We held a remembrance event in Waterford on Saturday to mark the recent passing of Brendan Cummins, someone who I recommended to the Taoiseach to the board of SETU. Brendan was a global CEO of Ciba-Geigy for many years and a board member of two companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but it was his civic work in Waterford he will be most remembered for, especially his outstanding work for Respond Housing Association. Ar dheis láimh Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Anger is an important emotion in politics. After the termination of the prolonged period of social distancing in the Leinster House bubble necessitated by the return to the campaign trail, party elected are meeting palpable anger at many doors and they are asking where is all of this going. Obviously, our first instinct is defensive. How can we protect our society from all of this anger? There is worry, too, that it may spill over into something more sinister.

Anger is also an indispensable political emotion, for without angry speech, how would we know that the powerless get an audience with the body politic? Since my election to this Chamber more than four years ago, I have advised the Taoiseach and the Government about the anger building in Waterford and the south east. I have tried to do this in a measured tone, not to stoke it but rather to relay it, which is my duty as an elected representative. Of course, anyone watching Waterford will have seen the anger rising. In 2013, the Waterford "gives a shirt" protest saw 22,000 people march on the street. People were worried and angry then too, seeing the treatment of their regional hospital and university. That anger did not materialise for no reason. In 2011, the Taoiseach's party, Fine Gael, promised a full university to Waterford. Cut to today, Waterford people continue to remain angry at the failure to progress higher education with meaningful funding - no new promised teaching buildings at Waterford, no new promised courses, no new promised funding resources. After 13 years of Fine Gael rule, there is no publicly funded delivery.

We saw James Reilly, as the Fine Gael health Minister, promise in 2012 that the Cork hospital grouping would be fair to Waterford, but what a story of tatters and tears that has resulted in. Not to be outdone, roll on 2016, where Fianna Fáil promised it would deliver 24-7 cardiac care to the south east. In fact, the Tánaiste took electoral advantage in an infamous 2016 photo showing him on hospital grounds standing with a banner making that very promise. Fast forward to today, three announcements to deliver service funding over a ten-month period by the present Minister of State for health continued to be more political bluster. On 24-7, we have not seen investment even to begin the recruitment for the seven-day service.

The major parties that formed the Government have made promises to the people of Waterford and the south east. All were deeply important promises. All were deeply symbolic. These promises have been made for electoral advantage and they have been subsequently broken. Can the Taoiseach understand the sense of anger and betrayal in Waterford over these promises? Is such anger not justified?

First, the Deputy referenced anger and toxicity in politics. While anger and toxicity, when manifested in the way some local election candidates across the political divide have experienced it, is utterly unacceptable and should always be called out by all of us, as I know the Deputy would, my overwhelming experience when I engage with people right across this country is that people are fundamentally decent and that we have not lost our way in this country in knowing how we can disagree without being disagreeable and how we can have a debate without being rude and obnoxious. That is worth saying in terms of providing a degree of context to all of this as well.

In relation to a number of issues that the Deputy has raised regarding Waterford - I visited there recently and I will visit again in the next few days - to be very clear, we promised in the programme for Government to deliver a technological university. That is what the programme for Government says. Job done, we delivered it. Many people, and perhaps the Deputy, thought we might not. Staff voted for it. Students voted for it. It is in place. Businesses see the benefit of it in Waterford. Students see the benefit in Waterford. When I go around Waterford, I do not see anger around the university. I see a sense of relief that they finally have one. The Deputy's view and mine on this are a little different.

We need to do more to continue to invest in the South East Technological University. The Deputy spoke to me last week in the Dáil about the engineering - the PPP bundle 2 - and I gave him an answer that the Government is committed to that. However, the South East Technological University has already benefited from significant additional funding for its transformation to a university, including €9.5 million from the technological sector advancement fund and €13.6 million under a research agenda fund specifically ring-fenced for technological universities. Other universities cannot apply. We are currently engaging with the South East Technological University on building internal capacity through the establishment of its senior leadership team and trying to bring our academic staffing structures in line with the university sector when it comes to the role of professors.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of University Hospital Waterford as well. I thank the staff in that hospital for their ongoing dedication and I want them to know that we have seen the staffing growing in that hospital by more than 800 since the end of December 2019, a 43.2% increase. There are 47 more consultants working in the hospital now, 101 more non-consultant hospital doctors, 353 more nurses and midwives, and 123 more health and social care professionals. The budget for the hospital now, at €290 million, has increased by 44% since this Government came to office. Capital projects at the hospital have been delivered to a tune of €69.81 million since this Government came to office as well. This includes the second cath lab. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, Senator Cummins and Deputy Ó Cathasaigh for their work on this and the construction of the outpatients department modular unit as well. We remain absolutely committed in relation to the cardiac services. The second cath lab opened on 4 October 2023. It operates five days a week, Monday to Friday, currently. Obviously, we want to see the opening times extended. Additional staff have been approved to extend the opening hours, and recruitment of staff is the next step in that.

I sometimes get bemused when I am making these statements because I wonder do I see different evidence from what the Taoiseach does when he responds to me. I would make the point here that the Taoiseach has raised the issues of SETU and what is happening. I point out to the Taoiseach that there has been no delivery on the promises that were given there, be it the courses, the teaching building or the development of the PPP. That is what people see and that is what people are looking at.

In terms of the hospital, we were promised a seven-day cardiac service and the implementation of a service in July of last year. We have not even yet lifted the HSE embargo on those positions to begin recruitment. That shows the lack of delivery.

I brought up the issue of the Waterford Gaeltacht with the Taoiseach in recent days. I point out to the Taoiseach that, according to responses I got to parliamentary questions, €53 million in funding through údarás in six years was given to the seven Gaeltachtaí in the country and the Waterford Gaeltacht got €66,000 out of it. That is what I am talking about. This is what I see. This is what the people of Waterford see.

It is not to be argumentative but to point out to the Taoiseach that this is about delivery. Until delivery happens, people will not believe. It is as simple as that. To be honest, we have to put our fingers into the wounds and see them.

The Deputy has every right to vigorously represent his constituents in Waterford here, as he does, and I respect that. I have a right to put across the Government's view too. We promised a technological university. It is in the programme for Government. It has been delivered. We promised ring-fenced research funding. It has been delivered. We promised that we would help secure the Waterford Crystal site. It has been delivered. We will deliver the PPP bundle 2. I said that last week; I say it again this week too. We are committed to expanding opening hours in the cath labs and we have put investment in there. We have seen a €30 million flood protection scheme to protect businesses and residents along Waterford city's quays. There is a new state-of-the-art fire station with an investment of €10 million. There is investment that has paved the way for a €30 million expansion of the courthouse. The old disused railway line between the picturesque town of Dungarvan, which I visited two weeks' ago, and Waterford city is now a first-class greenway. There was investment of €25 million in that. There was €37 million from the ERDF and active travel funding for the city centre, the transformation of Grattan Square in Dungarvan and main street in Tramore. There has been €170 million committed by the Government for the north quays as well, enabling infrastructure, developing a new integrated transportation hub and a new grid linking the new north and south quays. There was €200 million spent on capital projects, including a number I have outlined. In the hospital, there is the 100-bed Dunmore wing, palliative care, second cath lab, new mortuary, primary care centres and lots more as well. There is always more to do in politics, but this is a Government that is investing in Waterford city, Waterford county and the south east because we believe in regional development and we believe in Waterford.