As the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.

This welcome review has finally come through and it contains startling findings. However, I understand that the Business Committee has refused space for statements on this. The review will go before the Joint Committee on Health in three or four sessions, allegedly to finish before the summer and with a report to come back. It is really not the job of the Joint Committee on Health to talk about legislation that is required, however. It is the job of this House and, ultimately, the job of the Government to legislate. Time should be given in this House to debate that most important and long-awaited review. I request that the Business Committee seriously consider this and not dismiss it because women have waited long enough for full access to abortion rights in this country.

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Public Spending Code and the necessary statutory approvals. In this context, TII is best placed to advise you.

In relation to the N84 Ballinrobe bypass, this project was not included in the list of routes in the most recent update of the NDP in 2021.

Noting the above position, I have referred your question to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.

I request on behalf of my group a proper debate on the nitrates directive. We have seen in the headlines today who are the big polluters. The farmers are being blamed here. Bringing the nitrates directive rates down from 250 kg to 220 kg will have a devastating impact on medium-sized and large farmers, and not that large either in the cases of those who have 50 to 100 cows. They will have to cull or get rid of so many of their animals to meet these unachievable and unattainable targets. It will not be viable for them to survive anymore. It is another way of getting rid of the farmers and getting rid of the animals. Green policy has gone daft, and the Government will not touch what it should be touching. It is time the Government stood up - they are supposed to be rural parties - to defend the farming communities and our food sector, which is so badly needed and has been so vital in rural Ireland for generations. Those nitrates directive rates might be all fine and dandy, but they are not achievable. It will cause havoc to so many young farm families if they go ahead.

Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.

In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

We all understand that all matches cannot be televised. There is a potential win-win scenario here if we can identify the big matches to be televised on RTÉ and TG4, with other matches that would not otherwise be available being shown through the app. Let us allow RTÉ, TG4 and the GAA to talk about that.

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked about the nitrates directive. Let us not forget that we in Ireland have no entitlement to a derogation to the nitrates directive. We are one of only five countries out of 27 that have it. We are working hard to ensure we maintain that derogation. That means ensuring we satisfy what is required in the context of our water quality. That is the work the Government and the Minister are doing at the moment.

As Minister for Finance, a key strategic priority is a well regulated, sustainable banking and financial services sector. All viable businesses operating in Ireland should have the opportunity to access sufficient finance to meet their enterprise needs in a manner that supports growth and employment in the economy. That is why my Department has a range of measures to in place to ensure viable SMEs can access appropriate finance at a reasonable cost from both bank and non-bank sources.

My officials meet the banks on a quarterly basis to ensure an informed understanding of the wider SME bank lending environment, which assists the development and implementation of policies aimed at ensuring SME access to finance and increased competition in the SME lending sector.

I would also draw the Deputy's attention to the most recently published Department of Finance SME Credit Demand Survey covering the April to September 2022, which can be located at - gov.ie - Credit Demand Survey April 2022 - September 2022 (www.gov.ie). The results of this survey show that credit demand remained unchanged in the six months to September 2022, with 17% of SMEs reporting they applied for bank finance.

A total of 60% of all finance applications were processed within the stipulated 15 working days of receipt of all information from the company. The average amount of time from application to decision was 26 working days. The proportion of loans that were still pending stood at 9%.

The Deputy may be aware that the Central Bank's SME Regulations include enhanced protections for all SME borrowers, including requirements on lenders to provide SME borrowers with greater transparency around the application process and associated timelines.

Section 14 of the regulations state that, “If a regulated entity cannot make a decision within 15 working days of receipt of a completed application on whether it will grant or refuse an application for credit, the regulated entity shall inform the borrower, in a durable medium, of the reasons why the regulated entity’s assessment of the application will take longer than 15 working days and the expected time-frame within which a decision will be made”.

If there is an issue, the SME can contact the Credit Review Office for support.

The Credit Review Office helps SME or farm borrowers who have had an application for credit of up to €3 million declined or reduced by the participating banks, and who feel that they have a viable business proposition. The Credit Review Office also examines cases where borrowers feel that the terms and conditions of their existing loan, or a new loan offer, are unfairly onerous or unreasonably changed to their detriment. This is a strictly confidential process between the business, the Credit Review Office and the bank. Further details are available at www.creditreview.ie/.

I am not proposing to have a debate on the matter.

I wish to record my sadness at hearing of the passing of former Deputy Derek Keating. I did not realise he had died. I share our sympathies.

I want to return to the story of Micheline Walsh, a 78-year-old woman. The Taoiseach described the situation in which she and her husband find themselves as very sad. It is indeed very sad. The situation is also unacceptable and, in fact, it is outrageous that Micheline and her husband, people who have worked hard all of their lives, and 175 others over the age of 65 are living in emergency accommodation. People who should be enjoying their golden years are facing the prospect or the reality of homelessness. The Taoiseach disregarded a call in respect of the eviction ban and said that it would not have made any difference and would have stored up more problems but in the case of Micheline and her husband, the reality is that in a short couple of weeks, they will face homelessness. They have nowhere to go. They have been passed from pillar post by very nice people, they say, who work within the system. There is no answer for them. I raise Micheline's case because she has spoken out courageously and eloquently. However, I raise not only her case but also the circumstances of many others. For the over-65s, the seniors, people who have worked hard and contributed to our society and built our economy, where are they to go? Where will Micheline and her husband go in a few short weeks' time?

I thank the Deputy. As I said earlier, this is a sad case. We all sympathise with Micheline and her family. As the Deputy mentioned, there are approximately 100 or 200 people over 65 years of age in emergency accommodation. That represents approximately 2%, but it is still a lot. There are more than 100 people over the age of 65 in emergency accommodation. Many of those became homeless while the eviction ban was in place. The eviction ban did not cause homelessness to fall. It rose nearly every month in which the ban was in place. An eviction ban does not provide a solution but delays the point at which a solution can be found. As I said earlier, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has been in touch with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to examine options, including the provision of social housing, the tenant in situ scheme, whereby the council could buy the property, or an alternative housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancy. More than 2,000 HAP tenancies have been created so far this year. It would be much better to have a solution in the next few weeks than to put off finding a solution for three or six months. I do not think that would be the best outcome.

Prices of groceries, food and basic commodities are rising, and workers are struggling. Yet many corporations are not supporting the struggles of their staff. Several Tesco workers who work on the front line in packing and delivering food to people in communities across the country have come to me to share stories of how their wages are being cut due to roster changes. One employee told me they will lose almost €3,500 per annum. That person does not know if they will be able to pay their mortgage because of this roster change. Meanwhile, these companies are reporting record profit margins. Roster changes are a common means of subtly reducing labour costs and workers' pay by companies behind the guise of efficiency.

On every side, with wages, food prices and the cost of housing taken together, we are seeing working people being squeezed for the sake of profit. In this month of May, as we celebrate workers' rights, it is time this Government stood up to big business and backed workers and their rights. Will the Taoiseach act to ensure greater security for workers in the face of mounting costs for basic necessities? Will he confirm that workers' voices will be heard at the upcoming retail forum?

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, and I engage with representatives of workers on a weekly basis. Deputy Bacik cited a report on rostering. A review has been put in place for banded hours for retail workers, following the report that was launched by Mandate six weeks ago. I met Mandate twice in respect of this matter, as well as employers in the retail sector. We will continue to work together to make sure workers in the retail sector are protected and they get the hours and salaries that they deserve.

There are more than 670,000 people in the country living in poverty, including 190,000 children. The number of older people living in poverty has increased by 40% in the past two years alone. The poorest 10% of households spend almost half their income on food and energy. Whatever is left is spent on the extortionate housing costs. This is not sustainable. The energy companies are simply ignoring the Government's calls to lower prices. Nearly 25% of gas customers are in arrears. It is likely that supermarkets will ignore the Government's calls as well.

A meeting of the retail forum has been convened for tomorrow, but the Taoiseach is going into those talks without a crucial piece of information. None of the major supermarket groups publish their profits for their operations here. They tell us they are not profiteering, but they refuse to come clean about their profit margins. At the meeting of the retail forum tomorrow, will the Government ask the supermarket groups to finally come clean about their profits here?

I am looking forward to tomorrow's retail forum. There is going to be a frank exchange. I am delighted to see that the vast majority of retailers, beyond those who normally attend, have confirmed their attendance. We will be asking the sort of direct questions Deputy Cairns has alluded to, and we will be making it quite clear that where input costs have gone down, we expect to see prices go down at the supermarket tills for consumers. There is an awful lot that will be discussed tomorrow. There will of course be a follow-up meeting on 21 June and all the issues Deputy Cairns raises will be raised.

Will the Minister of State ask about profits?

The time is up.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 402 and 403 together.

The Long-Term Illness (LTI) scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act 1970 (as amended). Regulations were made in 1971, 1973 and 1975, prescribing 16 illnesses covered by the scheme.

These are: acute leukaemia; mental handicap; cerebral palsy; mental illness (in a person under 16); cystic fibrosis; multiple sclerosis; diabetes insipidus; muscular dystrophies; diabetes mellitus; parkinsonism; epilepsy; phenylketonuria; haemophilia; spina bifida; hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide.

Under the LTI Scheme, patients receive drugs, medicines, and medical and surgical appliances directly related to the treatment of their illness, free of charge.

It is also important to remember that the LTI Scheme exists within a wider eligibility framework.

This Government has put a significant focus on improving access to and the affordability of healthcare services, advancing substantial policy, legislation and investment to deliver expanded eligibility.

In 2022, a range of measures were delivered including the abolition of public inpatient charges for children, reductions in the Drug Payment Scheme threshold to €80 per month, and the introduction of free contraception for women aged 17-25.

The significant investment in Budget 2023 will facilitate better access to affordable, high-quality healthcare for people at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is impacting on everyone.

In 2023 this will mean:

- an expansion of GP care without charges to people earning no more than the median household income,

- all public in-patient hospital charges abolished since 17 April 2023

- an extension of free contraception to 26-year-old women since 1 Jan 2023, and further extension to 27-30 years old women from 1 September 2023.

These measures continue to create a health and social care service that offers affordable access to quality healthcare.

In addition, people who cannot, without undue hardship, arrange for the provision of medical services for themselves and their dependants may be eligible for a medical card.

In accordance with the provisions of the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE. Medical card eligibility is primarily based on an assessment of means and is not granted on the basis of any particular condition.

In certain circumstances the HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card, even though an applicant exceeds the income guidelines, where he or she faces difficult financial circumstances, such as extra costs arising from illness. In circumstances where an applicant is still over the income limit for a medical card, they are then assessed for a GP visit card, which entitles the applicant to GP visits without charge.

Under the Drug Payment Scheme (DPS), no individual or family pays more than €80 a month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines.

The DPS is not means tested and is available to anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland. The DPS significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals with ongoing expenditure on medicines.

Individuals may also be entitled to claim tax relief on the cost of their medical expenses, including medicines prescribed by a doctor, dentist, or consultant. Relief is at the standard tax rate of 20%.

The time is up.

What is the Government going to do to prevent this continuing?

The underlying cause of the problems that we face is a lack of housing. There is a major housing shortage and a lack of social housing in particular. Until we address the deficit, close it, and build the additional housing we need, and the additional social housing we need, unfortunately, these problems will continue to arise. Temporary solutions are not solutions.

We need solutions temporarily.

That means building a lot more social housing, which is what we are doing all over the country.

I thank Deputy Canney. This is a matter of which we are very conscious. We want active farmers to be able to continue to farm. As the Deputy is probably aware, if under residential zoned land tax arrangements a farmer wanted residentially zoned land to be dezoned, it would be considered not included in respect of the tax. Farmers up and down the country appealed to An Bord Pleanála up to 1 May. We are very conscious of the phasing of the zonings, and our Department is considering it actively.

The situation regarding home helps and the provision of home help is appalling all over the country, but especially in south Tipperary and west Waterford. I have been dealing with the case of a constituent of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, namely a 92-year-old man from Tooraneena who had home help provided by a gentleman through Home Instead. That gentleman has now decided to move to the HSE but the HSE will not allow him to keep caring for the person. I have engaged with the Dungarvan team and it has been very helpful, but it just does not have the staff. Answers are trotted out here to the effect that there are heaps of money but the Government knows better than I do that the staff are not available. It is shameful to see elderly people in these circumstances. With a little home help, they could be kept out of hospital, with all that entails, including costs. The man in question is not recovering well. Can the Taoiseach or the Minister of State please do something meaningful in this case? Those involved have been in touch with the office of the Minister of State as well. We encounter these cases hourly in our offices. Every day of the week, people cannot get home help. A little is all they want but they cannot get it.

I thank the Deputy for the question. As I stand here today, 56,000 people the length and breadth of the country will have received home care. At the moment, approximately 3,200 people funded for home care cannot have the service delivered to them because we do not have the staff. Approximately 3,000 people have a partial supply. We are challenged at the weekends, especially in rural areas. We are working on it. I was provided with a budget of €723 million this year. We have extended eligibility for work permits to those outside the EU. One thousand permits were allocated in January of this year. To date, 56 people have come into the country, but we expect much more to happen during the summer. We are trying everything we possibly can. The new tender we are working on concerning private providers will mean that, with respect to every private hour now provided, the private providers will have to pay the living wage and travel time to each person who works for them. We hope that will also make a difference.

I want to stay with the theme of homelessness, in the context of Galway city. The Taoiseach's comment that homelessness is a stain on society is a self-serving myth. It is a stain on the policies of successive governments, including the current one. The Taoiseach said we should ensure people do not experience homelessness for too long and get them in and out. The difficulty in Galway is that those affected cannot even access homeless services; they simply cannot get into them. Simon Communities of Ireland, in its regular quarterly report, Locked Out of the Market, states there is no rented accommodation under the housing assistance payment arrangements, discretionary or otherwise. We have a major crisis. Could the Minister of State acknowledge the facts on the ground? When will we ever see a report from the task force in Galway, which was set up more than three years ago because of a housing crisis? Not a single report was produced.

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that approval has issued for the provision of additional classroom accommodation at the school referred, to cater for enrolments.

The project is being delivered under the Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. This approach supports accelerated delivery of the accommodation and maximises assistance to the school for this brief, the project will be delivered from the Department’s Procurement Frameworks.

A Project Management company will be appointed, from the Department’s Framework, to design and tender the project. This consultant will lead the project through the various stages of planning process and construction.

The School Authority has overall responsibility for delivery of the project.

The housing report.

The housing report in Galway. We want to see that particular report expedited. We gave a commitment during the last session of parliamentary questions on housing that we would follow up on it. I will follow up on it again. We want to see the report published.

On homelessness, the Department is working with all the local authorities to ensure adequate accommodation is available for people who are made homeless. More particularly, we want to keep them in their homes under the tenant in situ scheme and various other schemes through Galway city and county councils.

My Department provides funding to all recognised schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs including heating, lighting etc. and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. These grants may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities.

As part of the Cost of Living measures introduced in the Budget, €90 million has been provided in once-off additional funding to support increased running costs for recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme, in particular in dealing with challenges they face in the light of rising energy costs.

This additional grant was paid at the rate of €75 per pupil at Primary level and €113 at Post-Primary level. Enhanced rates were also paid in respect of pupils with Special Educational needs. Further details are available in Circular 0077/2022 available on my Department’s website and may be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/circular/467fa-once-off-cost-of-living-measure-to-support-increased-school-running-costs/

In the context of the current cost of living crisis I would expect this very significant additional funding made available to schools is sufficient to meet increased running costs.

In addition to this 40% increase in grant funding in Budget 2023 to cover increased running costs, my Department has been supporting schools to access lower prices for some time.Significant work has been carried out at Department level in order to support all schools in their procurement and use of energy supplies.

My Department has ensured in recent years that centrally negotiated rates were made available to schools for electricity and bulk heating fuels through frameworks sourced by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). Central rates are fixed for gas and electricity for those availing of those arrangements at present.

A significant number of schools have engaged with this and are availing of highly competitive energy prices. It is planned to run future competitions to ensure that bulk rates continue to be available from 2024 onwards. Information on how to avail of these arrangements is available via the Schools Procurement Unit website, www.spu.ie

The Energy in Education website portal (www.energyineducation.ie), and associated advice programme (Joint programme between SEAI and Dept. of Education) also assists schools reduce their energy consumption, and empowers participating schools and pupils to learn the benefits of sustainability. Typically, savings of between 5 and 10% are identified through low and no cost measures, while some schools participating have identified potential savings of up to 15% or more.

Budget 2023 provided for the provision of funding from the Climate Action Fund in relation to the provision of photovoltaic panels in schools up to 6 kW output. This is really positive news for our schools and will assist with their energy needs and costs along with supporting the decarbonisation of our school buildings. My officials are working closely with colleagues in the Department of Environment, Climate and Communication in relation to the arrangements for this scheme.

As part of the preparation for the roll-out of the national programme, a key first step was to establish the level of existing PV installations in schools. The primary school capacity survey is nearly complete, and the post-primary is concluded, and indications are that nearly 10% of post-primary schools have solar PV panels, and 5% of primary schools. The roll-out of the solar panel scheme is expected to commence later this year, and will be a fully funded multi-annual programme.

The scheme will include technology that will facilitate display on a digital information screen in the building general purpose area, the solar energy generation on each school from the panels. This will display in real time to the staff and pupils the renewable energy generation profile, this data can be used by students if required during classes and for their projects.

It is recognised that waiting times for many scheduled appointments and procedures were too long before and have been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care. On the 7th March, I published the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, which is the next stage of a new multi-annual approach to sustainably reduce and reform hospital waiting lists, and builds on the foundational work done through the short-term Waiting List Action Plan between September and December 2021, which was followed by the first full year Waiting List Action Plan for 2022, both having reversed the annual trend of rising waiting lists.

The 2023 Plan sets out the priorities to continue to address waiting lists this year. The 30 actions in the Plan, which are governed by the Waiting List Task Force, focus on delivering capacity, reforming scheduled care and enabling scheduled care reform.

For 2023, funding totalling €443 million is being allocated to tackle Waiting Lists with €363 million of this being allocated to the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, to implement longer term reforms and provide additional public and private activity to clear backlogs exacerbated during the pandemic. This will reduce hospital waiting lists by 10% in 2023 as well as continuing to significantly reduce waiting times in line with Sláintecare recommendations. The remaining €80 million of the €443 million is being targeted at various measures to alleviate community/primary care waiting lists.

With this ambitious 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, my Department, the HSE and the NTPF are taking the next steps in the multi-annual approach towards achieving our vision of a world-class public healthcare system in which everyone has timely and transparent access to high-quality scheduled care, where and when they need it, in line with Sláintecare reforms.

In relation to the particular waiting list query raised by the Deputy, adult and child waiting list information by hospital and specialty is published monthly and is available on the NTPF website at: www.ntpf.ie/home/nwld.htm

We have seen a growing trend of assaults inside prisons. There has been a 46% increase in assaults on prison officers and a 52% increase in assaults on prisoners by prisoners. There have also been revelations regarding prison conditions and overcrowding with more than 200 prisoners sleeping on mattresses.

In a similar vein, last August, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions wrote to the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform telling him that its resources were stretched, that there was significant underfunding in attempting to deal with the increasing caseload, including financial corruption cases, and that there was a danger that prosecutions could be compromised. Does the Taoiseach accept that after a decade's worth of Fine Gael justice Ministers, the responsibility lies with his party? What does he propose to do about it?

The National Parents Council Primary was formally requested to extend its remit and support to post primary parents in written correspondence dated 02 December 2022.

Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.

In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

As Dónal Óg Cusack said, we need to provide oxygen, particularly for hurling. Liam O'Neill said, as the Taoiseach noted, better choices need to be made.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 417, 427 and 467 together.

The Government is committed to the extension of GP visit card eligibility to those who earn the median household income or less, as announced in Budget 2023.

In total, approximately 400,000 additional individuals are estimated to become eligible under this expansion. This measure will remove the cost of accessing GP care from those for whom cost is most likely to prevent access; helping reduce the cost of living for young adults and young families in particular.

The necessary planning and administrative development work to provide for the expansion is well advanced in preparation for the commencement of the expansion. Officials from my Department and the HSE are currently engaged in intensive discussions with the IMO regarding the expansion and in particular the IMO concerns on the impact of increased eligibility on general practice and the best use of the additional funding provided in Budget 2023 to support capacity in general practice.

Information in relation to the commencement of the expansion and operational information will be provided when available.

Preparations have been made by my officials and the HSE for the expansion of GP care without charges to all children aged 6 and 7. Engagements were held with the IMO, representing GPs, throughout last year, and engagement is ongoing in relation to the necessary fee structures for this service. It is intended to introduce this expansion as early as possible.

As interest rates continue to rise and borrowers are coming under very severe pressure, it is very noticeable that the net margins of banks are also growing significantly. Yesterday the stock value of one Irish bank rose by just 4% in just a day. Would it be timely for the Government to review consumer protections and to sit down with the Central Bank, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to review consumer protection in financial services?

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am aware of a number of people whose mortgages are with non-bank lenders who are facing very high interest rates. It is 8% or 9% in some cases. I understand that it is relatively easy to switch if a person has equity in the property and a good payment record. They can switch back or switch to another bank where they might get a lower rate but that will not always be the case, particularly where people may have had a period where they were not paying their mortgage, often through no fault of their own, having lost their jobs. The Minister for Finance is very seized of this and is very sympathetic. He is working out if there are targeted solutions that might help in those cases.

A county-by-county comparison complied by Nursing Homes Ireland has shown clearly that there are significant price differentials between private and HSE-run nursing homes. The extensive analysis reveals that, for example, in County Offaly the price per week of a HSE nursing home as of January was €1,959 while private nursing home fees were over €900 less, starting at €1,009. In County Laois, the situation is even more striking. HSE nursing homes there are charging an average of €2,585 per week compared with €1,039 for a privately run facility. Will the Taoiseach direct the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, to engage immediately with the HSE to investigate this matter as there needs to be access to a level playing field for all, regardless of whether it is a private nursing home or a HSE nursing home? People should not feel they are being ripped off.

There are two questions now left. With the co-operation of the Taoiseach I will take the last two.

Every day I come here, I leave Carlow town and I pass slip roads to the motorway. These are chock-a-block with vans and cars that are left for the day while their owners carpool to go to work. I recently heard that the other day they had been fined for parking there. This was not done by Carlow local authority but our neighbouring one. We have no park-and-ride facilities in Carlow. These workers who get up early are being environmentally friendly in their decision to carpool. The more people who are encouraged to carpool, the fewer cars will be on the road. This will mean less traffic for everyone and reduced carbon emissions. I am urgently calling for funding to be provided to Carlow County Council for a park-and-ride system in north and south Carlow. We are rural Ireland. While I welcome all the cycle lanes and the bollards that are being put in place, we need park-and-ride facilities in rural Ireland to make sure we look after the people who go to work.

Last night, I attended a meeting of Reachability in Enniscorthy along with two colleagues, Senator Malcolm Byrne and Deputy James Browne. It is a section 39 facility and, as we all now know, our section 39 facilities are very vulnerable. They are not entitled to the same funding as section 38 facilities. The staff are being depleted by section 38 facilities and the HSE. They are just poaching the staff left, right and centre. We do know, however, that they are subject to the same rules under HIQA. The families, the service users and the staff and management pleaded last night for us to stop and look at section 38 and 39 entities and bring them into line with one another to stop them haemorrhaging staff. The facilities will close and we have a very grave dependence on section 39 facilities to provide services to the most vulnerable in our society. What proposals are in place?

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.