Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir. Anois, glaoim ar an Seanadóir Maria Byrne.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I rise today to raise my concerns over what is happening at University Hospital Limerick where we have the highest number of people waiting to be seen in the hospital. This did not just start today but has been going on for quite a while. We put in 60 replacement beds and many things have happened but the numbers are not going down. It is at crisis level at this stage and something needs to happen. It is timely, therefore, to have a debate on the hospital because I have heard stories of people waiting for days on trolleys for serious operations. It is just not good enough.

I welcome the fact that the national development plan, NDP, was announced yesterday and there is great number of very fine projects in it but I have one concern to do with the M20 between Limerick and Cork. This road is very necessary for economic development-----

Hear, hear.

-----where the second and third largest cities are not connected. These are the only two such cities. I appreciate that we are not connected with Waterford either but that is another day’s wait, which I understand is being raised by Senator Cummins. The M20 is very necessary. It is mentioned in the NDP document, as it has been for the past ten years, and the road has now gone to M-N20, which raises questions. I was listening to a Minister from the Green Party on the radio this morning talking about town bypasses where perhaps a motorway may not be necessary on all routes. This raises a concern for me. We need to bring the Minister for Transport into the House to have a debate on transport. I welcome the fact that with light rail and everything else there is great deal of very necessary changes to the plan and that the Government will be looking at many of these light rail projects and alternative routes but we have to have connectivity between the second and third largest cities.