Simon Harris

This is where I perhaps need the guidance of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle or the Oireachtas. In my time in this House, I have never known that we would discuss the employment circumstances of any individual civil servant on the floor of Dáil Éireann. Frankly, without getting into the individual, I do not have any such information available to me today. It is a starting point anyway, but on whether it…

This comes under Standing Orders.

The Deputy has made a number of comments on the record of the House. Let us have the transcript of that and I will certainly seek guidance from the Oireachtas as to what parts of the question, if any, the Government should provide any information on to be helpful to the House.

I thank Deputy Carrigy for this question. I will first say how delighted I am to hear of the significant investment plan at St. Joseph's. I thank the Deputy and our colleague and friend, Councillor Peggy Nolan, for her tireless advocacy in relation to that. I remember meeting her about this on a number of occasions. Along with the Deputy, she was rightly a strong advocate for it. That is good news…

I think that is right. County Longford is a county that has so much going for it and so much potential if we can put the public services in place that are badly needed. The purpose of the Deputy's question today is health. I know his passion and commitment around third level education access as well. We are seeing the benefit of the Technological University of the Shannon in counties like Longford…

I think the Deputy would have a much bigger concern if we came in here and said that the Government and the taxpayer were going to pay for the advocacy of an industry body. It makes entirely appropriate sense that industry would meet the costs of its portion of any conference or the likes. In terms of any public servants attending, those costs will be met from within the Government Department. Con…

Yes, I do, is the truthful answer. I thank the Deputy and acknowledge her and her party's work on this issue. As she rightly acknowledged, I think there is a political consensus that this is an area that we should see progress on. I know that the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, is doing work in relation to this matter too. I hope the Government will be in a position to have proposals on this shortly…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue again. I acknowledge that he raised it last week and on many other occasions. His colleagues in Kildare have done so as well. My understanding is that the Department of education made contact with the patron and school authority. I understand arrangements are being considered, possibly while we are here. I understand a meeting is under way now to ensure th…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and bringing it to my attention. I will certainly speak with the Minister for Health on foot of him raising this issue here today. I would make the point broadly that any dispute gets resolved by people engaging. I certainly hope we do not get into a position of seeing an industrial dispute that causes a disruption to service. I know nobody will want that…

The rules do not allow me to reply. The Deputy knows that.

I thank Deputy O’Meara for raising this issue in relation to Rathcabbin and the affect this is having on his constituents in a very practical and real way. Broadband has become such an important part of how we live and work. It is an essential part of the infrastructure and utilities we all need. I will certainly ask the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, to engage directly. This is an interesting exampl…

I thank Deputy Burke for his time in Cork last Friday and for facilitating the meetings we had with the CEO of Cork City Council, the Cork Business Association and indeed, the Port of Cork and many others. I found it to be a very useful series of engagements. What is very clear is that the people of Cork through the local authority and others are about to embark with Government support on this who…

I thank Deputy Cronin for raising what is a very serious matter that has caused significant worry and concern and as she rightly says, huge inconvenience for parents before we even get into the educational impact, which is also real. I acknowledge she has raised this in this House before. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to come back to Kildare Oireachtas Members including the Deputy, tod…

I thank Deputy Clendennen for raising this issue. He is entirely right; there is a real sense of anxiety in general, including economic anxiety. What is going on in the world is frightening and deeply concerning. As I said yesterday in the finance committee and today in the Dáil and as the Taoiseach has also said, the Government keeps all of these matters in terms of interventions under review in …

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this matter, which I will immediately raise with the Minister for Transport because we have provided significant capital uplift to the Department of Transport, quite rightly, for both road and public transport projects. I am aware there are specific issues around congestion, traffic and transport links in Galway. We are eager, as a Government, to see progress on…

I thank Deputy Carthy. I will certainly engage with the Minister for Transport on the specific issues he has raised in relation to Cavan-Monaghan. We are increasing the amount we are providing to the Department of Transport, increasing the amount of capital funding and announcing additional road funding allocations. I need to get a better understanding of the situation in relation to Cavan and Mon…

My representatives keep me very informed. In fact, Deputy Carthy will be glad to know-----

This is the problem with the Deputy. When you try to answer a question-----

-----in good faith, he immediately resorts to partisan politics. That is his choice. Senator Joe O'Reilly and Deputy David Maxwell raised this matter at the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party last night, Deputy Carthy will be glad to know. I also told them the Minister will be looking into the issue. I will give them the news as well.

I want to answer the very serious question but I want to make the point that the Deputy must win the award for the party leader most effective at naming his councillors in this Chamber, particularly in the context of a by-election. I say that from a point of admiration. I must learn further from the Deputy. Senator Seán Kyne is ours. There is a serious matter, though, that the Deputy raised and I…

Sure.

I thank Deputy Rice. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has responsibility for the delivery of health policy and the oversight of the HSE, so I will speak to her directly on this. I take the point that newly qualified paramedics are a scarce commodity with regard to their skill set at a time when we are trying to increase the numbers we have working in our ambulance service. The Deputy is righ…

I thank Deputy Lawlor. I know Alan Corcoran and I will listen back to his programme and the information the Deputy has just put on the record of the House. I am sure the Minister for housing will do so as well. My starting point in this conversation is that the new rules are not meant to affect existing tenants.

Laws do need to be complied with by landlords and existing tenancies need to be respected. We do have oversight mechanisms in relation to anybody who breaches those rules, including the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, and other mechanisms too. It deserves a substantive reply because, clearly, this has affected quite a large number of people. I will ask that the Minister, Deputy Browne, hears the…

In that case, I will ask him to come back to the Deputy directly.