased in the week since their appearance at the media committee?”
“I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response. I echo his sentiment. I and other members of the media committee feel the behaviour that has occurred in recent weeks is illegal and harmful and we cannot tolerate it. Can the Minister outline any direct interaction he has had with X? Has he had such interaction with it or does he intend to do so? One thing I picked up from the witnesses who appeared before the media committee last week is that there is probably plenty of legislation in place but that the necessary resources are lacking in the context of ensuring that we can enforce it. I found it interesting that from the point of view of some of those witnesses, it is almost expected that the large social media platforms will honour their side of the bargain in terms of enforcement.”
“In recent weeks we have seen extremely troubling reports about the misuse of Grok, the AI tool developed by xAI and integrated into the X platform. This tool has enabled users to generate sexualised images of real people, including children. What engagement has the Minister had with this organisation in relation to the use of AI to generate harmful and illegal content on that platform over the past number of weeks?”
“I am saying that in the context of meeting a group called the before we die group. I know they will be contacting all TDs in our area over the coming months. They have a group in Dublin too. I am asking the Taoiseach to meet them because that group needs to be heard about the day-to-day travails that they have to go through to secure services for their children, specifically residential care for their children.”
“I read the Taoiseach's 2024 report, although it is 2026 now. I specifically read the social policy and equality section. Within that is a broader discussion about disability inclusion in a wider context. Under that, the Taoiseach set up the Cabinet subcommittee on disability, which he has referred to here on numerous occasions here and in his dealings with me. I bring to the Taoiseach's attention that if people are looking for residential care or an independent living environment for their son or daughter in Cork, which is the only place I can speak to, they have virtually no chance of securing that right for them. It could be an adult with an intellectual disability or whatever the case may be. It is so difficult to get that type of service delivered in our CHO at the moment.”
“Most importantly it is about tackling dereliction, particularly in the North Main Street and South Main Street area. It is about time we give people that certainty and get on with the work of the task force.”
“I broadly support what Deputy McGrath has said. We are in and out of here for the best part of 12 months talking about this issue. Everybody is talking about getting the task force together expeditiously. I think the Taoiseach said in an Irish Examiner article before Christmas that he hoped to come to a decision about the formulation of it by the end of January. I know we still have a week of so left for that timeline to transpire. People just want certainty for the reasons Deputy McGrath has outlined. To be fair, the Cork Business Association and Cork Chamber have done good work over the past few years, particularly in rolling out those patrols the Cork Business Association was involved with. Going forward, that model could be replicated in other areas and cities across the country.”
“It is due to go in by the Fingerpost roundabout in the Douglas area. Can the Taoiseach get an update from the Department to clarify the situation for the school?”
“I raise an issue which affects both the Taoiseach and me. It is Cork Educate Together Secondary School, which is currently located on Wellington Road in my constituency. When it was first founded in 2016 it was largely due to serve a catchment in the Taoiseach’s constituency, largely in the Douglas area. Since 2016 the school has had a number of homes. It is currently located on Wellington Road, as I said, next to Griffith College. Its lease is due to expire in 2027. Griffith College has intimated to the school management that it will not extend the lease a third time. The school was initially told by the Department that it was due to get its new-build school by September 2027. It cannot get an update from the Department and the school does not know where it will be in 2027.”
“Given the growing concerns about the misuse and manipulation of images on social media platforms like X, formerly Twitter, does the Taoiseach believe it is appropriate that Ministers would continue to use this platform for official public messaging?”
“Ireland's upcoming EU Presidency represents an important opportunity to advance economic competitiveness. Can the Taoiseach advise if there are plans to host EU Presidency-related meetings or events in Cork and other regions across the country to ensure that the whole country can benefit in some small way from hosting such events? The EU Presidency also represents an opportunity to show policy leadership. Can the Taoiseach outline some of the key policy areas the Government will prioritise during this time? As the Taoiseach will be aware, I have a personal interest in the area of rare diseases and access to drugs in particular. Can he comment on whether that will be on his platform when the EU Presidency is held later this year?”
“Pluvicto, a drug used for prostate cancer patients, was approved by the European Medicines Agency back in 2022. The HSE received an application for reimbursement in 2023 but both the national cancer control programme, NCCP, and the drugs group in the HSE recommended that the drug not be reimbursed because of limited resources available to the HSE. A private patient with private health insurance or attending a private hospital can actually avail of this drug if it is recommended by his consultant. Unfortunately, because we have chosen not to reimburse it, a public patient cannot. I am asking for the Taoiseach, either directly or through the Minister for Health, to provide an update on that drug if he can. Is it fair that we still have a process whereby private patients can, in effect, get preferential treatment over public patients?”
“It is quite clear, particularly in the case of Cork city, that they are not delivering one-bed and four-bed properties in a meaningful way. Unfortunately, larger families and single applicants are lingering on the list for the longest time. We need to do more to address this and perhaps consider levying quotas on local authorities to facilitate this.”
“I have often referenced the case of Carrignavar. It is a village ten minutes from Cork city centre. It is due to be connected through BusConnects. It has everything going for it. It has a new school and a new special school. A new community centre is on the go as well. This village has everything going for it but it has been hampered for the past 15 years with no growth and housing land dezoned. We are being told the treatment plant will not be built for at least seven years. Unless we crack this wastewater and Irish Water issue I have a feeling that many of the Minister's efforts will be futile. A couple of weeks ago I asked a parliamentary question about the number of one-bed and four-bed properties that had been delivered by local authorities throughout the country.”
“The document gives a provision for increased densities and these two local authorities are saying the request of them to zone additional land has been satisfied because densities were increased in this document. Some local authorities are saying their job is already done. This is unacceptable in the situation we are in. I would really like the Minister to examine this and ensure it is not allowed to happen. It is a bit of a pass by those two local authorities. I am losing count of how many times I have raised Irish Water in the Chamber over the past six years. I welcome the change that is due to be made, whereby we will have more developer-led infrastructure. Unfortunately it is the only resolution I can see for the current impasse on the lack of wastewater infrastructure, in particular, that is servicing most of these sites.”
“I only have two and a half minutes so I will make two or three points, beginning with the planning system. As the Minister knows, most local authorities are reviewing their development plans, which I welcome. It is long overdue. There is one issue I want to raise with the Minister and it is something I only became aware of in the past couple of days. It is a document on housing densities entitled Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities. My understanding is that at least two local authorities, and thankfully they do not include the local authorities in Cork city or county, are referencing this document in relation to the request of them to increase zoned land, particularly on serviceable sites.”
“The Government's commitment to 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 is welcome but delivery must accelerate.”