Pat the Cope Gallagher
Donegal · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I pose this question: who is in charge? Is it the Minister of State, the officials in the Department or the SFPA? I will explain the simplicity of all this.”
“I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting my Topical Issue. I did not think last time I raised this matter in the House that I would have to come back again. It is not one of the major problems in the Department, which has more to deal with.”
“This has a direct impact on access to the Chinese market. Transfers are made to Holland on Saturday for onward shipment to the premium markets in China where maximum prices can be attained for Irish products. Those landing into Burtonport are deprived of that.”
“There is an insinuation that a fishery officer has to be there every time a vessel is landed. I will pose the question at a later stage and I want the details. Is there a fishery officer at every port when fish are being landed? There is not. I am around long around to know that.”
“I am disappointed to learn that a business case has to be made to open Burtonport for a few hours. When looking at the map of Donegal, there is no designated port from Greencastle to Killybegs where fishermen can land on Saturdays. It is putting people's lives of risks and depriving them of accessing the Chinese market.”
“It happened when a father of a child had to be taken into Burtonport. An initiative has to be taken. There is no way this should be allowed to continue, whether it is the Minister of State, the Department or the SFPA. I had this out with the former executive chairman of the SFPA before his retirement.”
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“I know that extra funds have been provided to help them, but it is not working as quickly as it should. Irrespective of who is here in the future, I suggest that there could be three, four, five or six more Dáileanna and this will still be ongoing. I believe it has to be resolved. One way to resolve it is to give people an opportunity to move into modular homes that can be located in various parts of my county and in other counties. The big problem at the moment is that even if people have the money, they are not in a position to move out or find alternative accommodation. The regulation is now changing and in fairness to the Minister, Deputy Browne, he listened to us when it came to the side-by-side buildings that can be built within the curtilage of the site.”
“Of course, I must also remember that I have to be loyal to the people who have elected me over all of those years to the local authority, the Dáil and the European Parliament. I must speak on their behalf. I believe that there is not 100% redress. I am meeting people who cannot raise the funds to have the initial preparatory works carried out. The banks have to take some blame as well. They do not want to help the people affected. I believe, as I have said time and again, that there should be some form of payment made in advance to help these people. It is so bureaucratic. I feel for the those who are involved in the overall system, particularly those in our own local authority who are doing their utmost. They are snowed under with work.”
“It is about families who can no longer afford to send their children to school and the children who are pleading with their parents to allow them to go out and work to try to help them to repair or rebuild their homes. While this is not a matter for the Minister but one for the NSAI, we have the ludicrous situation that some people were made an offer to have the outer layer replaced. The same blocks are in the inner layer as are in the outer layer. I have called on the NSAI and its chief executive to expedite the amended IS 465 to help them to do that. I have been a loyal party member since I came to the House first in 1981 and I have supported it in every single vote.”
“I feel I must intervene in this debate. I am quite sure there was no reflection on me when it was suggested that there are those who say that it is working and it only needs tweaking at the edges. It is not working and it needs a lot more than tweaking at the edges. I said in the debate on Second Stage that I had the honour of representing this country in the United States a number of years ago as Minister of State. I went to New Orleans and I remember the catastrophic, severe flooding the city had when buildings fell overnight. When I went around my constituency, I saw buildings that are crumbling slowly in Donegal. It is not just about bricks and mortar. It is about the human factor. It is about the mental stress on people.”
“I repeat my concern for all those families who are suffering mental and physical health issues as a result of the situation they have found themselves in, which is not of their doing.”
“All in all, it is a step forward. We have been waiting on this for a considerable time. There are many families who, immediately when they read the press release which was issued by the Minister, will say, "We are not included in that." Those people have to be included. It is no fault of their own that they have purchased defective concrete blocks, and all of that has to be taken into consideration. I welcome the fact it is the Minister's intention to have the legislation through the House before Christmas because people have waited long enough. It is incumbent on us to ensure that the Bill goes through the House as quickly as possible. While I welcome some aspects of the Bill, I still have reservations about all of the other types of buildings that are not included and must be included, because this is not going to go away.”
“If those houses are being purchased now, it will take a long time to have the test carried out which adds further to delays. The Minister has guaranteed he will introduce an amendment for the side by side and there will be support across the House for that. It would assist vulnerable families who face challenges in finding suitable alternate accommodation when their homes are being remedied. Builders will have to approve compliance before homes can be occupied to ensure safer houses for families. The new process will regulate these works without proper notification while expanded enforcement powers give authorities more flexibility to resolve issues fairly. As regards the semi-detached houses, I will await welcoming all that until I have further detail - that is, with adjoining or adjacent dwellings included in remediation.”
“There are community centres, farm buildings and local authority houses affected. I understand there are about 2,000 local authority houses affected in Donegal and they are not in the scheme. Those are all the additionals. Whether this happens next week or before Christmas, including local authority houses has to be considered. Of course, there are also childcare facilities, and mention was made of the delay in carrying out the testing. In terms of these are delays, it should not take eight or nine months to carry out tests and report back. Furthermore, I refer to anyone wanting to buy a house under the tenant purchase scheme, which was one of the best schemes ever introduced. I was here at the time, back in 1987. Many people bought their houses at a reasonable cost but it is much different since that scheme was amended.”
“We should be trying to attract those people back to participate in the development of these houses that will be knocked and rebuilt. I want to take this opportunity to compliment the staff of Donegal County Council who are administrating this scheme. They are on the front line and are snowed under. I am also pleased funding is being provided to employ additional staff. I hope that can happen sooner rather than later to ensure the process is as streamlined as possible between the Department and Donegal County Council, with a view to getting families the additional other retrospective payment as soon as possible. Others referred to the buildings not included in this scheme. It is heartbreaking to meet people who are in apartments who are not covered. There are also several schools in the county that are affected.”
“Many families whose houses were adapted to accommodate adults or children with special needs had to put specialised equipment into them. It made sense to build side by side and I am pleased the Minister will bring forward amendments on Committee Stage to accommodate those same people. The 65 weeks to complete remediation works from the date of commencement never made much sense, as well as the requirement to apply 12 weeks in advance for an extension. Now, that has gone to 130 weeks. The big problem in my county, as I am sure it is elsewhere, is that it is impossible to get contractors to do the work. As soon as one is approved, it can take a long time because many of our people have emigrated, largely to Australia and many places.”
“After my visit to parts of Donegal last week, I took the opportunity to write to the chief executive of the NSAI to ask when the new SI 465 is scheduled to be published. I also asked whether there was a draft or a summary. Of course, I got a reply this afternoon to say it was still working through the hundreds of proposals it has, and that it would be sometime next year I heard the Minister say earlier, which I welcome, that it will be available in the first quarter of 2026, and I hope it is sooner rather than later. The scheme would not make sense for most of those approved for the outer leaf because in years to come they will be back again. Not only would they then have to replace the outer leaf to get into the inner leaf, but it would cause substantial costs for them. I welcome the recommendation regarding side by side.”
“I know of a number of individuals who wanted to send their children to college but the children said to their parents that they could not afford to do so and that they would take time out to work. This is the effect it is having on all of these families in Donegal. I welcome the new provisions to support homeowners who exceeded the former scheme limit and have incurred qualifying expenditure since 29 March 2024. I ask the Minister to have a look at this rather than having it as an arbitrary date. Issuing homeowners with a non-demolition option, which, in plain language, is with regard to the outer leaf, makes no sense. The concrete blocks in the outer leaf being affected, while the blocks in the inner leaf were not, does not make sense. Most of these people are now awaiting the amendment to SI 465.”
“I toured the city and saw the devastation there. The only difference was that after Hurricane Katrina the houses were not left standing. Those houses were totally demolished whereas in Donegal the houses are not demolished but they are crumbling. Through time, unless something is done, many of these houses will be somewhat similar to what I saw in the United States many years ago. When I left there I remember saying to those who accompanied me that it was not about bricks and mortar; it was much more than that. It was much more profound as it affected families, relationships, homeowners, mental and physical health and well-being. We do not know what happens in houses when families go inside the door but I have no doubt this issue is affecting family relationships and children.”
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the debate. I will refer to some of the positives in the amendment to the defective blocks legislation. For example, it is an opportunity for retrospective payments to be made to homeowners who previously hit the scheme cap. This is the extra 10% in most cases. I agree with many of the contributors that the date of 29 March 2024 is very much arbitrary and I request the Minister to look at it. If it were to be changed, it would not be that much more costly. Not too many houses are affected but each and every one is important. I ask the Minister to have a look at this between now and Committee Stage. Recently I took the opportunity to visit all of the schemes in Letterkenny that are affected. It reminded me of a visit to New Orleans for St. Patrick's Day in 2006.”
“When this application is resubmitted, will it be assessed by the same officials? I am not casting any aspersions because I do not know who the officials are, but I suggest that the Minister recommend that a fresh pair of eyes process the application, rather than the same individuals. If it is the same individuals, they may take up the same entrenched position. My interest, and I am sure the Minister's interest, is to ensure this particular teacher gets a fair hearing. I hope the outcome will be a positive one.”
“I would have thought at the time the decision was taken, on 15 December 2020, that it would have progressed quickly after that. For GDPR reasons, I will not go into any detail now on whether the Minister is able to do that. I presume there are other facts that relate to this person who has problems with dressing, meal preparation, use of technology, social and sleep. There are so many. It is possibly the worst that I have had experience of in all my years here. I will take the Minister at her word. I will recommend that a fresh application be submitted. I hope, when it is submitted, that it will be processed as expeditiously as possible to try to bring this matter to a conclusion.”
“I thank the Minister for that response. At least by her response she is leaving the door open. It is a matter now and I will relate that to the individual to suggest that the person should make a fresh application and follow the procedure. I wish to read into the record that the board of management of the particular school made the decision regarding the granting of critical illness provision, CIP, on the basis of management discretion where exceptional circumstances existed. Appendix B of Circular 0054/2019 was used to assist the board in making its decision. The Minister mentioned the Medmark medical criteria for the granting of a CIP, but this was done by the management on the basis of exceptional circumstances.”
“I wish to ask the Minister about a case that affects a teacher in my constituency. I am reluctant to go into too much detail. I will await the Minister’s response before I pose supplementary questions.”
“It is a lonely place when you are in there but if you can secure the support of the some of the European maritime states, particularly those states with no interest whatsoever in fish, and convince them we are being done down, I believe he will get support from them.”
“If we fail to get our house in order and we face into the greatest fishing and processing crisis in our history, we will pay the greatest price due to our own incompetence. I would strongly recommend that the Minister of State take up my suggestion and call in the Minister for foreign affairs or whoever and instruct the ambassadors to go to the various governments and make it very clear to them the implications of this. This demands immediate action, a completely new direction and new leadership. I wish the Minister of State well in his endeavours. It is a difficult time and a lonely place to be. I was there for many years.”
“In the pelagic sector, we need, as a national policy of Government, to reintroduce that in-house weighing. That is for another day but if it goes the way it is going, there might not be much need to weigh, given that there may be so little as a result of the cuts. Year in, year out, we witness the effects of blue whiting being processed for human consumption. It was a fishery that we in this country pioneered. It was Ireland that pioneered it. I can also take some credit. I remember 1972 very well. We were going out the road to fish meal and at that time and I sent samples to a number of factories in Europe. They opened up the markets there and they are still continuing to this very day. I can take some credit and I fully understand it. Coming from a rural constituency, I realise the importance of fishing.”
“I can take credit that I went to the then Commissioner, Mr. Joe Borg, when our pelagic fish were being weighed on the pier in ambient temperature, affecting the quality of the fish. I brought him over to Killybegs and he saw the futility of that. He introduced weighing in factories and now the factories are full of cameras. You do not have to leave the office in Killybegs, Castletownbere or wherever. You can see exactly what is going on. This is futile and the quality of the fish is being affected. That is something that has been looked at. There is an attitude that all of those in the fishing industry are criminals. I can state very clearly, having spent a lifetime in it, that they are good, honest, decent people who get very little support and create jobs in areas where there are no alternative sources of employment.”
“If they went to court afterwards, the court might have overturned it but the penalty points still existed. If you drive down the M1 road and you get penalty points, you go to court and the penalty points are scratched whereas in this case, they are not. No sooner was I out of this House in 2020 than the penalty points were reintroduced. I was told by people on this side of the House; I did not even have the support of my own party. I had the support of Sinn Féin, Labour and the Independents. As soon I was gone, it was changed like that. It was wrong to that do that. I did not even get a telephone call to say that my rescinding of the penalty points was being undone, but I will deal with that on another day. In the pelagic sector, we need, as a national policy of Government, to reintroduce in-factory weighing.”
“I know full well that the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, have driven away foreign landings from this country. They are not landing. They could be landing here but it has driven them away. Factory ships that work the waters around the country are unregulated with absolutely no oversight. No one knows what they are at out there and we do not have the capacity in the Defence Forces to try to ensure we stop that overfishing. The Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 needs to be redrafted from scratch. I remember when I was on the other side of the House. It was the first time in the history of the State that a statutory instrument was rescinded in all those years, and I was the one who pioneered that because fishers were getting penalty points.”
“For too long it has been too weak and out of touch with the fishing sectors and communities. It is being allowed to meander as it did before. We are weak within Europe and our presence needs to be strengthened there. Ireland's permanent representation in Brussels has to strengthen its representation there to look after our interests. The big date is the Council meeting but it is done and dusted at that stage. A lot of the work has been done. It is over the next number of weeks that we want to ensure the officials get the additional support they need to prepare for that important meeting. The Government needs to address the overregulation of fishing and processing. At times, we are so proud because we are implementing European legislation, rules and regulations but I believe that is killing the industry.”
“This is very serious for the country and, in particular, for the coastal counties, whether they are in Donegal, Galway or Mayo, right down to Cork and Kerry and across to Waterford and upwards. The proposals from ICES relate not just to mackerel but also to blue whiting and boarfish. Other species of demersal fish are also affected. I hope this will not have to happen, but if it does, the Government needs to immediately draw up a financial framework and a support package to cover the affected sectors, from catching to processing. If we are serious about this, then this needs to be done over the next four weeks. It is not good enough to say that the budget is over now and we have to look ahead. This is unprecedented and this financial framework should be drawn up. The Government needs to address the weaknesses of our Department.”
“I am grateful to him for that, and I hope he will follow through on it. A strong and united no from Ireland and the EU to Norway is a step to supporting the industry and, moreover, the recovery of these shared stocks such as blue whiting and mackerel. We must also ensure that the Minister of State can convince Europe and that the market access and trade restrictions for fish products will be fully applied against Norway. That can be done against Norway, against the Faroes and against Iceland. It can be done under Regulation (EU) 1026/2012. That needs to be fully implemented, because Norway needs the European Union market to sell its products. We could lose up to 40% to 50% of the value of our national quotas in monetary terms inside the next three months. Let that sink in.”
“While I accept the Minister of State's bona fides and commitment, I am not fully convinced that all of his team are on top of this crisis. I believe that he and his team do not fully appreciate the detrimental effects of the proposed reductions. Have we the capacity to deal with the challenges ahead? This needs to be dealt with by an all-government approach, and I have made a recommendation to the Minister of State in that regard. Europe has been weak when it comes to coastal states. Norway, which is the chief architect of the destruction of the mackerel stock, will again attempt to gain access to coastal waters off the west of Ireland over the coming weeks. I am pleased that the Minister of State has taken a very strong view and has instructed his officials to oppose the entry of Europe into the waters off the west of Ireland this year.”
“However, the Minister of State or the ambassadors could meet their counterparts or those responsible, highlight to them the implications for us and request them not to vote in favour of what is proposed. The latter should be made very clear to them. They will go for a qualified majority, of course. I hope that the Tánaiste, who told me he is quite interested in resolving this, as is the Taoiseach, will call in the ambassadors and get them to go to the various capitals. The Minister of State should go to the maritime state capitals and the commissioners should do the others. No disrespect to the Department - I held this brief for years - but I believe we are all out of our depth on this. That is not just my fear; it is the fear of the industry.”
“Between 2,200 and 2,400 jobs - I believe that is being realistic - could be gone inside the next six months. The Department, the Minister of State and his colleagues in government must firm up. We must take Europe on. The Minister of State will not succeed unless he goes out to the various member states. It is not enough to negotiate with the maritime states. I do not believe that the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy Heydon, will have time to visit each capital, but I suggest to the former that he call in the ambassadors of all these countries - not just in the coastal states but in all the other states in western Europe - because they will have an input. I know from experience over the years that they will go along with the Commission's recommendations.”
“In real terms, the proposed cuts in the 2006 recommendations are equivalent to the accumulative impact of four years' worth of Brexit transfers. I can state very clearly - and I mean this genuinely - that the fishing industry was thrown under the bus to secure Brexit. Had we threatened to veto Brexit, we would not have a problem today. We would have had a problem with Europe, but we certainly would have the mackerel we gave away to secure Brexit. The processing sector will be severely impacted. As stated, numerous jobs will be lost in rural areas where there is no alternative source of employment. The processing sector could contract in the next 12 months to the tune of between €180 million and €200 million. The scale of the job losses and impacts is unprecedented and catastrophic.”
“These are the countries that are telling us we need a sustainable fishery. We are the custodians and we must ensure that there are stocks for the future, but that is not the way those to whom I refer are implementing the TACs and quotas in their countries. In its scientific advice for stocks for 2026, ICES has called for a reduction, as the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley outlined, of 70% for mackerel, 41% for blue whiting and 20% for boarfish. This has the potential to cost Ireland between €130 million and €150 million in areas along the coast and in rural areas where there is no alternative source of employment. Our catching sector is facing the biggest cut to its fishing opportunities in history.”
“I am very pleased that the House agreed to take these statements at this very appropriate time, namely prior to the run-in to the December Council and the negotiations that will take place, particularly in respect of coastal states, over the coming weeks. I have been in this House since 1981, with the exception of a few short periods, and I believe this is the worst fishing crisis that will have been experienced since the foundation of the State unless something drastic happens in the next few weeks. I can only describe it as a real Armageddon, with no sector safe from the impacts and devastating fallout that will follow. Over the past five years, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have overfished mackerel by 1 million tonnes. In some years, Norway alone has overfished by 55%.”
“It is for everyone in Government and the Minister in particular, and if it has to go to the European Council then so be it. It is too serious for Ireland to sit back and accept the consequences. I wish the Minister of State well in his endeavours.”
“The damage has been done and I can say hand on heart that in my years involved in fish processing and as Minister of State and as a TD for Donegal and Killybegs, they have complied fully with the restrictions and the regulations that have been laid down, whereas these other countries have fished indiscriminately and, as a result, we now find ourselves in the situation we are suffering. The European Union must apply the necessary sanctions under Regulation 1026/2012 and hopefully then they will come to the realisation they cannot continue like this. Brexit hurt us and the TAC costs our fishermen in the region of €220 million. It is not all about the fishermen alone; it is about the many who work in the factories to supplement their other income from small farming. It is just a disaster and I do not think anyone fully appreciates this.”
“Europe has been weak in coastal states. The very same Norway will attempt to gain access to fish blue whiting west of Ireland in the next number of weeks. We must oppose that completely and convince Europe to support us in the actions the Minister will take. Market access and trade restrictions for fish products need to be fully applied against Norway, as well as the Faroe Islands and Iceland. That can be done under regulation 1026/2012. It needs to be fully applied by the Commission. We cannot have these coastal states destroying a shared fishery and expect to have zero consequences.”
“Had we threatened to do that at the time, I have no doubt that there would not have been such drastic reductions in those quotas as a result of Brexit. It is a very serious situation for the country, in particular the most peripheral parts where there are no alternative sources of employment. I know the Minister of State will do his utmost and will hold bilateral meetings with many other countries in Europe. We must ensure that we convince Europe to put sanctions in place for the sale of fish from Norway into the European Union. I will deal with that later.”
“It is equivalent to the cumulative impact of four years of Brexit. While Ireland generally was pleased that Brexit got over the line, once more the fishing industry suffered as a result. I met Michel Barnier, who negotiated at the time, and told him in this House, in the dining room, that I was extremely concerned for the future of the fishing industry. He looked me straight in the eye and said I could take it that it would not be affected because fishing and trade would be inextricably linked. I believed the man. Of course, I advocated at the time that we should have threatened to veto Brexit because of the implications for the fishing industry. That was not a popular thing to do at the time. There was a bigger picture.”
“It was not his first visit – I understand it was his sixth visit to Killybegs within a short time. Producers and processors made very clear to him the detrimental effects of the proposed quotas. Over the past number of years, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and, to an extent since Brexit, the UK, have fished 1 million tonnes of mackerel. In some years, Norway alone overfishes its quota by 55%. This has led directly to a proposal from ICES to reduce the total allowable catch of mackerel by 70%, blue whiting by 41% and boarfish by 22%. This has the potential to cost Ireland over €150 million in lost catches at the first point of sale. Of course, with the added value the figure would be much greater than that. Our catching sector is facing the biggest cuts in its history in real terms in 2026.”
“Ar an chéad dul síos, is mian liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl d’Oifig an Cheann Comhairle as ucht deis a thabhairt dom an cheist seo a ardú mar Shaincheist Thráthúil ag an am seo anocht. I refer to the question of a reduction in pelagic quotas - there are demersal quotas - in particular mackerel, blue whiting and boarfish. Drastic reductions were recommended by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, for 2026. I repeat my gratitude to the Minister of State with responsibility for the marine, Deputy Timmy Dooley, for responding to a request to meet an organisation in Killybegs on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago. Fishermen from Donegal, Galway and the south west were present and the Minister of State listened attentively to all of them.”
“Side by side, where people have special needs, they are waiting on legislation and it is not good enough. I am calling on the Minister to give us a timeframe and to outline how we are going to move forward. This has been going on for far too long. It was going on when I was in the Chair and it has been raised continuously since then. It is not good enough and I assure the people of Donegal and elsewhere that I will be working closely with others to ensure we make progress.”
“The Deputies on the other side of the House know the position I am in as a member of a party in government but they can take it for definite that I will be vocal on this side of the House and will knock continuously on the Minister's door until we make progress. I also want to assure the many who are on the waiting list for inner and outer leaves that I believe it is ludicrous that somebody behind a desk is deciding on that. They should be out on the ground. We must ensure that apartments, local authorities, crèches and schools are covered. A visit to Elm Park is absolutely essential. Mental health is a major issue. Regarding IS 465:2018, the fact that the standards cannot be used for conveyancing will be discussed with the Minister later in the week. People cannot buy or sell mortgages. Desktop exercises are not acceptable.”
“At the outset, I want to thank Deputy Ward for bringing forward this Private Members' motion to give us the opportunity for a comprehensive debate, albeit one that is too short. On Friday evening last, there had been no transfer of funds to Donegal. I acknowledge that thanks to the intervention of the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, and the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, that transfer was made on Friday evening and payments went out on Saturday to the many people who were awaiting them. I have had numerous emails from people in Donegal suggesting that I should vote in favour of this motion.”
“At this stage, it is not compensation we want; we want fish. The Minister of State will have to get the European Council to assist him. This is the first time this has happened. I go back to the days of Commissioner Damanaki, who was more in favour of Iceland than the European maritime states. The Minister of State's problem is that he will go into a Council of Ministers meeting and there will be ministers there from non-coastal countries. They will accept the advice of the Commission. He will have to work on them as well. He has to highlight to them the serious implications of this drastic cut. We think of fisherman and factory workers, but there are ancillary industries upstream and downstream that will lose out as a result. It is not compensation; it is fish we want. I wish the Minister of State well.”
“The Minister of State mentioned other countries. I make a charge that Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands acted irresponsibly in not accepting the advice of ICES. They are responsible for this, as is the UK now as well.”
“An indication of the urgency was the Minister of State travelling to Killybegs last Sunday week to meet representatives of the sector from all parts of the country, from Donegal to Cork. There is no need to outline the utter devastation that will result from the reduction of the mackerel quota by 70% and blue whiting by 41%. Thousands of jobs in the sector will be lost. This is the same sector that paid the price to get Brexit over the line and listened to Michel Barnier telling us fish would not be affected and would be inextricably linked with trade. Of course, he threw the sector under the bus. I attended many Council of Ministers' meetings over the years, but this is the worst ever. Even if the reduction is less than 70%, it will make little difference. The Hague preferences will add very little.”
“I want to say very clearly in this House that I am a Donegal man and I am not going to accept that people from outside Donegal would take decisions for Donegal. I want to know if this decision was taken by the Government in a back room.”
“The programme for Government pledges to explore the provision of an additional surgical hub for the north west in a timely manner. On 24 February, I attended a meeting with HSE executives, who, after pressing, indicated that Sligo was the preferred choice. Shortly after that, the Minister visited Letterkenny. She came in listening mode. She listened to the professionals there and met the TDs and Oireachtas Members. She had a meeting with the consultants and representatives of the 171 GPs who favour a centre in Letterkenny. She is again meeting them this evening. I thank the Minister for doing that. She was in listening mode. I have every confidence that she will take the right decision for the people of the north west. Of course, we took all of that in good faith. We had meetings with the-----”
“There are major works to be carried out between Ardee and the Border and that should be going on concurrently with the works to be carried out in Northern Ireland. It will take some time and the more quickly this is kick-started, the better. The Minister of State may not be aware of the answer but was this matter discussed at the North-South Ministerial Council last week? Of all the projects that had to be discussed, I presume this one would have been. Irrespective of what the view of either side would have been, there cannot be interference with the court. An urgent meeting is absolutely necessary and I repeat my call for that. In thinking of the general public, I must state that 55 deaths in 18 years is too many. We cannot and should not compare that with climate action plans.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response. I hope it will not be too long before a meeting is convened between the Tánaiste, the First Minister and respective Ministers. There is only one positive I can take from the judgment, which is that "The shortcomings and shortcuts in the decision making highlighted in this judgment are capable of being remedied". I hope that can be done but this never should have happened and there should have been much more attention to detail. We can be critical of what has happened there but we must also begin the consideration - the Minister of State referred to this - south of the Border. The €2 million or €3 million provided by the TII over the past year or so is not sufficient.”