I want to address the issue of occupational therapists. It has been brought to my attention that there are many vacant OT positions in Donegal. There are a number of areas in the county with no OT arranged for them. These areas are Bruckless, Killybegs, Ardara, Glenties, Portnoo, Kilcar, Carrick and Glen. At the moment, only priority one clients are being seen. Priority two clients remain on a waiting list. The role of an OT is to assess people, keep them in their own homes and support them to remain independent. P…

I have a question for the Department of Health. It is about the NowDoc out-of-hours service in Donegal. We appreciate it and it works well but I had a phone call over the weekend from a lady who went to the NowDoc service. She told me no patient records are shared with the NowDoc service in any part of the country for the out of hours service. It is great if you go and your local doctor is there and he knows you and your records, but 90% of the time when you go, there is a doctor you do not know. They have no digit…

First, I thank the people in Donegal for the parades they put on. They were first class all over County Donegal this year - everybody from marching bands and so on. It is something we should support in this House because it engages the local community. I travelled most of Donegal last week and it was great weather. It was beautiful, and it is Ireland’s most beautiful county, as we all know.

We can all stand over our own county, so I will claim mine as the best. We have our problems in Donegal, for example, housing, mica, health and fishing. One that I want to address today is the local improvement scheme, LIS. When the local improvement announcements come out, councillors are inundated with people ringing them and wanting their lane done, this and that done, drainage and the whole lot. I started out in the local elections in March and when I finished on 9 June, I had 75 requests for people in the Done…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I am glad to see him in the post. The problem I wish to raise today concerns Bridge Street, Killybegs, which was flooded in 2017. Bridge Street was also flooded on 23 and 24 November 2024. People awoke to the sound of the local fire brigade and locals knocking on the doors to get residents out. Residents could not believe their eyes. It was something one would see in a film, and that is putting it mildly. The Minister of State saw the footage on Sky and everywhere else. This w…

The Minister of State was in Bridge Street when this happened and is well aware of it. I just wish that somebody from Donegal County Council or the Department would liaise with the group on that same bridge to Killybegs. We had none of that information until the Minister of State came in here this morning. The people living there only want information, to see that something is going to be done, and to know when it will start and when it will finish. I thank the Minister of State for coming in this morning and givin…

I wish to raise Dunkineely national school, which is situated on the N56, a very busy road with cars and heavy goods vehicles going through the town. The school has had a few near misses due to vehicles going through the red lights as children attempt to cross. Thankfully, nobody has been hurt or injured so far. This issue has been ongoing for more than a year. We were told by Transport Infrastructure Ireland a year ago that it was doing a report. Where is the report? TII was to publish a report and show the people…

I second the motion. As we know, there are a lot of problems in healthcare with the increasing population and people living longer. I met a group of carers in Killybegs on Monday. They are caring for their loved ones at home and crying out for respite but they cannot get it. Respite is nearly a thing of the past in County Donegal. One family I was working with were offered respite for 27 September of this year. That is totally unacceptable for someone who cares for their loved one 24-7 in their own home. Carers nee…

I rise to talk about Milford primary school. On 31 March 2023, the then Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, visited this school in Milford. The Department of Education was advised the school needed to get a new site, but the Department of Education refused to pay for it. In February 2024, a landowner gave five acres of land to the school at no cost to the Department. In April 2024, an application was made to the Department for a new school. In May of that year, the school principal and Fr. Stephen Gorman went to …

I welcome the Minister of State and offer him my congratulations. This Bill will hopefully provide a higher standard of care for the people working within the marine industry. Unfortunately tragedies do happen despite everybody's best efforts. The MAIU will report and I hope people will become familiar with the investigation and the safety recommendations. This is where we were falling down before. The families affected were getting no feedback from the other board. Families deserve to know what is going on with in…

I call on the Minister for the marine to come into the House to give us an update on what is going on in the fishing sector. I come from rural Donegal and fishing is a major employer in rural communities all over Ireland, from Killybegs down as far as Casltetownbere and straight across to Waterford and Wexford. As of now, at the end of the month, all our mackerel is caught. Our boats will be tied up for ten months of the year. Our crews are home now, trying to get more employment. Most of them are heading away to E…

There is an urgent need for the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien, to prioritise the village of Fahan in County Donegal on the application of roads funding. Over the years, there has been a disproportionate number of accidents in the vicinity of the village because of the way the village is laid out. Cars and heavy vehicles tend to go through the village. More could be done by the authorities to improve the village in order that drivers realise much quicker that they are entering a village. The issue of road s…

I ask the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW to come to the House. I would like to get an update in respect of the flooding that took place at Bridge Street, Killybegs, on 23 November. It was one of the worst floods to ever take place in County Donegal. At this time, residents are getting no answers from the relevant Departments. They are afraid to go to sleep in bed at night if there is heavy rain in case it will be the same as 23 November, when they were woken up by fire brigade sirens and people k…

I ask for the Minister for Health to come in to the House. The six new surgical centres she has announced are great news. She is giving out two to Dublin, one to Cork, and one each to Galway, Waterford and Limerick. They will deal with 10,000 surgical appointments a year and 18,000 outpatients. Once again, Donegal and the north west have not featured in this. Donegal is such a big county, where someone can be two hours away from the major hospital in Letterkenny. We need to get the Minister to revisit this and to g…

I wish the Cathaoirleach the very best in his role. I am delighted to be here as a Member of the Twenty-seventh Seanad. It is a very proud day for me. My election came very much as a shock, and it was a good shock. I am here as a very proud Donegal man. There are four of us in the House. I am delighted to be here to wave the Donegal flag. We beat Kerry last weekend after many years. We are making a good start in Dublin, too.

It is a very proud day for me and my family. My wife, Arlene, switched her dialysis appointment to give me the surprise of being here today. It is lovely to see her here, as well as my children, Barry and Amy. The members of my team, who supported me through thick and thin, are there at the back. I come from a Fine Gael background. My father, of whom I am so proud, was a Fine Gael councillor for many years. He was here yesterday, along with my mother and brothers and sisters, to see me come in this door. I thank ea…