From the wonderful Granard in County Longford, I welcome Senator Carrigy's guests from Ardscoil Phádraig. Granard is synonymous with Eddie Macken and show jumping and also now with Senator Carrigy, who is next in the Order of Business.

As this is my first time to speak, I wish the Cathaoirleach well in his role. I also congratulate the Leader. I welcome the students from Ardscoil Phádraig in Granard. It is in my own local area and there are a number of students from my own local village. I see a number of students that I met at the young scientist exhibition last week in the RDS. I see Jack in the back row. I have been on the board of management of the school since I was first elected in 2009. It is an excellent school and educational institute. It has fantastic teachers. Their teacher, Ms Orlaith McLoughlin, is with them. I wish them well and hope they enjoy their day in Leinster House.

I wish to raise a couple of issues, one of which the Leader would be very familiar with. Every week, coming from Mayo up and down to Dublin, she travels on the N4. There were comments made by the Minister for Transport only in the past number of days on the funding for the motorway from Mullingar to Roosky, through County Longford. I have always highlighted that we need balanced regional development in the country. It is the one missing link from the regions back into our capital city. There were quite negative comments with regard to that project, which is at a stage of an emerging preferred route. I would like that issue highlighted. We need the funding put in place to keep that project going to a full planning permission stage so that when the significant resources that are needed to develop that motorway are in place, we have all that work done and we do not have a situation where it is knocked off the national development plan. It is extremely important. The Minister needs to come in and identify which projects will be funded going forward.

I raise the issue of affordable housing. We have Housing for All but, unfortunately, it is not housing for all. There are a certain number of counties that are not eligible for some of the schemes. One of them in particular is affordable housing. We have no affordable housing in our county. It is a massive need for people living in my home area, yet we are not eligible for it.

Like others, I take the opportunity to wish the Cathaoirleach well and congratulate him on his election. I look forward to working with him, as he has shown a great capacity to work right across the House in every role he has had.

I, too, want to join with others in congratulating my good friend, Senator Chambers, on her recent engagement. I wish her well in her life ahead. It is difficult to juggle the roles of wife, mother and national politician, which she is, but knowing her capacity, I have no doubt she will do it with great skill and to great success.

Like others in this House, across the Oireachtas and across the political divide, I attended a demonstration in Limerick at the weekend, which was a culmination of the frustration of people across the mid-west for what they have encountered in the delays in accessing the accident and emergency department at Limerick hospital, which is the central emergency facility for the mid-west region. It is very clear to me, and has been for many years, that people have reached a point of frustration with what is not happening at the emergency department in Limerick. Notwithstanding the great effort of doctors, nurses and everybody in there, who are working to the best of their ability, the infrastructure is not there. There was a new accident and emergency unit put in, but the bed capacity is not there. There is a new 95 bed block. There are 200 more beds promised and they need to be delivered without delay. I do not know what methodology can be used to set aside the normal planning process in an emergency situation, but it is an emergency situation and that needs to happen.

In addition, I would agree with others who have said that much greater use has to be made of the hospitals in Ennis and Nenagh, and St. John’s hospital. There is wonderful care delivered there at the moment through the medical assessment units and the minor injuries units. We should have a debate in this House to address the political side of this. Of course, it has to be done with the guidance of medical intervention. Anything that is proposed has to be safe. However, a hospital in Ennis could take at least another 50 beds, process many more patients directly through the medical assessment unit and the minor injuries unit and help to take the burden off the acute hospital in Limerick.

A Chathaoirligh, ar dtús báire déanaim mo chomhghairdeas leat as ucht an phoist nua. Is é seo an chéad uair a bhí seans agam é sin a rá. Déanaim comhghairdeas leatsa agus leis an gCeannaire maidir leis an ngealltanas atá déanta aici. Déanaim fíor-chomhghairdeas leatsa, a Cheannaire.

This morning, for the eighth time in this House, I want to raise the issue of the thalidomide survivors in Ireland. I have raised this on a number of occasions inside and outside the House with the relevant Ministers but we are still in a situation where the day after the 60th birthday of Mr. John Stack, the youngest survivor of thalidomide in this country, there is no solution for these people. Frankly, we are now getting to a stage where it is not only unfair and unreasonable, but absolutely ridiculous, that the State has failed to address this issue. There have been meetings and there is a legal case in being. In fact, this month represents the tenth anniversary of that case. Astonishingly, after ten years, they are still arguing about whether the case is statute barred. The anticipated cost of discovery alone accedes the realistic estimated assessment of what the settlement would be for these people. The time is now for the Minister for Health and for the Government to take serious steps to compensate the survivors of thalidomide in this country and their families. They require three simple things: real compensation; a proper apology, which is still outstanding; and medical support, as they go on through their lives. That needs to come for all of the survivors, not only the people who were the parties to the case but the other people who have medical diagnoses of thalidomide. Those people were not served well by this country. The drug was not withdrawn in a timely fashion from the market and they and their families, and their mothers, many of whom have passed on, have suffered enormously. The time is now. Let us get it done and let us make a commitment to these people that is long overdue.