Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the announcement that Bríd O’Flaherty has been appointed chair of the sodium valproate inquiry. I have worked with the families involved for the past eight years on this matter. I acknowledge the work that the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, has done on this and the fact that he has kept his commitment. He knows as well as I do - and we agree on much of this - that it is long overdue. In particular, I commend OACS Ireland and Epilepsy Ireland for the work they have done. I also commend all the families for their tenacity and for sticking with it. The Minister will be aware that this is only the beginning of this phase of the journey for truth. We need to find out who knew what, when they knew it and why nobody did anything about it. Hundreds of children across this State have ended up with disabilities because their mothers were prescribed Epilim when they were pregnant. A terrible injustice was done here. I welcome today's announcement and I look forward to the inquiry.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for her words. We launched the inquiry this morning. These families have fought for many years to get the truth. They will now get the truth. We have appointed the independent chair. She will be an excellent chair and will bring a robust set of skills and experiences to this. First and foremost, the inquiry will put the voices and experiences of the families - the mums, dads, sons and daughters, boys and girls - front and centre. We will get an official timeline and we will look at the resources the inquiry has. This may very well be the first step as we move on and make sure that people get all the answers and supports they need.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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The Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland, PNAI, has given the HSE three weeks’ notice of industrial action over the scandalous recruitment embargo that was introduced last November. The PNAI has a membership of between 6,500 and 7,000 people, 95% of whom voted for this. At the time the embargo was imposed, there were approximately 300 vacancies for psychiatric nurses in this country and there are now a shocking 725 vacancies. Mental health care in Ireland is in a terrible state, with spending on mental health being far too low. Child and adolescent mental health services continue to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, with far too many children and young people falling through the gaps. How does the Minister propose to address this chronic shortfall in psychiatric staffing? How does he propose to address the impact the recruitment embargo has had? When will he lift that embargo to ensure we have the level of staffing in the health service, particularly in the area of mental health care, that is so badly needed?

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. I pay tribute to the work that our psychiatric nurses do right across this country. This Government, including myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is deadly serious about the expansion of mental health services. The budget in that regard has increased by several hundred million euro in the lifetime of this Government.

I will be the first to acknowledge that our front-line clinicians are experiencing pressures because of the pause on hiring. It is worth remembering that the pause only came in because the HSE, having been funded to hire a record 6,000 extra staff last year, in fact hired 8,000. We can see that reflected in the number of psychiatric nurses. I encourage the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland to engage with the HSE, use the industrial mechanisms of the State and not to start with actions that would curtail services for patients but to instead engage with the relevant industrial relations mechanisms. In comparison with last October when the embargo was introduced, there are now 175 more psychiatric nurses in place. Even during the embargo, the psychiatric nursing workforce has increased.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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On behalf of the Social Democrats, I join others in paying tribute to Tommie Gorman. He had a stand-out career in public service broadcasting. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.

I am glad that the relevant Minister and Minister of State are present in the Chamber today. The group Mind EveryBody is in the audiovisual room as we speak and is trying to bring home the reality of how desperately people with eating disorders in this country need support. I do not know how to emphasise this enough. I have been raising this issue for years now. Over the years, I have spoken to women who have been forced to speak publicly and set up GoFundMe pages to try to get inpatient care for eating disorders. I have spoken to parents who are at their wits’ ends because they are quite literally watching their children wasting away while there is no support available to them. I have spoken to people who work in the NHS who are seeing Irish women going over to the UK to get the care they need because they simply cannot access it at home and are at death's door. That reality just does not seem represented in the Government's response. There has been zero in funding for inpatient beds for this over the past six years. Respectfully, I ask that instead of referring to care in the community - because I welcome the changes in that regard – the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, respond on the absence of inpatient beds for people with eating disorders.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I have just come from a meeting with a group called the Child and Adolescent Regional Eating Disorder Service, which was meant to be in the audiovisual room this afternoon. Due to the fact that another organisation which promotes supports for people with eating disorders was already presenting, however, the group whose representatives I just met pulled its presentation.

It is important to note that 90% of people with eating disorders do get care in the community. The Deputy cannot avoid that fact. When I came into this post in 2020, there was one eating disorder team in place and two other teams were funded.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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Will the Minister of State please address the issue of inpatient beds?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please, Deputy.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As I stand here, 11 eating disorder teams are in place and a further team has been funded. We need to get to 16. A total of 12 have been funded and 11 are in place. Our focus now is on inpatient beds. We have done a full review of mental health bed capacity throughout the whole country, and I want to see a geographical spread of eating disorder beds for adults.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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There has been no funding allocated for that.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I want to express the solidarity of People Before Profit-Solidarity with the Aer Lingus pilots who have begun their action today. These are workers who have not had a pay rise since 2019. The cost-of-living crisis has seen their wages being eroded by at least 24%. They are simply looking for their wages to go back, in real terms, to what they were in 2019. It should be noted that since then, senior executives at Aer Lingus have had pay increases of 66%. Aer Lingus does not like to talk about the enormous profits that are being made in Ireland. Aer Lingus made €225 million last year and its parent group, the International Airlines Group made an incredible €3.5 billion last year. This is a story of corporate greed and corporate profiteering. They can afford to pay their workers a decent wage and they should be pressured to do so.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy knows, the industrial relations machinery of the State is the Labour Court, which has a long history of resolving disputes.

I urge both parties to use the Labour Court to find a resolution to this issue.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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In 2016, the Irish Cancer Society published a report entitled Park the Charges in a bid to have hospital parking charges waived for cancer patients. The Government pledged to act on this but nothing happened. In 2020, the Government committed to putting a cap on these charges but nothing happened. In 2022, the Irish Cancer Society published a report which highlighted the hidden costs of parking for families that use hospital car parks on a frequent basis. Today, 40% of hospitals continue to charge full parking fees to cancer patients and other patients undergoing lifesaving treatment. Some patients require daily treatment, and these parking charges can run to hundreds every month. Patients who are very ill have to cope with physical and emotional trauma. It is unjust to impose an additional financial strain on already vulnerable people. Will the Government do the right thing and scrap these charges?

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It can be an issue for families, particularly when they are already dealing with all the trauma and difficulty of undergoing cancer treatment. It can be a difficult time. We have taken important steps, some of which were called for by the Irish Cancer Society. Probably the biggest it called for was the abolition of inpatient charges. That is now fully in place, along with the expansion of 500,000 GP cards and the reduction in the drug payment scheme cap from €110 to €80. Important measures have already been taken to reduce financial costs. I acknowledge what the Deputy said, however. A small number of hospitals still charge more than the rate of €10 per day. I think there are four, but I will check. We are engaged with all of those hospitals on a number of fronts. The first is to find a way to bring the maximum amount down to €10, which is standard across most of the other hospitals. Second, for families who cannot afford it, is to find a way to make sure there is a quick and responsive system whereby they can access parking for free.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I wish to raise the issue of the chronic shortage of gardaí on the ground in County Tipperary. Despite the rising population and the increase in immigration, Garda numbers are in a worrying decline. As of 30 April 2024, the force stands at a total of 14,000-odd members, with just over 11,050 serving as rank-and-file gardaí. This is in stark contrast to the overall strength of 14,750 in March 2020, when the Government took office. Deputy Humphreys has served as Minister for Justice. There are an extra 300,000 people in the country now but and we are down 1,000 rank-and-file gardaí. The situation in County Tipperary is chronic. It is the same all over the country. Single gardaí are called out to the most heinous and desperate situations. Last week, in my county, a sole garda was called out and was lucky to survive an awful situation to which he should not have been expected to go. The Minister, the Commissioner and the various superintendents and assistant commissioners must take responsibility. They are endangering the lives of gardaí by not having support for them. Officers are going out into all kinds of situations and dealing with terrible episodes. That is not acceptable.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The top priority of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is supporting stronger, safer communities. That includes an ongoing focus on increasing the strength of An Garda Síochána. As the Deputy knows, only recently there was a further campaign to get more reserve gardaí on board. I met one of these individuals in recent days. They have been making a huge contribution to local policing efforts in my county of Monaghan. I assure the Deputy that this Government is committed to increasing the number of gardaí.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Unfortunately, the relevant Minister has left. I hope the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, will be able to answer my question. Like other TDs, I draw her attention to a letter in which those in direct provision who have permission to stay were given an eviction notice for 5 July. In the particular case of which I am aware, both parents work. They have a child who has moved three times - from a war-torn country, down to County Tipperary, where they spent a year and a half, and three years in Galway, near where I live. That is just one example. They are going to be evicted on 5 July. The letter states that if they need emergency accommodation, they can contact a particular number. Galway has the most serious housing crisis. Not a single unit of accommodation is available under the housing assistance payment scheme or any discretionary scheme. There is no place for this family to go. They are embedded. Their case is just one of example. The woman got a mayor's award last year for her voluntary activities. She works and pays tax. So does her husband. The child attends special classes because they are so bright. This is just one example of the madness of the policy that is in place. Will the Minister do something about it?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I will raise this matter directly with the Minister. I do not have details on it. I will get him to send the Deputy a response.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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I raise a road safety issue. The timing of cutting and trimming at junctions and around road signs is happening later each year. It is almost July. The majority of junctions in my county, Tipperary, have not been maintained. Visibility at those junctions is greatly reduced. In rural areas in particular, road signs coming up to junctions are completely obscured because of plant growth. I understand biodiversity and the benefits it offers, but road safety must be paramount. I urge that next year, county councils start trimming and maintaining junctions and road signs and cutting back growth earlier than this year.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Deputy Cahill. A lot of grass is growing out over signs and some could do with a good wash as well. I love to see local authorities trying to make more efforts to ensure that people can see these signs. The latter is very important, especially for those who are not familiar with the roads on which they are travelling. There are many tourists on the roads at this time of the year. I will raise the issue with the Ministers for Transport and Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputies Ryan and Darragh O'Brien.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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The hydrotherapy swimming pool in Sligo was closed a number of years ago. I wrote to the Minister in respect of this matter. Deirdre, a woman of advanced years, spoke to me about her daughter, who is 47 and wheelchair-bound. The only way she can exercise properly is in a hydrotherapy swimming pool. She used to use the one in Cregg House, which was quite close to where she lives. Cregg House, a facility owned by a religious institution, was closed during Covid. It then changed hands and is now in private ownership. As a result, the swimming pool cannot be accessed by the public for health purposes. I wrote to the Minister and got a reply from the HSE in March. It said it was entering negotiations with the Woodbrook Care group, which now owns the facility. However, my understanding is that nothing has come of that. This has left dozens of people in the north west who are severely disabled and who need access to this facility unable to access it. The HSE needs to build a new facility of that nature, an option which would be down the road a bit. It needs to find a mechanism to reopen the facility at Cregg House.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is concerning when people with disabilities do not have access to facilities such as the hydrotherapy pool he mentioned. I will raise this issue with the relevant Minister of State and ask her to reply to Deputy Kenny directly.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Seven years after the towns of Mountmellick and Portarlington flooded, work on the relevant flood relief schemes has not started. The schemes for both towns are stuck at stage 1, preliminary design. More than 70 houses were damaged in the Mountmellick area when the flooding occurred. The Committee of Public Accounts had the OPW before it in the past two weeks. It confirmed that the timeline for a project is 11 years, including four years for preliminary design. That is crazy stuff. The process then moves on to public consultation and the exhibition of what is intended. That is another two years. Why are two years needed for public consultation? Detailed design takes 12 months. That is seven years just to get to the finished, detailed design. There are then 36 months for construction, which is understandable. There are 12 months for handover. That is 11 years, assuming everything goes right. The work in Portarlington and Mountmellick has not even started. This cannot wait. Other towns throughout the country cannot wait. I ask the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, not just to raise this with the relevant Minister but to also ensure that somebody comes back to me with a response about what is going to be done to cut this nonsense out and shorten the timeframe for flood relief schemes. These schemes take 11 years, and that can increase to 15 years if something goes wrong.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I understand the point the Deputy is making. When people's houses are flooded, they want action immediately. I will raise this matter with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, who has responsibility for the OPW. To be fair, there are a many reports and issues that have to be addressed as part of the process. This does take time. We often hear about a number of different schemes that have taken much longer due to objections. There are, as we know, large numbers of objections. I will certainly raise the matter with the Minister of State-----

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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It cannot be 11 years.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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-----and ask him to come back to the Deputy with a response.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I regret that I must again raise an issue I have raised many times on Questions on Policy or Legislation. I refer to the issue of Travellers on halting sites living in substandard trailers or caravans. There is a very limited pilot scheme called the caravan loan scheme whereby local authorities are given an allocation of caravans every year for replacement purposes. That scheme only provides for replacement with second-hand caravans and is not based on need. This is quite a limited problem but it needs to be dealt with. What is urgently required is very simple, namely an assessment of the need for replacement trailers for Travellers living on halting sites and a scheme that would fully fund the provision of new trailers as opposed to second-hand ones. If it is being lived in 365 days a year, the lifetime of a new trailer is short. The idea of replacing them with second-hand trailers is penny wise and pound foolish. Will the Minister indicate if it is intended to introduce a scheme in this regard and, if so, when will this happen?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I do not have the relevant details here, so I will ask the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to respond to the Deputy directly. I take the point that there is no point in buying second-hand trailers. New trailers are needed. I will raise the matter with the Minister and ask him to reply to the Deputy directly. As the Deputy stated, he has raised this matter on a number of occasions. It is important, therefore, that we get an answer for him.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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If a person has a derelict house, he or she will get a grant of €70,000 to put it back into commission. If a person has a vacant home, he or she will get a grant of €50,000. For an elderly person or a person with a disability living in the home, the maximum grant is €30,000. That is an unacceptably low figure and has not been raised for some years, even though the money being allocated every year has risen because costs keep going up. There is a report somewhere in some Department from 2022 in relation to reform of the housing adaptation grants. That reform is absolutely essential. The report needs to be published before the budget. A golden opportunity awaits this Government to help older people now. It must seize that opportunity. It is sad that today's edition of the Irish Independent contains a shocking report to the effect that only 44% of people over the age of 65 are discharged directly to their own homes from acute hospitals and that 22% go to nursing homes. The remainder go to other people's homes to be looked after. This is a critical issue. The Minister has acted extremely well in her Department. Can she make sure that the Minister of State with responsibility in this area takes action?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Those grants are very useful to have houses adapted for people with disabilities who, perhaps, cannot use the upstairs of the house any longer. They are very popular grants. I am aware they are being looked at. I will raise the issue with the Minister of State, Deputy Alan Dillon, and ask him to come back to the Deputy directly with a response.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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The Family Resource Centres National Forum held its pre-budget briefing yesterday. I met with Louise from the Boyle Family Resource Centre at the briefing. From visiting the latter centre and the centres in Castlerea, Ballaghaderreen and Roscommon, I am aware that they provide so many supports and services that otherwise would not exist in those communities. These services include preschool and after-school care, education courses and parenting supports, and many are now providing food parcels as well. They need guaranteed core annual funding that meets their costs. They have set that at €240,000 each. The Minister will agree that this is money well spent in our communities. Will the Minister seek for this funding to be enhanced and that core funding be increased moving forward?

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. I am a fantastic advocate for family resource centres as well. They do phenomenal work the length and breadth of the country. As far as I understand, their funding comes from the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman and his Department. I have been engaging with him because we are hoping to do some projects in respect of mental health supports, well-being and so on. I will certainly pass on what the Deputy has said. The centres are pushing on an open door because they do phenomenal work every day of the week.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Friday next, 28 June is International Neonatal Screening Day. Can the Minister please provide an update on the roll-out of spinal muscular atrophy, SMA, in the national newborn blood spot screening programme, or the heel-prick test as we refer to it? Will she indicate when she expects the first baby to be tested in Ireland with this potentially devastating disease? The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, has committed to implementation by the end of 2024, but when answering some parliamentary questions, he suggested that we may have to wait until the new lab at the national children's hospital opens before screening can commence. Given the delays facing that project it would be a significant disappointment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Ireland, the families and the people they represent if this is the case. It is a rare genetic disorder causing muscular degeneration that can be fatal by the age of two but symptoms often do not show until the child is three or four months old. By then, irreversible damage has sometimes already occurred. There are several treatments that can halt the progression of SMA, so early detection is vital.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since May 2022, babies are being screened for nine conditions, up from eight previously. Last year, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, approved recommendations from the national screening advisory committee to add a further two new conditions to the programme. This would bring to 11 the number of conditions screened for as part of what is commonly known the heel-prick test in Ireland, which is a 37% increase. A total of €1.4 million of new development funding has been allocated this year to support the expansion of the programme. The implementation of these two conditions to the newborn screening programme is under way involving close and regular co-ordination between the HSE and Department of Health on an ambitious timeline to ensure that validation of the additional tests begins in 2024. I understand how difficult it is for parents whose children have received that diagnosis. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for taking the question. On a similar theme, Members may be aware that I chair an informal all-party Oireachtas committee on rare diseases. We held one of our regular meetings yesterday. Ireland used to be a world leader in newborn blood screening, or the heel-prick test as Deputy Tully referred to it. Countries in eastern Europe seem to have leapfrogged us notwithstanding the work we are doing. I very much welcome the significant increase in the number of diseases that are tested for. Some countries test for up to 37, so the Minister will agree that we have a long way to go. One test was mentioned yesterday specifically by one of the experts present, which is severe combined immunodeficiency, SCID. If not tested for early, this can be fatal. However, it is actually very treatable if it is tested for early. Live vaccines can be dangerous for babies who have SCID. Can the Minister give us a little more hope that the number of disease we screen for will be significantly increased in the years ahead?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The advances in technology and the treatments for many of these conditions are continually emerging. This is very welcome and it is why the expansion of the newborn blood spot screening is a priority for this Government. Significant progress has been made over the past two years. We have gone from eight up to 11, but we acknowledge there is more to do. Les Martin and others have been great advocates, as the Deputy has been. The number of conditions being screened for has expanded from eight to 11 but we do want to go further and faster. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is committed to that.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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This week the Health Research Board reported an increase in the incidence of cocaine addiction across our country. I believe in a health-led approach to deal with this. We have a real issue, however, with the so-called middle classes in this country creating a narrative that cocaine use is okay. Cocaine is everywhere in society. It is in every corner of Ireland now.

It is in every sporting club. I imagine it is in here. This Chamber needs to lead a challenge against the narrative that cocaine use is okay. It is not okay. I do not believe that only we, collectively as a unit, can deal with this issue in these modern times of social media. We need help. My proposal to the Minister and the Government, and I will lead on this if I must-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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-----is that we get a co-ordinated campaign under way, involving all the leading sporting organisations in this country, to highlight that the narrative around cocaine use is not okay and needs to be challenged.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Will the Government lead on this proposal with these organisations?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is absolutely right that cocaine use is not okay. The Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke, has responsibility for this area and I will raise the issue with him. We did increase the funding for the drug and alcohol task forces in last year's budget.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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It is the narrative.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Yes. I know that education plays an important role here. The Deputy is absolutely right that we need to do more on it. There is no doubt that cocaine is a plague in our society.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The consequences and the fallout from the taking of it filter into all parts of family life when it is involved and cause many more problems. I will, therefore, certainly raise the Deputy's issue with the Minister of State.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I raise the issue of the supply of the drug Ozempic. Someone called into one of my advice clinics this week. She has been prescribed Ozempic by her GP and had gone to many pharmacists in County Clare and beyond trying to get this all-important medicine. When she went into one pharmacy, the pharmacist looked her up and down and asked her if she had diabetes or was obese. He asked this question in front of a queue of people. Since when have pharmacists had a role in terms of diagnostics? If this person I mentioned appears at a pharmacy with a script, surely the intention is that it will be fulfilled and handed over to her, and then she will make her payment. Could the Minister of State tell me where the supply of Ozempic is at and if some circular or guidance could come from the Department of Health to give guidance to the pharmacists on who should be getting this drug and how it should be dispersed? Let us get them out of diagnostics or looking people up and down as they queue for this medicine.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy very much for his question. Some concerns have been raised about shortages of medicines. This is a feature of modern health systems worldwide and a global health problem. I know this can cause stress and anxiety for patients and pharmacists. Regarding the specific issue raised by the Deputy concerning Ozempic, I will get a written response for him. I do not want to comment on the other issue he raised, but I understand the perspective he is coming from. If people need medication and are prescribed it by their GP, it is very important that they are able to access it from a pharmacy.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are out of time, but I am going to take 30-second questions from Deputies Michael Healy-Rae and Daly. I call Deputy Healy-Rae.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle very much. My question is on the essential repair grant, the disabled persons grant and the mobility aids grant. They have not been looked at in so many years. Building costs have gone up so enormously that even if people get the maximum grant amount payable to them, for which we are very grateful and I am also appreciative of the work Kerry County Council does in administering this much-needed funding, it is not enough. To put it simply, this is not enough. There is so much of a gap between what the grant amount is and the cost of these jobs that the recipients, be they older people or disabled people, cannot get the work carried out in their homes. This is the issue I wish to highlight to the Minister. I am sorry for taking time.

I would like to be granted the indulgence to pay tribute to the late Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh because of the simple fact that he was a proud Kerryman. He represented Ireland so well that his memory, his voice and his legacy will go on forever. It was always a pleasure to meet him. On 17 March every year, at 6 a.m. in Dingle town, he would always be at the first St. Patrick's Day parade of the day. Even when he was getting older, he was always there to march down through the town behind the pipe band. He was a fine stand of a strong, well-spoken man that we all appreciated so much. We will remember him forever and fondly. We thank him for the great service that he gave to sport, to Kerry and to Ireland. He was a great man.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Hear, hear.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I will speak about Tralee courthouse. We can take it as read that Tralee town centre is a priority, as are all town centres. I know that some of the Ministers and Ministers of State, including the Minister of State with special responsibility for heritage, are lovers of historic buildings. The courthouse in Tralee is a part of the folklore of the town but since 1989 the plans to refurbish it have not been used. A refurbishment of the existing building could keep it in the historic town centre location for evermore. The An Post site there is for sale and we could tailor a new extension into this, but the Courts Service needs to be given funding in a swift and fearless manner so it can purchase that site. Kilkenny courthouse was refurbished at a cost of €16.8 million, but the Courts Service intends to move the plans for Letterkenny courthouse, at a cost of €19.7 million, to another location. Savings can be made from keeping Tralee courthouse where it is and I ask that funding be made available in a timely manner for this purpose.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. I will raise this issue concerning the courthouse with the Minister for Justice. I spend a lot of money in my Department refurbishing empty courthouses and repurposing them for other uses, but I take the Deputy's point and I will raise it with the Minister for Justice.

Regarding Deputy Healy-Rae's question, yes, he is correct. These grants have been at the same amount of money since I went onto Monaghan County Council, and that was not today or yesterday. The maximum for one of them is €30,000, I think. The Deputy is correct that these grants need to be reviewed and they are being reviewed. I will raise this matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, whom I understand has responsibility for this area. I will raise this issue with him because these grants make a difference. This is especially the case for people who need their houses adapted because they are getting older. It is very welcome that the grant in this regard exists and it is a great one. The only problem is that it runs out too quickly. The funding could be gone by the middle of the year because it could all be allocated already. There is a big demand for it. I take on board what the Deputy said in this regard.

On the late Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, he was a great advocate for older people as well. He was a great ambassador for this country and he will be very much missed.