Mattie McGrath

The Deputy had three minutes to ask the question. Be fair.

There was.

How much more time does the Deputy want? Please.

An Teachta Lahart has a brief question which I disallowed him earlier. It was in error.

Briefly, now, please.

Go raibh maith agat. Anois tá cúig nóiméad ag an Aire Stáit chun----

We are moving on. I call the Minister of State to wrap up.

Is there a reward?

I too want to thank everybody involved in this, from the Office of the Attorney General and indeed the Law Reform Commission. I can only imagine the vast volumes of work and time, the painstaking work that had to be undertaken here to bring forward these badly needed changes. It spans from 1821 right up to 1861, including the Famine. I think of our forefathers, O'Connell, Michael Davitt, the Land …

On a point of clarification, I want to inform Deputy McDonald that I am neither lad nor lacky. She gets her instructions from the army council in Belfast.

I am moving on. The Deputy is eating into her colleagues' time.

Please, Deputy.

I am now. I missed it at the start but I will do my best.

I have only taken the Chair-----

I appreciate that. That is why I am trying my best. I just took the Chair.

I am doing my best to be fair.

Brostaigh, le do thoil.

I wish the Minister and Minister of State well. It is a mammoth task. We have to get real. The idea of the left here is that we cannot have private contractors or developers. If we do not have private developers involved, we will not build the houses, full stop. I would love to be back in the 1940s and 1950s when the county council had manpower and built the houses, but those days are gone. We hav…

73. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health to review the current situation within the National Ambulance Service where emergency response vehicles have been removed from off-duty paramedics as such vehicles are perceived to be a benefit-in-kind and the impact this decision will have on response times to an emergency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9144/25]

I ask the Minister for Health to review the current situation within the National Ambulance Service where emergency response vehicles have been removed from the off-duty paramedics. Such vehicles are now perceived to be a benefit-in-kind, which is a strange situation that will have a huge impact on response times. As they are bad enough at the moment, I ask the Minister to make a statement on the …

The National Ambulance Service is badly broken and the Government must intervene here to try to ameliorate this situation. It has been doing a wonderful job. The paramedics are not, as the Minister said, driving an ambulance or patient-carrying vehicle - we know that - but they are normally the first people to arrive to an accident or incident. In many cases now, when they are driving their cars, …

I would accept this if it was about some other group of employees but these are dedicated, vital, fast responders. I salute the first responder groups - there is one in my own community - that do excellent work here. They do the work of the HSE and in some cases, they are supported by these particular paramedics who have these cars. They train with them and support them every which way. It is a re…

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this topic. I think of my late mother, Mary, who reared nine of us, six boys and three girls. She was a powerful woman who instilled all of the values that I carry with me today. Indeed, I think of people like Carrie Acheson, iar-Teachta Dála, who was here for a short time in the 1980s. She was a powerful woman and a visionary. I think of Helen Ní Crai…

I am delighted an Aire Stáit is here. Clonmel, a once bustling, proud and thriving town - Cluain Meala, the vale of honey - has been left to deteriorate in recent years. Last year, it had the highest vacancy rate in Tipperary at 18.6%. This has deteriorated further in recent weeks and months. The entire area of Market Place is boarded up and there are numerous prime retail units on the main street…

Chuala mé an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, an Teachta James O'Connor, cúpla lá ó shin. I heard the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach talking about Youghal town centre. All the towns are struggling, but Clonmel has been under siege. The then CEO, Joe McGrath from Nenagh, took over when the county was amalgamated. All the directorships of roads, planning and finance went to Nenagh, and all the money collected in C…