Yesterday 702 people were being treated on trolleys in hospitals across the State, a shameful figure. Of those 702 people an incredible 15% or 106 people were in my local hospital, University Hospital Limerick. This year UHL has already seen a record of 20,628 people treated on trolleys and chairs. Every year that number gets higher but it seems that no concrete action is being taken by the Government to tackle the problem. The failure to get to grips with this crisis and to deliver the promised bed capacity over t…

I am pleased to speak to the Bill with my colleagues, Deputies Daly and Patricia Ryan. Restorative justice can be a key component of our justice system. It is a way of offering some closure and understanding on the impact of crime to victims and alleged offenders alike. Unfortunately, it remains an underutilised resource within our criminal justice system. It is a system that allows a victim and alleged offender to address and try to repair the damage and harm done by committing an offence. Of course, it is not for…

Is the Minister of State speaking to amendment No. 7?

The amendment is not in this grouping.

I move amendment No. 7: In page 11, to delete lines 26 to 29 and substitute the following: "(8)(a) The Mayor shall not, while holding office as mayor, engage in any trade, profession, vocation or other occupation, whether remunerated or otherwise, which might reasonably be seen to be capable of interfering or to be incompatible with the performance of his or her functions as Mayor. (b) Furthermore, the Mayor shall not engage in any other type of paid employment during their term of office.". I also submitted this a…

I move amendment No. 9: In page 12, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “(6) The Mayor shall have as a function an ambassadorial role in the promotion and delivery of a living wage in business contained within the administrative area covered by Limerick City and County Council. (7) The Mayoral role shall have promotional and delivery responsibilities in the advertising and promotion of Limerick as a national and international tourist destination. (8) The Mayoral role shall have responsibility for the or…

It is being pressed.

I will say the same thing as I said at the committee. When the new mayor is elected, he or she will have his or her own adviser. That is in legislation. However, the other four staff members will be existing staff members of the council. I do not have a problem with that. I have a problem if someone transfers over and automatically becomes the director general, which is what is going to happen here. I mean no disrespect to the current CEO or any of the staff when I say that. When we are setting up a role that is su…

The Minister of State seems to be trying to confuse people. We are saying the director general will have a full role in hiring people and managing human resources but not in respect of the mayor's team. We are not talking about any other positions. We have put on record clearly what we are proposing. A new mayor should be able to hire his or her team. There are good staff in the council and the mayor would be selecting team members from existing council personnel. It is important to put that on the record. The Mini…

I move amendment No. 13: In page 15, line 23, to delete “director general” and substitute “Mayor”.

I move amendment No. 24: In page 22, lines 2 and 3, to delete "twice in each year at intervals of not less than 5, and not more than 7, months" and substitute "three times in each year at intervals of not more than 4 months". This amendment changes the numbers of meetings required of the consultative forum. The amendment proposes to delete "twice in each year at intervals of not less than 5, and not more than 7, months" and substitute "three times in each year at intervals of not more than 4 months". This change is…

I move amendment No. 27: In page 22, lines 22 and 23, to delete “comments or observations” and substitute “comments, observations and potential amendments”.

I move amendment No. 28: In page 22, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(6) The Mayor shall, before finalising the Mayoral programme, undertake a process of non-statutory public consultation with the people of Limerick City and County regarding the Mayoral programme.”.

I will speak to a number of the amendments. In amendment No. 30, we refer to removing “the Mayor as the Mayor considers appropriate” and substituting it with “the D’Hondt system”. It is very important to have this. We referenced it in the context of local democracy. It is important there is a democratic element to the selection of members of the Limerick mayoral advisory and implementation committee. The current wording is too broad and has the potential to allow a mayor to just select councillors from his or her p…

I move amendment No. 30: In page 23, lines 5 and 6, to delete “the Mayor as the Mayor considers appropriate” and substitute “the D’Hondt system”.

I move amendment No. 31: In page 23, line 8, after “ subsection (4) ,” to insert the following: “including, but not limited to, businesses, trade unions, Community and Voluntary Sector organisations,”.

I move amendment No. 32: In page 24, line 12, after “time” to insert “, subject to the approval of elected members,”.

As the Minister of State is aware, in amendment No. 74, we propose to delete “2 years” and substitute “12 months". It was 1,664 days ago when the people of Limerick voted for a directly elected mayor, and here we are. We do not want other areas to have the same problems we had. We do not want it delayed or that a government could be elected that is not interested in it. We want to make sure it is done as fast as possible. I raised this on Committee Stage and made the point I will make now. Everyone will know what t…

I move amendment No. 74: In page 67, line 36, to delete “2 years” and substitute “12 months”.

How much time is left, Acting Chairman?